1st column. Civility (infrastructure, cleanliness, technology, poverty in eye view)
2nd column. Extent someone should go there for the first time and will enjoy the stay in the country
3rd column. Extent I would want to return again (things still to do, changes in the country, friends in country, needs fulfilled (ie: shopping for certain items).
These are all very subjective and almost unfair. My earlier ratings issued 5 November 2000 are still posted so that you can see how much this trip affected my ratings. The ratings do not necessarily reflect the extent to which I enjoy being in the country because otherwise some would be very different. Every time I revisit this chart I make changes so don’t take this too seriously but it is a tough exercise and forces one to think. My China rating would have been far worse had my driver at night on the return from the Opera not driven me past the newer areas of the city to make me realize the city tour I took was flawed even though I asked my guide to give me “context” (a word he didn’t appear to understand). My Japan rating went up after this trip because I demanded and got more of a view of Japan than just Tokyo. Korea would have been rated higher had I had the time to go outside Seoul and had the new train to the airport been ready by now. So remember that I try to get a full perspective but may have missed things along the way.
* Countries I have visited more than once
*Canada 3B 15A 8A
Bermuda 3C 15B 13B
*USA 3A 1 1B Lots of things to see, reasonably priced; easy to be tourist.
Chile 20 17A 30
*Argentina 14 8 10 B.Aires a great city; Bariloche grand.
Brazil 23 11 31 Rio, Iguazu are great, but Rio is a bit scary at ground level.
*UK 11A 6 7 London is a big part of it.
*France 11B 5 9 Paris is a big part of it.
*Switzerland 1 12 3 Lots of places to see; great stopover place; good airline.
*Belgium 8 24 28
*Greece 19 16 18
*Germany 7 18 20
*Italy 13 4 2 Abnormally high return rating because I shop there a lot.
Netherlands 6 19 27
*Spain 9 7 1A Still find more things I’d like to see there. Always enjoy it.
Austria 5B 10 8 Vienna is a big part of it.
* Cyprus 21 29 13A
Turkey 26 1 16 Exotic Istanbul is a must-see but it is not my favorite country.
Poland 17B 29 Not rated as civilization; was there in 1988 & has changed.
Finland 5A 25 19
*Russia 29 9 17 Significant sites; St. Petersburg is a beautiful city.
*Israel 17 3 4 Religious sites, kosher food, many friends, variety of sites
*Lebanon 25 25 23 Will improve in coming years, insh’allah
*Jordan 22B 26 14 Somewhat high return rating because I have friends there
Syria 30 23 22
Saudi Arabia 24 30 33
Kuwait 16 31 24
*U.A.Emirates15 22 6 High return ratings as I have friends there; good stopover
Bahrain 22A 28 32
Egypt 31 13 15 Haven’t seen all; wish Luxor were direct flight. Friendly.
Singapore 2 21 12 A unique society that works well.
Thailand 27 14 25
*Hong Kong 12 20 11 Abnormally high return rating as I shop there.
China 28 2 21 Has some great sites that must be seen
South Korea 18 27 26
*Japan 4 15 5 I wind up leaving feeling better & happier than I expected.
