An American solo traveller has revealed what she hated about each of the 11 countries she visited this year – including London and it’s ‘unfriendly’ inhabitants.
Grace Cheng has a TikTok account dedicated to her travels, where she goes by @gracietravels.
In a recent video, she wanted to ‘be real’ with her 62,000 followers and share what she wasn’t a fan of in the places she visited in 2023.
She captioned the TikTok, which has already been seen by more than 14,000 people, ‘Before you start attacking me, I just want to say this is me being real with you all.
‘I am not a creator who will sugarcoat traveling. Traveling is NOT all about having positive experiences. you are NOT going to like every single place you visit and that’s normal! you don’t need to.
‘We can all voice our own opinions and I like to use this platform to do so because I can then help those out there who don’t know of such things around the world.’
She added: ‘If your country is mentioned here, PLEASE do not take offense by it. I truly loved each one I visited, each country is so unique and special! but if I had to pick one negative thing from each, that’s what my video holds’.
London
As part of her 2023 travels, the influencer made a stop at the UK, specifically London – however, she wasn’t impressed.
She told viewers: ‘Then in London I also felt like it was a huge let down, it was a bit overhyped in my opinion.
‘The locals here didn’t really seem that friendly’.
One commenter agreed, jokingly writing; ‘Londoners unfriendly? Never. One time I fell down the stairs in the underground, my suitcase almost knocked me out, and people just stepped over me and carried on’.
Although, another penned, ‘I wasn’t expecting much from London but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. I’d even consider going back’.
Singapore
Another country Grace visited this year was Singapore, where she stayed at the Marina Bay Sands.
In this instance, it was the hotel that left the travel pro disappointed.
She revealed: ‘Staying at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore was a huge let down. It’s definitely not worth the hype and the price.
‘Besides that, there also isn’t that much to do here besides eat and shop’.
Japan
Next, she talked about Japan and explained that ‘for some places there can be a huge difference between how they treat foreigners’.
She added ‘They even have Japanese only establishments here – if you don’t speak Japanese, know that sometimes you will get looked down upon.’
However, one commenter disagreed, arguing: ‘I’ve been to Japan and never felt uncomfortable or looked down upon because I couldn’t speak the language. Everyone was actually super nice’.
Turkey
Moving on to Turkey, she claims there is a habit that ‘most’ people have, which she didn’t enjoy being around.
Grace said: ‘In Turkey, I did not expect everyone to be a smoker here, even your taxi or Uber driver will be smoking with you in the car.
She added text to the screen which read: ‘Ok, not everyone but a lot of people!’
Concluding that for her ‘personally it was such a hard thing to endure’.
Egypt
The fourth country on the list was Egypt, where she revealed she ‘never knew’ who she could trust.
The content creator said: ‘In Egypt the scammers and harassment was so big here and made my trip so stressful and overwhelming.
It comes just after Travel vlogger Sam Mayfair revealed four popular scams at Egypt’s pyramids and shared advice on how to thwart the fraudsters.
Grace even made another TikTok in September of this year, where she talked about how visiting Egypt quickly turned into one of the worst travel experiences of her life.
She spent a week in northeast Africa visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza and other historical landmarks but felt unsafe the whole time.
Her holiday was ruined by ‘aggressive’ scammers lurking around ‘everywhere’ in attempt to rid innocent tourists of their money.
Australia
Next, although she didn’t have any big complains about Australia, she didn’t have high praise either.
The traveller said: ‘Australia, I thought the places we went to were nothing special. We definitely need a better itinerary for next time – It overall just made the trip very bland’.
One Australian viewer chimed in with: ‘Compared to other places you have been, Australia IS bland and we have very little to really offer that compares to other places in the world.’
Kenya
Moving on to Kenya, Grace talked about the Giraffe Manor, which is a giraffe conservation and hotel that’s located in Nairobi, as part of ‘The Safari Collection, a portfolio of four luxury boutique camps and lodges.
It allows you to get up close and personal with the animals – it’s also the only place in the world where you can feed and photograph giraffes from a breakfast table, or view them from your bedroom window.
Grace remarked: ‘In Kenya for the Giraffe Manor, this was probably the highlight of my trip just because I’m a huge giraffe lover.
‘But for the general public I’m gonna be honest and say that it’s not worth it.’
The Maldives
When discussing her stay in the Maldives, the TikToker only talked about the hotel she stayed in.
She explained: ‘In the Maldives we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and they gave us the worst service ever’.
Adding: ‘If you guys are interested in hearing about that feel free to comment below’.
Taiwan
Grace made a point about safety in Taiwan that she didn’t like, explaining that: ‘In Taiwan I hate that pedestrians don’t have the right of way, so you’re always having to be careful to not get ran over by a moped’.
A viewer chimed in with, ‘Taiwan’s pedestrian is much much more better compared to that of Philippines,’ alongside laughing emojis.
America
Nearing the end of her list, she mentioned America, however was strangely cryptic about her reasoning.
Despite being a US resident herself, she simply said: ‘In the US, I think this one can be self explanatory but I’m not gonna get into it’.
Grace included a photo of Pike Place Market in Seattle, a daily market with seafood vendors, produce stalls and other retailers.
Confused viewers commented: ‘What was wrong with the us? (There’s a lot wrong lol) but I’m just curious as to what you thought was wrong’ and ‘what happened in the US we’re not from there’.
Canada
Finally, the TikToker reflected on her time in Canada.
She said: ‘Last, in Canada I went to Vancouver and Banff, but for Banff I don’t think I can find anything negative about here.
‘The only thing is that we did not spend enough time’.
In the comments, she mentioned Vancouver and wrote: ‘I didn’t mention it in the video, but it’s gotten super trashed now since they legalized everything! downtown is the worst’.
Grace concluded the video by saying ‘But these were the things I didn’t like about each country I visited this year, if you guys agree or disagree or have anything else to say, feel free to comment down below.’
One viewer wrote ‘Girl is rich rich,’ meanwhile a second added, ‘Always good to hear ppl talk about things they dont like on trips’.
Others penned: ‘The traveling whinger! You’re better off staying home’ and ‘Oh no not the Ritz’.
Marina Bay Sands, Giraffe Manor and The Ritz Carlton Maldives have been contacted for a response.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
