Ubud 9th friendliest city in the world

[balinews]

The United States, land of freedom and opportunity, is also the land of scowling faces and folded arms, according to a new poll.

Travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler has unveiled the results of its annual readers' choice survey.

The world's unfriendliest cities

20. Caracas, Venezuela

19. Bethlehem, Palestine

18. Casablanca, Morocco

17. Wilmington, Delaware

16. Moscow

15. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

14. Shenzhen, China

13. Albany, New York

12. Los Angeles

11. Guangzhou, China

10. Tangier, Morocco

9. Atlantic City, New Jersey

8. Detroit

7. New Haven, Connecticut

6. Lome, Togo

5. Kuwait City

4. Luanda, Angola

3. Oakland, California

2. Islamabad, Pakistan

1. Newark, New Jersey

The world's friendliest cities

20. Cork, Ireland

20. Asheville, North Carolina

18. Edinburgh, Scotland

16.Savannah, Georgia

16. Auckland, New Zealand

14. Victoria, British Columbia

14. Galena, Illinois

13. Dublin, Ireland

12. Christchurch, New Zealand

11. Chiang Mai, Thailand

9. Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

9. Kilkenny, Ireland

8. Mandalay, Myanmar

6. Margaret River, Australia

6. Paro, Bhutan

5. Charleston, South Carolina

4. Queenstown, New Zealand

3. Thimpu, Bhutan

2. Hobart, Tasmania

1. Florianopolis, Brazil

World's friendliest and unfriendliest cities are ... - CNN.com

 

[joji gulapetis]

Obviously markit wasn't visiting Ubud when the survey was taken.

:topsy_turvy::topsy_turvy:

 

[mugwump]

Apparently didn't test for sincerity.

 

[ferdie]

Agree @mugwump, I knew a lot of people who was very friendly in Ubud, they did smile with their face but not from the heart

 

[Markit]

Actually to be fair I also think Ubud is a really friendly place to go - considering the numbers and cut of the tourists that swamp the place on a daily basis it's amazing that the locals are as nice as they are.

Compare that to the cesspit south of the island where most of the "locals" are from Java and the most unfriendly and aggressive bunch of Mother**ckers you will ever meet and Ubud is a joy to visit.

 

[joji gulapetis]

Apparently didn't test for sincerity.

How many of us would pass a sincerity check mugwump me mate? I know I would fail it more often than not. Most of the people you meet are business people, and it is a fact that smiling is good for business. If you were 100% sincere with everyone you did business with I take my hat off to you. I would fail that test more often than not too.

How many sincere smiles do you get from people you did business with in OZ?

So why should Ubud be any different?

As someone on the pod put it so succinctly ..... "Life's a beach...."


:topsy_turvy:

 

[sakumabali]

I found it much more interesting that New Jersey is rated the unfriendliest city in the world, how comes?
Too be honest I would rate Manhattan in the top five of the friendliest cities ;=)

 

[no.idea]

The awesome part is that someone probably got paid to put this ridiculous load of rubbish together.

 

[Markit]

No.idea it was all done through the modern wonder of computing and online surveys as it says on the page. You just put in your search parameters.... for instance: "Fugliest Ozzy in Sanur" and hey! presto - your name pops up.
"

 

[Markit]

Instead of double posting as this "database error" tried to do I'm gonna say a resounding "Cheers" to all those that get up so fecking early here in Bali like I do - every Goddamned morning at 5 a.m. fucking chickens!

By the way what is the accepted usage? "in" or "on" Bali? After almost 6 years here I ought to know... oh well.

 

[no.idea]

You just put in your search parameters.... for instance: "Fugliest Ozzy in Sanur" and hey! presto - your name pops up.
"

Thank you for the reassuring comments about my looks. There was a time when I used to cry myself to sleep. However since meeting you I know there is one person in this world who is worse off than I am.

 

[emilylipp]

Nice to see Margaret River down in West Aus on there ... of course it would be listed as a friendly city ... that's where I'm from! :angel:

 

[alex margou]

... By the way what is the accepted usage? "in" or "on" Bali? ...

You LIVE IN a country, a region, a district, a town, an area etc etc.

To LIVE ON is a more modern usage and is usually used for a location that is somehow limited or bounded in some way. e.g. you can LIVE ON an island, ON top of a hill, ON a housing estate (but IN is also OK for a housing estate).

NB This kind of usage may well be different in the various different versions of English - British, Oz, US, Singlish etc etc

So, just as an example - Markit LIVES IN a village full of bloody noisy chickens and dogs ON Bali.

Enough English - time for a breakfast Bintang.

 

[ronb]

..................

By the way what is the accepted usage? "in" or "on" Bali? After almost 6 years here I ought to know... oh well.

It seems to be in to say on.

In the past, Roy - who was a godfather of the forum, would say on Bali, but now he is no longer here, maybe you can say whatever you like.

 

[alex margou]

...or, like me, you can live ON IN penury .....:hopelessness:

 

[joji gulapetis]

Nice to see Margaret River down in West Aus on there ... of course it would be listed as a friendly city ... that's where I'm from! :angel:

Emilylipp, have you ever come across or heard of a guy called Larry de Jong down Margaret River way? He and his wife Cheryl have a small vineyard somewhere in the area.

:topsy_turvy:

 

[emilylipp]

Emilylipp, have you ever come across or heard of a guy called Larry de Jong down Margaret River way? He and his wife Cheryl have a small vineyard somewhere in the area.

:topsy_turvy:

Can't say I have, Joji Gulapetis. Sorry!

 

[JohnnyCool]

Ubud is not a city and most Balinese living in Bali live in the South.

And a couple of my favourite quotes:

"Asia is full of smiles, but you never know which one you're seeing"

And this (ancient) one from Kali Dasa:

With their teeth half shown in causeless laughter
And their efforts at talking so sweetly uncertain
When a child sits on his lap
A man is blessed even by the dirt on their bodies

 

[Markit]

If Bali is seen as a region or county then shouldn't say "I live IN Bali" as one says "I live in Kansas or Northamptonshire". There's the case of Hawaii where you say ON Hawaii the region/state?

 

[alex margou]

If Bali is seen as a region or county then shouldn't say "I live IN Bali" as one says "I live in Kansas or Northamptonshire". There's the case of Hawaii where you say ON Hawaii the region/state?

Yes, exactly so. You can use IN for any region, including islands etc.

It's just that ON is also OK as well, as another option, for those cases where it applies and when you are trying to convey an extra bit of info about the location.

"There are far too many hotels on Bali now."
"The traffic in Bali is just awful."

Both are OK here.

IN and ON for regions, islands etc are just following the same rules as IN and ON elsewhere - "All your toys are ON the floor. Put them IN the box!"