你去过的最糟糕的国家是哪个？（1）
What is the worst country you have ever visited?
译文简介
我是英国人，曾为一家瑞典公司做安装工作，曾在法国、德国、意大利、西班牙、中国、韩国、沙特阿拉伯等多个国家出过差，这些经历都还不错。后来，我被要求去印度一家钢铁厂监督一项大型机械工程的安装工作……
正文翻译
What is the worst country you have ever visited?
你去过的最糟糕的国家是哪个？
David Patrick 10 years working in a trap house
大卫·帕特里克 在陷阱屋工作了10年
Bolivia, La Paz
I gave it a shot twice, and both times I ended up sick. When you first land, the altitude sickness will hit your body immediately. The elevation is roughly at 3,650 m (11,975 ft) above sea level and in the states, the highest city is Leadville, Colorado, the highest-elevation city (10,158 feet) which I have never been. I got a massive headache, my leg muscles were extremely weak, and I ended up puking a handful of times.
On top of the altitude sickness, I also got travel diarrhea or food poisoning. This was the type of diarrhea that made me shit every 30–45 minutes for 3 days. I ended up needing an IV drip because I was dehydrated for 3 days.
玻利维亚，拉巴斯
我尝试去那里过两次，结果两次都生病了。刚下飞机，马上就来高原反应了。这里的海拔大约在3650米（11975英尺），而在美国，海拔最高的城市是科罗拉多州的莱德维尔，其海拔为10158英尺，而我从未去过那里。我头痛欲裂，腿部肌肉极度虚弱，还吐了好几次。
除了高原反应，我还患上了旅行腹泻或食物中毒。这种腹泻让我在三天里每30到45分钟就上一次厕所，由于脱水三天，最后不得不进行输液治疗。
The food is different, and I don’t think restaurants enforce some of the needed hygiene practices that are enforced here in the states.
I caught a bus from La Paz to Uyuni which was a 8 hour trek and I ended up seizing. The food poisoning, combined with the altitude sickness and no hospitals in sight? It was an easy way for me to end up dead.
这里的食物很特别，而且我认为餐馆没有执行一些在美国必须遵守的卫生规范。
我乘坐巴士从拉巴斯前往乌尤尼，这段路程需要8小时，途中的我突然抽搐起来，食物中毒加上高原反应，周围还看不到医院，哦，我差点就没命了。
Robert Hill I know all the countries
罗伯特·希尔 了解所有国家
I’ve been to some pretty weird parts of the world. I’ve loved every place I’ve ever been and I learned new things in all of them.
Except one. The only country I’d never visit again is Uzbekistan.
Okay I was there in the early 1990’s, which wasn’t their best time. But still, it was awful.
The people just weren’t friendly. Hands were out everywhere, and it’s the only place I have explicitly been asked to pay a bribe. There wasn’t even any hinting about a service fee or anything, it was just “this much for your passport stamp” and “this much goes to me”. No bargaining. Public facilities were just as bad: as a foreigner I had to pay German prices for a train ride when I got Soviet speed and service.
我去过世界上一些相当奇特的地方，我喜欢我去过的每一个地方，并且在每个地方都学到了新东西。
除了一个国家——乌兹别克斯坦，这是我唯一再也不想去的国家。
我是在20世纪90年代初去的那里，那不是他们最好的时期，但即便如此，那里的体验也糟透了。
那里的人一点也不友好，到处都有人伸手要钱，这也是唯一一个明确要求我行贿的地方。他们甚至不会暗示要服务费之类的，直接就说“护照盖章要这么多钱”“这部分归我”，没有任何讨价还价的余地。公共设施也同样糟糕：作为外国人，我坐火车要付德国标准的费用，得到的却是苏联水平的速度和服务。
I was also in several other parts of the former USSR around the same time. I spoke decent Russian and some Kazakh. I enjoyed paying bribes in other ex-Soviet states because I knew what I could afford to pay and we could work something out, and once the fee was paid the service was speedy and efficient. An Uzbek bribe was just part of the bureaucracy.
Besides that, I remember missing advertisements. There were no signs urging me to drink Coke and smoke Marlboro, which were otherwise ubiquitous in the region. It’s strangely disconcerting to be so utterly disconnected from American commercialism.
The whole place had a joy-free vibe, and from what I’ve heard from other visitors, I’m far from the only person with this experience.
I know tome’s have changed since then. I know a lot of things have gotten better. I know people in Uzbekistan must live decent lives, and I wish them well. I almost certainly won’t be going back.
Edit: Disabling comments because everyone is just telling me how great Uzbekistan is now. I’m truly happy they’ve turned things around. This was just my experience 30 years ago.
大约在同一时间，我还去过前苏联的其他几个地方。我的俄语说得还不错，还会一点哈萨克语。在其他前苏联国家，我并不反感行贿，因为我知道自己能承受多少，而且我们可以协商解决，一旦付了钱，服务就又快又高效。但在乌兹别克斯坦，行贿只是官僚主义的一部分。
除此之外，我还记得当时很怀念广告。那里没有敦促我喝可口可乐、抽万宝路的招牌，而这些在该地区其他地方随处可见。
这里与美国的商业文化完全脱节，这种感觉奇怪又令人不安。
整个地方都弥漫着一种毫无欢乐的氛围，据我从其他游客那里听到的说法，有这种感受的不止我一个人。
我知道从那以后情况已经变了，很多事情都有所改善，乌兹别克斯坦的人们一定过着不错的生活，我真心祝愿他们一切都好，但我几乎肯定不会再回去了。
编辑：关闭评论，因为所有人都在告诉我现在的乌兹别克斯坦有多棒。我真的很高兴他们有所转变，这只是我30年前的经历。
Deck Travis BS from Oklahoma State University (Graduated 1979)
德克·特拉维斯 俄克拉荷马州立大学理学学士（1979年毕业）
A friend of mine was sent to Nigeria to perform some work in a back country area. He had a driver pick him up at the airport (holding a sign with his company name on it).
As they were driving to the destination they came upon a village where there had been a vehicle wreck. Several vehicles had collided with bodies lying in the road. There was still steam coming off the engines and some wheels on one of the vehicles were still turning. He told his driver that they needed to stop and offer assistance to these people. HIs driver refused to stop and offer assistance. He said if they touched any of the bodies, they would be responsible for paying for their funerals.
When they arrived at the offsite work area my friend asked about the wreck and was told that the local authorities would take care of it not to worry.
我的一个朋友被派往尼日利亚，去一个偏远地区工作。机场有司机举着写有他公司名字的牌子来接他。
在开车前往目的地的途中，他们经过一个村庄，那里发生了一起车祸。好几辆车撞在了一起，路上躺着尸体，引擎还在冒着蒸汽，其中一辆车的一些轮子还在转动。他让司机停车去帮助这些人，但司机拒绝了，说如果他们碰了任何一具尸体，就必须负责支付葬礼费用。
到达场外工作区后，我的朋友问起了那起车祸，有人告诉他当地当局会处理，让他不用担心。
Several weeks went by and my friend finished up the segment of work that he was assigned to perform. He had another driver pick him up and escort him back to the airport in Lagos to return to the USA.
As they passed through this same village the wreck was still there. The vehicles hadn’t been moved, (some parts had been stolen from the vehicles, tires, etc.) some of the bodies were still in the road. buzzards were picking the bones clean along with the flies. The people were simply walking around them or in their case driving around them. They had no more concern for the people than if they were a dead animal that had been struck.
几周后，我的朋友完成了分配给他的工作任务，另一位司机来接他，准备护送他返回拉各斯机场回美国。
当他们再次经过那个村庄时，车祸现场还在那里，车辆没有被移走（车上的一些零件，比如轮胎等已经被偷走了），有些尸体仍然躺在路上，秃鹫和苍蝇正在啃食尸骨。当地人只是绕着它们走，或者开车绕过去，他们对这些人的关心不高于一只被撞死的动物。
Frederick M. Dolan Professor, UC Berkeley
弗雷德里克·M·多兰 加州大学伯克利分校教授
Originally Answered: What is the worst country you have ever visited or lived in? And why?
East Germany. By which I mean, the inaptly-named German Democratic Republic (1949–1990).
In 1983 I walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin and immediately understood something about totalitarianism and tyranny and domination. This was an occupied country. You could see and feel the oppression in the facial expressions and posture of the people. Everything seemed frozen in place, as if history had been stopped by force. On this first visit I went directly to “Museum Island” to visit the Pergamon and its antiquities; it was strangely empty. The contrast between the beauty on display in the museum and the ugliness (moral and physical) of the city that surrounded it was almost unbearable. I did manage to meet a few young people who seemed a bit less cautious around a foreigner than older residents. It’s nice to imagine them now living in a free country.
东德，我指的是那个名字不当的德意志民主共和国（1949–1990年）。
1983年，我穿过查理检查站进入东柏林，立刻就明白了极权主义、暴政和统治的含义。这是一个被占领的国家，你能从人们的面部表情和姿态中看到并感受到压迫。一切都停滞不前，仿佛历史被强行中断了。第一次去的时候，我直接去了“博物馆岛”，参观了佩加蒙博物馆及其文物，但那里异常空旷。博物馆里展示的美与周围城市的丑陋（无论是道德上的还是物质上的）形成了几乎令人难以忍受的对比。我确实遇到了一些年轻人，相较于比年长的居民，他们对外国人的警惕心似乎更少。想到他们现在生活在一个自由的国家，真是太好了。
Andy Clift Former Retired engineer and later police staff.
安迪·克利夫特 前退休工程师，后来从事警察相关工作
I am British and did installation work for a company in Sweden. I had worked for them in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and more. I have OK or good memories of all of them. Then I was asked to supervise a massive machinery installation in a steel works in India. When I discovered the details it was a job I was aware of that should have been completed eleven years before !!
On my first visit I found so much of the machinery had been stripped and stolen that all I could do was make a list of maybe £50,000 of missing parts and wait for replacements. After a month of waiting to get parts cleared Indian customs I returned to UK saying phone me when they have cleared. It took another three months.
我是英国人，曾为一家瑞典公司做安装工作，曾在法国、德国、意大利、西班牙、中国、韩国、沙特阿拉伯等多个国家出过差，这些经历都还不错。后来，我被要求去印度一家钢铁厂监督一项大型机械工程的安装工作。当我了解到详情后才发现，这项工作本该在11年前就完成的！
第一次去的时候，我发现很多机械都被拆解偷走了，我只能列出一份价值约5万英镑的缺失零件清单，然后等待更换。在等待零件通过印度海关审批的一个月后，我回到了英国，并告诉他们审批通过后给我打电话，而这又花了三个月时间。
Forward two years and many trips and the installation was moving forwards slowly but I could not see an end to it so I advised the company in Sweden I had enough and went back to UK. The Swedish company tried telling me it would only be another 3. - 4 weeks work. I knew better. It was another two years before I had a call from Sweden to say the job was finished and asked me if would go back to supervise acceptance tests. That was the time it took to do the work I was told would just be another 3. - 4 weeks !!!. I agreed to go back for two weeks as the tests only specified a one week production period anyway but after a week production stopped and the works had no more raw materials so I came. back home vowing to never go back to India whatever I was paid and whatever promises were made plus my innards have never recovered from the gut issues I suffered on one visit.
两年过去了，我往返了很多次，安装工作进展缓慢，但我看不到尽头，我告知瑞典公司我已经受够了，然后回到了英国。瑞典公司试图告诉我只剩3到4周的工作量了，但我心里清楚并非如此。又过了两年，我才接到瑞典方面的电话，说工作已经完成，问我是否愿意回去监督验收测试。这项原本被告知只需再花3到4周的工作竟然用了这么久！我同意回去两周，因为测试只规定了一周的生产时间，但一周后生产就停止了，因为工厂没有更多的原材料了……于是我回了家，并发誓无论给我多少报酬、做出什么承诺，我都再也不去印度了，而且我身体的内部器官也一直没有从我某次去那里时患上的肠胃问题中恢复过来。
Dennis Watson Have traveled and lived in South America.
丹尼斯·沃森 曾在南美洲旅行和居住
Besides an obvious country like Kuwait, the worst country I have visited was Argentina. The people were cold, unfriendly. I was anxious my entire time there. I spoke Spanish as best as I could with anyone that would listen. From the moment I landed at the airport in Mendoza I was detained by the police, I was interrogated and asked where I was coming from and where I was going (I believe they thought I was Venezuelan.) When they realized I was from the US, they let me go. I think it’s regrettable I had such a poor experience in Argentina, because Buenos Aires and Mendoza are very beautiful cities. I would still go to Argentina again probably, but now I am more prepared to receive an unfriendly welcome.
I am hesitant to blame the poor time I had in Argentina on my dark skin, but I believe it probably played a part. Oh well.
(Downtown Buenos Aires. Photo by author.)
除了科威特这样显而易见的国家，我去过的最糟糕的国家是阿根廷。那里的人冷漠又不友好，我在那里的整个期间都很焦虑。我尽可能地用西班牙语和愿意听我说话的人交流。从我在门多萨机场降落的那一刻起，我就被警察拘留了，他们审问我，问我来自哪里、要去哪里（我认为他们以为我是委内瑞拉人）。当他们意识到我来自美国时，才放了我。我很遗憾在阿根廷有这样糟糕的经历，因为布宜诺斯艾利斯和门多萨都是非常美丽的城市。我可能还是会再去阿根廷，但现在我已经做好了迎接不友好对待的准备。
我不愿意把我在阿根廷的糟糕经历归咎于我的深色皮肤，但我认为这可能是其中一个原因。唉。
（布宜诺斯艾利斯市中心。作者摄。）
David Marshall
大卫·马歇尔
Everyone must realize that each reply here is valid. While I wouldn’t necessarily equate the worst experience in any country with “the worst country,” as the OP did, experiences differ.
I’ve visited most European countries. For me, there are two places I didn’t enjoy much.
The first was Montenegro. It’s a gorgeous country. We hired a guide ahead of time to show us the sights, and he immediately began attacking America and Americans from the moment we got into the vehicle at Kotor. We saw some beautiful countryside scenes, went up in the mountains, and visited the old capital, Cetinje. He took us to a monastery associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church, where we saw some interesting relics, including what they claim is the hand of John the Baptist and what looked like the mummified body of a saint of their church. Our guide then started talking about the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, how the Serbians and Montenegrins were wronged, and how Bosnians and Croats couldn’t be trusted. He also swore Montenegro and Serbia would have their revenge one day. He kissed his two fingers afterward and transferred the kiss to an icon of a saint on his dashboard. My wife equated the experience to being kidnapped by a terrorist. It was a fairly miserable experience despite the country’s unmistakable beauty.
每个人都必须意识到，这里的每一条回复都是真实的。虽然我不会像提问者那样，把在某个国家的最糟糕经历等同于“最糟糕的国家”，但每个人的体验都是不同的。
我去过大多数欧洲国家，对我来说，有两个地方我不太喜欢。
第一个是黑山。这是一个非常美丽的国家。我们提前雇了一位导游带我们观光，但从我们在科托尔上车的那一刻起，他就立刻开始攻击美国和美国人。我们看到了一些美丽的乡村景色，去了山区，还参观了旧都采蒂涅。他带我们去了一座与塞尔维亚东正教相关的修道院，在那里我们看到了一些有趣的圣物，包括他们声称的施洗者约翰的手，以及看起来像是他们教会一位圣徒的木乃伊遗体。然后，导游开始谈论20世纪90年代的巴尔干战争，说塞尔维亚人和黑山人受到了不公待遇，波斯尼亚人和克罗地亚人不可信，还发誓黑山和塞尔维亚总有一天会复仇。之后，他吻了吻自己的两根手指，然后把吻印在汽车仪表盘上的圣像上。我妻子说这段经历就像被恐怖分子绑架了一样。尽管这个国家非常美丽，但这段经历相当糟糕。
The other place I didn’t care much for was Germany. I had always wanted to visit because I had a cousin whose family was stationed in West Germany back in the 1970s and early 1980s. She made it sound amazing. I don’t know if I built up in my head to be more than it was or what, but I didn’t care much for it. We visited Munich and found the people to be cold and unfriendly. It probably didn’t help that we were just in Italy and Greece, where the people are incredibly warm and hospitable. We had a waiter curl his nose at us and ask, “Why are you here?” Again, there were some fantastic places to see in Munich, and I’m glad I visited, but it’s not an area I would need to visit again. We visited Dachau as well, and that was a sobering experience, but that’s what I expected. We’re slated to return to Germany this summer, this time to Berlin. Perhaps I’ll enjoy it better this time with lowered expectations.
另一个我不太喜欢的地方是德国。我一直想去那里，因为我有一个表妹，她的家人在20世纪70年代末80年代初驻扎在西德，她把那里说得非常棒。我不知道是不是我在心里把它美化得过于完美，还是别的什么原因，我就是不太喜欢那里。我们去了慕尼黑，发现那里的人冷漠又不友好。可能是因为我们之前刚去了意大利和希腊，那里的人非常热情好客，这让慕尼黑的体验显得更差了。有一个服务员对我们嗤之以鼻，还问“你们来这儿干嘛？”。话又说回来，慕尼黑确实有一些很棒的景点，我也很高兴去过那里，但我不需要再去了。我们还参观了达豪集中营，那是一次令人警醒的经历，但这也是我意料之中的。我们计划今年夏天再去德国，这次去柏林。也许这次降低期待后我会更喜欢那里。
你去过的最糟糕的国家是哪个？
David Patrick 10 years working in a trap house
大卫·帕特里克 在陷阱屋工作了10年
Bolivia, La Paz
I gave it a shot twice, and both times I ended up sick. When you first land, the altitude sickness will hit your body immediately. The elevation is roughly at 3,650 m (11,975 ft) above sea level and in the states, the highest city is Leadville, Colorado, the highest-elevation city (10,158 feet) which I have never been. I got a massive headache, my leg muscles were extremely weak, and I ended up puking a handful of times.
On top of the altitude sickness, I also got travel diarrhea or food poisoning. This was the type of diarrhea that made me shit every 30–45 minutes for 3 days. I ended up needing an IV drip because I was dehydrated for 3 days.
玻利维亚，拉巴斯
我尝试去那里过两次，结果两次都生病了。刚下飞机，马上就来高原反应了。这里的海拔大约在3650米（11975英尺），而在美国，海拔最高的城市是科罗拉多州的莱德维尔，其海拔为10158英尺，而我从未去过那里。我头痛欲裂，腿部肌肉极度虚弱，还吐了好几次。
除了高原反应，我还患上了旅行腹泻或食物中毒。这种腹泻让我在三天里每30到45分钟就上一次厕所，由于脱水三天，最后不得不进行输液治疗。
The food is different, and I don’t think restaurants enforce some of the needed hygiene practices that are enforced here in the states.
I caught a bus from La Paz to Uyuni which was a 8 hour trek and I ended up seizing. The food poisoning, combined with the altitude sickness and no hospitals in sight? It was an easy way for me to end up dead.
这里的食物很特别，而且我认为餐馆没有执行一些在美国必须遵守的卫生规范。
我乘坐巴士从拉巴斯前往乌尤尼，这段路程需要8小时，途中的我突然抽搐起来，食物中毒加上高原反应，周围还看不到医院，哦，我差点就没命了。
Robert Hill I know all the countries
罗伯特·希尔 了解所有国家
I’ve been to some pretty weird parts of the world. I’ve loved every place I’ve ever been and I learned new things in all of them.
Except one. The only country I’d never visit again is Uzbekistan.
Okay I was there in the early 1990’s, which wasn’t their best time. But still, it was awful.
The people just weren’t friendly. Hands were out everywhere, and it’s the only place I have explicitly been asked to pay a bribe. There wasn’t even any hinting about a service fee or anything, it was just “this much for your passport stamp” and “this much goes to me”. No bargaining. Public facilities were just as bad: as a foreigner I had to pay German prices for a train ride when I got Soviet speed and service.
我去过世界上一些相当奇特的地方，我喜欢我去过的每一个地方，并且在每个地方都学到了新东西。
除了一个国家——乌兹别克斯坦，这是我唯一再也不想去的国家。
我是在20世纪90年代初去的那里，那不是他们最好的时期，但即便如此，那里的体验也糟透了。
那里的人一点也不友好，到处都有人伸手要钱，这也是唯一一个明确要求我行贿的地方。他们甚至不会暗示要服务费之类的，直接就说“护照盖章要这么多钱”“这部分归我”，没有任何讨价还价的余地。公共设施也同样糟糕：作为外国人，我坐火车要付德国标准的费用，得到的却是苏联水平的速度和服务。
I was also in several other parts of the former USSR around the same time. I spoke decent Russian and some Kazakh. I enjoyed paying bribes in other ex-Soviet states because I knew what I could afford to pay and we could work something out, and once the fee was paid the service was speedy and efficient. An Uzbek bribe was just part of the bureaucracy.
Besides that, I remember missing advertisements. There were no signs urging me to drink Coke and smoke Marlboro, which were otherwise ubiquitous in the region. It’s strangely disconcerting to be so utterly disconnected from American commercialism.
The whole place had a joy-free vibe, and from what I’ve heard from other visitors, I’m far from the only person with this experience.
I know tome’s have changed since then. I know a lot of things have gotten better. I know people in Uzbekistan must live decent lives, and I wish them well. I almost certainly won’t be going back.
Edit: Disabling comments because everyone is just telling me how great Uzbekistan is now. I’m truly happy they’ve turned things around. This was just my experience 30 years ago.
大约在同一时间，我还去过前苏联的其他几个地方。我的俄语说得还不错，还会一点哈萨克语。在其他前苏联国家，我并不反感行贿，因为我知道自己能承受多少，而且我们可以协商解决，一旦付了钱，服务就又快又高效。但在乌兹别克斯坦，行贿只是官僚主义的一部分。
除此之外，我还记得当时很怀念广告。那里没有敦促我喝可口可乐、抽万宝路的招牌，而这些在该地区其他地方随处可见。
这里与美国的商业文化完全脱节，这种感觉奇怪又令人不安。
整个地方都弥漫着一种毫无欢乐的氛围，据我从其他游客那里听到的说法，有这种感受的不止我一个人。
我知道从那以后情况已经变了，很多事情都有所改善，乌兹别克斯坦的人们一定过着不错的生活，我真心祝愿他们一切都好，但我几乎肯定不会再回去了。
编辑：关闭评论，因为所有人都在告诉我现在的乌兹别克斯坦有多棒。我真的很高兴他们有所转变，这只是我30年前的经历。
Deck Travis BS from Oklahoma State University (Graduated 1979)
德克·特拉维斯 俄克拉荷马州立大学理学学士（1979年毕业）
A friend of mine was sent to Nigeria to perform some work in a back country area. He had a driver pick him up at the airport (holding a sign with his company name on it).
As they were driving to the destination they came upon a village where there had been a vehicle wreck. Several vehicles had collided with bodies lying in the road. There was still steam coming off the engines and some wheels on one of the vehicles were still turning. He told his driver that they needed to stop and offer assistance to these people. HIs driver refused to stop and offer assistance. He said if they touched any of the bodies, they would be responsible for paying for their funerals.
When they arrived at the offsite work area my friend asked about the wreck and was told that the local authorities would take care of it not to worry.
我的一个朋友被派往尼日利亚，去一个偏远地区工作。机场有司机举着写有他公司名字的牌子来接他。
在开车前往目的地的途中，他们经过一个村庄，那里发生了一起车祸。好几辆车撞在了一起，路上躺着尸体，引擎还在冒着蒸汽，其中一辆车的一些轮子还在转动。他让司机停车去帮助这些人，但司机拒绝了，说如果他们碰了任何一具尸体，就必须负责支付葬礼费用。
到达场外工作区后，我的朋友问起了那起车祸，有人告诉他当地当局会处理，让他不用担心。
Several weeks went by and my friend finished up the segment of work that he was assigned to perform. He had another driver pick him up and escort him back to the airport in Lagos to return to the USA.
As they passed through this same village the wreck was still there. The vehicles hadn’t been moved, (some parts had been stolen from the vehicles, tires, etc.) some of the bodies were still in the road. buzzards were picking the bones clean along with the flies. The people were simply walking around them or in their case driving around them. They had no more concern for the people than if they were a dead animal that had been struck.
几周后，我的朋友完成了分配给他的工作任务，另一位司机来接他，准备护送他返回拉各斯机场回美国。
当他们再次经过那个村庄时，车祸现场还在那里，车辆没有被移走（车上的一些零件，比如轮胎等已经被偷走了），有些尸体仍然躺在路上，秃鹫和苍蝇正在啃食尸骨。当地人只是绕着它们走，或者开车绕过去，他们对这些人的关心不高于一只被撞死的动物。
Frederick M. Dolan Professor, UC Berkeley
弗雷德里克·M·多兰 加州大学伯克利分校教授
Originally Answered: What is the worst country you have ever visited or lived in? And why?
East Germany. By which I mean, the inaptly-named German Democratic Republic (1949–1990).
In 1983 I walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin and immediately understood something about totalitarianism and tyranny and domination. This was an occupied country. You could see and feel the oppression in the facial expressions and posture of the people. Everything seemed frozen in place, as if history had been stopped by force. On this first visit I went directly to “Museum Island” to visit the Pergamon and its antiquities; it was strangely empty. The contrast between the beauty on display in the museum and the ugliness (moral and physical) of the city that surrounded it was almost unbearable. I did manage to meet a few young people who seemed a bit less cautious around a foreigner than older residents. It’s nice to imagine them now living in a free country.
东德，我指的是那个名字不当的德意志民主共和国（1949–1990年）。
1983年，我穿过查理检查站进入东柏林，立刻就明白了极权主义、暴政和统治的含义。这是一个被占领的国家，你能从人们的面部表情和姿态中看到并感受到压迫。一切都停滞不前，仿佛历史被强行中断了。第一次去的时候，我直接去了“博物馆岛”，参观了佩加蒙博物馆及其文物，但那里异常空旷。博物馆里展示的美与周围城市的丑陋（无论是道德上的还是物质上的）形成了几乎令人难以忍受的对比。我确实遇到了一些年轻人，相较于比年长的居民，他们对外国人的警惕心似乎更少。想到他们现在生活在一个自由的国家，真是太好了。
Andy Clift Former Retired engineer and later police staff.
安迪·克利夫特 前退休工程师，后来从事警察相关工作
I am British and did installation work for a company in Sweden. I had worked for them in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and more. I have OK or good memories of all of them. Then I was asked to supervise a massive machinery installation in a steel works in India. When I discovered the details it was a job I was aware of that should have been completed eleven years before !!
On my first visit I found so much of the machinery had been stripped and stolen that all I could do was make a list of maybe £50,000 of missing parts and wait for replacements. After a month of waiting to get parts cleared Indian customs I returned to UK saying phone me when they have cleared. It took another three months.
我是英国人，曾为一家瑞典公司做安装工作，曾在法国、德国、意大利、西班牙、中国、韩国、沙特阿拉伯等多个国家出过差，这些经历都还不错。后来，我被要求去印度一家钢铁厂监督一项大型机械工程的安装工作。当我了解到详情后才发现，这项工作本该在11年前就完成的！
第一次去的时候，我发现很多机械都被拆解偷走了，我只能列出一份价值约5万英镑的缺失零件清单，然后等待更换。在等待零件通过印度海关审批的一个月后，我回到了英国，并告诉他们审批通过后给我打电话，而这又花了三个月时间。
Forward two years and many trips and the installation was moving forwards slowly but I could not see an end to it so I advised the company in Sweden I had enough and went back to UK. The Swedish company tried telling me it would only be another 3. - 4 weeks work. I knew better. It was another two years before I had a call from Sweden to say the job was finished and asked me if would go back to supervise acceptance tests. That was the time it took to do the work I was told would just be another 3. - 4 weeks !!!. I agreed to go back for two weeks as the tests only specified a one week production period anyway but after a week production stopped and the works had no more raw materials so I came. back home vowing to never go back to India whatever I was paid and whatever promises were made plus my innards have never recovered from the gut issues I suffered on one visit.
两年过去了，我往返了很多次，安装工作进展缓慢，但我看不到尽头，我告知瑞典公司我已经受够了，然后回到了英国。瑞典公司试图告诉我只剩3到4周的工作量了，但我心里清楚并非如此。又过了两年，我才接到瑞典方面的电话，说工作已经完成，问我是否愿意回去监督验收测试。这项原本被告知只需再花3到4周的工作竟然用了这么久！我同意回去两周，因为测试只规定了一周的生产时间，但一周后生产就停止了，因为工厂没有更多的原材料了……于是我回了家，并发誓无论给我多少报酬、做出什么承诺，我都再也不去印度了，而且我身体的内部器官也一直没有从我某次去那里时患上的肠胃问题中恢复过来。
Dennis Watson Have traveled and lived in South America.
丹尼斯·沃森 曾在南美洲旅行和居住
Besides an obvious country like Kuwait, the worst country I have visited was Argentina. The people were cold, unfriendly. I was anxious my entire time there. I spoke Spanish as best as I could with anyone that would listen. From the moment I landed at the airport in Mendoza I was detained by the police, I was interrogated and asked where I was coming from and where I was going (I believe they thought I was Venezuelan.) When they realized I was from the US, they let me go. I think it’s regrettable I had such a poor experience in Argentina, because Buenos Aires and Mendoza are very beautiful cities. I would still go to Argentina again probably, but now I am more prepared to receive an unfriendly welcome.
I am hesitant to blame the poor time I had in Argentina on my dark skin, but I believe it probably played a part. Oh well.
(Downtown Buenos Aires. Photo by author.)
除了科威特这样显而易见的国家，我去过的最糟糕的国家是阿根廷。那里的人冷漠又不友好，我在那里的整个期间都很焦虑。我尽可能地用西班牙语和愿意听我说话的人交流。从我在门多萨机场降落的那一刻起，我就被警察拘留了，他们审问我，问我来自哪里、要去哪里（我认为他们以为我是委内瑞拉人）。当他们意识到我来自美国时，才放了我。我很遗憾在阿根廷有这样糟糕的经历，因为布宜诺斯艾利斯和门多萨都是非常美丽的城市。我可能还是会再去阿根廷，但现在我已经做好了迎接不友好对待的准备。
我不愿意把我在阿根廷的糟糕经历归咎于我的深色皮肤，但我认为这可能是其中一个原因。唉。
（布宜诺斯艾利斯市中心。作者摄。）
David Marshall
大卫·马歇尔
Everyone must realize that each reply here is valid. While I wouldn’t necessarily equate the worst experience in any country with “the worst country,” as the OP did, experiences differ.
I’ve visited most European countries. For me, there are two places I didn’t enjoy much.
The first was Montenegro. It’s a gorgeous country. We hired a guide ahead of time to show us the sights, and he immediately began attacking America and Americans from the moment we got into the vehicle at Kotor. We saw some beautiful countryside scenes, went up in the mountains, and visited the old capital, Cetinje. He took us to a monastery associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church, where we saw some interesting relics, including what they claim is the hand of John the Baptist and what looked like the mummified body of a saint of their church. Our guide then started talking about the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, how the Serbians and Montenegrins were wronged, and how Bosnians and Croats couldn’t be trusted. He also swore Montenegro and Serbia would have their revenge one day. He kissed his two fingers afterward and transferred the kiss to an icon of a saint on his dashboard. My wife equated the experience to being kidnapped by a terrorist. It was a fairly miserable experience despite the country’s unmistakable beauty.
每个人都必须意识到，这里的每一条回复都是真实的。虽然我不会像提问者那样，把在某个国家的最糟糕经历等同于“最糟糕的国家”，但每个人的体验都是不同的。
我去过大多数欧洲国家，对我来说，有两个地方我不太喜欢。
第一个是黑山。这是一个非常美丽的国家。我们提前雇了一位导游带我们观光，但从我们在科托尔上车的那一刻起，他就立刻开始攻击美国和美国人。我们看到了一些美丽的乡村景色，去了山区，还参观了旧都采蒂涅。他带我们去了一座与塞尔维亚东正教相关的修道院，在那里我们看到了一些有趣的圣物，包括他们声称的施洗者约翰的手，以及看起来像是他们教会一位圣徒的木乃伊遗体。然后，导游开始谈论20世纪90年代的巴尔干战争，说塞尔维亚人和黑山人受到了不公待遇，波斯尼亚人和克罗地亚人不可信，还发誓黑山和塞尔维亚总有一天会复仇。之后，他吻了吻自己的两根手指，然后把吻印在汽车仪表盘上的圣像上。我妻子说这段经历就像被恐怖分子绑架了一样。尽管这个国家非常美丽，但这段经历相当糟糕。
The other place I didn’t care much for was Germany. I had always wanted to visit because I had a cousin whose family was stationed in West Germany back in the 1970s and early 1980s. She made it sound amazing. I don’t know if I built up in my head to be more than it was or what, but I didn’t care much for it. We visited Munich and found the people to be cold and unfriendly. It probably didn’t help that we were just in Italy and Greece, where the people are incredibly warm and hospitable. We had a waiter curl his nose at us and ask, “Why are you here?” Again, there were some fantastic places to see in Munich, and I’m glad I visited, but it’s not an area I would need to visit again. We visited Dachau as well, and that was a sobering experience, but that’s what I expected. We’re slated to return to Germany this summer, this time to Berlin. Perhaps I’ll enjoy it better this time with lowered expectations.
另一个我不太喜欢的地方是德国。我一直想去那里，因为我有一个表妹，她的家人在20世纪70年代末80年代初驻扎在西德，她把那里说得非常棒。我不知道是不是我在心里把它美化得过于完美，还是别的什么原因，我就是不太喜欢那里。我们去了慕尼黑，发现那里的人冷漠又不友好。可能是因为我们之前刚去了意大利和希腊，那里的人非常热情好客，这让慕尼黑的体验显得更差了。有一个服务员对我们嗤之以鼻，还问“你们来这儿干嘛？”。话又说回来，慕尼黑确实有一些很棒的景点，我也很高兴去过那里，但我不需要再去了。我们还参观了达豪集中营，那是一次令人警醒的经历，但这也是我意料之中的。我们计划今年夏天再去德国，这次去柏林。也许这次降低期待后我会更喜欢那里。
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