What is the worst place you have ever been?

[Nemo]

Very right Nemo, but the people in Newport are desperately poor, provision needs to be made for these impoverished folk. They have been smashed to bits. I got on well with them, when I holidayed in Merthyr Tydfil and sought out a pub because I had to change trains there, 

I think pretty much everywhere mentioned in this thread is desperately poor- not many shit towns in Surrey.

[Dostoyevsky]

These poor people have no choice. We would be like them were we offered the same path in life.

To break out from that background deserves respect. We treat them with contempt.

Give your brother a dime

[Flashheart]

Desperately poor?

[Dostoyevsky]

Desperately poor?

That's right Flashheart, a poor man doesn't grovel because he wants to, he is humbling himself in the most embarrassing way. Don't snort at him, he is your brother, and deserves respect

[Flashheart]

You ever been to Penang mate?  It's like Swindon-next-the-sea but with an army of legless beggars (well, George Town is anyway).

Yes.

Several times. I worked there for 2 months once. Swindon next-to -the sea-is-not-far-off. A great place for food though. Huge variety from all over the world and dirt cheap.

The night life is pants as are the beaches.

I worked from an office block and from high up you could literally see the stream of sewage flowing through the otherwise crystal clear waters. Something that would probably not be visible from ground level.

[Flashheart]

That's right Flashheart, a poor man doesn't grovel because he wants to, he is humbling himself in the most embarrassing way. Don't snort at him, he is your brother, and deserves respect

How do you define desperately poor?

[Dostoyevsky]

We are in the realms of philosophy.

For me, poorness is the loss of dignity. The beggar on the street that we disdain.

[StfcRusty]

That's the thing about being a football fan and going to away games; you do get to see some god-awful shitholes.

Wrexham is very bad yet 10 miles away, Chester is lovely.  Rotherham and Barnsley really felt like tough northern towns where a lily-livered lager-drinking southerner wouldn't last five minutes.

But top of my shithole league would be Burnley.  Most shops seemed shut - permanently - and this was pre-recession.  I remember we found one place open and it had a big sign in the window saying "We serve food - HOT!" as if this was a proud boast.

[Tails]

Went through a village in Tunisia which was so deprived it didnt even have a name. The houses were roofless, the people wore rags and sold goats to make any kind of money. That was a massive fucking wake up for me.

It was still nicer than Middlesbrough though.

[Flashheart]

We are in the realms of philosophy.

For me, poorness is the loss of dignity. The beggar on the street that we disdain.

It's not a philosophical thing at all.

To call the people of Newport 'desperately poor' when they have access to free education, the NHS and all sorts of other benefits is somewhat shortsighted and a tad ignorant considering so many people in the world have absolutely fuck all.

Don't you think?

[Peter Gibbons]

Yes.

Several times. I worked there for 2 months once. Swindon next-to -the sea-is-not-far-off. A great place for food though. Huge variety from all over the world and dirt cheap.

The night life is pants as are the beaches.

I worked from an office block and from high up you could literally see the stream of sewage flowing through the otherwise crystal clear waters. Something that would probably not be visible from ground level.

Ah, yes.  The food was great.  My friend who came with me was disgusted with me because I was eating street food whilst sat on a plastic patio chair, on a wooden board over an otherwise open sewer.  He was right though, chronic squits the next day. 

Is it me or does all the food in Malaysia have a boiled egg in it?  Mostly a variation on this:

[kerry red]

Salalah

[Dostoyevsky]

Do you think that drug-addled, alcohol ridden individuals have access to these resources? These are displaced persons who have NO recourse to their rights. Addiction disinvests them from reality.

A wasted generation. Clever words don't help them. Kindness cures everything, embitterment will eat you up.

[Flashheart]

Dunno about the eggs

I went mainly for the Indian dishes. There is a restaurant near Soho that does perfect currys (I forget the name of it now). Faultless. You could fill up for 3 quid tops including puddings and stuff.

[Dostoyevsky]

Make your own curries, like I do, and add Madras spice to give it real kick

I have two servings left over from earlier. Me and Cola Fola are having a feast