A YouTube journey creator has been exploring the world for over 30 years – and there is one area he calls ‘boring and rancid’ that he’d by no means wish to return to

Gabriel has visited 100 nations (Picture: YOUTUBE/GABRIEL TRAVELER)
Globe-trotter and YouTube sensation Gabriel Morris has spent greater than three many years exploring the planet, ticking off six continents and upwards of 90 nations alongside the best way.
To be precise, Gabriel has set foot in “97 United Nations member states plus the three disputed nations of Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, and Taiwan which wouldn’t have UN member standing.”
But amongst all his adventures, there’s one explicit vacation spot he is branded as totally ‘soulless’ and has no need to revisit.
Boasting a formidable 613,000 YouTube subscribers, Gabriel’s journey vlogs constantly entice substantial viewership and energetic dialogue, with wanderlust-filled followers keen to listen to his candid assessments and experiences.
In his one add, provocatively titled ‘I’ve Been to 100 Nations – Which Place is the Worst?’, the content material creator disclosed which location left him completely underwhelmed: the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf).
Addressing his viewers straight, Gabriel admitted: “I’ve seen a good quantity of the world and plenty of of these nations I have been to again and again and travelled round so much. I will simply let you know originally right here, my least favorite a part of the world is the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf).”
The physique of water is thought by totally different names relying on which shore you are standing on – Iran refers to it because the Persian Gulf, while nations located on the southern and western coastlines name it the Arabian Gulf. So what makes the Persian Gulf area Gabriel’s least favoured vacation spot on Earth?
The journey vlogger explains: “Now, I have never been to Iran, and Iran seems to be completely unimaginable. And so I am not together with Iran on this. I do not know that alongside the Persian Gulf there may be something particularly good to see there.”
Gabriel has explored fairly a couple of places in and surrounding the Persian Gulf. His travels have taken him to Saudi Arabia, notably Riyadh and Jeddah, the place he employed a car for a day to enterprise past the city sprawl, in addition to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, encompassing each Dubai and Abu Dhabi – but none managed to seize his creativeness.

Gabriel is just not impressed with the Persian Gulf (Picture: Gabriel Traveler/Youtube)
He went on to say: “There’s a bit of bit extra to see within the desert outdoors of the cities, however not very a lot. Principally it is simply flat desert. Principally, I’m pondering of the principle cities on the Persian Gulf, after which together with the cities of Saudi Arabia, which are not close to the Persian Gulf however do border it. I simply discover these cities to be devoid of something notably fascinating as a traveller. I discover them to be very boring and rancid.
“The streets are virtually empty of individuals aside from these of their automobiles. You do not get the bustling, busy market expertise. All of these cities are inbuilt a really comparable model of large skyscrapers. It makes for a formidable skyline, however then you definitely get there on the bottom and it is large, large streets that may be nearly inconceivable to cross. There’s plenty of visitors, large distances, and not likely something that I wish to do there. You possibly can go in malls, you’ll be able to go to some eating places. Alcohol is banned for essentially the most half, in order that’s one other downside.”
Describing them as “soulless”, Gabriel continues: “I simply discover them to be sort of soulless and never distinctive in any approach. You could possibly drop me in any a kind of cities and never inform me which one it’s, and except you had a view of, say, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai or some explicit landmark, in case you had been in a typical neighbourhood you could not distinguish it from any of the others. They’re all constructed precisely the identical and simply tremendous boring. Now, they don’t seem to be unhealthy locations to dwell essentially or to lift a household. They’re secure, they’re clear, they usually’re hassle-free. There is no hustling, scams, or something actually to fret about.”
Other than Qatar and Dubai, which Gabriel locations in his prime two positions respectively, he believes that amongst all of the locations worldwide, he has “no need to return to that a part of the world”, although he acknowledges the tradition is “actually effective”. Nonetheless, Gabriel believes there’s one other concern.
He defined: “Most people you are going to work together with aren’t even the native Saudis, Emiratis, Qataris, Kuwaitis, or Bahrainis, as a result of the native populations in all these nations are literally a minority. The vast majority of individuals you will encounter are employees from South Asia – Indians, Pakistanis, plenty of Bangladeshis – who’re working in eating places, malls, inns, and different service positions.
“The locals, as I perceive it, obtain paychecks from oil income and do not actually need to work, at the very least not within the typical service jobs. Perhaps that is not true in each nation, however usually, if they’re working, it is extra prone to be in enterprise or skilled roles, so that you’re unlikely to work together with them as a customer. That is only one other thing that makes the expertise really feel sort of watered down – you do not actually get a lot of a neighborhood cultural expertise. So, it is nothing private in opposition to the individuals,” Gabriel concludes.

Abu Dhabi is without doubt one of the Persian Gulf nations Gabriel visited (Picture: Getty)
The digital creator beforehand had what he described as a “harrowing” encounter in Kuwait Metropolis, the place he was detained and interrogated for filming. Recalling the incident, Gabriel stated: “I feel it was in Kuwait Metropolis the place I bought questioned for filming. I used to be filming close to one of many palaces – or one thing like that – and I had made a degree of not filming one explicit place that I assumed may very well be an issue.
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“However then I began filming one thing else, and a safety guard waved me over. At that time, you positively do not wish to run or attempt to keep away from them, as a result of that simply makes issues worse. So I walked over, and I imagine he spoke English. He requested me what I used to be filming for, requested a couple of questions, after which let me go. However regardless of the comparatively innocent final result, it was nonetheless a really harrowing expertise within the second – being questioned by an authority determine with out understanding how it will play out.”
Reflecting on the varied methods the scenario might have escalated, Gabriel lamented: “They may simply say, “I would like you to speak to my superior,” and then you definitely’re being taken into some workplace the place they’re suspicious of you and begin asking extra questions. It is all the time a reasonably traumatic expertise, and it mainly makes you wish to depart. That is precisely how I felt afterward-I simply hoped I might get out of there with none extra problem. In order that was yet another downside.”

















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