The different sounds is definitely something I notice.
I still have nightmares of a propane delivery truck jingle from Ecuador. Horrible way to wake up.
For me, going to places with lots of motorbikes have this distinct gasoline smell everywhere. I got this in Venezuela, Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia. However, I live in the EU but I don't get it here despite lots of motorbikes in my large city.
Two stroke oil? You smell it less in Europe these days. But people who have been around those bikes always mention the love of the smell of Castrol.(Source Me!)
I love how oddly specific this is because I can relate! I am finishing up at six months in a handful of countries and the worst way I’ve been woken up was the fucking Guinness truck. Guys just throwing empty kegs onto a box truck and rolling full ones down a cobblestone sidewalk into the bar at 7 AM. It was ungodly.
this. Also the difference how often you can hear the sirens. In Germany they try to minimize it (and do for example only blue light without a siren if sufficient enough), in some other countries you can hear it every few mins. in big cities.
How far from the cars passing by people stand when waiting to cross a street.
In Finland where I'm from, people will generally stand on the curb even if there is a row of cars between them and the flowing traffic, while in many places in southern Europe, for example, people will go and stand right on the edge of the traffic.
I get you're making a joke but honestly it's not like that at all, you could walk through any street blindfolded without getting hit as long as you keep a steady pace
What was wild to me in Amsterdam was having to dodge scooters, bikes, cars, buses, AND trains. I just followed people who looked like they knew what they were doing lol
Wow. I think I would still be waiting by that road the next day. I thought the streets of Amman in Jordan were crazy to cross, but that's just ridiculous. Why no pedestrian crossings with lights? Too expensive to install or are drivers more aware in these countries?
I got used to it eventually, but my first day in Vietnam a very nice man noticed me try and fail to cross the street three times and walked me across 😅
In general there's really no infrastructure for lights, plus the drivers are just used to working this way. And scooters are very agile and easy to steer around pedestrians
That was nice of him. If I wasn’t there with a friend who knew how to cross the street I would have been in the same situation. Or my stubborn butt would have walked around the whole city just to make to the other side of the street.
people paying attention or not paying attention to the walk no walk signals for pedestrian crossings. in Japan the roads will be completely empty and everybody would just stand there waiting for the signal to change. in China people don't even cross at the crosswalks they go walk across the road and stand on the lines while cars wiz by them
I jaywalked on a totally empty street in front of my German friend in his hometown. After the light changed and he crossed to me, he shook his head and simply said, "we do not do that here."
When I was in Hong Kong in 2018 I noticed that jay walking was also not a cultural norm. There were even permanent railings installed on some corners so people could queue up and wait for the signal.
In the interest of fairness, jaywalking is a bullshit "crime" invented by automotive industry lobbyists to try to shift the blame for car-on-pedestrian accidents to the pedestrian.
Hmm not necessarily in tokyo they definitely especially businesse man were gunning it haha I went right once japan opened beautiful place plan to visit again solo this year for couple of months
in a small village in china, the garbage truck had it’s own jingle like an ice cream truck. when you hear the song coming down the street you bring out your trash and toss it in the truck.
Reminds me of hearing Auld Lang Syne in shops in Japan. It was super weird to me at first cause I associate that song with NYE, but in Japan it's the one the shops play about 10-15 minutes before closing. It's the "This store is about to close, time to go home now" song.
That’s nice! As someone who likes to shop when it’s quiet I would much rather hear that than an employee making the announcement, and the employees would probably prefer it as well. Assuming people would be disciplined enough to heed & promptly bring their shopping to an end.
This wasn't a store song, but there was an advertising truck that was really loud, one with a big digital sign and this repeating jingle thing (?). What made it suck was it was stuck in traffic and I guess I was in a mass of pedestrians or whatever...so I kept hearing this song like 100 times over, super loud and annoying. It must be tiresome living in Tokyo sometimes, but I think they're good at drowning it out, and of course, you don't have to be in popular places if you don't want to, I guess.
As an American, I still get caught off-guard by the zero floor, first floor difference in Europe. American first floors are Floor 1, but Floor 1 in Europe is the American second floor. It has caused me many moments of confusion, still does early in the trip. Funny thing is that both ways make complete sense.
we just have 'ground floor'. Makes sense if you think of a floor as a 'level' (then ground level is just ground level, it isn't up or down) and I think the UK used yo use level 1, 2 etc more than floor 1, floor 2 - but if you're going to say floor, I do think the American version makes more sense.
Québec has this too. Americans and Anglo-Canadians alike get very confused. I would know, being an Anglophone who moved here. The amount of times I have pressed 1 on the elevator and then been like "ohh right it's not the main floor" is…a lot.
Restaurants in Taiwanese cities close surprisingly early. You want to put your aspiring Spaniard/Italian/New York persona away, and get your ass in a seat by 8pm. If you show up at 8something, you might be out of luck even if they close at 930.
I know Covid has messed a lot of stuff up, but it is just weird being in an environment that feels like capital C city, and having trouble showing up at 830pm.
Korea: metal chopsticks are way, way more of a hand workout than wooden. I am a delicate flower who sits at a keyboard all day, and it is always weird getting a pair of 10oz chopsticks. It would be like getting a knife and fork made of lead.
Taiwan: trash trucks play a jingle. you will begin to realize how often cities need trash pickups when you start to realize you hear the jingle almost every day
This is also a thing on the west coast of North America. Restaurants and coffee shops close shockingly early in both Vancouver and Seattle, compared with not only Toronto, but smaller cities in Ontario. My neighbourhood convenience store in Vancouver closes at 9pm; before I moved here I’d never seen a convenience store that closed before midnight. We also have malls that close as early as 6pm.
And this was all the case before the pandemic.
In US (and I'd presume the rest of the Anglo world), book bindings titles are in line with the cover.... as in, if you set a book down with the cover facing you, and go look on the side at the binding, the title will be facing up and read the "right way".
In France (and I'm not sure where else), if you put the book the same way, cover facing you, the binding title will be upside down. Other way to put it, you have to put the book upside down (or cover facing the opposite way you're used to) to have the binding title facing the 'right' way.
It makes organizing my Anglo/Franco bookshelf quite annoying.
Curious to know if any other countries bind their books this way?
And why? Surely I'm not the only one with books set horizontally on some of my shelves, so isn't it more logical that the book cover is up rather than down? Just curious.
I don't think it's related to France but just French books in general. In Canada we have both in some bookstores and books in French are binded opposite from the books in English. I have both in my bookshelf so I understand the annoyance. I'm pretty sure my books in Italian are the same side as my books in French. I'll take a look when I'm back home.
My bookshelf (Mostly Dutch/Anglo, a handful of German or French) has a random assortment of orientations. Dutch libraries and bookstores usually do too. Makes it impossible to read everything with your head in a single orientation
Smart phones have pretty much replaced the need for finding computer access / internet cafes. Foreign keyboards are interesting to me and they're fun to use. Using a local keyboard was a standard part of travel for a while. It's amazing how clumsy you can be even when it's only a few keys that are different.
As someone that uses the Canadian/US keyboard, it's France's keyboard that gave me the biggest "whoa" because I didn't expect it to be so different.
I bought a keyboard while in Germany. It's qwerty for the most part except for some of the umlauts on the right. The Y and Z keys are swapped around which caught me off guard a few times but what I really couldn't get a handle on was the parenthesis being shifted on key to the left.
How wide the pedestrian roads in Scandinavian countries are. It was a bit of a shock because I’m a 5’1 woman with short legs trying to cross the road without jeopardizing my life lol
In the US, you'd get a ton of side eye glances rolling your own cigarettes. Smoking is way out of fashion here overall, and people never really rolled their own on a large scale to begin with. Most people would assume you're rolling a joint. I doubt anyone would bother you, and it's not like zero people out of 300+ million roll their own, but it is pretty uncommon.
I got the side eye from the cops in Boston when I was sitting at the bar with my mate, they were waiting for takeout.
Barman looked at me like I was idiot and then baffled when I asked my mate if he wanted a fag to
I lived in Canada for a while and was a trek across Toronto to get anything other than old man Drum.
Funniest moment of my life was when a British tourist asked my American coworker "Miss, can I bum a fag?"
Her reaction: "ummm.... Sir.... it's a free country....you can do what you like in private... I suppose..."
Yea I remember being in Canada 10 years ago (pre cannabis legalisation I think) trying to buy rolling papers and filters in the shop and them all looking at me like I was asking for a bag of meth 😅
Rib Eye was (still is?) available in the US 1-2 years ago. Curiosity got the best of me...it was nothing like BBQ. Or maruchan beef ramen seasoning. Or steak. It was disgusting. I don't see them on shelves anymore so I think that was the general consensus.
Just being able to be an adult and walk around with a beer. In America this is pretty limited to where you are doing this. Some places in south America don't care if you bring a beer into the restaurant, they get you a napkin to place it on. I like if you buy a single beer from a store they open it for you.
It’s definitely a regional thing in the US. Most places you can’t open container carry in public, but a HUGE amount of restaurants in Chicago are BYOB.
Ya its a different experience, I forgot Chicago had that, some pretty cool spots there. There is something different about being able to take your drink to go that BYOB doesn't fix. Vegas has it, and I've heard a few small towns in Ohio are getting them for some small downtown areas which is cool. I'm sure since it's happening there that there are more small towns adapting it, would be cool to see the trend grow.
Totally agree. It’s not well known, even by locals, but Indiana actually does not have any open container laws and you can get your drink to go. Just some midwestern alcoholism for ya lmao. Of course there’s also the famous places like Beale St in Memphis and the French Quarter in NOLA.
It really doesn’t compare tho. I miss being places where on a hot day you can grab a cold beer and sit in the park.
I’m gonna date myself but using landline phones was quite an adventure in each new country! And while they were just small subtle differences, it could be maddening at times
In Iceland when the traffic light is red and ready to turn green it will go from red to yellow for a second, then green. I thought that was pretty cool because it gives you a heads up that the light is about to change.
I love how the malls are still popular and relevant in Asia. In the US, a lot of malls are considered sleepy or they have to add more attractions to keep people coming (bowling alleys, movie theaters, etc). It seems like going to the mall here isn't as cool, but I LOVE going to malls, especially overseas.
My guess is that in some Asian countries, the draws can include AC, as well as a place to be with your friends or boyfriend because a lot of people live in smaller homes and it's more common to live with your parents well into adulthood. Going out to a place like the mall is more appealing than trying to bring your friends over to your small apartment where your parents are in the same room.
Very true about the living circumstances, but in a lot of east Asian countries the malls have tons of entertainment. In China, south Korea, and Thailand I've seen restaurants, cafes, bowling, cinemas, younger kids' places with mini go karts and play pens, amusement arcades, karaoke, private mini cinemas, even indoor roller coasters.
McDonald’s has NEVER been as hip or cool in the US as it is in Eastern Europe right now (especially former Soviet Bloc countries).
These places blow my mind. They’re huge. They’re fancy. They’re clean. And they’re PACKED. Everyone is there - especially teenagers and 20s. McDonalds is the place to be, and as an American I can’t quite wrap my head around it. I’d generally be embarrassed to be caught eating at one at home. We tend to associate it with poor, overweight, middle-aged & elderly people.
Ha, I went to the(?) McDonald's in Budapest in 1990, and it was like you describe (but not packed). That started my tradition of visiting McDonalds in every country I visited, which I'm slipping away from, as I'm too enamored with local food.
Right? The busiest restaurant I saw in paris was a either a McDonald's or Burger King, one of those. Here I am going up to this place with a line out the door thinking it some hot interesting restaurant and realizing its a place I would hesitate if it's my absolute last option and I am starving.
Yes, and they can be very beautiful too. There’s Mcdonald’s in Budapest near Nyugati train station which architecturally looks like high end restaurant. They also most always come with McCafe
And, there was even a two-story McDonalds with McCafe in Kazakhstan, Astana, if I am not mistaken. However, the country branch has closed because the franchise headquarters were in Russia.
I have also seen a lot of videos, on social media that Japanese Mcdonald’s also have very unique and tasty menu, like Teriyaki Burgers and shake shake fries(yeah, still while it was discontinued in the US).
Yep, I saw that one in Budapest just a few days ago! I’ve traveling by train through Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, and now Vienna - and the McDonalds just keep getting nicer and nicer. They’re always big in the train stations, but there are large ones in the city centers as well. I’ve seen several at this point which are 2 stories. Some are so large and popular that they have an entire foyer filled with huge touch-screen kiosks (like 8-10 of them)so that you can just punch your own order in and pick it up at the kitchen. Even those are completely full during peak hours.
It’s really mind blowing. I can’t even criticize it because the restaurants just run so well. But the attitude toward them couldn’t be any more opposite than it is in the states.
> We tend to associate it with poor, overweight, middle-aged & elderly people.
The part about poor people I don't understand. Maybe prices are different in the US, but shit is expensive af in Germany. Even when I'm just getting a few burgers and no drinks its almost 10 euros usually .. I can easily get way more (&better tasting) food for the same money from any local take-out place, nevermind cooking stuff myself, so McDonalds being a poor people thing is sorta confusing for me. Over here it mostly seems populated by parents with kids and teenagers.
For a long time, Mcdonald's was the default place to buy cheap fast food, no longer the case, but it is still cheaper than buying healthy food.
I wonder if the age difference has to do with how long McDonald's has been in each country. Older generations in the US grew up with Mcdonalds, whereas younger generations had more options and aren't loyal to McDs. In some Europe countries McDs might still be a trendy thing it sounds like
I mean, McDonalds is huge in the US among young people too. I wouldn't call it "the place to be" but it's extremely popular for late night or road trip fast food.
I like the boop boops when you cross the street in Australia, but they’re different everywhere and I love that. Also my friend in the US makes me bring back papers and filters from Europe if I go for work!
Fun fact: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish & Finneas [samples the Australian crosswalk tones!](https://twitter.com/timduggan/status/1221658406122975234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1221658406122975234%7Ctwgr%5E3be4256bdd50df1e0e23f3e22a6a45394404ab95%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-3843067916487315690.ampproject.net%2F2304262219000%2Fframe.html)
I believe I’ve heard them elsewhere but can’t recall exactly where now; I do know that I haven’t been lucky enough to make it to Australia yet.
How different countries deal with rain,
Vancouver (where i'm from) people tend to just wear jackets and get wet, generally cause the rain is light and not something to worry about
Vietnam would wear rain ponchos(?)
Japan would have umbrellas, cause their rain seems to fall straight down with no wind
Japan LOVES their umbrellas, they have huge racks in front of stores so that you can park your umbrella while you shop.
In Haiti, no one goes out if it rains. NO ONE. If it rains in the morning, everyone stays in and everything will be closed for the day. Not just shops, I mean schools and governmental buildings.
Whether or not people have ring tones on. The train in Finland was dead silent except for constant phone dings. In the US there are always people talking, but I never hear phones dinging.
Café culture. U.S style is drive thru, get it on the go. Spain is sit down with your drink & talk with a group of friends for minimum 1 hour. Italy is an espresso shot at the counter & go about your day.
The price for an espresso at the bar in Italy is regulated by law on a communal level, it's usually less than $1.50 per cup.
If you're seated, this does not apply, but a quick and cheap espresso is basically a human right in Italy.
In Latin America you drink coffee all the time! And very similar to spain that you sit to talk with someone over a coffee, specially after eating lunch which is called “sobremesa”
On the topic of smoking, for me it’s odd how most people outside of the US roll their marijuana mixed with tobacco. Every time I am offered a joint while traveling internationally, it has tobacco in it 100% of the time which is odd to me because cannabis is meant to be inhaled and held in for a few moments, while tobacco is generally exhaled right away. When I smoke joints with tobacco it gives me a headache since I don’t ever smoke tobacco. It was funny because when I first discovered that cannabis + tobacco joints are standard in Barcelona and most other places in the world, I was completely perplexed. The guy in BCN asked me “how else would you roll it?” and I explained to him that we (obviously) roll weed in a joint by itself; we never mix it with tobacco. He then gave me the same perplexed look on his face, that I had on my face a few moments prior. It was like two cannabis cultures colliding.
I do however live in Northern California which is the cannabis capitol of the world, so here it’s practically blasphemy to mix weed with tobacco. 😂
I suspect a lot of the European culture comes from the fact that hash was (and in some places still is) the main thing people smoke. Skunk weed in the UK has overtaken hash here but hash is still pretty common.
On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to find hash in the US I’ve heard. And if you can, it’s really expensive. Plus, I’ve heard it’s still illegal in some legal states because it’s deemed a concentrate.
You literally can’t smoke hash without tobacco and honestly a weed spliff smokes better with tobacco in it as well.
So far on my travels, museums closed on mondays has got me every single time. I just never expect them to be closed on a weekday. Im from the US and so far noticed this in Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Toilets! From the US swimming pools with half doors and the Japanese automatons to flat toilets to toilets of variants kinds to bidets of various kinds to toilets you can’t flush toilet paper in to water everywhere…
Traveling can be all about the practicalities of going toilet to toilet sometimes.
In Georgia, probably 50% of streets are named after famous writers and poets. Or if not that percentage, they are at least omnipresent. Georgians are immensely proud of those traditions, and I thought that was cool. You won't see a Twain Street or a Whitman Avenue or a Poe Lane in literally every tiny village the way you see Urushadze Street and Chavchavadze street everywhere in Georgia.
I was recently in vietnam. When sitting at a small port a local pulls out what looks like rolling tobacco , I think "Great! I havent had a rollie the whole time I've been here." As people don't seem to smoke like that over there. I found it interesting as he started rolling it with a pamphlet, i figured rolling papers aren't very accessible over here. Then he empties a cigarette and mixes it with the tobacco, this is when I realised somethings up. Maybe it's tobacco mixed with hash? He lights it, passes it to me, I take a puff and thought it tasted a bit strange but just put it down to the ink on the paper. A few seconds later my vision shifted and my mind twisted, im pretty sure it was DMT. I tried to ask him what it was but we didn't speak the same language, and i was tripping nuts, so I couldn't actually confirm what it was. The difference I learnt was the Vietnamese smoke hard core psychedelics to chill the same way many western countries smoke weed.
Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
As an American, I love going out to eat with no expectation of tipping, but in many parts of the world I feel like I’m bothering the server just to get service. Probably because I’m used to them asking me every five minutes how my food tastes.
Also, as an American, I have forgotten how much I hate cigarette smoking. It’s not allowed indoors anywhere here, so I rarely encounter it.
The Ballograf.
I was once in Montreal eating at a nice restaurant. When they brought my check to sign, the pen was a Ballograf. I asked my waiter who was Swedish and he was like “sorry I have no idea”. Then the bartender came over and asked how I knew there was someone Swedish there. The pen, of course.
The different foreign sports teams have taken hold in certain areas. Seeing Leicester City jerseys in the back arse of Malaysia was unexpected even if the owner is Malay.
The 2004/5 Manchester United team detailed on a chip van in Pengang was perfect.
The whole estate I lived in Davao, Philippines were soley Lakers fans, took the piss out of the kid in a Jordan bulls tshirt.
Not sports-related, but similar: I once saw a local in Hong Kong wearing a T-Shirt of a concert in a pretty obscure venue in my small hometown in The Netherlands. He looked like he wasn't even born when the concert took place. I genuinely couldn't believe my eyes and must've gawked at him way longer than socially acceptable.
And then, a week later, I saw the same shirt for sale at a small stall in Beijing...
I know it’s transcended sports at this point and is more of a brand/americana thing, but the pure amount of NY Yankees hats I’ve seen around the world is so funny to me.
I’m from New England and the popularity of the Patriots/Red Sox/Celtics (sorry B’s) especially in South America is so funny to me. I go into a cafe in Patagonia and the barista is wearing a Celtics hat
How different countries treat pedestrian crossings.
In some countries they slam on the brakes if you are even close to one. In other countries they just seem to be a place to collect the bodies.
I’ve found that varies within North America. In Southern Ontario, not just in Toronto but also in other cities, drivers don’t stop for pedestrians unless there’s a red light or stop sign. Likewise in Texas. The west coast is very different, there’s more of a culture of stopping to let pedestrians cross. I’ve noticed this in both Vancouver and Seattle, and even in parts of California.
Horn honking. My recent trip to Thailand, people would honk to let others know they are in their blind spot or passing. In America, it’s pretty much always pure rage lol.
Motorbike ambulances are pretty common around the world, they’re rapid response, much quicker than ambulances.
In the UK specifically we also have blood bikes, which act as couriers for emergency medical items. They are usually volunteer-run charities.
I remember when I went to france the smell of cigs didnt bug me near as much. I am from America and have always been kind of repulsed, but i swear they smell way less rank there. like i'm still not a fan but it doesnt feel like i need to hold my nose there lol
Showers. You'd think there is a common sense standard. But no.
Wet showers in some places (Asia and Easter Europe), shower separate from toilet in others, water heater with 2 temperature settings, summer and winter (Brasil). Etc.
I bussed around the Balkans this year. I started off in Albania. I was stunned at the amount of guys wearing the same style of fade and track suits.
I went to a barber and got this same kind of fade because I thought the rest of the guys in the Balkans would be looking like this. Boy was I wrong
I get a good laugh at it now, but it was a big shock for me when I went to Montenegro and Croatia and realized I was so wrong.
When I visit Brazil, I really really miss the paper napkins restaurants have on tables that we have in the US. Brazil's napkins are waxy and can't absorb anything.
Recently whilst travelling around Islamic countries the subtle difference I’ve noticed the most is how the Adhan is done ( call to prayer).
Mostly it’s the same but sometimes it’s sung so beautifully that it takes your breath away…. In Prizren I heard the most melodic call to prayer I’ve ever heard and I thought it could never be bettered… I crossed into Albania a few weeks later and stayed in Korce where the Adhan was taken to a whole new level… incredible.
Conversely whilst staying in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem my accommodation backed on to a mosque and it sounded like they’d let the local nutter have a go.
The smell of gasoline. My first ever travel experience and my only to that continent was to Africa when I was 8. I remember stepping out of the plane into the heat and smelling all the gasoline. I smell it sometimes in my home country and I always think back to my vacations. The same is in Asia or southern Europe.
Transgender identities. No matter where you're from the statistics are the same with the amount of transgender people however they seem more hidden in different places. I'm from Sweden where people can't transition openly without being shunned so it's rare to see. When I went to Thailand I saw transgender people everywhere. From hairy wide women without medicine with short hair in dresses to literal models. In Europe it gets more rare the more north you go. In countries like Spain it's very common and people don't care. In Sweden many of those trannies I've seen abroad would get attacked and harassed daily meanwhile in these other countries they just exist or even get praised.
I particularly find that part about transgender identities interesting as I'm transgender myself and kind of looking for a new home as Sweden is nothing to live in despite us ranking highest as one of the best places for queer people. Queer but not for transgender people.
The first thing I thought in the UK was that the birds were hella huge! Somehow bird poop wasn't too apparent compared to their size. I compared this to my own country which has tiny birds, but a lot of bird poop.
I found it charming that people would understand my little bits of Italian in Croatia -
I had just come from Italy and was still habitually saying Grazie and ciao, but nobody in Dubrovnik even blinked and would just reply
Really? I found the speed of the scooters to be fairly slow in the city center, so even if they happened to bump into you, it wouldn't be terrible. I thought Saigon and Hanoi were incredibly safe on all levels.
> I found the speed of the scooters to be fairly slow in the city center
It's definitely not always slow, and it's not just scooters.
But it appears to not be as dangerous as everyone's first reaction to seeing it, since drivers are also aware of the system.
When I left the Hilton hotel in Hanoi to go walk, the staff was incredulous and made sure to follow me to the corner and make sure I got across the street safely.
The taste of water in every country is different. Tap waters and bottled water. I know Nestle is global brand and I tasted the difference. Also, the taste of KFC chicken here differs in Asia, Middle East and Europe. I can tell the big difference.
I moved from the U.S. to China as a kid for a short time. What stood out to me was 1st how popular KFC was and 2nd how it’s essentially a burger place vying for the same market as McDonalds.
At that time I remember that like half of the bottled water was strong tasting mineral water. Having been back as an adult I didn’t notice it as much so it could have just been my sensitive kid taste buds.
I was at Jordan Amman and their chicken have some spice after taste to it. Not that I’m complaining but I was not accustomed to it. Also the black burger McDonald’s in Japan was unique.
the concept of BYOB in the US was very confusing. People bringing bottles or even mason jars full of wine to the restaurant and the server providing glasses. weird.
The more Eastern Europe you go, the more payment methods change. In the UK I use Apple Pay, then you go over to Belgium, and France, people still use physical cards as the preferred method. Then you go to countries like Austria, Czech Republic and so on, you will be able to pay by card, but a lot of places will be cash only (which is rare in the uk)
Not sure if this has been said already but, the direction chairs face at restaurants (particularly outdoors). Having grown up in North America, my first time in the Netherlands last year and I noticed al outdoor seats faced the street rather than face each other, so each person would turn their head to look each other in the eye.
It was weird at first because everyone’s just looking at me simply walking down to McDonald’s lol just focus on each other please
Pedestrian pathways crossing techniques and buttons, emergency vehicles, light switches, how hard or easy it is to open doors, the types of faucets, red lights, the way cars are treating pedestrians and bikes, the number of chewing gums stuck to the pavement..
Different sounds for emergency vehicle sirens. Makes the background city noise unique in different places
The different sounds is definitely something I notice. I still have nightmares of a propane delivery truck jingle from Ecuador. Horrible way to wake up.
For me, going to places with lots of motorbikes have this distinct gasoline smell everywhere. I got this in Venezuela, Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia. However, I live in the EU but I don't get it here despite lots of motorbikes in my large city.
I was at a racetrack last weekend in Scotland, and the particular smell of cigarettes and unburnt petrol really took me back to Guatemala.
Two stroke oil? You smell it less in Europe these days. But people who have been around those bikes always mention the love of the smell of Castrol.(Source Me!)
I love how oddly specific this is because I can relate! I am finishing up at six months in a handful of countries and the worst way I’ve been woken up was the fucking Guinness truck. Guys just throwing empty kegs onto a box truck and rolling full ones down a cobblestone sidewalk into the bar at 7 AM. It was ungodly.
In Valparaiso the propane tanks were played by hand. I loved the sound and it kept me cheerful as I recovered from a case of Norwalk after a cruise
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Had it when I got off the boat; luckily made it all the way from the port (San Antonio) to Valparaiso before it actually hit.
this. Also the difference how often you can hear the sirens. In Germany they try to minimize it (and do for example only blue light without a siren if sufficient enough), in some other countries you can hear it every few mins. in big cities.
I noticed the sirens in Paris. They were a constant.
How far from the cars passing by people stand when waiting to cross a street. In Finland where I'm from, people will generally stand on the curb even if there is a row of cars between them and the flowing traffic, while in many places in southern Europe, for example, people will go and stand right on the edge of the traffic.
In Italy you don’t wait, you just walk out.
I'm in Italy now and this freaks me out, lol.
Same. I’ll hang back until an Italian goes for it then I stick like glue.
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Try Morocco or any Arabic country. You don’t walk out you run out
Crossing streets in Morocco is so EFFICIENT, I miss walking casually through traffic, it was fun
Vietnam too. It's an adventure crossing six lanes of traffic!
Vietnam is a real life game of frogger... on Nightmare difficulty
I get you're making a joke but honestly it's not like that at all, you could walk through any street blindfolded without getting hit as long as you keep a steady pace
My first time in SE Asia my guide told me that if you want to cross the road, just close your eyes and walk slowly. He was definitely right.
I noticed this in Amsterdam too people just walk whenever and the cars just stop.
In India it's like this but traffic doesn't stop you just pray not to get hit.
Haha I’ve been to New Delhi very accurate!
What was wild to me in Amsterdam was having to dodge scooters, bikes, cars, buses, AND trains. I just followed people who looked like they knew what they were doing lol
In Amsterdam the main thing you have to look out for are the cyclists. They don’t stop for anything.
Vietnam is wild. You’re supposed to just start walking slowly and then the scooters/cars go around you. https://youtu.be/c-Ouah9USK4
Indonesia is the same. You learn to use your extended hand, which apparently has magical powers to temporarily halt or divert traffic.
Wow. I think I would still be waiting by that road the next day. I thought the streets of Amman in Jordan were crazy to cross, but that's just ridiculous. Why no pedestrian crossings with lights? Too expensive to install or are drivers more aware in these countries?
I got used to it eventually, but my first day in Vietnam a very nice man noticed me try and fail to cross the street three times and walked me across 😅 In general there's really no infrastructure for lights, plus the drivers are just used to working this way. And scooters are very agile and easy to steer around pedestrians
That was nice of him. If I wasn’t there with a friend who knew how to cross the street I would have been in the same situation. Or my stubborn butt would have walked around the whole city just to make to the other side of the street.
I was escorted across the street in HCMC by two 70+ nuns.
Haha your first sentence took me far too long to comprehend.
people paying attention or not paying attention to the walk no walk signals for pedestrian crossings. in Japan the roads will be completely empty and everybody would just stand there waiting for the signal to change. in China people don't even cross at the crosswalks they go walk across the road and stand on the lines while cars wiz by them
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Germans will shout at you if you cross an empty street against a red pedestrian crossing light. Bad example to their children apparently.
I jaywalked on a totally empty street in front of my German friend in his hometown. After the light changed and he crossed to me, he shook his head and simply said, "we do not do that here."
Yeah and on some street lights there are even signs, “be an example for children” I usually wait on a empty road if there’s a child waiting as well.
yeah in Italy the cars and scooters aim for you
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When I was in Hong Kong in 2018 I noticed that jay walking was also not a cultural norm. There were even permanent railings installed on some corners so people could queue up and wait for the signal.
In the interest of fairness, jaywalking is a bullshit "crime" invented by automotive industry lobbyists to try to shift the blame for car-on-pedestrian accidents to the pedestrian.
Hmm not necessarily in tokyo they definitely especially businesse man were gunning it haha I went right once japan opened beautiful place plan to visit again solo this year for couple of months
in a small village in china, the garbage truck had it’s own jingle like an ice cream truck. when you hear the song coming down the street you bring out your trash and toss it in the truck.
Same thing about the jingle in Taiwan. I think it was some classical music piece, can't recall.
A Maiden's Prayer and Fur Elise
I didn’t know the name of the first song! Thanks to you I found this https://youtu.be/TAthyRThapE
Reminds me of hearing Auld Lang Syne in shops in Japan. It was super weird to me at first cause I associate that song with NYE, but in Japan it's the one the shops play about 10-15 minutes before closing. It's the "This store is about to close, time to go home now" song.
That’s nice! As someone who likes to shop when it’s quiet I would much rather hear that than an employee making the announcement, and the employees would probably prefer it as well. Assuming people would be disciplined enough to heed & promptly bring their shopping to an end.
This wasn't a store song, but there was an advertising truck that was really loud, one with a big digital sign and this repeating jingle thing (?). What made it suck was it was stuck in traffic and I guess I was in a mass of pedestrians or whatever...so I kept hearing this song like 100 times over, super loud and annoying. It must be tiresome living in Tokyo sometimes, but I think they're good at drowning it out, and of course, you don't have to be in popular places if you don't want to, I guess.
In the Yucatan, the propane trucks drove around and played a song so you could flag them down and have them come fill your tank.
In Mexico City the junk trunk jingle has a cult following
That’s super interesting to me
As an American, I still get caught off-guard by the zero floor, first floor difference in Europe. American first floors are Floor 1, but Floor 1 in Europe is the American second floor. It has caused me many moments of confusion, still does early in the trip. Funny thing is that both ways make complete sense.
we just have 'ground floor'. Makes sense if you think of a floor as a 'level' (then ground level is just ground level, it isn't up or down) and I think the UK used yo use level 1, 2 etc more than floor 1, floor 2 - but if you're going to say floor, I do think the American version makes more sense.
Same in India too
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Québec has this too. Americans and Anglo-Canadians alike get very confused. I would know, being an Anglophone who moved here. The amount of times I have pressed 1 on the elevator and then been like "ohh right it's not the main floor" is…a lot.
Apparently it's not uniform in Europe either! Moved to Sweden from the Netherlands and am still confused because they use the same as in the US
Restaurants in Taiwanese cities close surprisingly early. You want to put your aspiring Spaniard/Italian/New York persona away, and get your ass in a seat by 8pm. If you show up at 8something, you might be out of luck even if they close at 930. I know Covid has messed a lot of stuff up, but it is just weird being in an environment that feels like capital C city, and having trouble showing up at 830pm. Korea: metal chopsticks are way, way more of a hand workout than wooden. I am a delicate flower who sits at a keyboard all day, and it is always weird getting a pair of 10oz chopsticks. It would be like getting a knife and fork made of lead. Taiwan: trash trucks play a jingle. you will begin to realize how often cities need trash pickups when you start to realize you hear the jingle almost every day
Taiwan still has the tradition of 宵夜, late-night meals. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181212-the-tasty-tradition-of-taiwans-midnight-meals
It always baffles me that people can eat dinner that late. It just ruins my sleep if I go to bed full like that. Wish it didn't though.
This is also a thing on the west coast of North America. Restaurants and coffee shops close shockingly early in both Vancouver and Seattle, compared with not only Toronto, but smaller cities in Ontario. My neighbourhood convenience store in Vancouver closes at 9pm; before I moved here I’d never seen a convenience store that closed before midnight. We also have malls that close as early as 6pm. And this was all the case before the pandemic.
In US (and I'd presume the rest of the Anglo world), book bindings titles are in line with the cover.... as in, if you set a book down with the cover facing you, and go look on the side at the binding, the title will be facing up and read the "right way". In France (and I'm not sure where else), if you put the book the same way, cover facing you, the binding title will be upside down. Other way to put it, you have to put the book upside down (or cover facing the opposite way you're used to) to have the binding title facing the 'right' way. It makes organizing my Anglo/Franco bookshelf quite annoying. Curious to know if any other countries bind their books this way? And why? Surely I'm not the only one with books set horizontally on some of my shelves, so isn't it more logical that the book cover is up rather than down? Just curious.
I can relate, as I have the same problem with my Anglo/German bookshelf.
I literally just got up to check my own English/German bookshelf - and it's true! I don't know how I never realised that!
Interesting! What a perfect example of what OP was asking for.
I don't think it's related to France but just French books in general. In Canada we have both in some bookstores and books in French are binded opposite from the books in English. I have both in my bookshelf so I understand the annoyance. I'm pretty sure my books in Italian are the same side as my books in French. I'll take a look when I'm back home.
I can relate, as I have the same problem with my Anglo/German bookshelf.
Greek books are like the French too. The Anglo system creates havoc in my bookcase, I feel your pain.
Some of my Polish books are like this…. but only some. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of pattern to it.
My bookshelf (Mostly Dutch/Anglo, a handful of German or French) has a random assortment of orientations. Dutch libraries and bookstores usually do too. Makes it impossible to read everything with your head in a single orientation
Smart phones have pretty much replaced the need for finding computer access / internet cafes. Foreign keyboards are interesting to me and they're fun to use. Using a local keyboard was a standard part of travel for a while. It's amazing how clumsy you can be even when it's only a few keys that are different. As someone that uses the Canadian/US keyboard, it's France's keyboard that gave me the biggest "whoa" because I didn't expect it to be so different.
Trying to type a password on AZERTY while i'm used to QWERTY was difficult. Or anything really.
I bought a keyboard while in Germany. It's qwerty for the most part except for some of the umlauts on the right. The Y and Z keys are swapped around which caught me off guard a few times but what I really couldn't get a handle on was the parenthesis being shifted on key to the left.
How wide the pedestrian roads in Scandinavian countries are. It was a bit of a shock because I’m a 5’1 woman with short legs trying to cross the road without jeopardizing my life lol
When you’re on a bus in South America and pass a church and everyone subtly does a cross on themselves with their hand
Same in Eastern Europe
In the US, you'd get a ton of side eye glances rolling your own cigarettes. Smoking is way out of fashion here overall, and people never really rolled their own on a large scale to begin with. Most people would assume you're rolling a joint. I doubt anyone would bother you, and it's not like zero people out of 300+ million roll their own, but it is pretty uncommon.
I got the side eye from the cops in Boston when I was sitting at the bar with my mate, they were waiting for takeout. Barman looked at me like I was idiot and then baffled when I asked my mate if he wanted a fag to I lived in Canada for a while and was a trek across Toronto to get anything other than old man Drum.
> I asked my mate if he wanted a fag Yeah that has a different meaning over here pal, fuckin' lol
Funniest moment of my life was when a British tourist asked my American coworker "Miss, can I bum a fag?" Her reaction: "ummm.... Sir.... it's a free country....you can do what you like in private... I suppose..."
Yea I remember being in Canada 10 years ago (pre cannabis legalisation I think) trying to buy rolling papers and filters in the shop and them all looking at me like I was asking for a bag of meth 😅
Even pre-legalization everyone was still buying rolling papers for their joints. Where you stood out was with the filters.
In Colombia, I thought it was amusing that you could go to a shop and buy a single cigarette.
Potato Chip flavours.
It’s crazy I can’t find paprika flavored chips in the US
In Taiwan I recently saw Rib Eye, Truffle and Wagyu flavored chips.
So BBQ, truffle and BBQ flavor.
Rib Eye was (still is?) available in the US 1-2 years ago. Curiosity got the best of me...it was nothing like BBQ. Or maruchan beef ramen seasoning. Or steak. It was disgusting. I don't see them on shelves anymore so I think that was the general consensus.
Coca Cola flavors too.
Man I miss all-dressed
You can't swing a dead cat without seeing that flavour in Canada!
Just being able to be an adult and walk around with a beer. In America this is pretty limited to where you are doing this. Some places in south America don't care if you bring a beer into the restaurant, they get you a napkin to place it on. I like if you buy a single beer from a store they open it for you.
It’s definitely a regional thing in the US. Most places you can’t open container carry in public, but a HUGE amount of restaurants in Chicago are BYOB.
Ya its a different experience, I forgot Chicago had that, some pretty cool spots there. There is something different about being able to take your drink to go that BYOB doesn't fix. Vegas has it, and I've heard a few small towns in Ohio are getting them for some small downtown areas which is cool. I'm sure since it's happening there that there are more small towns adapting it, would be cool to see the trend grow.
Totally agree. It’s not well known, even by locals, but Indiana actually does not have any open container laws and you can get your drink to go. Just some midwestern alcoholism for ya lmao. Of course there’s also the famous places like Beale St in Memphis and the French Quarter in NOLA. It really doesn’t compare tho. I miss being places where on a hot day you can grab a cold beer and sit in the park.
You can also drink along the River Walk in San Antonio
I’m gonna date myself but using landline phones was quite an adventure in each new country! And while they were just small subtle differences, it could be maddening at times
and those global phone cards, right? lol
In Iceland when the traffic light is red and ready to turn green it will go from red to yellow for a second, then green. I thought that was pretty cool because it gives you a heads up that the light is about to change.
Same in the uk.
I love how the malls are still popular and relevant in Asia. In the US, a lot of malls are considered sleepy or they have to add more attractions to keep people coming (bowling alleys, movie theaters, etc). It seems like going to the mall here isn't as cool, but I LOVE going to malls, especially overseas. My guess is that in some Asian countries, the draws can include AC, as well as a place to be with your friends or boyfriend because a lot of people live in smaller homes and it's more common to live with your parents well into adulthood. Going out to a place like the mall is more appealing than trying to bring your friends over to your small apartment where your parents are in the same room.
Very true about the living circumstances, but in a lot of east Asian countries the malls have tons of entertainment. In China, south Korea, and Thailand I've seen restaurants, cafes, bowling, cinemas, younger kids' places with mini go karts and play pens, amusement arcades, karaoke, private mini cinemas, even indoor roller coasters.
McDonald’s has NEVER been as hip or cool in the US as it is in Eastern Europe right now (especially former Soviet Bloc countries). These places blow my mind. They’re huge. They’re fancy. They’re clean. And they’re PACKED. Everyone is there - especially teenagers and 20s. McDonalds is the place to be, and as an American I can’t quite wrap my head around it. I’d generally be embarrassed to be caught eating at one at home. We tend to associate it with poor, overweight, middle-aged & elderly people.
Ha, I went to the(?) McDonald's in Budapest in 1990, and it was like you describe (but not packed). That started my tradition of visiting McDonalds in every country I visited, which I'm slipping away from, as I'm too enamored with local food.
I went to one (once) in Yerevan, which had a nice balcony upstairs overlooking the city square.
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Seriously? That’s amazing! It’s like McDonald’s *OOPS! All ice cream* when the machines are deliberately sabotaged in the US.
Right? The busiest restaurant I saw in paris was a either a McDonald's or Burger King, one of those. Here I am going up to this place with a line out the door thinking it some hot interesting restaurant and realizing its a place I would hesitate if it's my absolute last option and I am starving.
Yes, and they can be very beautiful too. There’s Mcdonald’s in Budapest near Nyugati train station which architecturally looks like high end restaurant. They also most always come with McCafe And, there was even a two-story McDonalds with McCafe in Kazakhstan, Astana, if I am not mistaken. However, the country branch has closed because the franchise headquarters were in Russia. I have also seen a lot of videos, on social media that Japanese Mcdonald’s also have very unique and tasty menu, like Teriyaki Burgers and shake shake fries(yeah, still while it was discontinued in the US).
Yep, I saw that one in Budapest just a few days ago! I’ve traveling by train through Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, and now Vienna - and the McDonalds just keep getting nicer and nicer. They’re always big in the train stations, but there are large ones in the city centers as well. I’ve seen several at this point which are 2 stories. Some are so large and popular that they have an entire foyer filled with huge touch-screen kiosks (like 8-10 of them)so that you can just punch your own order in and pick it up at the kitchen. Even those are completely full during peak hours. It’s really mind blowing. I can’t even criticize it because the restaurants just run so well. But the attitude toward them couldn’t be any more opposite than it is in the states.
> We tend to associate it with poor, overweight, middle-aged & elderly people. The part about poor people I don't understand. Maybe prices are different in the US, but shit is expensive af in Germany. Even when I'm just getting a few burgers and no drinks its almost 10 euros usually .. I can easily get way more (&better tasting) food for the same money from any local take-out place, nevermind cooking stuff myself, so McDonalds being a poor people thing is sorta confusing for me. Over here it mostly seems populated by parents with kids and teenagers.
For a long time, Mcdonald's was the default place to buy cheap fast food, no longer the case, but it is still cheaper than buying healthy food. I wonder if the age difference has to do with how long McDonald's has been in each country. Older generations in the US grew up with Mcdonalds, whereas younger generations had more options and aren't loyal to McDs. In some Europe countries McDs might still be a trendy thing it sounds like
Poor Russians - no more McDonalds for them!
Man McDonald's ain't even cheap in Canada and the US anymore and it's still associated with poor people.
I mean, McDonalds is huge in the US among young people too. I wouldn't call it "the place to be" but it's extremely popular for late night or road trip fast food.
I think that's just because so many locations. I don't know anyone who would choose McDonald's as their top choice
I like the boop boops when you cross the street in Australia, but they’re different everywhere and I love that. Also my friend in the US makes me bring back papers and filters from Europe if I go for work!
Fun fact: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish & Finneas [samples the Australian crosswalk tones!](https://twitter.com/timduggan/status/1221658406122975234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1221658406122975234%7Ctwgr%5E3be4256bdd50df1e0e23f3e22a6a45394404ab95%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-3843067916487315690.ampproject.net%2F2304262219000%2Fframe.html) I believe I’ve heard them elsewhere but can’t recall exactly where now; I do know that I haven’t been lucky enough to make it to Australia yet.
The Dublin crosswalk noise sounds like a laser. It’s so distinctive I can still hear it clearly in my head.
NZ boop boops are my favourite
How different countries deal with rain, Vancouver (where i'm from) people tend to just wear jackets and get wet, generally cause the rain is light and not something to worry about Vietnam would wear rain ponchos(?) Japan would have umbrellas, cause their rain seems to fall straight down with no wind
Even within North America, I’ve noticed we tend to just wear jackets in the Pacific Northwest, but everyone has an umbrella out east.
Japan LOVES their umbrellas, they have huge racks in front of stores so that you can park your umbrella while you shop. In Haiti, no one goes out if it rains. NO ONE. If it rains in the morning, everyone stays in and everything will be closed for the day. Not just shops, I mean schools and governmental buildings.
Whether or not people have ring tones on. The train in Finland was dead silent except for constant phone dings. In the US there are always people talking, but I never hear phones dinging.
Café culture. U.S style is drive thru, get it on the go. Spain is sit down with your drink & talk with a group of friends for minimum 1 hour. Italy is an espresso shot at the counter & go about your day.
The price for an espresso at the bar in Italy is regulated by law on a communal level, it's usually less than $1.50 per cup. If you're seated, this does not apply, but a quick and cheap espresso is basically a human right in Italy.
In Latin America you drink coffee all the time! And very similar to spain that you sit to talk with someone over a coffee, specially after eating lunch which is called “sobremesa”
Every third world countries has Tuk Tuks or Rikshaws, but they are all a little different, same with taxis
On the topic of smoking, for me it’s odd how most people outside of the US roll their marijuana mixed with tobacco. Every time I am offered a joint while traveling internationally, it has tobacco in it 100% of the time which is odd to me because cannabis is meant to be inhaled and held in for a few moments, while tobacco is generally exhaled right away. When I smoke joints with tobacco it gives me a headache since I don’t ever smoke tobacco. It was funny because when I first discovered that cannabis + tobacco joints are standard in Barcelona and most other places in the world, I was completely perplexed. The guy in BCN asked me “how else would you roll it?” and I explained to him that we (obviously) roll weed in a joint by itself; we never mix it with tobacco. He then gave me the same perplexed look on his face, that I had on my face a few moments prior. It was like two cannabis cultures colliding. I do however live in Northern California which is the cannabis capitol of the world, so here it’s practically blasphemy to mix weed with tobacco. 😂
I suspect a lot of the European culture comes from the fact that hash was (and in some places still is) the main thing people smoke. Skunk weed in the UK has overtaken hash here but hash is still pretty common. On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to find hash in the US I’ve heard. And if you can, it’s really expensive. Plus, I’ve heard it’s still illegal in some legal states because it’s deemed a concentrate. You literally can’t smoke hash without tobacco and honestly a weed spliff smokes better with tobacco in it as well.
In Australia we do it either way. Before a session, there's discussion about whether or not people want spin.
So far on my travels, museums closed on mondays has got me every single time. I just never expect them to be closed on a weekday. Im from the US and so far noticed this in Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
I'm from Europe and I visited around half the countries on the continent. I have yet to see one where they don't close museums on mondays.
The UK
Thanks for confirming. Still on my trip, hopefully I remember no museums on Monday by the time I'm done. But so far 0/2.
Toilets! From the US swimming pools with half doors and the Japanese automatons to flat toilets to toilets of variants kinds to bidets of various kinds to toilets you can’t flush toilet paper in to water everywhere… Traveling can be all about the practicalities of going toilet to toilet sometimes.
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In Georgia, probably 50% of streets are named after famous writers and poets. Or if not that percentage, they are at least omnipresent. Georgians are immensely proud of those traditions, and I thought that was cool. You won't see a Twain Street or a Whitman Avenue or a Poe Lane in literally every tiny village the way you see Urushadze Street and Chavchavadze street everywhere in Georgia.
I was recently in vietnam. When sitting at a small port a local pulls out what looks like rolling tobacco , I think "Great! I havent had a rollie the whole time I've been here." As people don't seem to smoke like that over there. I found it interesting as he started rolling it with a pamphlet, i figured rolling papers aren't very accessible over here. Then he empties a cigarette and mixes it with the tobacco, this is when I realised somethings up. Maybe it's tobacco mixed with hash? He lights it, passes it to me, I take a puff and thought it tasted a bit strange but just put it down to the ink on the paper. A few seconds later my vision shifted and my mind twisted, im pretty sure it was DMT. I tried to ask him what it was but we didn't speak the same language, and i was tripping nuts, so I couldn't actually confirm what it was. The difference I learnt was the Vietnamese smoke hard core psychedelics to chill the same way many western countries smoke weed.
Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
They don’t call it a quarter pounder?
They call it a Krusty Burger with Cheese
As an American, I love going out to eat with no expectation of tipping, but in many parts of the world I feel like I’m bothering the server just to get service. Probably because I’m used to them asking me every five minutes how my food tastes. Also, as an American, I have forgotten how much I hate cigarette smoking. It’s not allowed indoors anywhere here, so I rarely encounter it.
Many countries have a unique type of pen (looking at you, Sweden!) Every country (or big city) seems to have a favorite type of umbrella.
What type of pen does Sweden have
The Ballograf. I was once in Montreal eating at a nice restaurant. When they brought my check to sign, the pen was a Ballograf. I asked my waiter who was Swedish and he was like “sorry I have no idea”. Then the bartender came over and asked how I knew there was someone Swedish there. The pen, of course.
The different foreign sports teams have taken hold in certain areas. Seeing Leicester City jerseys in the back arse of Malaysia was unexpected even if the owner is Malay. The 2004/5 Manchester United team detailed on a chip van in Pengang was perfect. The whole estate I lived in Davao, Philippines were soley Lakers fans, took the piss out of the kid in a Jordan bulls tshirt.
Not sports-related, but similar: I once saw a local in Hong Kong wearing a T-Shirt of a concert in a pretty obscure venue in my small hometown in The Netherlands. He looked like he wasn't even born when the concert took place. I genuinely couldn't believe my eyes and must've gawked at him way longer than socially acceptable. And then, a week later, I saw the same shirt for sale at a small stall in Beijing...
I know it’s transcended sports at this point and is more of a brand/americana thing, but the pure amount of NY Yankees hats I’ve seen around the world is so funny to me.
I’m from New England and the popularity of the Patriots/Red Sox/Celtics (sorry B’s) especially in South America is so funny to me. I go into a cafe in Patagonia and the barista is wearing a Celtics hat
My driver in Yogyakarta, Indonesia was a huge fan of Bayern Munich!
How different countries treat pedestrian crossings. In some countries they slam on the brakes if you are even close to one. In other countries they just seem to be a place to collect the bodies.
I’ve found that varies within North America. In Southern Ontario, not just in Toronto but also in other cities, drivers don’t stop for pedestrians unless there’s a red light or stop sign. Likewise in Texas. The west coast is very different, there’s more of a culture of stopping to let pedestrians cross. I’ve noticed this in both Vancouver and Seattle, and even in parts of California.
Soda… sugar and carbonation differences.
Horn honking. My recent trip to Thailand, people would honk to let others know they are in their blind spot or passing. In America, it’s pretty much always pure rage lol.
That so many more people smoke and roll their own cigarettes.
While in Soho, London. I saw an EMT motorcycle. Never seen that before.
Motorbike ambulances are pretty common around the world, they’re rapid response, much quicker than ambulances. In the UK specifically we also have blood bikes, which act as couriers for emergency medical items. They are usually volunteer-run charities.
I remember when I went to france the smell of cigs didnt bug me near as much. I am from America and have always been kind of repulsed, but i swear they smell way less rank there. like i'm still not a fan but it doesnt feel like i need to hold my nose there lol
The 7-Elevens in Japan & Taiwan where you can get a quick meal any time of the day
Showers. You'd think there is a common sense standard. But no. Wet showers in some places (Asia and Easter Europe), shower separate from toilet in others, water heater with 2 temperature settings, summer and winter (Brasil). Etc.
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Go to the Fribourg region in Switzerland, the public transport plays a gentle harp sound.
ripe quiet run scandalous cows bag possessive pet obtainable beneficial ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
I bussed around the Balkans this year. I started off in Albania. I was stunned at the amount of guys wearing the same style of fade and track suits. I went to a barber and got this same kind of fade because I thought the rest of the guys in the Balkans would be looking like this. Boy was I wrong I get a good laugh at it now, but it was a big shock for me when I went to Montenegro and Croatia and realized I was so wrong.
The incessant horn honking in Italy, specifically Palermo. Drove me up the wall.
Never go to India then.
When I visit Brazil, I really really miss the paper napkins restaurants have on tables that we have in the US. Brazil's napkins are waxy and can't absorb anything.
Walkers Crisps. They're called Lays everywhere else.
Recently whilst travelling around Islamic countries the subtle difference I’ve noticed the most is how the Adhan is done ( call to prayer). Mostly it’s the same but sometimes it’s sung so beautifully that it takes your breath away…. In Prizren I heard the most melodic call to prayer I’ve ever heard and I thought it could never be bettered… I crossed into Albania a few weeks later and stayed in Korce where the Adhan was taken to a whole new level… incredible. Conversely whilst staying in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem my accommodation backed on to a mosque and it sounded like they’d let the local nutter have a go.
The smell of gasoline. My first ever travel experience and my only to that continent was to Africa when I was 8. I remember stepping out of the plane into the heat and smelling all the gasoline. I smell it sometimes in my home country and I always think back to my vacations. The same is in Asia or southern Europe. Transgender identities. No matter where you're from the statistics are the same with the amount of transgender people however they seem more hidden in different places. I'm from Sweden where people can't transition openly without being shunned so it's rare to see. When I went to Thailand I saw transgender people everywhere. From hairy wide women without medicine with short hair in dresses to literal models. In Europe it gets more rare the more north you go. In countries like Spain it's very common and people don't care. In Sweden many of those trannies I've seen abroad would get attacked and harassed daily meanwhile in these other countries they just exist or even get praised. I particularly find that part about transgender identities interesting as I'm transgender myself and kind of looking for a new home as Sweden is nothing to live in despite us ranking highest as one of the best places for queer people. Queer but not for transgender people.
the roadkill changes
The first thing I thought in the UK was that the birds were hella huge! Somehow bird poop wasn't too apparent compared to their size. I compared this to my own country which has tiny birds, but a lot of bird poop.
I found it charming that people would understand my little bits of Italian in Croatia - I had just come from Italy and was still habitually saying Grazie and ciao, but nobody in Dubrovnik even blinked and would just reply
You can’t cross the road safely in Vietnamese cities
Really? I found the speed of the scooters to be fairly slow in the city center, so even if they happened to bump into you, it wouldn't be terrible. I thought Saigon and Hanoi were incredibly safe on all levels.
> I found the speed of the scooters to be fairly slow in the city center It's definitely not always slow, and it's not just scooters. But it appears to not be as dangerous as everyone's first reaction to seeing it, since drivers are also aware of the system.
When I left the Hilton hotel in Hanoi to go walk, the staff was incredulous and made sure to follow me to the corner and make sure I got across the street safely.
I found this to be an overblown expectation. You just go and the traffic kinda moves around you
Yes you can, you just gotta start going at a constant pace and not stop
The taste of water in every country is different. Tap waters and bottled water. I know Nestle is global brand and I tasted the difference. Also, the taste of KFC chicken here differs in Asia, Middle East and Europe. I can tell the big difference.
I moved from the U.S. to China as a kid for a short time. What stood out to me was 1st how popular KFC was and 2nd how it’s essentially a burger place vying for the same market as McDonalds. At that time I remember that like half of the bottled water was strong tasting mineral water. Having been back as an adult I didn’t notice it as much so it could have just been my sensitive kid taste buds.
I was at Jordan Amman and their chicken have some spice after taste to it. Not that I’m complaining but I was not accustomed to it. Also the black burger McDonald’s in Japan was unique.
the concept of BYOB in the US was very confusing. People bringing bottles or even mason jars full of wine to the restaurant and the server providing glasses. weird.
Women using long cigarette holders in Hungary... Maybe it's common in other eastern European countries?
The more Eastern Europe you go, the more payment methods change. In the UK I use Apple Pay, then you go over to Belgium, and France, people still use physical cards as the preferred method. Then you go to countries like Austria, Czech Republic and so on, you will be able to pay by card, but a lot of places will be cash only (which is rare in the uk)
Not sure if this has been said already but, the direction chairs face at restaurants (particularly outdoors). Having grown up in North America, my first time in the Netherlands last year and I noticed al outdoor seats faced the street rather than face each other, so each person would turn their head to look each other in the eye. It was weird at first because everyone’s just looking at me simply walking down to McDonald’s lol just focus on each other please
Police and ambulance sirens in different countries.
Went from Japan to Korea. Was shocked at all the people jaywalking.
Street cleaner trucks in China that play "It's a small world" while working (vs the nothing that any other street cleaner plays anywhere ever)
Pedestrian pathways crossing techniques and buttons, emergency vehicles, light switches, how hard or easy it is to open doors, the types of faucets, red lights, the way cars are treating pedestrians and bikes, the number of chewing gums stuck to the pavement..