When visiting a new country, we are often really surprised by the local traditions, languages, or other everyday things. The surprises can be pleasant and not so pleasant, but they are always a part of visiting new places.

We at Bright Side came across the stories of users that had unforgettable impressions from traveling to other countries.

Appearance

In Paris, I was taken aback by how thin everyone was. It was all I could think about for the first hour.

In Vietnam, the locals swim in the sea wearing jeans, T-shirts, and other clothes.

I was in Lebanon and I stopped by a cafe. While we were waiting for our order, the waiter brought us some appetizers. Where I come from, they don’t offer things like this for free. You will have to wait for what you ordered.

In Vietnam, we ordered duck soup. They brought us soup. With a duck. Like, the entire duck. With a beak.

I lived in China for 4 years. In the supermarket, they sold small live crocodiles, turtles, and frogs. They sold them for food.

I always thought that I loved Chinese food. 8 years ago, I went to China with my wife for business. A customer wanted to take us out to dinner and he asked us if we were ok with Chinese food. Well let me tell you, I never left a restaurant that hungry in my life. The dishes included frogs and even turtle. I believe the latter was in a soup.

My husband, who is half-Estonian, and I were riding through Estonia on our bikes. It was late. We got to the campgrounds, but they said, “Camping is closed.” They still let us get into the territory where there were quite a lot of people. We found an empty tent with 2 camp beds. We went to look for a shower, the employee said that the shower didn’t work. But it worked, so we took a shower. The next day, I went to look for a stove to cook and someone helped me turn it on. When we were leaving, my husband went to pay for our stay but they didn’t take any money. It was all totally free!

When I was in Romania, an elderly woman insisted that I have breakfast with her when I was taking photos on her street.

I’m a big bald man. In Vietnam, the locals, especially the women, often touch my belly. They think it will make them rich.

In Vietnam, touching a kid with light skin and hair is a blessing.

Manners

In Sweden, there’s a rule that says you should not disturb your neighbors from 10 PM till 7 AM. If you’re going to have a loud party late at night, you should put a notice in the elevator or the entrance door to warn your neighbors.

In Turkey, they use very polite and sweet words. They will even say something like “sweetheart” or “honey” to people they don’t know.

The Chinese speak very loudly — like they basically scream so loudly you can’t hear anything. A Chinese girl that I know told me that, in the past, people weren’t supposed to speak louder than someone who was superior to them (whether it be a boss or an elder). Now, this antiquated social rule is not that important — it’s more like the louder you speak, the cooler you are. And it’s totally normal.

Transportation

In Sicily, when you’re driving on one of the smaller side streets in small towns, the driver right next to you may just stop for 5 minutes to talk to someone. You can’t drive around and you can’t honk — it’s not polite. So, people just wait for others to finish their conversations. In India, it sometimes took an hour to travel just a few miles. So a distance of 20 miles could easily take a couple of hours or more. Indian roads and highways were a jumbled mess of every possible vehicle from cars and large trucks piled high with cargo, to pedestrians, bicycles, cows, goats, and chickens.

In Switzerland, there is even a rule for when you can use the washing machine in your apartment.

In Japanese washing machines, there’s no water heater — they use cold water. Washing machines with heaters cost like 2 jets.

In Southern China and Hong Kong, people walk with their birds in cages. Sometimes, they take them out of the cages and hold them in their hands. The locals believe that without walking, the birds don’t live long and don’t sing as well.

Safety

Forgot my expensive Ray-Ban sunglasses (€100) at a cafe and left to climb a mountain. Went back to the same cafe after 6 hours in search of the glasses to find them at the same table without even being moved an inch. I offered the waiter €5 as a token of thanks out of excitement, to which he politely refused. I still love you Switzerland.

What shocking discoveries did you make when you were in other countries?