One of the best things about traveling is experiencing the different strange customs around the world. Traveling lets us learn and undergo a lot about things that we could not have imagined. Experiencing other cultures helps us see what we are doing right and what needs to be improved here in the United States. Seeing the differences firsthand is what makes travel fun and interesting, it is one of the main purposes of travel.
If you have never been out of the country (or even your state) there are a lot of things that you will discover that may seem weird at first. Once you are in a new place long enough something clicks, and you start to appreciate their ways. I have been to many places, I have seen some crazy things, around this planet. Below are some of the strange customs around the world I have witnessed firsthand.
1. Dogs in Restaurants in Italy
Italians must really love their dogs. Many of them cannot seem to be without them for even a couple of hours. Something that happened religiously during our last trip to Italy was the presence of these canines in restaurants. I am not talking just a small food stand, but every type of establishment. In Sicily we repeatedly went to a very upscale restaurant, white tablecloths…the whole nine. At more than one table there was a dog resting comfortably beneath the owner’s legs.
I do not even like to let our dog in the house, yet in Italy they seem to be welcome in the restaurants. Maybe this is more of a southern Italy thing, I do not remember seeing this in Rome. In Sicily and Sorrento, it happened numerous times.
2. Japan: Raw Food
This idea goes against everything we have been taught in the west. When I say the Japanese eat their food raw, I am not talking only about Sushi. Just as common on a menu was raw meat, including beef, pork, and chicken. That is right, what we are deathly afraid of, the Japanese enjoy as a delicacy. I have seen people in the United States go nuts over seeing their chicken slightly pink.
I believe the Japanese use a different (better) type of pork and chicken to avoid the problems we have. There have not been any huge reports of trichinosis breakouts so there has to be a reason it works. It could just be that they grew immunities that we did not. Either way I will not risk trying to find out. One last note, I also saw raw horse heart on a menu…I think I will try this before I die. Or this may be the strange custom around the world that causes my death
3. Morocco: Free for All Driving
I mentioned this in my last post on Morocco here, but I think it bears repeating. Watching people driving in Marrakech was like watching an unorganized backyard car race. Safety did not seem to be a concern for anyone on the streets. Scooters whizzing in and out of traffic. What seemed to be entire families piled onto one motorcycle it was chaos. I do not know the exact road deaths in this country, but I assume it must be fairly high. This is not a place I can imagine driving in, but I guess it works for them.
4. Greece: Acceptance of Strikes
It is probably just the libertarian in me, but I do not understand how people can just accept laziness from their public servants. I am not anti-union, until they shut down the city for no reason at all. This is what seemed to happen in Greece when I was there. I witnessed at least three different strikes in the week and a half I visited. During the rail strike I asked the taxi driver why are they striking? He said they never seem to give a reason. If you sign up for a job and you know the salary and benefits, why are you suddenly asking for more? There are reasons to strike and then there are excuses…I think the good people of Greece cannot tell the difference.
5. Croatia: Maze Dogs
Maybe, this is just my experience, but the dogs in Split, Croatia seem to have a better sense of direction than my GPS. I was in a bar, a guy’s dog jumps up and leaves through the front door…I thought it was a stray. No sooner than two hours later (I enjoyed the bar) the dog comes wandering back in. Where the hell did he go? How did he get around? If my dog gets out for five minutes, I am digging a hole in the backyard in preparation. The good dogs in Split, Croatia are smarter than any I have seen (and smarter than some people).
6. Thailand: Reverence for the King
Being from the United States, the idea of a king is foreign to me. Our founders fought so hard to get away from a King and yet other countries still embrace them. None other so strongly than in Thailand. Do not get me wrong there seems to be a push back lately, but on a whole they still love their King. The Thai King does seem like a good guy (I love the country and want to go back, so TEAM THAI KING over here). It is the reverence for the king that surprises me.
7. Shouting in Hungary
One of the scarier strange customs around the world since it brought me back to my middle school days. The following scenario happened on multiple occasions, not just to me but to other people as well. I ask a woman (or man) behind the counter for something. She says it, but I can’t really hear her. All of a sudden, she is yelling like I stole her first born. At first, I took offense to it, until I saw it happen to another man. Overall, three times, I asked for clarification and three times they yelled at me. I assume that screaming toward people that cannot hear you is a cultural norm. I cannot back this up with a lot of research on paper…just something that stuck out at me in Budapest.
8. Spain: Strange Eating Times
I do not know how the people of Spain are in better shape than us. Whatever happened to no carbs after 6PM? It is common knowledge that people in Spain eat dinner late. I did not realize how late they ate. Restaurants were packed well after midnight in some spots. I think we walked in one at 7PM and it was a ghost town. In addition the food they eat is simply better, perhaps it gives them good dreams when eaten before bed. Eating at 10 PM was not something I was able to get used to, but I still enjoyed it just the same.
9. Japan: Obsession with Perfection
This one I really appreciate. It felt like the Japanese put a huge amount of care and effort into everything they did. Time and time again I was impressed by the amazing service and energy that was put forth. My hotel clerk did not just call a cab, he ran down the street to find a cab. Over and over again it seemed they had a desire to make every experience perfect. It was a sense of pride for them. That is something I can appreciate, and I think we can learn from.
10. America: Vilifying of Alcohol
It is not only other countries that have odd norms, America has an anti-alcohol obsession. Yes, drinking too much can cause its problems, but we take its regulation too far. Well, all of us except for the good people of New Orleans. Why is it that I cannot drink in a park or walk down the road with a beer? Why do we allow ABC stores to run a monopoly on liquor in some states? Even though we are a big drinking country, the rules surrounding alcohol are extensive. Everyone wants to drink but crack a beer at 10:30 am and all of a sudden you are a degenerate (especially in the office). Outside of Muslim countries, most places do not take drinking so seriously. Hell, they were selling beer out of coolers on the streets of Thailand. I think it is just the small number of Americans who love to get into others business for a “public good”. F-U nanny state.
11. Portugal: Openness of Drug Sales
This might be another one of those unique experiences, but I believe they are much more open about drugs in Portugal. From what I hear the country decriminalized the sale of all drugs (at least I was offered all drugs). The result, I was presented with medications nightly when in Lisbon. We stayed near the Rossio Square on the second leg of our trip and it felt like we moved into a CVS there were so many narcotics. This is not to say that it felt dangerous, because it did not. These were nice gentlemen selling drugs. It is weird to write, but there was no other way to say it. At night, the place certainly gets a more adult feel, the openness of it in such a public place made me do a double take.
12. Sicily: Kids Riding Scooters
I always love it when 10-year old’s are scooting down the street in a vehicle that can kill you. This with an abundance of wine, what can go wrong? On more than one occasion I saw a kid driving a scooter that was less than 15 years old. We will not even let our 10-year olds play in the park by themselves, the Italians let them drive down the road (with no helmet). Maybe it is time to at least look at our bubble tape measures in America, so we do not raise a bunch of punks!
13. The evil eye in Turkey (and Greece)
Number 13 of my strange customs around the world is shared by two countries. It amazes that Turkey and Greece, for two countries that hate each other they are extremely similar. Between Raki (or ouzo in Greece) to the battle of who invented Baklava they are alike in many ways. One thing I saw frequently in each place was the EVIL EYE or Mati. I saw this all over Istanbul, but it was in both Turkey and Greece. It takes a second to get used to seeing this strange symbol everywhere, I believe they are a way to ward off evil spirits. Both countries share this witchcraft belief, you think they would get along better with so many similarities.
14. Thailand: Strange (and amazing) Street Food
I love Thai street food. It was my favorite street food in the world, even beating Sicily. There were these dessert pancake things I ate by the pound (Thai Roti), grilled fish, and plenty of different meats on a stick. One thing that some will find strange are the bug carts that came around. While most westerners were horrified of the thought I personally loved the crickets. Nothing better to do on a Monday morning than eating a bag of crickets and finishing off a bottle of Thai whiskey. Well, maybe there is one thing better. Even if you dislike bugs, try the rest of the street food, you will love it.
15. Graffiti in Much of Europe
I do not know if this qualifies as a strange custom in the world, but it is something more unique to Europe. I always thought New York was bad in terms of Graffiti, Europe is in a class of its own. Some cities are worse than others (I am looking at you Athens), but overall, the continent is a mess. Citizens seem to have no respect for private property or what graffiti does to the look of their cities. I have seen markings on churches and even 2000-year-old pillars. The amount of graffiti in this otherwise beautiful continent is one thing that was disappointing about Europe.
16. Cleanliness of Japan
As graffiti filled Europe is, that is how clean Japan is. In Tokyo I saw maybe one instance of Graffiti (under a bridge), in Kyoto none. It goes back to the pride I mentioned earlier. Every place I went felt like Monk (from the TV show) had been there before me, cleanliness was almost obsessive. There was no trash on the ground, that with no garbage cans on the street. An amazing feat considering in NYC people seem to surround the garbage with trash instead of getting it in the can. I know cleanliness may not feel like a huge deal, until you see what a city looks like without a piece of garbage on the ground. It is a shame that sanitation is a strange custom in the world…it should be the norm.
17. Call to Prayer in Most Muslim Countries
I support all religions and found the people in Turkey to be wonderful. Having said that I am glad the Catholic church never picked up the custom of blaring a prayer at 4:30 AM. It may have to do with all the wine we drink. Admittedly the first time I heard it it freaked me out a bit. I do not do well with a bird chirping out of my window that early, the call to prayer certainly took some getting used to. As mentioned, I respect all religions, this is just a strange custom in the world that I experienced. Having said that, I recommend visiting one of these countries at least once in your travels to experience it yourself.
18. Crazy Toilets in Japan
This is one of those strange customs around the world that I really can get behind. Back to Japan…because well it was the strangest place I have ever visited. Their toilet game is on fleek (think that is what the kids say). It looked like I was sitting on a giant iPad with all the options. Warming, cooling, massaging, … it had me searching for the button to make me an old fashioned and lite me a cigar. Why these have not made their way to the US is beyond me. Ironically, the worst toilet I ever saw was also in Japan. It was what appeared to be a hole, with a sign on how to use it (look above).
19. Kids Drinking in Europe
I already mentioned that I saw kids driving scooters in Sicily. Now they are openly drinking in Europe also, what can go wrong? I am not talking about teenagers secretly drinking, I am saying I have seen younger kids being served wine in a restaurant. In one spot the waiter topped off the mother, then the father, then the 13-year-old son. This is in direct conflict to what we feel in America, where a 19 year old drinking is literally criminal. I do not see any more problems with alcohol in Europe than I did in the United States. Teach a kid how to be responsible at a young age and they learn how to be an adult…shocking!
20. Pomlázka in Prague
I did not witness this, but my nephew did. Apparently, some date near Easter there is a tradition in the Czech republic where boys hit women on the rear with either some sort of stick or their bare hands. God I can hear Alyssa Milano building her outrage sign from here. According to my nephew, waitresses were being slapped on the rear repeatedly. We are not endorsing that kind of behavior here at Maninflight.com … but it shows how different worlds can be. This gesture is supposed to be done to bring luck to the woman, therefore it is for their benefit (of course). Let us hope that this is the only strange custom around the world that Harvey Weinstein does the marketing for.
21. New Orleans: Second Line Parades and Funerals
The United States is not immune in terms of strange customs in the world, where else in the USA would you find any weirder ones than New Orleans. For those of you who live out of the country, or those who live in the United States, but never been to this city, book your plane ticket (whenever this whole global pandemic clears up). One of the stranger things to see is a parade for a funeral, complete with outrageous costumes and Jazz. This is to celebrate life as opposed to mourn its loss. This might be how I want to go out, although I would hope they would leave the bottle for my ghost.
22. Food Markets that Have Real Food
What do I mean by real food? Go to another part of the world and find out. Pigs were not born looking like hot dogs, any walk around most food market in other countries will show you that. Whether it is Asia, Europe, South America, or Africa, you see the food in its natural form (above is a squid from Greece). In Marrakesh I saw a man killing the chicken in a random window, I guess it is better for kids than cartoons. The result is usually a freshness that we just do not get in the United States (not even from Whole foods). I will say I did see this in the deep south of America, but that was on a farm. Non processed meat, without preservatives being served fresh daily…let us face it America, our food game needs to be picked up.
Conclusion: Strange Customs Around the World
These are my strange customs around the world that I have come across. I hope to add to this list with future travel. Seeing strange customs in this world is why I love to explore. If everyplace was like the United States, there would be no point in leaving this country. Let me know where to go next and share your own strange customs around the world experiences in the comments below.
