These Countries' Customs Are Normal to Locals but as Weird as It Gets for Tourists - VisualChase

These Countries' Customs Are Normal to Locals but as Weird as It Gets for Tourists

Will Howell Cornes

This article was originally published on Travlerz

Things that are just part of everyday life in one culture might seem out of this world to others. And lucky for you, you won't have to buy an expensive ticket and get on a long flight to see these strange customs. We've gathered up some of the most surprising things people unearthed while traveling abroad and put them together for you. So keep scrolling, and say Bon Voyage to everything you thought you knew about the rest of the world.

Brazilian Police Ride The Strangest Looking Horses

When you think of Brazil, you might first think of Amazonian rainforests. But the island region of Soure also features flooded fields, swamps, and beaches. So military police ride around on water buffalo instead of horses. These giant beasts might be slow, but allegedly they can outrun criminals in rivers and quagmires. But since water buffalo are not native to South America, how did they get to the beautiful country of Brazil?

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Legend says that at the end of the 19th century, a ship transporting buffalos from India to Guyana sank near the Marajó coast and the water buffalo swam to shore, where they thrived.

Gold Bar Vending Machines

You know how it is; you're traveling in the Middle East and realize you've left your favorite bar of gold at home. But never fear because this gold bar vending machine in Dubai is here to help! Pop along to this particular five-star hotel, and you can purchase 24-carat gold bars and gold coins from South Africa, Australia, and Canada. But how can you be sure you're getting the best price?

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Don't worry; the prices are updated through Ex Oriente Lux's online store on an hourly basis, so you always get the right amount of bang for your buck.

Seoul Subway Trains Feature Mini-Libraries

How many times have you forgotten to take a book on the train? Well, this subway car in Seoul, South Korea, has a solution to that because it comes complete with its own mini-library. However, we're not sure if the books are just for the journey, if you're allowed to take them home and bring them back another day, or whether you replace them with a different book from home.

Hopefully, this mini library's most borrowed book isn't Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express!

Spain's Baby Jumping Festival

No doubt you've heard of Spain's famous Running of the Bulls and La Tomatina festivals. But how about the Baby-Jumping Festival of El Colacho? Nope, we didn't think so! Once a year in mid-June, red and yellow-masked "devils" run through the streets of Castrillo de Murcia, hurling insults at villagers and whipping them with a horsetail on the end of a stick. Then, when the drums start pounding, the real fun begins!

The celebration––which dates all the way back to the 1620s––sees newborn babies laid out on mattresses while the costumed devils leap dramatically over them to absorb their sins.

Avoid This Place If You Like Picnics

Novosibirsk in Siberia boasts the unenviable reputation of being the coldest city in the world. Freezing Arctic winds mean temperatures regularly reach -49 Fahrenheit, so the city's 1.5 million residents know that picnics are off the table because food literally freezes if you try and eat outside! For example, if you try to eat a tray of instant noodles, the fork will freeze mid-air to form a noodle waterfall art installation.

Crack a raw egg, and its contents will freeze before you pour them out. You may also have seen videos of people throwing boiling water from saucepans which freezes the instant it hits the freezing air.

Gas Pumps That Hang From Above

If you're a tourist in South Korea, you'd be forgiven if you stood around for ages looking for the gas pump. That's because the nozzles are above you on the roof! The idea is so that drivers don't pull up on the wrong side of the gas pump. It also saves space at the gas station and means reckless drivers can't drive into the pumps and cause a nasty mess.

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There is just one small catch. What if you're under, say, 5'4" and can't reach the nozzles? What happens then? Is there a stepladder?

Trivia Questions To Keep Drivers Awake

Australia is a vast country, meaning its interior features roads that stretch for thousands of miles. Aside from the odd kangaroo bouncing across the street and lots of roadkill, these routes are mostly long, flat, and incredibly dull. That dullness sadly results in drivers nodding off at the wheel. So roadsigns in well-known "fatigue zones" often feature quiz questions to keep drivers alert as they drive through the outback.

We think they should also feature jokes. First comes the set-up, followed by a punchline a few hundred yards later. For example, can a kangaroo jump higher than the Empire State Building? Yes, because the Empire State Building can't jump!

South Korean Trains Have Karaoke Booths

Karaoke might hail from Japan––where the word means empty orchestra, just like karate means empty hand––but the musical pastime is just as popular in nearby South Korea. In fact, karaoke is so popular in the Republic of Korea that the dining car on Mugunghwa trains comes equipped with several single-person karaoke booths to entertain passengers and help keep them occupied on long and tedious train journeys. And that's not all.

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As well as karaoke booths, the Mugunghwa dining car features another beloved Korean pastime: a variety of popular arcade games.

Danish Kids Learn To Cycle On Mini Traffic Playgrounds

It's no secret that Danish people adore cycling. Sixty-two percent of citizens commute to work or school on two wheels, and inhabitants of Copenhagen bike three-quarters of a million miles every day! Denmark is a tranquil and beautiful nation; their sense of joy often sees them voted top of world happiness charts. But if you can't ride a bike, they point and laugh at you like a medieval village nobody (okay, we're exaggerating).

Before you're allowed on the big roads, you must learn to negotiate traffic. For this reason, Copenhagen has a miniature traffic playground where children can learn to move in a safe environment.

Take The Pink Pepsi Challenge

Back in 2011, PepsiCo released strawberry milkshake-flavored Pink Pepsi. The product was only available for a very short time during Japan's "winter party season," and you could only buy it in the Land of the Rising Sun, making it very rare. The person who snapped this photo was fortunate to get their hands on a bottle. We hope it tastes better than it looks because, honestly, it resembles Pepto-Bismol!

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Strawberry milkshake isn't Japan's only weird Pepsi flavor. There was yogurt-flavored Pepsi White, Pepsi Ice Cucumber, Pepsi Red-Bean flavored Azuki (which allegedly "smelled like someone threw up their bean cake"), Pepsi Salty Watermelon, Pepsi Blue Hawaii, Pepsi Caribbean Gold, and our favorite flavor: Pepsi Ghost.

You Don't Need Sight to Enjoy These Views

This stunning photo comes from Naples, Italy. A Braille description of the surrounding scenery was added to the railing on this gazebo so blind tourists can enjoy the beautiful views. We love a place that everyone can enjoy! The Braille surely includes a description of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius in the background. This famous volcano erupted in AD79 and turned everyone to stone in nearby Pompeii.

If more tourist attractions developed new and interesting ways to make landmarks and events more accessible, the world would be a much happier place.

Boarding Passes In Korea Include Maps To Your Gate

How many times have you been late for your flight and have struggled to find the correct gate? Armed with your luggage, overpriced airport snacks, and perhaps several children, you aimlessly race from gate to gate, only to find they've closed ten seconds after you get there. Well, no one has this problem in Seoul because, on the back of your boarding pass, you will find a map of the airport.

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This idea comes in particularly handy when late gate changes are called. But that hardly ever happens in South Korea because most things just work very efficiently there.

You Can Play Ping Pong at the Intersections

The ever-industrious German nation has come up with a way to stop pedestrians from getting bored while waiting for the traffic lights to change to green. Some pedestrian crossings in Germany now come equipped with an electronic ping pong game to keep people entertained while they wait. This clever idea also prevents people from crossing while the walk sign is red and thus saves lives. It's a win-win! Well, hopefully.

Fun fact of the day: did you know that Pong was the first home video game? Atari released it way back in 1972, making it over 50 years old!

This Unofficial Country Uses Casino Chips As Currency

If you travel to Transnistria, you'll find yourself paying for your groceries with casino chips. The region, near the Moldova–Ukraine border and officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, broke away from Moldova in the early 1990s. Like many country's banknotes, these Transnistrian ruble chips have a system so you can easily recognize them. Not only are they are color-coded, but they also come in a variety of different shapes.

As you can see, one ruble is round and has one edge, five rubles is a pentagon, and three rubles is square. We never said the system was perfect!

This Is How Italian Workers Protest

While traveling in Milan, one tourist walked into Piazza Affari to be greeted by a sea of yellow hard hats. But it wasn't an art installation; this is how construction workers protest in Italy. Instead of downing tools, builders downed their hats. Each yellow helmet symbolizes a contractor who had recently lost their job. And Italians aren't the only people with new and interesting ways to go on strike.

In cities like London, subway drivers cause chaos to commuters and hundreds of thousands of lost work-days when they close "tube" stations. In Paris, workers open up the barriers and let commuters ride for free. Their employers lose millions in ticket sales every day, so soon cave into protesters' demands.

This Store Lets Customers Shop In Peace

Sometimes, you need help from a shop assistant, but most of the time, you just want to be left alone to shop in peace. And this department store––apparently in Bangkok––has the perfect answer. If you need help, simply grab a pink basket, or pick up a black one if you prefer to be left alone. Seriously, folks, why has no one thought of this before? We think it's genius.

If you grab a pink basket, then a friendly staff member will ask if you need help every so often. Then, and only then, will they tell you they don't know where the item you're looking for is located!

If You Thought Those Were Glasses, You Were Wrong

Japan is a uniquely wonderful country. And amongst all its vending machines, bullet trains, cherry blossoms, slurping noodles, and power naps, we found one very specialist shop in Tokyo. NIHONBO Chopsticks Specialty Shop displays thousands of chopsticks like sneakers in a shoe store or wands in Harry Potter's wand shop. If you think a chopstick store isn't that special, please send us a postcard from your local fork store!

To demonstrate how important chopsticks are to the Japanese people, NIHONBO's motto is "Chopsticks are food," and, for an extra 300 Japanese Yen ($2.60), they will add your name to the chopsticks in Japanese or English.

He's More Than A Colonel, He's Shogun Sanders

To win hearts and minds overseas, some of our favorite fast-food chains make minor adaptations to fit in with different cultures around the world. For example, in Thailand, the iconic Ronald McDonald welcomes customers with his hands clasped together in prayer. While in Japan, to make Colonel Sanders' ridiculously delicious chicken more palatable, they swapped his regular white suit for more traditional samurai warrior attire. That's officially our favorite KFC.

Fried Chicken is probably one of the most American things out there, but that doesn't mean other cultures enjoy it too!

Save The Animals, Save The World

Some people need an incentive to recycle, and Turkey has found a way to kill two birds with one stone. This nifty machine not only helps the planet by encouraging human beings to recycle their plastic bottles, but it also helps stray dogs. You simply pop in your used plastic bottles, and dog food is dispensed into a feeding trough for the city's homeless dog population. This is everything we never knew we needed.

This way, when your partner asks if you've done the recycling, you can say, "Yes, and I fed the neighborhood's stray dogs at the same time," making you look like a hero!

Sharing A Shop Sign Is Caring

This butcher and skate store are next-door neighbors in Nantes, France. And when it was time for some new signage, they teamed up to find a brilliantly creative way to share one shop sign between them. Viewed from the butcher's side, customers are enticed by a delicious rib-eye branded with the word steak. But viewed from the skate shop's side, and the sign looks like a skateboard and reads skate.

We wonder what led to this unique partnership. Did they just run out of room? We like to think there's more to the story than technicalities.

Oh Canada, We Love You

Canadians might not fly their red and white maple leaf flag as often as their American cousins south of the border, so we can only resume that flagpoles are harder to come by. But that doesn't stop maple syrup guzzling, beaver-loving patriots from showing their pride in their country. Instead of flagpoles, they just attach maple leaf flags to hockey sticks, which is the most Canadian thing we're ever seen.

If other countries faced a similar lack of flagpoles, would the French perhaps hoist their Tricolor on the end of baguettes, or would Germans use frankfurters? We guess the Polish would be okay, as they have enough poles!

Red Light, Green Light... Singapore Style

Singapore is a fine country. The government will fine you for jaywalking, skateboarding, chewing gum, and even for not flushing a public toilet after you've used it. We're not sure whose job it is to check that last one, though! And, believe it or not, that's not all. Singaporean traffic lights feature a sensor so elderly citizens can tap their senior cards to give them extra time to cross the street.

That way, cars don't start impatiently honking, and everyone gets the time they need to cross the street peacefully. That sounds like a much quieter, calmer world.

Red Lights For Texters

Amsterdam is famous for its red-light districts, but one town in The Netherlands has come up with a simple yet clever way to save lives. This Dutch town has installed red and green lights on the ground to deter people looking down at their cellphones from wandering out into traffic. The lights, which are projected down onto the sidewalk from the regular traffic lights, help save texter's lives every day.

If, at first glance, you thought it looked like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader had dropped their lightsabres, you're not the only ones.

Aren't You A Little Scottish For A Stormtrooper?

While the English are known for their afternoon tea etiquette and football hooligans, anything goes north of the border. And the Scots love nothing more than dressing up in their local attire. Why wouldn't they? It's some of the coolest around town. Scottish soccer fans––who are affectionately known as the Tartan Army––routinely dress up in kilts and tartan hats featuring outlandish ginger wigs, but this Scotsman Stormtrooper seems to be caught between two worlds.

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Maybe he's off to a movie-themed costume party dressed as his two favorite films - Highlander and Star Wars. But as a Highlander fan, you'd think he'd know that when it comes to mix-and-match costumes, "There can be only one."

Americans Are Cool

Did you know that ranch dressing is generally only found in the United States? If you ask for ranch dressing in other parts of the world, you might get a confused look from the waiter. For that reason, Cool Ranch-flavored Doritos in several European countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Iceland, are known as American Cool flavor. Similarly, ask a Dutch waiter for a Cool American, and they'll bring you Keanu Reeves.

Doritos aren't the only product with a different name. In Australia, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks, and Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles. In England, T. J. Maxx is called T. K. Maxx, and in many parts of the world, Axe deodorant is called Lynx.

Candies Have Different Names Around the World

Like Cool Ranch, Doritos are known as Cool American in some European countries, Sour Patch Kids are also known by another name. These deliciously sweet and sour candies are called Very Bad Kids in France. Honestly, we don't mind the name. But why is the title written in English, not French? Are you suggesting French isn't their first language? Why don't you just come out and say what you mean––Very Bad English-Speaking Kids?

The extremely sweet and sour French version is called Very Bad Kids Extreme but shouldn't it be called Extremely Bad Kids?

Heart-Shaped Box

Since the advent of cellphones twenty-odd years ago, phone booths have gone the way of the dinosaur. So, what to do with all those tiny derelict spaces? In England, they turn their old 'phone boxes" into defibrillator stations. This way, if anyone playing cricket on the village green suffers a heart attack, you can rush to the little red box, grab a defibrillator and quickly get their heart pumping again.

It's certainly a less smelly idea than drunk Englishmen using them as urinals... as they have done for the last hundred years since 1921's first red phone box.

Britain's Breakneck Cheese-Rolling Competition

At the end of May or beginning of June, gangs of cheese-addicted adrenaline junkies gather in Brockworth near Gloucester in England to participate in a very bizarre and dangerous activity. The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake see a round wheel of Double Gloucester cheese sent rolling down a steep 200-yard-long hill. Then, the aforementioned nutters run, roll, cartwheel and somersault after the cheese at breakneck speed. First to the bottom of the hill wins!

This age-old event was traditionally held for Brockworth villagers only. But nowadays, contestants worldwide take part, with the often hospitalized winners coming from as far afield as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and even Nepal.

The Rise Of The Machines

If you travel to Tallinn in Estonia, you might be in for a small surprise. You see, these autonomous little robots are already alive, well, and delivering groceries in the beautiful Baltic city. Looking like something out of a Disney Pixar movie, these cute critters from US-based Starship Technologies glide along sidewalks and use crosswalks before they come knocking at your door with a delivery. But you mustn't let them in. Why?

Looking cute is how they reel you in. The next thing you know, these robot overlords have enslaved you and your family and are harvesting your kidneys for battery power.

Can You Guess Where This Manhole Cover Is From?

It doesn't take a genius to recognize that this designer maintenance hole cover must be from Fuji in Japan. Okay, fine, we didn't know it initially. Its intricate design features one of Japan's three sacred mountains, the snowcapped Mount Fuji, and resembles Katsushika Hokusai's famous series, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. Now, before you say you've never heard of Hokusai, we bet you know his work––he's the famous Japanese artist who also painted The Great Wave.

Many multicolored maintenance holes punctuate the city at the foot of the mountain. But Fuji City is not alone. Many tourists now travel to different regions of Japan to see maintenance hole covers decorated with local scenes.

Vikings on the Pedestrian Lights

While walking around the city of Aarhus in the east of Denmark, someone stumbled across traffic lights with these cute little Vikings on them! The mini-marauders were added to show off the town's special links with Viking history since Norse warriors founded Aarhus in the 8th Century. While we think of Vikings as coming from Scandinavia, the word Viking could be an Old Norse verb, meaning seaborne raiding or adventuring.

Speaking of which, we've all heard of the Viking explorer Erik the Red; he colonized Greenland, and his son Leif Erikson was the first to set foot in America around 1,000 AD, but we've never heard of Erik the Green... until now!

The Icelandic Postal Service Is The Best In The World

Somewhere in The Land of Fire and Ice, one tourist sent this letter to an Icelandic/Danish couple who lived on a horse farm with three kids and a lot of sheep in the village of Búðardalur. To make the mailman's job that little bit easier, they also included a hand-drawn map. And do you know what? Somehow, the letter found its way to its intended destination. We are in awe of whoever delivered it.

Of course, this isn't the first time in human history that this has happened, but the Icelandic mail service delivered the letter for the price of a regular postage stamp. Talk about going above and beyond the line of duty!

This Icelandic Beach Is Made From Lava

Reynisfjara is a world-famous black-sand beach on the South Coast of Iceland, near the small fishing village of Vík í Mýrdal. But what makes the sand black? Well, the black sediment is formed when boiling lava from one of the island's many volcanoes dances its way across the desolate landscape and onto Reynisfjara beach. When the lava hits the cold water, it solidifies. And that's the start of something magical.

Over many years, the sea-cooled solid lava breaks up to form small volcanic rocks, which then gradually break down into small black pebbles, and finally, black sand. In 2021, Reynisfjara was voted the sixth-best beach in the world.

When the Cops Join in on the Game

Australia is a pretty laid-back place, but even these guys were surprised when the cops showed up at an impromptu game of cricket in the middle of the street. But instead of admonishing the grown adults for stopping traffic, as the said young adults expected, this one police officer joined in and started bowling leg spinners at the batsman. Check it out; that's some serious spin action he's got going on there!

The onlookers had never seen such skill, and the cop bowled out the entire suburb for a golden duck. Then, he arrested them all and carted them off to jail.

Big Bavarian Bench

Many parts of the world have myths involving giants creating mountains, and beautiful Bavaria is no exception. That's where this gaggle of normal-sized tourists was delighted to find the most enormous bench in Germany. By our reckoning, the oversized chair stands about 20 feet high (that's 6 meters), meaning the giants it was built for must have been about 60 feet tall. Wow, we're glad we haven't run into any of them.

If you'd like to visit, the giant wooden bench can be found in Oy-Mittelberg, a small village in the Allgäu Alps, two hours from Munich and just north of the border with Austria.

No Need for Postage Stamps Here

In this day and age, schlepping down to the post office to buy a single postage stamp has become a bit of a chore. That's why, in some countries (you know, the kind of countries that work, like the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway), you can buy digital stamps. Then, once you've purchased them online, simply write their codes on your envelopes where you would place the stamp. How are we not all doing this?

One added bonus is that you don't have to lick them and taste that awful gum flavor. Although come to think of it, you still have to lick the envelope. So best just send an email!

Coca-Cola With Ice

Remember Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke with…" campaign from a few years back? How could we forget? Well, in Iceland, they not only printed people's names like Björk, but they also used tribal demonyms for Icelandic townsfolk and sports fans. Maybe that's because there aren't very many Icelandic first names as the island nation only has 366,000 inhabitants. And they're mostly named after their parents, for example, billionaire entrepreneur Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson.

In Iceland, women's names are generally (but not always) suffixed by ...dottir like kooky musical genius Björk Guðmundsdóttir and men's names by ...son or ...sen like soccer player Eiður Guðjohnsen.

This Canadian Hotel Really Is The Four Seasons

You've heard of the Four Seasons Hotel, right? Well, the Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is covered top-to-toe with Virginia creeper vines that really do change colors with the seasons. During the spring and summer months, the hotel is a verdant green color, but as soon as fall arrives, the lush greenery gives way, and the Sylvia becomes a much-visited landmark covered in gorgeous, autumnal red and gold hues.

If you want to visit, The Sylvia Hotel is across the street from First Beach on English Bay, and the best time to see this fantastic fall foliage is from late September until early November.

Some Dutch People Commute To Work In A Canoe

Did you know that The Netherlands is as flat as a Pannenkoeken and about one-third of the nation lies below sea level? This means some people have to rely on boats instead of cars and bicycles. For instance, you'll find the village of Giethoorn in the northeastern province of Overijssel is mostly car-free as it is connected by a series of canals. This means some lucky inhabitants choose to commute to work by canoe.

The Dutch people tend to love canoes because they remind them of giant, water-bound clogs.

Skateboarding Is Next To Godliness

Cleanliness might be next to godliness, but skating is the way to enlightenment. At least at this abandoned Spanish church, it is. The Church of Santa Barbara in Llanera, northern Spain, was built in 1912 but abandoned soon after its construction. It lay derelict for decades until a group of skaters rediscovered the site and renovated the former place of worship by turning it into a totally rad skate park.

Skaters can ollie, grind, and 1080 on their small but perfectly formed vert ramp beneath funky, colorful artwork. Plus, there's a viewing balcony and even a little stage for bands to perform. Skating Heaven.

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These Countries' Customs Are Normal to Locals but as Weird as It Gets for Tourists - VisualChase

These Countries' Customs Are Normal to Locals but as Weird as It Gets for Tourists

Brazilian Police Ride The Strangest Looking Horses

Gold Bar Vending Machines

Seoul Subway Trains Feature Mini-Libraries

Spain's Baby Jumping Festival

Avoid This Place If You Like Picnics

Gas Pumps That Hang From Above

Trivia Questions To Keep Drivers Awake

South Korean Trains Have Karaoke Booths

Danish Kids Learn To Cycle On Mini Traffic Playgrounds

Take The Pink Pepsi Challenge

You Don't Need Sight to Enjoy These Views

Boarding Passes In Korea Include Maps To Your Gate

You Can Play Ping Pong at the Intersections

This Unofficial Country Uses Casino Chips As Currency

This Is How Italian Workers Protest

This Store Lets Customers Shop In Peace

If You Thought Those Were Glasses, You Were Wrong

He's More Than A Colonel, He's Shogun Sanders

Save The Animals, Save The World

Sharing A Shop Sign Is Caring

Oh Canada, We Love You

Red Light, Green Light... Singapore Style

Red Lights For Texters

Aren't You A Little Scottish For A Stormtrooper?

Americans Are Cool

Candies Have Different Names Around the World

Heart-Shaped Box

Britain's Breakneck Cheese-Rolling Competition

The Rise Of The Machines

Can You Guess Where This Manhole Cover Is From?

Vikings on the Pedestrian Lights

The Icelandic Postal Service Is The Best In The World

This Icelandic Beach Is Made From Lava

When the Cops Join in on the Game

Big Bavarian Bench

No Need for Postage Stamps Here

Coca-Cola With Ice

This Canadian Hotel Really Is The Four Seasons

Some Dutch People Commute To Work In A Canoe

Skateboarding Is Next To Godliness