Traveling to another country for even a few days can reveal a lot about another culture — and how different it may be from what a person is used to.
A controversial Reddit conversation started when an innocent user asked, “Travelers of Reddit, what shocked you the most when visiting another country?”
The thread’s comment section is filled with thousands of people sharing a country they recently visited and its bizarre anecdote that they were shocked to discover.
Some people pointed out things like how different tipping culture is from place to place, others shared responses like how social the locals are, and how weird it is to pay to use a bathroom.
Here are some of the eye-opening observations found within the thread.
How social people are in other countries
“Everyone out at night in Vietnam, people will randomly start friendly conversations,” one user shared.
“In Italy, it was groups of adults or teens or entire families out for a stroll and maybe to sit somewhere with a drink or snack after work and into the early evenings,” a commenter wrote.
In London and other places around England and Scotland, it was a walk down to the pub to sit with friends perhaps engaging in some cards or darts or other games. In both places, people often asked us questions and even sometimes asked us to join in,” the same person continued.
How tipping culture varies in different places
“Tipping culture in the US!! Been there numerous times, but never get used to that bs,” a non-American wrote.
“There is a new English pub in my little town in the USA. They WILL NOT accept a tip. Thank you England!” an American shared.
How different the quality of food is in other countries
“How good the food is in Europe. The quality and taste blew me away. Especially the bread and pastries. Even the sandwiches you pick up at the train station are fresh tasty and healthy. Never had one stomach issue the whole trip,” one comment read.
“Italy is the best! I was worried about going to England because I grew up hearing the food was so bad. It was delicious everywhere I went,” a traveler wrote.
“Even a $4 Tesco sandwich is satisfying. It’d cost double in the States and take 20 minutes or waiting in mine to get,” agreed another person.
How billboard advertisements are everywhere in America
“In the USA, the billboards with every kind of stuff, like medical and lawyers ads (and for the last, really camp ones),” a non-American pointed out.
“LA has so many injury lawyer ads I thought I was on the set of “Better Call Saul.” The pharmaceutical ads on TV are also out of control,” another person wrote.
“They’re almost non-existent here in Ireland and it was so jarring to see the billboards (in the US),” said an Irish person.
How portions of food vary depending on the country
“I kind of braced myself for the food portions, but fuck me the drink sizes took me by surprise,” pointed out a non-American.
“As someone who likes to maximize my calorie-to-cost ratio, I love this about the US. Although half the size at half the price would be ideal of course,” read another comment.
“When I went to the US I was horrified at the portion sizes and also how much sugar food contained,” said someone else.
Having to pay to use a public bathroom in some countries
“Paying to use public bathrooms is something I’ll never get over no matter how much I travel,” a person wrote.
“I once went to a restaurant in Amsterdam where even customers of the restaurant had to pay for the bathroom. That was 17 years ago and I’m still mad about it,” quipped another commenter.
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