# Small things you notice when travelling abroad **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277 "2018-01-09T22:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/1 "2018-01-09T22:51:43Z")
Apparently, the pigs in Belarus still aren’t standardized with respect to the size of their ears. So when you order a broiled pig’s ear at a diner in Minsk (and I advice you to do so; it’s delicious!) they put your plate on a scale at the counter and debit you only for the net grams of pig’s flesh (not many rubels), while other dishes like goulash, kreplach and the likes are measured out in dippers for a flat price per serving! ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/2 "2018-01-09T22:56:55Z")
Vending machines. Awesome, amazing, comprehensive, convenient, and affordable [vending machines](https://kotaku.com/the-world-of-japanese-vending-machines-5988536). You don’t have to buy premixed cocktails in a can, but if you want to, you can. Likewise, toys, clothing, books, electronics. Oh, yeah, drinks. If you’re boring and mundane. Soda or water? Sure. But tea or coffee (hot or cold)? Yeah. A chilly drizzly Tokyo spring afternoon is nicer with a can of hot black coffee in hand. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/3 "2018-01-09T23:44:46Z")
Contactless cards are common and I’m glad I had one for my last trip to the UK.That allows me to use my card for just about anything without the weird “I"m an American, my card doesn’t have a PIN.” Uber is a controversial topic anywhere and so is Air BnB. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/4 "2018-01-10T00:07:07Z")
I remember being in awe of the beer vending machines in Japan. And the containers were often worth the price. I bought one that had an insert you stuck in the opening after breaking the seal. When you poured the beer out, it would whistle for you like a bird. The street carts in Germany are actually great. Get a fresh, hot brat with German mustard or an aromatic, garlicky whole roast chicken right off the spit. No iffy hot dogs or the like. In England, queues rule the day. Jump the line at the risk of an umbrella beat-down. In Guatemala, bar snacks were always gratis, and not just the usual nuts like you get in the US, but tasty little _boquitas_ to go with your beer. Drivers in Rome will paint a target on your ass in a minute unless you’re an Italian grandma. Apparently nobody fucks with someone’s nana, as they cross streets with impunity and drivers will risk death to keep from hitting them. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/5 "2018-01-10T00:16:48Z")
In the early 90s there was rampant inflation in Brazil–of the kind where prices changed twice a day–but the public telephones were not affected. They had funky tokens that had three grooves across the face of them, two on front and one on back, and the coin slot looked like a zig-zaggy keyhole You had to line the token up like a key in order to insert it in the phone. A description doesn’t do it justice: [images of Fichas](http://www.imgrum.org/tag/fichatelefonica) (scroll past the first few images to see the tokens) ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/6 "2018-01-10T06:14:46Z")
The toilets in Germany are…strange. At least they were in 1965 when I was there. They have a shelf just above the water line for you to inspect what you have created before consigning it to history. Not a bad idea from a health standpoint, but…unusual to Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/7 "2018-01-10T07:19:32Z")
I can report that’s not the case in the 201xs, at least for the German toilets I have used. American semi-public toilets (malls, office buildings, hospitals) rarely have a brush at hand. European ones usually do. At one point Spain was the country with most ATMs per capita. The ratio is lower now, but damn, where do all these people get their cash from? I need an ATM…! (I’m way too used to having one pretty much in every corner) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/8 "2018-01-10T12:37:19Z")
In Japan, I noticed that restrooms often did not provide paper towels (it’s BYO Towel). And public garbage cans were also relatively rare. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/9 "2018-01-10T12:47:28Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > They had funky tokens that had three grooves across the face of them, two on front and one on back, and the coin slot looked like a zig-zaggy keyhole You had to line the token up like a key in order to insert it in the phone. I have one of those! (Like the brass-colored one in the photo of 3 tokens in someone’s hand and the other photo of 4 in someone’s hand.) I realized that it was a phone token, but never knew for where. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/10 "2018-01-10T13:39:41Z")
In the Caribbean you can order an espresso at a little beach bar and be served a better cup (pretty curl of lemon and all) than you would get at a Starbucks or nice restaurant in the US. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/11 "2018-01-10T13:47:13Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > In Japan, I noticed that restrooms often did not provide paper towels (it’s BYO Towel). And public garbage cans were also relatively rare. No trash cans in London. My wife and I had bought some bottled water and walked about looking for a place to toss the empties, but there were no outdoor trash cans to be seen. In NYC one sees trash cans everywhere, but none in London. I asked the guys at work and they said it’s a terrorism thing…bad people can put bombs in trash bins. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/12 "2018-01-10T14:36:53Z")
Went grocery shopping in a supermarket in Prague in the mid aughts, didn’t bring shopping bags with me, because why would you? My North American brain expected them to bag the groceries for us in plastic/paper bags, or at least provide bags so that we could bag groceries. Get to the checkout, and the teller just shoves our groceries to one side after scanning them. We ended up carrying everything in our arms out of the store that we couldn’t fit into a purse. Side note, the Czech retail and service workers have to be the grumpiest people in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/13 "2018-01-10T15:56:39Z")
In Taiwan, the ratio of mopeds to cars on the streets are like 100 to 1. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/14 "2018-01-10T15:58:57Z")
Asked for the nearest restroom while in Auckland, the clerk at the store thought I wanted a hotel. They call them toilets and that is what you ask for. Also nice to see public toilets in every little town while driving around both islands. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/15 "2018-01-10T16:01:04Z")
I don’t know if there are still public toilet matrons in Moscow, but in the USSR days there was always an older woman who you gave a few kopeks to and she would hand you a few sheets of crepe-y toilet paper. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/16 "2018-01-10T17:16:14Z")
In Korat, Thailand, streets are not just 1-way or 2-way, they are 4-way. As soon as traffic comes to a stop motorcycles start zooming straight across in between cars to get to the other side or find a lane to get ahead. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/17 "2018-01-10T17:24:30Z")
Pricing in Europe tends to be whole numbers or something similar. Something will cost 4.0 or 4.5 Euros, not 4.95. And all taxes are included. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/18 "2018-01-10T22:00:31Z")
Mexico. Where are the seats for the commode? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/19 "2018-01-10T23:25:40Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > In Japan, I noticed that restrooms often did not provide paper towels (it’s BYO Towel). That’s what handkerchiefs are for. You use tissues to blow your nose, and handkerchiefs to blot your hands dry in the washroom. One reason, possibly the main one, that everyone carries a handkerchief in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/20 "2018-01-11T00:04:12Z")
Lane discipline on motorways. Even in Italy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277.md?page=2)