Each culture has its own unique beauty; a behavior that is regarded as normal at one country can be seen as rude or disrespected at another. This is why travelling is so much fun! When planning on a trip, many spend hours and hours searching for plane tickets, booking hotels, and looking for tourist attractions at the destination they are travelling, and not many really consider looking into the local cultural differences. In this post, to prepare you with your great adventure ahead and help you with some tips on not to get fined, get arrested, or offend the locals at a foreign country, I will list some of the interesting cultural differences that you may find shocking.
1. Japan
- DO NOT tip – Even though tipping is part of American culture to show gratitude for the servants and customers are expect to tip 15-20% at every meal at restaurants, tipping in Japan is considered rude. Don’t even leave a small change; people will come running after you.
- DO NOT hug someone you just met – In some cultures, hugging is a sign of friendliness. However, Japanese really respects space and privacy. People tend not to prefer hugs.
- DO NOT go into people’s home with shoes on – At every house, there is a small corner on level below the rest of the house called a “genkan”, which is where you take off your shoes. This also applies to temples, shrines, traditional inns, and at some restaurants.
- DO NOT stand on the wrong side of the escalator – In Japan, there is a specific rule on which side to stand on the escalator. The left side is usually where shoppers stand, and the right side is usually for locals who need to rush and walk on the escalator. Standing on the wrong side can disturb others!
2. Russia
- DO NOT rely on your credit cards – At most restaurants, shops, and tourist attractions in Russia, they tend to accept cash only.
- DO NOT give even number of flowers as a gift – Even number of flowers are only for the deceased. When giving someone flowers as gift, a proper bouquet has 1/3/5/7/etc. flowers.
- DO NOT leave your belongings unattended – You will not be able to find it at the place you left it. Even car doors have to be locked when you’re not around, and always carry valuable goods with you.
- DO NOT assume the citizens support everything the government do – The Russians often criticize their government. But for safety, just don’t mention anything about their government.
3. Thailand
- DO NOT ask whether the locals ride elephants to work – NO NO NO they don’t. You don’t even see elephants on the streets; they use cars and motorbikes. Elephants are considered endangered animals here and are very well taken care of.
- DO NOT wear shorts or skirts to the temples or shrines – It is a rule that you cannot wear anything above your ankle when visiting respected areas. You may not be able to get in temples and shrines with shorts/skirts on.
- DO NOT mention the royal families in a negative way – Thai people really respect their king and queen. They even have a Father’s Day dedicated for the king.
- DO NOT take pictures or touch the monks – It is considered highly disrepect.
4. Germany
- DO NOT wish someone ‘Happy Birthday’ before the day – It is a superstitious viewpoint with the origin from a religion. However, even those who do not have a religion also consider this as a bad sign. Wishing someone ‘Happy Birthday’ before the actual day means that something bad will happen to them before the day. This applies to other occasions too.
- DO NOT do the Nazi salute – It is a crime that you do anything Nazi or wear anything Nazi related. Every year many tourists are arrested for making this mistake.
- DO NOT stare – They will think of you as either mentally disorder or uneducated.
- DO NOT be overly friendly – Germans tend to take time to warm up to others.
5. China
- DO NOT cross your chopsticks – In China, crossing your chopsticks (with the shape ‘X’) means you are denying the people you are having your meal with.
- DO NOT stick your chopsticks straight up when you’re eating rice – It is a bad luck because it resembles the incense sticks that offer to the deaths.
- DO NOT mention their government in a negative connotation – Well, unless you’re in Hong Kong or Macau.
- DO NOT be shocked when someone spits brazenly in the streets – Especially older people. It’s gross, but it’s how they do it here.
Han Yu says
Indeed handy information! Your search work and these cute posts have really served well to both broaden the the view and to enhance the understanding of diversity. Keep up the good work (by the way, your advice about how not to behave in China is indeed true).