Here is a bird’s eye view, in a lighter vein, of the peculiarities of some of the countries I visited without intending to hurt anyone’s sensitivity.
Australia: Beware of the Aussie’s accents down under. On my first visit to Australia, I was shocked by the receptionist at the hotel at Sydney,”Have you come to die in Australia”?
Don’t take that threat literally. Australians are nice people but ‘a’ turns into ‘i’ ‘today into ‘to die’ in their tongue.
Don’t let your curiosity get the better of you to explore the innocent looking docile cute kangaroos. If provoked, its powerful kicks may send you to a hospital or worse, in the morgue.
Pakitstan: Tactfully avoid an embrace or hug with the hefty tall-as-electric pole Pathans in the frontier region of Pakistan. If you are a smallish person, a few of the ribs in your chest can be displaced by the well-meaning host’s warm embrace with the strength of a boa constrictor.
India: Hold down the cravings for your favourite beef steak or shish kebab in the restaurants of most of the states of India. You will startle and raise a few eyebrows of the wait staff and everyone within the earshot.
Bangladesh: Don’t be surprised if the boys in Dhaka call the leech, an aquatic parasite, sucking your blood ‘a joke’. It’s no joke; for, the word ‘ joke’ in Bengali language means leech. Pay no attention to the so-called joke. Consult Bengali-to-English dictionary and a doctor instead.
Bhutan: Take off your headwear to show respect to deities in the temples, a sharp contrast to the Muslim countries that require women to put on headwear before entering a shirine or mosque. What a strange world!
Thailand: Don’t delude yourself thinking that massage means what it says in the dictionary. You hop into a massage parlour in Bangkok and discover that it’s not as you thought.
And like Paris, it’s considered unwise to tag along your spouse or gf to Thailand,
Singapore: Throw away the cigarette stub on the street with no human soul within your peripheral vision, and a cop emerges from nowhere slap a ticket for $300.
Finland: Don’t fancy stepping into the sauna room wearing a fancy dress; you are stripped to the bare bone with nothing but your birthday suit to endure 100°C heat until you turn into a grilled chicken.
Don’t annoy a Finn with long conversation while dining; eating takes precedence over talking.
And don’t judge them rude for absence of the word equivalent to ‘please’ in Finnish language. The word ‘kiitos’, meaning ‘thank you’, is also sparingly used. They believe in the language of heart, not of the mouth.
Paris: You will raise few eyebrows if you ask the sales man in Paris stores for the French cap. They call it British leather reflecting the centuries-old love-hate relationship between the two great nations.
London: Your best bet in a London restaurant is avoiding typical bland British food and the meats–pork and beef—a taboo for Muslims and Hindus. Settle for the ubiquitous fish n chips tolerable to everyone’s taste and purse, and religious edicts.
Switzerland: Don’t strain your purse by loading your shopping basket with chocolates; it may taste a shade better than the ordinary stuff elsewhere but the price is outrageous.
USA: Avoid colliding with a smattering of obese humans among the passersby rolling out like juggernauts on the streets. Weaker mortals may be crushed under huge body mass built by feasting on fast food high in sodium and saturated fat, a recipe for bulging belly, protruding hips and a big burden on Obama care.
Have a nice day.
About Post Author
