Culture shock. We have all heard the word but until I traveled and then later moved overseas it was just a word I heard about in sociology class. When you live in western nations, the United States being where I came from, you don't have much of an idea that the a great deal of the rest of the world is very different from how we view "normal life" in the west.
Things that seem odd to us are just commonplace and while I can not speak for all of the world, here are a few things that are now "normal" to me but would be very out of place back in my home country.
The roads are chaos
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My first "Asian experience" was the ride from the airport to my hostel in a popular backpacking area called Koh Sahn Road, which is likely where you would end up on your first trip to Thailand as well. From the onset I noticed that there didn't seem to be a great deal of rules on the road and basically every single part of the road that could be used, was used. I also didn't notice any speed limit signs but I don't think it would matter because nobody really seemed to care anyway.
In the west, doing things like driving motorbikes between cars and "splitting lanes" with multiple vehicles will get you a traffic ticket and subsequent increase in your motor insurance very quickly. In all the countries I have lived and visited in South East Asia (with the one exception being Singapore, which is basically USA but with all Asian people living in it) this road "chaos" is not an exception, it is the rule.
Street food is the norm
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In USA, street food is probably illegal in most places for reason the government will claim is for sanitation but it is more likely a taxation thing and the fact that they want to rob you a bit by forcing you to have a permit to even do it.
In Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos (to name a few) the street food stands are literally everywhere and it is also some of the best food available anywhere. I don't know if there is a permit process involved but I would guess not seeing as how most of these things just kind of set up shop anywhere they feel like it.
The lack of high rent associated with having a building also insures that this food is always going to be cheap as well - which is one of the main factors I love about living over here
VERY corrupt traffic police force
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When there are police checkpoints in the countries that I have spent some time at it is set up under the auspices of being for enforcement but all of them collect cash on the spot and then issue a receipt that is in no way official. I can say that they are not official because every time I have gone through one I claim to not have ID on me and this isn't a problem at all because they don't really care who you are. The idea is that they are going to fleece every single person for a little bit of money and then pocket the cash.
Because of this I have collected traffic tickets for "Lando Calrissian", "Chuck Norris," "Luke Perry," and even "Obiwan Kenobi" over the years.
I'm not saying that there are no corrupt cops in USA as I am sure there are some. But over here it is the norm, not the exception and the people who live here have just come to accept it, which I think is a bit sad.
Absurd motorbike carrying capacity
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This doesn't just apply to how many people you put on a bike but also the amount of stuff you sometimes see them carrying. It boggles the mind at points but I have to say that I myself have transported a washing machine on a motorbike with the help of a friend who was also on the bike.
If you were to even try to do this in the west you would get pulled over and the cop would be like "what the hell were you thinking?" Over here they don't even bat an eye
Pushing one motorbike, with another motorbike
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It has happened to me multiple times and I later did it for a friend of mine. These bikes are cheap and while they don't frequently have problems and are very cheap and easy to work on, they do break down. The decency of strangers kicks in at this point because someone will normally push you using their leg on the pegs of your bike to get you to the nearest motorcycle repair shop which no matter where you are, is never very far away.
While it isn't inherently dangerous, it is a LOT more difficult than you might be thinking. There is a definite skill to it and obviously the natives are a lot more accustomed to the process than I am. Just make sure the broken bike is in neutral before you try this :)
There are plenty more, but i tried to keep this list as jovial as possible. I'll follow up with some road oddities that are a bit more scary in a future list.
Do these things happen in your country? If you don't live in Europe or North America I would be willing to bet that they do. Let me know in the comments!
Where i live you can't even have 2 motorbikes riding side by side on any road. The first picture just looks so crazy to me but on the flip side, if they "bent the knee" and abide by western notions of road rules, that stoplight line would probably be backed up into the intersection behind it.
The road rules in the US seem at times to be a money collection system also, as I have once recieved an $80 ticket for not having my headlights on when it was raining.... in the daytime.
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