- [Narrator] Have you ever been to a place where the language barrier was
the least of your problems? And no, I'm not just
talking about Ireland. - You're busy making the yams and you're whizzing the sheep that's come down to like... - [Narrator] Well, even that
guy, his accent had an accent, although it's not just the
way foreign people talk that can confuse tourists. All over the world, slight
cultural differences, like common gestures or etiquette can cause major misunderstandings
for unsuspecting visitors. So before you go jetting
off across the globe on your next long-awaited holiday, let me educate you on some
common cultural oddities that can really confuse tourists. (playful music) Different driving. Driving in any foreign country
can give even the calmest of drivers an episode of road rage. From remembering what
side of the road to use to wacky driving laws and using
super strange road layouts. And there's no country better at showing off these
differences than the UK. First start, they drive on
the left side of the road, something only 31% of
the world's countries do. And add to the confusion,
drivers will often flash their lights at one another, or give a confusingly brief
wave over their steering wheel. It may seem like some sort
of secret driving code, but it's actually an unofficial language. A flash can give another
driver permission to turn out of a junction before them
and a wave of the hand can be a brief thank you. But without a doubt, the oddest
thing about British roads is the abundance of
aptly named roundabouts. These circular intersections
work by allowing traffic to move clockwise around an island. While they're fairly common
throughout the world, the UK boasts a staggering 25,000 of them. That's the most in the world in proportion to the country's road space. And as if they didn't look
like they were designed by Satan himself already, the British town of Swindon is also home to this monstrosity, nicknamed
The Magic Roundabout. It's a roundabout made up
of five smaller roundabouts. So if you're a tourist
wanting to avoid driving round in circles, you best
steer clear of Swindon. While that less than magical roundabout looks a little chaotic, true road chaos can be
found in Lagos, Nigeria. In this city of 14.4 million people with few public transport options, the roads are in a near
constant state of gridlock. It can get so bad that it's not uncommon to see bus and taxi passengers jump out in the middle of the highway and begin walking to
their destination instead. So a visit to Lagos might not
be the most sensible holiday destination for people who
enjoy life in the fast lane. But as bad as that may seem, it's nothing compared
to the highway hi-jinks of Kolkata, India. With congestion levels at
a staggering 69%, giggity, the streets are utterly chaotic. Lanes here are very much a suggestion, the roads are poorly
maintained and safety laws are lax at best. Not to mention cows randomly use the road, as and when it suits them. The bizarre bovines are
considered sacred animals and it's illegal to touch or
interfere with them in any way. But this means they cause absolute havoc when they wander onto the highways. They might be considered a good omen, but I reckon tourists think
of them more like, oh man. Now before all these cultural comparisons drive you up the wall, why don't you steer yourself over to those Like and Subscribe buttons and give them a good old honk. I upload new videos every single day. So regardless of where
you might be in the world, you'll never be bored. Abnormal apologies. As simple as the three little
words, I am sorry, sound, sometimes they can be a
bit harder to translate. That's because around the world an apology can look
different, sound different and have many different meanings. For example, in the US an
apology is usually used to assume guilt or at the
very least is linked to blame. A lot of people choose not
to make a big deal out of it, but a bunch of flowers or a small gift can go a long way to
achieving forgiveness. However, in the UK, "sorry", is one of the most overused
words in the dictionary. Now a recent survey of
more than 1000 UK citizens found that the average blushing Britt says "sorry" around eight times a day, They could be sorry for an accident. Sorry for asking for something
and sorry for the weather. Even their buses can apologize
for not being in service. So it's more of a nationwide tick than a gesture of heartfelt regret. But over on the other side
of the world in Japan, apologies aren't delivered so lightly. Here, an apology is
usually coupled with a bow and the deeper the bow,
the sorrier they are. Like Japan star basketball
team demonstrated back in 2018. After they were caught
engaging in some bad behavior on a trip to Jakarta, they
were berated at embarrassingly in front of the media. Following a sincere verbal apology for bringing disgrace
upon the Japanese people, they were photographed bowing deeply for an incredibly long time. So if you ever mess up
or really bad in Japan, you better limber up those back muscles because you could be stuck at
90 degrees for quite a while. Although sometimes not even
this lowly level of contrition is enough to convince someone
to forgive and forget. Back in 2013, Japanese pop
star, Minami Minegishi, of the popular girl group, AKB48, shockingly shaved off all her hair in a tearful apology video to the public. Despite what it looks like, she wasn't having a
Brittany style breakdown. She'd actually been caught breaking the cardinal girl group rule of no dating. Though both this crime and its punishment are equally bizarre, there's something of an old tradition
behind the shameful shave. Hair in Japan has always
held a significant meaning. From the immaculate quaff
viewers of its iconic geishas to the Chon match topknot of this samurai. So cutting it off in
any regard is associated to a significant life change, like a new start or in
extreme cases like this, dedication to achieving forgiveness. Even the former prime
minister Yoshiro Mori, once shaved his head as a form of public apology for the bad organization of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic
organizing committee. And children at Japanese
schools can be obliged to shave or cut their hair
when they lose team games. So if you decide to play a little sport on your Japanese travels, be sure to pick an opponent
with a shaved head. It seems to be the sign
of some easy competition. Weird Working Hours. As Dolly Parton famously sang, "working nine to five, what
a way to make a living." But anyone visiting Eastern
Asia might be surprised to learn that work here
doesn't always stop or even start with the clock. For many offices in Japan, for example, it's completely normal to work
a staggering 60 hours a week. This exhausting sounding
practice came about after World War II when prime
minister Shigeru Yoshida, encouraged the nation to work long hours in order to reboot their economy. But despite Japan's
reviving economic boom, the long hours and extensive overtime never really went back to normal. In 2016, a government survey revealed that almost a quarter
of Japanese companies require their employees to work more than 80 hours of overtime a month. And the worst part is
that it's often voluntary. Chronically overworked and underpaid, these exhausted office
workers often pass out in the street and can be spotted sleeping in all manner of weird
and wonderful positions. Now it's not just Japan's economy that's thrived under this
culture of endurance. South Korea boasts the
longest hours worked of any developed nation
with its workers putting in a shocking 200 hours a year more than the average American. That's five additional standard workweeks. These inhumane hours rose off the back of the country's industrial
boom, back in the '80s and '90s, but it never really settled back down. Spending more time at their
desk than anyone else, a strange office seating decoration trend called "Deskterior" has swept the nation. So anyone new to a South Korean office might find themselves doing a double-take at the big bright displays
scattered around them. But in Europe, this couldn't
be any more different. Anyone visiting Germany, for example, will see the Germans take
their R&R very seriously. So much so that in 2018, many
of its workers won the right to a shockingly short
28 hour working week. That's just over five
and a half hours a day. Not only that, but on Sundays, the entire country becomes eerily quiet. Strict shop opening laws forbid most shops from opening on the final day of the week. Some areas, such as Hamburg,
also have midday quiet hours between 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Even if you don't make much noise, you can still get in trouble
with your neighbors or the law. For example, it's illegal to wash a car in anything other than
an approved facility. And some people have been taken court for having a barbecue or even smoking. But even with a short working week, they still have the largest
national economy of Europe. And that's because German culture focuses famously on efficiency. Meaning, they get much more
done in much less time. After seeing how they treat their workers, which of these three countries
would you most want to visit for a working holiday: Japan,
South Korea or Germany? Let me know down in the comments. Curious queuing. Now, plenty of tourists like to mock English speaking countries that
are partial to a good queue, the British and Canadians most notably. But while waiting in line
might be second nature to some, it's not a globally followed ideal. In China, which has suffered
horrendous food shortages from communist regimes in the past, getting to the front of the
queue for food and necessities was once a survival method. But today, even with far fewer
shortages, queue jumping, cutting line and even queue crushing like this is commonplace. (speaking in foreign language) It got so bad that in 2007,
the government launched an entire campaign for "polite queuing" complete with some
weirdly unnerving mascots. But just one country over in Russia, queuing is akin to an art form. Similar to China, its
historic queuing systems were broken down to a first
come first serve basis under communist regimes. But thousands upon thousands
of desperate citizens would line up for hours on end for simple things like bread and meat. Over the decades, Russian
citizens have become accustomed to queuing for hours for
just about everything. Even for things like McDonald's, but they've also come
up with ways around it. Queuing comrades will
save each other's spaces in line and announced definitively where their place is in the queue. This tactic can be used to
save multiple spaces in line, across many different queues,
giving a single person the best chance of reaching the front as quickly as possible. So should you ever visit Russia, be sure to check who the last in line is before you join a queue. It might look short, but you never know how many people could be in front of you. Eating etiquette. If you, like me, are from the West then you're probably used to putting a lot of food on your plate. But these belly busting
Western portion sizes aren't found all over the world. Take Japan, for instance, whose typically tiny portion sizes are so comparatively small. They consume an average of a
thousand calories less per day than their American counterparts. They're teeny tiny dietary patterns come from the country's
history of food shortages. So their traditional diets
have adapted to food scarcity. It's become so ingrained in their culture. that today even Japanese
branches of the fast food giant McDonald's have adapted their cup sizes to fit the smaller Japanese standard. That means their American
large is actually 1 1/2 times bigger than a Japanese large. I guess everything really
is bigger in America. Although if you're looking to try foods that are a little more traditional, like the famous Japanese
staple of noodles, don't be afraid to slurp loudly. (slurping loudly) Contrary to the rest of the world where noisy eaters really get a mouthful, Japan purposefully slurp their noodles to bring out the flavor. While they're loudly devouring
the delicious delicacy they're constantly sniffing
to take in the air, enhancing all the fragrances of the meal. It allows them to enjoy the
hot noodles much quicker, making their meal as
fast as it is delicious. But over in Europe and
far from a fast affair a dinner in Italy is definitely
not something to be rushed. In the land of fine
wines and perfect pasta, a traditional evening meal consists of around eight gut busting courses. And in between all the
conversation, food and wine, one meal can last a
phenomenal four hours or more. So if you ever decided to go
wining and dining in Italy, remember don't fill up on the breadsticks. And speaking of filling up, if you're ever invited to dine
at someone's house in China, when you're finished, be sure to leave some food on your plate. It may seem impolite, but
it's actually the opposite. In this country, leaving food is a sign that you're satisfied and that the host didn't skimp on the portion size. But on the other side of the table, Indian eating etiquette encourages diners to finish as much of the food
on their plate as possible. Obviously if you've eaten a lot, it might be forgiven for
leaving a few crumbs, but leftover food is a big no-no. And not just that, but
you should also be mindful of how quickly you're eating. As delicious as it may be, inhaling what's on your plate
can come across as impolite. But eating at a snail's pace can imply that you don't like the food. What an insult. And should you be asked to take more food? Even if you're ready to
burst, don't decline. Saying "take more food" is an Indian way of showing love and respect. So unless you want your host to start seasoning the
food with their tears, take what you're offered. Drinking Do's and Don'ts. Hooch, booze, Fire Water
giggle juice, liquid courage. It's not just alcohol's
nicknames that differ around the world, but also
the way it's consumed. If you're visiting
Britain, you'll experience the coveted culture of pre drinking. This is where people
will enjoy drinks at home before going out for a
night of, well, drinking. It's something akin to a frat party, except this party is only
the beginning of the night. With the sole purpose of saving
money and getting wasted, UK drinkers get drunk more than any other country in the world. That means on average,
they get totally trousered or off their face more than
a phenomenal 50 times a year. Now opposite to the British binge culture, The French are famously
more considerate drinkers. That is because, unlike a lot of the west, they're not drinking to get drunk. They tend to drink slower
and in much smaller units than other countries, allowing them to savor all the flavors of the beverage. It's also what children, as young as 16 are allowed a tipple, but only if they're in
the company of adults. By learning to savor wine at younger ages, the French tend to avoid falling into the binge drinking trap. That's certainly something
to raise a glass to. Now on the other end of both
of these spectrums is India, which actually upholds
an official prohibition on alcohol in several states. But even though it's banned
in much of the country, India is also confusingly
the ninth largest consumer of alcohol in the world. What a chaotic contrast. While certain states clearly
have a love/hate relationship with the spicy water,
the entire country unites on specific dry days where the sale of alcohol is totally forbidden. Important dates like
their Independence Day, religious holidays and elections see the country go cold
turkey for 24 hours. So even though tourists
may be tempted to celebrate with a drink on these days, they'll need to stock up beforehand. Eccentric Entertainment. How do you unwind at the
end of a long, hard week? Do you go see a movie or maybe hang out with your friends? Well, if you're in Japan, there's a really good chance
you'll spend your evening in a karaoke center. The country has over 10,000
karaoke establishments where you can sing your heart out 24/7. It's popularity stems from a
culture where group singing from a young age is the norm, making karaoke get together
as a logical step up. But as you wander, through
those Japanese city streets, you might also notice the abundance of strangely named "host bars." Here, you can pay money to socialize with professional, beautiful strangers. On the surface, this may
sound something like Hooters, but the hosts here spend the
night entertaining the customer with conversation and karaoke
all while encouraging them to spend big on the booze and tips. Though it sounds fun,
it's not always glamorous. For many hosts, they're
very meager basic wage is supplemented by commissions
of up to 50% of the drinks their customers buy. This turns it into something
of a massive popularity contest with hosts often encouraging customers to spend thousands of dollars
on services in just one night. If that sounds a little too odd to you, why not try something
like a "Rui-Katsu" event? This is where you pay to get together with a bunch of adults,
put on a tear jerking movie and bawl your eyes out. Don't get me wrong, there's
nothing more stress-relieving than having a good cry. But a room full of strangers
all doing the same thing sounds a little unsettling. Although according to the event attendees, most of which are male, it's a great way to stop the stress of the week from becoming too much. But if that's a bit too heavy for you, why not head over to
Germany where you can strip all your burdens away? Literally. Nudism is traditionally
popular in the Germanic state. So much so that it even has its
own word, "Freikoerperkult." Or "free body culture" if you're not too hot on the old German. So if you'd prefer to keep
your innocence intact, avoid the saunas, swimming
pools, beaches, and parks. Or better yet, invest in some really, really good sunglasses. Travel Trouble. Wanderlust can take you to
some pretty incredible places. But sometimes just getting
there can be a bumpy ride. In Italy, for example,
it's rarely explained that some train tickets
are only considered valid if you have endorsed
them at machines separate from the payment kiosk. If you're caught riding the trains with a non-endorsed ticket, transport police will level
you with a hefty fine, even though yet technically have a ticket. But public transport aside, to get across countries like Iceland, where all the beautiful and
brilliant cities are connected by road, you really need a car. Although Icelandic gas stations can pose peculiar problems of their own. For a start, they're not all the same. Some are full service and
some are self service. While full service stations
accept all manner of payment, the automated self service
stations only accept credit cards with a pin. That rules out most American credit cards. So if you don't want to end
up stranded in the snow, make sure to travel around with
a card that's pin prepared. Although if you visit a
large Vietnamese city, there's one method of
transport where paying could pose even more problems. The backwards looking bicycles
rolling through the streets are called "cyclos",
where the driver pedals from the back with the
passengers sitting in the front. They appeared in the country back in the French colonial period
after the country failed to take the world renowned rickshaw. But when it comes to paying for a ride, obvious tourist often faced
astronomical prices compared to the locals. So before you hop onboard, remember to haggle the price down, or you might end up paying
way more than a fair fare. All these rules around travel are enough to make you wanna walk everywhere, but in Thailand using
your feet for anything but walking is incredibly impolite. Here, feet are considered the lowest and dirtiest part of the human body. So having your feet facing temples, images of Buddha and
monks is a huge taboo. Even when you're sitting it's best to tuck your feet behind
you and never rest them on something like a table or chair, or you'll certainly get chastised. I wonder what their policy
is on terrible jokes. Dress Disaster. Have you ever gone on holiday and felt like you missed the fashion memo? Well, depending on where you're traveling, what you're wearing could be
the difference between a day at the beach and a day in a prison cell. In many Muslim majority countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Oman, strict dress codes are in
place that prevent women, in particular, from wearing
revealing clothing outdoors. And in some cases, even
showing their hair in public. Like in Iran, where it's compulsory for women to wear hijab
or headscarf outdoors. As you can imagine, it's a
pretty controversial law. And considering the country
can have summer highs that reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit the idea of wrapping a
scarf around your noggin in that heat sounds utterly sweltering. But as hot as this may
make many female tourists, they shouldn't take it off. Removing a headscarf in
public can see women arrested for violating public prudency, a charge that carries up to a two month prison
sentence or 74 lashes. Yikes, like being a
woman wasn't hard enough. But they're not the only countries where you can get a fine
for inappropriate clothing. In Spain, driving while wearing sandals or flip flops is generally frowned upon. It's viewed as dangerous
because the sandal could become stuck under the pedal causing you to lose control of the car. It sounds funny, but the
authorities take it very seriously. And because it's up to their discretion, you could face a fine of up to 200 euros. That's one way to put your foot in it. Although when it comes to
choosing comfort over style, China really goes above and beyond. Citizens have been known
for finding their pajamas so comfortable that locals go
out and about with them on. Many people will head to the shops, clad head to two and a
plush robe and cozy pants. And some even go to work like that. The comfy conundrum got
so bad that early in 2020, the government began naming and shaming public pajama wearers calling their dress sense
"uncivilized behavior." But the backlash the initiative received for invading the privacy
of these citizens resulted in the government apologizing profusely. And today pajamas are still a
staple of Chinese streetwear. Or more accurately, sleepwear. So if you ever take a trip to China, don't be afraid to pack
your bunny slippers. But if you're traveling to the Caribbean, remember to leave all
your camouflage at home. It's illegal in Jamaica,
Antigua, Barbados, and Granada to have, or
wear camouflage clothing if you're a civilian. And that includes shirts, shorts,
wallets, purses, and hats. Historically, uprisings
across these islands saw waves of camouflage wearing
assailants attempting to impersonate the military. But even though it's
technically camouflage, gaudy leopard print doesn't count. So your mom should be just fine. Have you ever experienced any of these cultural oddities firsthand? Or do you know of any others that you just can't get your head around? Let me know when those comments down below and thanks for watching. (upbeat music)
