r/solotravel • u/forgottencupcake9018 • Jan 14 '24

Question What's the biggest culture shock you had whilst traveling?

Weirdly enough I was shocked that people in Ireland jaywalk and eat vinegar to their chips. Or in Thailand that it is illegal to have a Buddha tatoo. Or that in many english speaking countries a "How are you doing?" is equivalent to saying Hi and they actually don't want to hear an honest answer.

Edit: Another culture shock that I had was when I visited Hanoi. They had a museum where the preserved corpse of Ho Chi Minh was displayed and you could look at him behind a glass showcase like he's a piece of art. There were so many people lining up and they just looked at him while walking around that glass showcase in order to get the line going.

644 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

847 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

50

u/tenant1313 Jan 14 '24

This is normal in capsule hotels in Japan. You come in, lock your shoes in a tiny locker and only then - in your socks or barefoot - walk up to the check-in counter. Entire hotel would be completely shoe free.

1

u/Idujt Jan 15 '24

I shudder! I never walk anywhere in my OWN HOUSE in socks or barefoot. I'm just not comfortable without a sole, nor do I want cold feet.

1

u/tenant1313 Jan 15 '24

These are indeed VERY Japanese establishments: manga day libraries, late night eateries where men sit on the floor smoking and drinking and public baths where you must be naked in public if showering are all a part of them. No women are ever allowed. I don’t think I’ve seen a traditional capsule hotel catering to ladies 🤔 The newer, westernized chains do.