Our Top 20 weirdest things in Asia

It is time to say Good Bye to Asia. We spent almost 5 months travelling around this very special continent and visited 6 countries (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and kind of Vietnam).

Next to the beautiful nature we saw and the nice people we met, some special things will stay in our minds forever. They are weird, surprising or just funny.

1. The toilets

Everyone (especially the ladies) who have already visited Asia is familiar with the toilets you can find here. They are kind of holes on which you have to stand (your upper legs will get trained). There is no flush and most of the times no toilet paper. You clean the place with the water you find in a small container. If there is toilet paper, do not throw them into the toilet but the bin provided.

2. The bathrooms

Although most hotels do have western bathrooms you will have to deal most of the times with bathrooms where the toilet (a normal toilet) is combined with the shower. So every time you shower, the whole bathroom is wet and very slippery. Do not be surprised when you do not have hot water either.

3. Watch out slippery

Even though Asia knows its rainy season the floor tiles that are used in the cities are not very handy during rainy season. As soon as it starts raining the tiles turn into a slippery slide. So watch out walking when it is raining.

4. 40 degrees and everyone is covered up

As soon as the sun comes out and it gets warm us European undress. Well, the Asians do not. They cover up when sitting on a scooter wearing long trousers, sleeves and masks. We are still not quite sure whether they do that to protect themselves against the sun or against the dust and wind.

5. Honk honk

Being in traffic (or trying to cross a street) you are confronted with a lot of honking. Everyone is honking, but not to intimidate you but to let you know that they are there. “Honk honk” is kind of “Hello there, I am behind you, I will take you over.”

6. 7/11

They are almost everywhere and they are freeeeeezing (maybe that is another reason for people to cover up). We were wondering why they still have freezers in the 7/11. No need as the average temperature in there is already like being in a chilly bin.

7. The bus leaves when it is full

This happens a lot. Busses do only leave when they are completely full and you will learn a new definition of full: Full is when they cannot create any more seats somehow. The craziest seats we spotted where wooden stools that were placed in the walk way.

8. Belly button free

Which used to be a trend in the 80ies, it is still very common to see in Asia. Men of all ages and posture walk around with their shirts rolled up. They are not stuck in the 80ies but it is their way to cool down.

9. Wrong spelling or grammar

This is a every day hilarity. Menu’s, shop signs, information cards or official road signs are never correct. Like never.

10. Tuk Tuks

We will not miss them. The tuk tuk drivers. I know it is their job but they can get very annoying when you do not need a tuk tuk. If you walk on, they even offer you all kind of other things. Those guys can seriously get you anything (apart from getting you from A to B for a too high price)

11. Massaaaaaaaaaaaaaage?

You can get a massage everywhere! In every city or village where tourists come you have loads of massage studios or spas next to each other. Prices are most of the times the same and we still have not figured out yet but what their individual USP’s are.

12. Getting ripped off

Travelling through Asia, there is not one day that you will not get ripped off for anything you try to purchase. You most likely pay three times more than the real price (even when you think you have gotten a good bargain).

13. Elephants shirts and trousers aka hippie clothes

This is my personal favourite mystery. Who came first? The tourists or the trousers? You only see tourists walking around in those trousers and they can only wear them in Asia (I got one myself).

14. The scooter is the new SUV

We always underestimated the scooter. Here they are used for transporting whole families, animals and or furniture.

15. Zebra Crossings

They do not work in Asia. As long as you are not a truck or a big car you have no rights in traffic. The bigger you are the more rights you have.

16. Whitening

Try to buy body lotions, sunscreen or any other cream without whitening. Whereas in Europe you try to get a dark tint, people here try to stay as white as possible. They even put snail ingredients into their lotions.

17. Monks and Women

Monks are one of the symbols of the Buddhist countries and you see them walking around everywhere in orange robs and often with umbrellas. If you are a woman, you are not allowed to stand or sit next to a monk. Touching a monk is a no go as well (although I was wondering why or when I actually should touch one anyway).

18. Tigerbalm

Tigerbalm is THE remedy for everything. Sniff it, put it on itchy mosquito bites or sore muscles, Tigerbalm will help. It even helps against a headache.

19. Spirit houses and temples

We stopped counting the temples and spirit houses we have seen in the last 5 months. Every house has a little spirit house to host the friendly spirits around and every town has a least one Wat (temple). After a few months travelling, tripadvisor cannot really convince you to visit any more famous Wats. Do not get me wrong. They are beautiful but they are really everywhere (in caves, on top of mountains, in the sea, etc.).

20. Animals

Here is our top 5 of animals we have encountered or feared in Asia.

Bugs – you will have a bug in your bathroom eventually. Most likely it will be a cockroach but do not panic. I prefer having a cockroach in the bathroom than bedbugs in my bed.

Gekkos – Oh ohhhhhh. If you ever have a gecko in your room, leave it there! They protected us from mosquitos during the last months. If you hear a gecko singing oh ohhhhhhh, try to count the number of times he does it – 7 times and you might get lucky.

Cats with no tail – Cats often have no tail. Do not worry. They are born like that. No crazy housewife chopped them off ;)

Dogs – We saw soo many wild dogs in Asia. 99% of them is harmless and besides a little barking they did not do anything.

Cocks/roosters – They woke us up. Several time, regulary! I am not quite sure what was more distracting: the cocks that sang too loud in the morning and the ones that sang too wrong in the morning.