In hindsight, it seems a bit silly to be surprised by the unexpected when traveling. After all, the entire point is to see and experience new things, otherwise, why spend all the time and money? So one should at least expect some amount of surprises and fortunately for all of us, these travelers made sure to document the unusual or unexpected things they encountered while traversing the globe.
So, wherever you are, get comfortable and prepare to scroll through all the memorable little things tourists and travelers have run into, upvote the experiences that caught you by surprise, and be sure to comment your own stories. And if some of the things listed here are pretty normal where you are from, let us know!
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They Have Pet Carts In Grocery Stores In Italy
This Museum In Berlin Has "Touchable" Versions Of Their Paintings For Blind People
The Algerian Sahara By Night. With No Light Pollution, The Sky Is Truly Incredible
I spent four days camping out in the remote Algerian Sahara - just me and a local guide. I took a million photos but this was one of my favorites. Freezing cold at night, but free of all light pollution the sky was breathtakingly beautiful.
The whole world is incredible if we could just stop fighting over it and learn to cooperatively enjoy it!
Despite the dangers and discomfort, humans have been fascinated with travel for thousands of years. There are early Medieval examples from all over the world, while the earliest example is “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,” which is a first-century text describing travel conditions, currents, and weather patterns throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Less a piece of literature, it was more like a guide for merchants who were looking to travel in these areas, though it seems likely that any merchant with half a brain would still need to hire captains and sailors with experience. Currently, it’s not even known who authored the text or if it even had one author, as there is the possibility that it functioned more like a collection of different people’s experiences.
An Albino Turtle I Saw On My Vacation In Sri Lanka
After 4 Days Of Trekking Over The Salkantay Pass To Get To Machu Picchu, I Woke Up Around 3:30 Am To Try To Get There Before The Rest Of The Tourists
100% worth it for seeing the sunrise alone.
Rainy Day In Ireland
Marco Polo is a more commonly known traveler, but he was not the only one of his contemporaries to write about his experiences. In China, one of Marco Polo’s many destinations, there were even writers who would make “day trip essays,” which would give readers some basic information about different locations that are, as the name suggests, a day’s travel away. However, these essays mainly focused on using the locations to provide some sort of moral lesson, which tells us that even a thousand years ago, people could not help from editorializing.
In Denmark, Some Of Our Light Signals Are Small Vikings
My Hotel Phone In Iceland Has A Special Button That Will Wake You Up If There Are Northern Lights In The Sky
My Hotel In China Has A Card To Give To A Taxi Driver So You Can Find Your Way Back
Indeed, in the 16th century, traveling to what at the time was Persia (mostly modern Iran) and the Indian subcontinent was so popular, that these accounts were often put together into collections, so interested readers could just buy one book and compare. There were similar collections for Europe, though it was seen as less exotic than Asia, and often focused on a single region, such as the Italian peninsula.
Train Seats In Japan Facing Outwards So You Can See The Scenery
Spotted The Hogwarts Express On My Trip To Scotland Last Year
A Tram On The Stuttgart Rack Railway With A Trailer For Bikes. Stuttgart, Germany
As maritime technology developed, the means of transportation itself became a topic of interest. Similar to the travel vlogs of today, there was a lucrative niche describing the realities of ocean voyages and the various sights and experiences one could have. Of course, the average person on, say, a transatlantic ship had a much worse experience than a literate, generally wealthy traveler.
In The Ancient Egypt, Cats Were Sacred Animals. It Seems That Nothing Has Changed Since Then
These Two Different Sets Of Shopping Baskets At A Department Store In Bangkok - For Those That Need Help Or Want To Be Left Alone
Wuppertal's Suspension Railway (Monorail), Germany
This all goes to show that these travelers, documenting and photographing the things they saw are part of an ancient tradition. While we might think of Marco Polo’s writings as more highbrow, he probably would have used a camera, if he had the option, as a picture can really show you what a thousand words can’t. Hopefully, this list has put some wanderlust into you and there will be more interesting experiences from around the world for all of us to enjoy online.
This Tree In Morocco Is Filled With Real Goats Standing On It
The Way These Trees Grew On A Street In Amsterdam
Subways In Japan Have Women-Only Cars
In Finland, There Are Buttons To Thank The Bus Driver
Found A Door Entering A Field In Denmark
My Buddy And I Got Our Faces On The Foam Of Our Beers In Ireland
Went To A Beach In Iceland And Took A Full-Color Picture That Looks Entirely Grayscale
I Visited Antarctica Recently
This Albino Reindeer I Saw While Traveling In Finnish Lapland
Found A Statue In Rome With Bunny Socks
Some Roads In Australia Are So Long And Boring That They Have Trivia Signs To Keep Drivers Alert
This 2D Café We Visited In Seoul
One Of My Bucket List Items Was To Visit This Stunning Town Where The Houses Are Literally Under The Rock
Beautiful white houses line up the narrow streets of Setenil de Las Bodegas.
How have I not heard of this beautiful place before? I must be living under a rock-
Traveling Within Iceland Because We Couldn’t Go Elsewhere. Found These Guys Sheltering From The Wind
Desert Oasis In Peru - Huacachina
Lisbon Consists Of 7 Hills. In Order To Make It Easier For Residents And Tourists To Move Between The Different Neighborhoods, This Open-Air Escalator Was Installed
I Found This Ceiling Light Full Of Rubber Ducks In A Pub In Edinburgh
Giant Hives Hanging From The Ceiling Enclosed In A Glass Case With Outdoor Access At The “Home Of Bees” In Poyales Del Hoyo, Spain
This Slide At The Berlin Mall
Here In Italy Bars Are Starting To Use Pasta As Straws To Reduce Plastic Use. Our Technology Amazes The World Another Time
Great idea! I heard yesterday that a famous chef who’s name escapes me is trying to make straws out of seaweed.
So much better then metal or paper straws wish they would do this in the states.
I'll take a metal straw over a paper straw any day.
Load More Replies...Yeah, keep focusing on the plastic straws. Once we've got that sorted all our plastic recycling problems will disappear. Ask yourself, how did people consume beverages prior to the invention of the straw?
I wish they would do that in the US. The paper ones taste funny, stick to your lips, and, of course get soggy.
Humans can be smart and insanely dumb at the same time I’m glad I’m a hedgehog!
The Town We Vacationed In Has Red Street Lights To Not Mess With The Wildlife
UPS In Italy Use These "Bicycle Trucks" To Deliver Packages To Places In The Narrow Streets Of Rome
This Guy Makes Pizza Using Volcanic Vents On The Volcán De Pacaya In Guatemala
I'd not be able to. These vents release SO2 gas which would probably infest the pizza and give me asthma. Terrible stuff.
Green Train In Lower Silesia, Poland
This Warning Sign For Ghosts At An Old Castle In Poland
Are the ghosts married, the ball and chain? Edit to add, "/just kidding".
In Italy They Got Free Water In Little Towns. You Can Choose Between Water With Gas, Cooled Or Regular
I Was Visiting The Gulf Of Mexico Last Week, And It Was Genuinely Difficult To See Where The Sea Stopped And The Sky Started
My Apartment For The Night In Porto, Portugal Has A Preserved 12th-Century Wall And Staircase Encased In The Bedroom
Α Trireme At The Piraeus Port, Greece
A Non-Muslim Section At A Grocery Store In Dubai
I have ZERO interest to go there. They have been giving refuge to the corrupt guys who stole 50bn of our government's money. (SA).
This McDonald's Has A "Drive-Thru" For Boats. Located In Hamburg, Germany
These Sprinklers On The Road Near The Ski Resort I'm At In Japan To Keep The Road From Freezing Over (Salt Water If You Were Wondering)
We have something like this in the US. They normally use magnesium chloride and not salt. Still not good on cars but better then salt.
Today I Discovered That, In France, McDonald's Serves Mcbaguettes
The Bone Church In The Czech Republic
This McDonald's In New Zealand Has A Decommissioned Plane You Can Dine In
Hi, at least 15 of these pix are repeated twice, sometimes 3 times. I see this all too often on Bored Panda. Could someone please check out collections of items before posting to avoid these duplications?
They're not duplicates. As individual posts in a thread are upvoted and downvoted, the list updates in real time. The order is constantly changing.
Load More Replies...Hi, at least 15 of these pix are repeated twice, sometimes 3 times. I see this all too often on Bored Panda. Could someone please check out collections of items before posting to avoid these duplications?
They're not duplicates. As individual posts in a thread are upvoted and downvoted, the list updates in real time. The order is constantly changing.
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