Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
50 Times Travelers Were Shocked, Amused, Or Amazed In Other Countries (New Pics)
Interview With Expert
Traveling isn't just about taking a break from work and spending your money on comfortable accommodations; although nice and often necessary for our burnt-out bodies and minds, these luxuries are only part of the essence, which lies in exploring new places, meeting interesting people, and opening up to unfamiliar experiences.
To show you how much these things can broaden our understanding of the world, we at Bored Panda collected a bunch of unforgettable moments tourists shared online from their international journeys. From innovative uses of communal spaces to unorthodox transportation solutions, sometimes you don't even know what's possible until you see it.
Continue scrolling to check out the pictures and don't miss the chat we had with travel blogger and writer from Norway, Lisa Stentvedt.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The German Circus Uses Huge 3D Holograms Instead Of Live Animals
RELATED:
#2
Splurged On A Hotel In Patagonia
Whenever we embark on a new trip, we can get so excited that we forget about the people around us. But as we check destinations off our bucket list, it's important to remain mindful of others—especially on planes, where passengers can quickly get on one another's nerves.
But "generally, as long as people act normally and leave each other alone, they don’t affect the flight experience much at all," Lisa Stentvedt, the woman behind Fjords & Beaches, a travel blog dedicated to everyone who refuses to stop exploring, told Bored Panda.
"All it takes is a smile and polite conversation to improve it, or a pair of bare feet on your armrest to detract from it."
#3
There Is A Mini Rijksmuseum In The Amsterdam Airport To View Paintings While You Wait For Your Flight
#4
My City Has Lines That You Can Follow That Direct You To Certain Places For Tourists
#5
A Cheese Vending Machine In A Mountain Village In Switzerland
Out of all the annoying things, "What I experience the most is people who forget that the seat in front of them actually has another passenger in it," Lisa said.
"Too many people use the seat in front of them to pull themselves out of their own seat (instead of the armrest), aggressively tap their video screen to change their movie, or even lean on the seat when getting into their own. All of these actions disturb the person sitting in that seat and can be really annoying."
#6
The Way This Window Turned To Look Like A Painting. Florence, Italy
#7
This Toilet At A Dutch Supermarket Lets You Test The Brands Of Toilet Paper They Sell
#8
My Bubble Hotel Room In Petra, Jordan. At Night, You Could See All The Stars In The Sky
Scott Rackley 4 weeks ago
Dark sky places are awesome. It's a pity that there is so much light pollution we can't see just how bright the galaxy is. When I was in Australia I even got to see the Magellanic Clouds.
#9
I Rode On A Boat, On A Lake, In A Cave
And as tricky as flights can be, Lisa of Fjords & Beaches tries to avoid open conflict whenever possible. "I would personally never bother the crew for anything that isn't an actual violation of safety or airline protocols," she said. "If someone smells bad, for example, that's not something the stewards can do anything about. Nor is it against airline policy, as far as I am aware." So, be empathetic, stick to your boundaries, and when you land, you will (hopefully) be in a good enough mood to make the best of your journey.
#10
Lisbon Consists Of 7 Hills. In Order To Make It Easier For Residents And Tourists To Move Between The Different Neighbourhoods, This Open-Air Escalator Was Installed
#11
Icelandic Park Benches With Footrests
#12
This Supermarket In An Old Theatre In Venice, Italy
Jrog 4 weeks ago (edited)
DESPAR Teatro Italia in Venice. Opened in 2016 in a building protected by the "Belle Arti". The owner is the Coìn family, owners of a large chain of fashion stores. It was an interesting operation, because it was not the usual "commercialization" of a cultural space. The store was opened as a way to finance the preservation of the building, that was severely degraded and close to collapse. The family bought the place and in order to make it financially sustainable spent 5 million euro in the renovation, and designed the store around the preservation requirements.
#13
Barrier-Free Access To The Sea For Wheelchair Users In Zadar, Croatia
The Pew Research Center examined the travel habits of people from 24 countries. The data showed that the share of those who have traveled abroad ranges from a low of 3% in India to more than 99% in Sweden and the Netherlands.
Overall, a median of 79% across the 24 countries surveyed say they have been to at least one other country, while a median of 21% have not traveled outside their homeland.
#14
Stumbled Across This Cemetery In Kyoto During A Festival Tonight. All The Lanterns Were Candle Lit And It Was Stunning
Without wandering, without a plan and getting lost you miss out on opportunities like this.
#15
My Hotel Room Is Under Water
Wang Zhuang 4 weeks ago
Key Largo has an underwater hotel as well. Not sure it's as nice as this one
#16
My Hotel Phone In Iceland Has A Special Button That Will Wake You Up If There Are Northern Lights In The Sky
#17
This Slide At The Berlin Mall
There are large differences by region, with Europeans being the most likely to have traveled to a country other than their own: about two-thirds or more in every nation on the Old Continent surveyed have traveled abroad. By contrast, roughly a third or fewer people from India, Indonesia, and the Latin American and African nations surveyed have done the same.
#18
Snack Serving Robot In China Upset With Me Because I Didn't Take Any Snacks
#19
These Beautiful Movie Tickets In South Korea
#20
City Of Szczecin In Poland Offers Tourist Map With Dotted Line Marking The Attractions. The Same Dotted Line Is Also Painted On The Streets
Barbara Wilcock 4 weeks ago
Sometimes it's nice to get lost and find new things. This is not for me
While the physical size of the country or the region someone is from may play some role in people's travels, it is not the only explanation. Economic factors are also important.
Higher-income countries have much higher rates of international visits. For example, Sweden and the Netherlands are among the richest nations surveyed, and in both places, nearly all respondents said they had traveled to another country.
The country that departs from this pattern is the US. While it's at the top of the countries surveyed in terms of gross domestic product per capita, about half of the nations had higher rates of international travel.
#21
My Hotel Room Had A Map On The Wall Of The City I Was Visiting
#22
Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) Zebra. Was So Cool To See So Many Here On My Trip In June (This Place Is The Garden Of Eden)
#23
Singapore Airport Allows The Passenger To Slide Down To The Terminal Gate
Michael Gunawan 4 weeks ago
No, it's not to the terminal gate, it's just there for fun and to kill time
amanda strachan 3 weeks ago
I used to live in Changi in the late 60's early 70's. The airport was built over our old house.
Penguin Panda Pop 3 weeks ago
The massive indoor waterfall is the most impressive feature in Changi airport Changi-67c...f08af1.jpg 
Bruce Mardle 4 weeks ago
When was this installed? I spent an hour in Changi airport in 1990. Now I feel like I missed out!
#24
This Restaurant In Italy Have A Salami Hose
#25
In Spain There's A Winery That Has A Fountain With Free Wine
#26
Napping Pods Found In Zhengzhou Airport, China
Melissa Buddin 4 weeks ago
I would fall into such a deep sleep in one of these. So cozy. Then wake up... drooling... wondering where in the heck I was!
#27
Japanese Beer Cans Have 'This Is Alcohol' Written On The Top In Japanese And In Braille
#28
These Roadside Trees In Taiwan Have Qr Codes. Scanning One Takes You To A Webpage With More Information About The Tree
#29
This Bicycle Shop In Copenhagen Will Rent You A Bike Without A Rental Company Logo, So That You Look Like A Local And Not A Tourist
#30
Airless Tires On Rentable Bikes In Singapore
#31
A Restaurant In Spain Has Teddy Bears Sitting Down In Every Table To Make You Company
Rachel Pelz 4 weeks ago
So if living humans want to sit there and all the seats are taken, the local plushy sits on your lap, I guess?
#32
Taken During My Trip To Bangkok, Thailand. 3 Headed Elephant Statue. No Picture Can Show You How Enormous This Thing Is
#33
This Quiet Room At Narita Airport For People With Autism
#34
A Sardine Shop Designed To Look Like A Candy Store (Porto, Portugal)
#35
There Are Open-Air Escalators Super High Up In Tokyo, Where You Can Get This Kind Of View
#36
There Are Wine Vending Machines In Austria
#37
These Tilted Houses I Found When I Was Touring A While Ago
#38
These Phone Chargers In The Singapore Airport Require You To Pedal. [oc]
#39
At This Public Library (In Odense, Denmark) You Can Also Borrow Framed Art
#40
This Store Allows You To Build Your Own Pens
#41
Mario Kart Tour That I Encountered At The Famous Shibuya Crossing
Jrog 4 weeks ago (edited)
This company (MariCart) was sued by Nintendo and shut down on IP infringement charges. It later changed name to Street Kart Tour, and is -at least formally- discouraging conflating the tour with the game company. They are now forbidden to use suits and costumes of IP protected characters. What they don't tell you is that is extremely dangerous. According to several sources, in 2018 -before temporarily closing for Covid- they had 50 go-kart accidents over 11 months. Drivers are held liable for damages in case of any accident.
#42
I Saw A Scottish Mobile Cinema Today. People Go In The Front And The Screen Is At The Back
#43
Visited The Private Rooftop Gardens At 30 Rock
#44
At This Gas Station In Switzerland You Can Select The Music Type You Want To Hear While Tanking Up
Luke Branwen 4 weeks ago
Rock and pop should be separated tho 😁 I'd be kinda let down if I pushed the button hoping for Linkin Park and got Ed Sheeran.
#45
Busses In Germany Show A Coffee When The Driver Is Taking A Small Break
#46
The Trevi Fountain In Rome Has Been Emptied And A Little Pool Was Put In Front Of It So Tourists Could Throw A Coin
#47
This Burger King In Vienna Serves Vegan Food Only
#48
There's A Desserts-Only Mini Mcdonalds Outside My Hotel
#49
The Hotel I Stayed At Last Weekend Has A "Shower Beer" Fridge By The Shower
Poll Question
How do you feel about experiencing unexpected moments while traveling?
Excited
Anxious
Curious
Indifferent
Add New Image
What do you think ?
KatSaidWhat 4 weeks ago
Actually I would be happy with more items so I can discover things about places I might visit.
michael reid 3 weeks ago
Less is for things you can't count, like less water, less speed; fewer is for things you can, like fewer grapes, fewer items on a list.
elijo sintetico 4 weeks ago (edited)
In these posts there is always one place missing that for me is the best thing in the world. LA CASA DE LOS GATOS (The House of the CATS). Valencia (Spain). Look for it 😻
Irishwoman abroad 3 weeks ago
I live in Valencia and I've never heard of it! Is it in the city centre? Never mind, I'll Google it.
Tiny Dancer 3 weeks ago
Awww! That's wonderful, thanks for making me look :-) "Feral cats roam the streets, looking for a place to rest their bones before being shooed away. The cat house offers them respite." https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cat-house
Forrest Hobbs 4 weeks ago
Nice to see such a fine list of interesting things. Thank you, BP - and please, the longer the better. 😁
Apatheist Account2 4 weeks ago
A disturbing number of robots. Don't these people watch sci-fi films?
Forrest Hobbs 4 weeks ago
Perhaps it is more disturbing that a person can't be interested in the way fiction is turning into real life. 😉
KatSaidWhat 4 weeks ago
Actually I would be happy with more items so I can discover things about places I might visit.
michael reid 3 weeks ago
Less is for things you can't count, like less water, less speed; fewer is for things you can, like fewer grapes, fewer items on a list.
elijo sintetico 4 weeks ago (edited)
In these posts there is always one place missing that for me is the best thing in the world. LA CASA DE LOS GATOS (The House of the CATS). Valencia (Spain). Look for it 😻
Irishwoman abroad 3 weeks ago
I live in Valencia and I've never heard of it! Is it in the city centre? Never mind, I'll Google it.
Tiny Dancer 3 weeks ago
Awww! That's wonderful, thanks for making me look :-) "Feral cats roam the streets, looking for a place to rest their bones before being shooed away. The cat house offers them respite." https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cat-house
Forrest Hobbs 4 weeks ago
Nice to see such a fine list of interesting things. Thank you, BP - and please, the longer the better. 😁
Apatheist Account2 4 weeks ago
A disturbing number of robots. Don't these people watch sci-fi films?
Forrest Hobbs 4 weeks ago
Perhaps it is more disturbing that a person can't be interested in the way fiction is turning into real life. 😉
You May Like 51 Safest Places To Travel Right Now The Best Travel Shows To Fulfill Your Wanderlust Needs 37 Best Solo Travel Destinations To Keep In Mind For Your Next Trip
Larysa Perih
Viltė Domkutė
Aivaras Kaziukonis
Related on Bored Panda
