Thanks for the A2A !

I had written a related answer few years ago, which also happened to be my first - Sampriti Saikia's answer to What is your most memorable cultural shock?

Since the first experience, I have traveled a bit. Below are a few unforgettable experiences which I associate with the countries I have visited so far.

Singapore

Snapshot 1: (Food)

I have been living here for the past 4 years. When I came here initially, I was overwhelmed to see the food options in abundance. There are so many cuisines. Food Everywhere. Saw many sea foods like octopus and lobster for the first time.

Snapshot 2: (Tapao)

People seldom cook at home. They mostly eat outside or do Tapao(Take away). As an Indian, cooking meals at home is the norm. Although I eat my lunch or occasional breakfast outside (when I have office), my dinners are usually cooked at home, as are the meals on the weekends.

Snapshot 3: (Teh/Tea)

It is quite common for people to drink iced beverages with any meal eg. Milk tea or Milo. I had a colleague with whom I used to go for lunch frequently, she would order iced milk tea every time without an exception. I tried a few times but couldn’t continue the notion of gulping tea with rice.

(image from google)

Snapshot 4: ( Tamil)

Seeing Tamil, an Indian Language, as one of the official languages of Singapore was a surprise to me.

Snapshot 5: ( la)

People using “la” at end of sentences. Ex. If they have to say Ok, they would say Ok-la in Singlish. So it seems as one is saying Okela. Now Kela is the most popular slang in Assam, my native state. Initially I was amused to hear this word, yes la, true la ! :P :P

Snapshot 6: ( Chope seats)

The Chope culture. People chope or reserve seats/tables in restaurants, eateries using tissue packets. One day during lunch, I pushed aside the packet and sat down to eat. Soon, 2 ladies came up with their food trays. Needless to say I had to getup. Nowadays I too chope places : using an umbrella or whatever is with me. :-)

(image from google)

Snapshot 7: (Durian Durian)

Durian is banned in public places like Buses and MRTs. Now you ask - what is Durian? Well, Durian is a fruit, in fact the most popular fruit in Singapore. However, because of its strong odor it is not allowed. Whaaaatt!

Snapshot 8: ( Banned Gums)

Here, Chewing gums are not allowed. It is completely banned since 2004.

Malaysia

I was surprised to find Indian food in banana leaves. Also the culture of drinking iced beverages is same like Singapore. Both in Spore or in Msia, people drink tea from plastic bags like below, amused.:)

(image from google)

Thailand:

Snapshot 1: ( LadyBoys)

While visiting Krabi, a small province in southern Thailand, we stayed in one of the Ao Nang beach hotels. In the first evening, while walking from hotel towards the beach we saw tall beautiful girls in evening gowns and high heels with perfectly made up face and hair. Many of them were distributing flyers to the passers by. They looked like Mermaids to me - with golden shimmering gowns, black laced gowns, red frilly gowns, and many other bright colorful gowns. Later I learnt that they are called Lady Boys, which is the transgender community of Thailand. They were considered a third gender in the country and are accepted in society. As such, they can be seen in many professions, the flyers I mentioned above were for Cabaret shows and Bars.

Snapshot 2: (Bangla street)

While in Phuket, another province in Thailand, we stayed not far from Patong beach. We passed the famous Bangla street during daytime and saw rows of bars having attractive happy hours, some rooftop bars, restaurants, etc. The street was a bit deserted. However, I was shocked to see it changed completely after dark. The whole street was crowded and was blasting with noise as each bar had its own music, some had live music too. Scantily clad women(sometimes guys as well) were selling flyers of various bars, shows and what not. When I looked up, I saw many more such women inviting customers from the balconies. The street was dazzling due to the bright lights, far different than what it was in the morning.

the US

Snapshot 1: ( Ask $$)

Few years ago, I traveled to Boston as part of a business trip. It was my first trip to the US and the time was past 8 in the evening when I checked in to my hotel. It was downtown area and I had decided to get a take away dinner. As I was placing my order in a nearby Subway joint, an African-American person entered the store and asked money to the people present there. He was blabbering something to himself. I looked at him - he seemed drunk, was dressed a bit shabbily and was almost twice my size. I din’t know how to respond and followed others - ignored him. To be honest I was frightened and felt bad for the person at the same time. After he left, I walked back to the hotel as briskly as I could and kept thinking - “What if I encounter a similar incident and the person has a gun!”. Back home in India, the people who beg would usually remain in streets and wouldn’t enter restaurants.

Snapshot 2: (Deserted roads?)

In my business trips to Seattle, I used to stay around Redmond or Bellevue areas. During weekends, I would go for walks in the nearby places(usually to market areas) or sometimes just go out to get my dinner or lunch. Outside, I seldom find people walking except an occasional cyclist or motorbike. Coming from India, it was quite a contrast.

Snapshot 3:( Food Size)

Food portions are so BIG!One time I went to a Mexican place with my colleagues, I could not finish half of my burrito although I am a person who can EAT. My friend laughed at me. Many times I would resort to eating salads for lunch so that I do not have to throw away food. When eating alone, my dinners always had leftovers for one more meal.

Snapshot 4: (Big roads and their Humongous Road Interchanges)

Roads in US are huge. I am in awe of the infrastructure of the country every time I go. And the junctions of state interchanges! They are nothing like I had seen before. Last month, we did our first US road trip and at first it felt nightmarish navigating a junction, especially when there was an exit we had to take. I used google maps and it was like solving a puzzle - by following the tiny arrow in that maze of wires.

(image from google)

Snapshot 5: ( No man’s Land !)

In the same toad trip as I mentioned above, we were travelling from Jersey city to Niagara Falls. We hardly saw people on our way. The distance was like 400 miles each way approx. The beautiful houses had cars parked in front, but no people. It was in the month of April, temperature was around 20 during daytime. Also the houses had no boundaries,.. interesting!

Korea ( South)

I had a layover in Seoul airport once. I was there for a few hours, so decided to explore the airport mall. After strolling around a bit, I saw a procession of a King, Queen, hand maids, court members, bodyguards and a few soldiers marching in front of me. They stopped in front of a designated area and proceeded to give speeches - in Korean. I din’t understand anything and was in awe of the whole situation. I thanked my stars to let me witness this glorious moment in my life - to be able to catch glimpse of Korean Royals. I clicked pictures with them like many other people who gathered around to see them. Later I found out that it was a cultural promotional act done by stage actors. How naive of me to think the Royals would come to the airport like this.! **facepalm**

Japan

Once I had a layover in Tokyo airport, although I have not been to Japan as such. Most airports I have been to had shops, designer boutiques, restaurants, etc and a few of them would resemble proper malls. I expected Tokyo to be something similar, extraordinary( coz. Japan *eyerolling**) but was suprised to see the demur design of it. However, the Toilets! OMG! Those were so high tech!

(image from google)

Indonesia

We went to Bali a few years ago. As any first timer tourist, we visited the must-see temples there. However, on our way around the island we saw that every household has a temple with their signature thatched roofs. It made me nostalgic of my village in Assam, where people have a separate Namghor(=temple) within the compound of their house - sometimes thatched or otherwise tin roof.

(image from google - Bali temple)

Vietnam

We visited Ho Chi Minh city a few years ago.

Snapshot 1: ( Sticky sticky rice)

I saw colorful sticky rice(cooked) in one of the busy market areas. I was amused to see a native food item(of Assam) in a foreign land. Back home, Sticky rice is called Bora Saul, and commonly eaten with milk or yogurt sweetened with sugar or jaggery as a breakfast. ( Yes, Thailand has mango sticky rice too and it’s one of my favorite.)

Snapshot 2: ( Roasted crocodile)

In one of the night markets, we saw grilled crocodile meat being sold. Aww!

Snapshot 3:( Snake Wine)

The snake wines! The coiled snakes inside the glass bottles was quite a sight. No, I din’t drink. :P

Snapshot 4: (Frog curry)

While eating breakfast in our hotel, I saw husband bringing something like small pieces of chicken dipped in soy sauce. Only when he tried to cut the piece with a knife we realized that the meat was of frogs. In the picture below, the frog legs can be seen if observed carefully. :)

Philippines

While visiting the island of Boracay, I was surprised to find very less vegetables in their cuisine. It was mostly meat or fish/sea food.:-)

Cambodia

While staying in Phnom Penh, we used to explore the city on foot, a lot.

Snapshot 1: ( Eating bird embryo?)

We saw street vendors selling roasted/boiled Balut, which is a popular delicacy. The tip of the eggs were broken and the cooked embryo of birds can be seen inside. Wow! Fascinating!

Snapshot 2:(Deep-fried insects)

In the evening, street vendors would sell various snacks by the riverside or the promenade area. One day, I saw various type of insects being sold - snakes, cockroaches, grasshoppers,frogs, beetles, and a dozen others I could not recognize in the dark. Those were all deep - fried. I wanted to take good pictures but the seller shooed me away as I was not buying. I only manged a few below :-)

P.S. Photos are from my phone gallery. And a few of them which I googled - are highlighted beneath the respective photos.