Journeys and Adventures

So far, this blog has helped travelers understand foreign culinary faux pas by testing you on your global dining etiquette and made sure that travelers don’t make the “worst cultural mistakes” (eating with your left hand in India, refusing a lei in Hawaii, and blowing your nose in public in Japan are just some of the offenses covered).

   Now, I’m going to make sure you don’t break the law and end up in jail or paying a hefty fine in some foreign countries, because, according to an article in Budget Travel, there are some weird foreign laws:

• You cannot use more than 25 pennies at one time in Canada.
• Masks are not allowed in public in Denmark.
• Water guns will be seized if used in Cambodia.
• Failing to flush a public toilet in Singapore could result in a fine.
• You could get a ticket in the Philippines for driving a scooter in sandals.

foreign laws that sometimes get visitors in trouble:

• You’ll pay a heavy fine if you try to bathe in a fountain in Italy.
• During Ramadan, between sunrise and sunset, it is a criminal offense to eat, drink, or smoke in public in the United Arab Emirates.
• In Yemen, the maximum punishment for attempting to import pork products is death.

   And, according to Snopes.com and its list of true and false stories about laws, in case you once saw it in e-mail, it is false that a hunting license is required to set a mousetrap in California.  J

   Check out the links above for more “interesting” foreign laws to protect yourself in the future.

Related Posts

Don’t Gross Out the World: A Lesson in Global Dining Etiquette
World’s Worst Cultural Mistakes