Throughout nearly seven months of travel in 11 different countries, we’ve been exposed to a number of unique traits specific to various cities, countries and entire continents.  Some of them have already been written about in our blog, but others over time became commonplace to us and we neglected to mention them.  As such, we wanted to share some of these fun facts/observations with you.

Cities:

Atacama Region, Chile: Seemingly half of the country drives a Toyota Hilux (truck).  Not sure why, but it’s happening.  When we drove down the coast on the Pan-American Highway, they were everywhere!

Chiang Mai, Thailand: There is a 7-Eleven on almost every corner. Too many to count (though we’ve tried).  The closest locations we’ve found so far are about 100 yards away from one another.

Cusco, Peru: Many buildings are “under construction” for a long period of time because of a funny loophole in the system.  Buildings are not taxed until the construction is complete, so they often put the finishing touches on hold in order to avoid taxation.

Hanoi, Vietnam:  Breakfast is commonly served with sliced tomato and cucumber.  Forget apples and bananas!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Watch out for those mariachi bands!  Since many restaurants have outdoor seating, you are always at risk for a band to walk up and play next to your table.  Kindly thank them and wave them off, or let them play for you if you want to pay the price!

Countries:

China: Everyone likes to post selfies.  Nothing new there. But Chinese culture is such that people value individual pictures.  So, you will often see a group of friends or family taking separate pictures of one another.

Czech Republic: There is good beer everywhere!  That may not surprise you.  What you probably didn’t know, however, is that this European country has the highest beer consumption per ca-pita in the world.  No wonder we randomly found a beer festival by accident in Prague!

Continents:

Asia: At nearly every hostel we’ve stayed in, the toilet is located almost directly underneath the shower head.  So, when you shower, the toilet and surrounding area gets really wet!  We’re not sure why this is, but we’re getting used to it and learning that socks should not be worn in the bathroom within 1-2 hours of showering.

Europe: The majority of hotel and hostel beds (including every one that we slept in) had what we decided to call  “tortilla” bedding.  There is one thick sheet that serves as both a bed sheet and a comforter all in one!  It’s great for wrapping yourself up like a burrito, hence the name we invented, and it only takes 15 seconds to make the bed.  Talk about a one-stop shop.