What have you learned from travelling?

[MadMAGA]

I've been very fortunate in visiting lots of different places for work, study and holidays. I was idly thinking about what I've learned from it, other than generally expanding horizons, and came up with:

• British fruit and puddings are really, really sweet compared to the equivalents in Asia.
• Scotland's got a point when they complain about their infrastructure compared to England. The motorways are like 1980s England.
• Luton Airport has the best cabin baggage and passenger screening security machines anywhere in the world.
• I'm incredibly fortunate to have been born in this country.

I've learnt that I am very lazy and am very disappointed in myself I haven't got further in the languages of the places I've been to;
I've discovered how green cities can be, with parks between buildings actively encouraged....and how clean things can be
That there are some really lovely people out there who will help a random stranger.
Shops can and do open after 5.30 and evening shopping is great.
I need really good extra mature cheddar to survive.

That wanderlust is an affliction and that I literally ache to return to the backpacking days of my 20s. I am never happier than when I’m travelling, and I desperately wish I could jack everything in and buy a one-way ticket to Vietnam, Guatemala or Sri Lanka with no itinerary and do it all over again. Sadly it is much harder to do now than it was back then. But one can dream.

That the NHS is actually incredibly low standard of healthcare.

That no other culture can make a proper builders' tea.
Fish and chips are god on a plate.
Queuing skills are very poor elsewhere.
I also learnt that I really hate travelling.

That German trains are not actually super-efficient. They are subject to delays & cancellations, just like ours are.

That children are the same everywhere, before adults infect their brains with their own neuroses, prejudices & religious / superstitious bullshit.

That anyone born a a citizen of a stable, prosperous, safe, largely peaceful democratic country which has universal healthcare & a welfare safety net has won the lottery of life. Britain isn’t perfect, but we are the lucky ones. Ask a Ukrainian.

That we live in one of the freest, safest, least racist, least misogynisitc societies in the world.

That home is actually
where my heart lies

Dutch people are naturally friendly, German people are not.

York is best visited during the week.

It's always worth taking your own breakfast and teabags.

Most of the world's individual people seem to really like the British.

Most of the world's individual people are actually nicer than the British.

Most of the world support Man Utd 🤣

There's a lot of amazing food to discover everywhere.

Great coffee can come in a sensible cup at a sensible price.

UK airports are horrific, especially security queues. Give me Changi in Singapore any day.

Agree with this too.

People the world over are kind and hospitable and have the same worries that we have - aging parents, getting a job, a decent home, the importance of family, saving up for retirement. It's just a few men at the top who are fucking it up for the rest of us.

And, yeah, always take your own teabags.

That we stay indoors a lot compared to most places.

I love when they say "Failte abhaile- welcome home"

Going for a run without being hassled or attacked by men and dogs is a luxury many places cannot offer.

Ah me too. And it isn't technically my home, it's DHs!

Do most people really hate Britain? I've lived abroad most of my life and London is considered one of the more desirable cities to live in. I'm sure Ethiopia will seem lovely when you are dipping your toe into the culture. However, you can come back to clean water, healthcare, housing and money that enables you to afford travel to other countries. That is if you don't get caught in any crossfire when you are out there.

Christianity is a HUGE part of life in USA.
Russian cigarettes smell even worse than normal cigarettes.
People living and working on Scottish islands have been shafted by the ferry companies and the Scottish government.
Most people are really open and friendly, but India is friendlier than anywhere.

Definitely - the more that changes, the more that stays the same (mangled quote).

That most countries have power sockets in the bath room and nobody dies from it.

I have lived in many parts of the world apart from holidays. I’ve learned that it’s easier to deal with British weather by popping on a coat than to deal with 40C every day. What it feels like to be an immigrant in another country. How much a smile and a good attitude can go far when it comes to communicating. Humour endears me to people.
I love living in the UK - it might not be perfect but it suits me better than anywhere else I’ve lived, travelling has made me content with that - not in a smug way though, the values, the people, the culture - it suits me.

That the world has mostly very kind and interesting people interspersed with the odd complete twonk trying to ruin your day.

That my dh missed his true vocation and he should have been a travel agent specialising in road trips.

Fly business class with someone who is a gold card holder

World outside of the UK is beautiful but in a different way, here we truly have pretty villages, spectacular coastlines, stunning countryside.

I'm lucky to go on holidays and stay in lovely places but I love my home and my own bed.

I always take my own teabags and a small travel kettle. In the lap of the gods where milk is concerned. I now take a yeti bottle so I can keep milk on the road with us The things you do for a tidy cup of tea.

I am inclined to agree. Norway is by far the best of the three IMO.

I lived in Scandinavia for a year - of all the places I'm been that's the place I wouldn't return to, not my vibe - at all. All that liberalism is not very liberal at all - you think like them you feel like you have choices, the social conditioning is suffocating.

That if you point to an item on a menu in south America ( in particular looking at you Argentina) you will invariably receive the item above or below the one you pointed to, try pronouncing it by name… bowl of grated carrot for lunch anyone ?