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Author Topic: What seemed weird when I visited your country  (Read 95895 times)

Kugai

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #400 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:01 »

It's about the same here in NZ too Gareth, but the Police here do tighten that up to 5% or less on certain occasions.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #401 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:04 »

If the tv shows that have a camera crew follow traffic cops around are to be believed, the plus ten percent just a lenience provided to compensate for the  impreciseness of the measuring equipment. It doesn't mean you're allowed to go over the speed limit, just that when your speed is being measured, they deduct 10% to account for the potential error.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #402 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:09 »

Strictly speaking you can get a ticket for going one mph over...
Actually, even that depends on the state.

IIRC, in Florida, cops can legally only give a warning for 1-5 mph over.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #403 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:12 »

There are a few towns around where I grew up where the main road through town is marked 20 mph, and you can bet your ass you'll get pulled over if you do 21.
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Masterpiece

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #404 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:38 »

I cringe when I read kph. It's km/h.

Method of Madness

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #405 on: 01 Jun 2014, 16:40 »

That's the standard, but kph isn't necessarily wrong. :roll:
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #406 on: 01 Jun 2014, 17:54 »



Amazingly hard beds. We tried four different hotels before we found one we could actually sleep in.



You had issues with LITERALLY the best part of hotels in Asia? Japan's similar and I sleep in a Japanese style bed now purely for the firmness and support on my poor lil'spine.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #407 on: 01 Jun 2014, 17:55 »

I never really understood the preference for hard beds.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #408 on: 01 Jun 2014, 18:04 »

That's the standard, but kph isn't necessarily wrong. :roll:
Uhm, yes, it is. "Kilo" is not any unit of measure, it is an order of magnitude.

Method of Madness

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #409 on: 01 Jun 2014, 18:21 »

Yeah, but kilometer is one word that starts with k.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #410 on: 01 Jun 2014, 19:32 »

technically, Masterpiece is right.
blurg.
But according to American common sense,
K(ilometers)p(er)H(our)
is much, much easier to understand.

and yes.  I was a cop.  long time ago.  far, far away.  when I was  skinny.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #411 on: 01 Jun 2014, 19:34 »

Right, I acknowledged that km/h is the standard, but kph isn't wrong because it still stands for kilometers per hour.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #412 on: 01 Jun 2014, 19:56 »

I regularly go 100 mph in my Hyundai Veloster. It is awesome. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket yet, but I'm sure it will come one day.
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Ben

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #413 on: 01 Jun 2014, 21:10 »

I tip in the US because basically, that's the table staff's income. Same goes for Sky Caps, taxi drivers and people like that. The IRS assesses them on a notional tipping income, if I understand it correctly, so not tipping is pretty poor form.

I tip cab drivers in FSU countries because it's usual. Room staff, no. Anyway I'm usually on an account booking in places like that.

I usually tip the absolute minimum in French bars and cafés because its a good way to cause nuisance and embarrassment if you don't. I don't like it, but when in Rome etc.

I rarely tip in the UK because I simply don't think the service is worth it, and there is a general practice of paying actual wages. They are pretty lousy, but when you are paying Starbucks or Costa prices, or motorway services prices I DON'T expect to pay the staff on top of that. Go in any given outlet for any length of time and you will see a continual turnover of non-British counter staff, and this is why.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #414 on: 02 Jun 2014, 03:03 »

What's the fastest speed limit down there?
In Australia, the highest speed-limit on a non-freeway road is now 100km/h, I think. Freeway (in the UK you would say motorway) speed-limits vary by state. In NSW it is 110km/h. Trucks are fitted with speed-regulators which theoretically limit them to 100km/h on all roads.

Most highways in Australia are *not* freeways, but fairly narrow single-carriageway roads, with soft shoulders often 100mm or more lower than the "bitumen", as the tarmac metalled surface is known here, so 100km/h is plenty. It is questionably safe to overtake on many sections of such roads, because the closing speed of a vehicle coming the other way is 200km/h or 56m/s. If you pull out to overtake a 30m-long "B-double" truck on the Newell Highway, for example, and spend ten seconds on the wrong side of the road, an oncoming vehicle will have to have been something like 600m away when you started to overtake. Can you look at a white blob through the heat-haze, and be sure it is not, say, only 400m away? And that assumes there are no bends, bumps or dips to hide oncoming traffic.

Uhm, yes, it is. "Kilo" is not any unit of measure, it is an order of magnitude.
Kilo is a very common abbreviation for kilogramme. In Australia, we have an all-purpose word: "kay".

"How far is it to Tiree, mate?"
"Oh.. About 300 kays. (kilometres)"

"How fast were ya goin' when the cop pulled you over?"
"The mongrel booked me at 130 kays! (km/h)"

"How much d'ya weigh?"
"'Round 80 kays (kilograms).

"My boss is a useless bludging bastard; he just sits in his office all day 'n pulls down 120 kay! (Thousand dollars a year).
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #415 on: 02 Jun 2014, 03:32 »

Amazingly hard beds. We tried four different hotels before we found one we could actually sleep in.

You had issues with LITERALLY the best part of hotels in Asia? Japan's similar and I sleep in a Japanese style bed now purely for the firmness and support on my poor lil'spine.

Not sure what you mean? It wasn't the quality, everything was really nice. They were just like sleeping on a damn plank. I prefer soft beds, and hanging hammocks if possible.
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GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #416 on: 02 Jun 2014, 03:56 »

I like really firm beds so I was teasing you.
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Ben

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #417 on: 02 Jun 2014, 05:48 »

Stove top stuffing  :-P
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Method of Madness

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #418 on: 02 Jun 2014, 05:52 »

Stuffing is the best food ever.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #419 on: 02 Jun 2014, 07:23 »

Stuffing is the best food ever.

See Devils Panties .... ha ha
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #420 on: 02 Jun 2014, 07:53 »

What's the fastest speed limit down there?
In Australia, the highest speed-limit on a non-freeway road is now 100km/h, I think. Freeway (in the UK you would say motorway) speed-limits vary by state. In NSW it is 110km/h. Trucks are fitted with speed-regulators which theoretically limit them to 100km/h on all roads.

Most highways in Australia are *not* freeways, but fairly narrow single-carriageway roads, with soft shoulders often 100mm or more lower than the "bitumen", as the tarmac metalled surface is known here, so 100km/h is plenty. It is questionably safe to overtake on many sections of such roads, because the closing speed of a vehicle coming the other way is 200km/h or 56m/s. If you pull out to overtake a 30m-long "B-double" truck on the Newell Highway, for example, and spend ten seconds on the wrong side of the road, an oncoming vehicle will have to have been something like 600m away when you started to overtake. Can you look at a white blob through the heat-haze, and be sure it is not, say, only 400m away? And that assumes there are no bends, bumps or dips to hide oncoming traffic.

I grew up at the intersection of 2 trans-Canada highways.  Both are 2-lane for the most part, and both in places cross through the Laurentian Shield, meaning constant hills.

Passing lanes in the middle on up-hills are a must, especially on the Northern Route which is favoured by truckers.
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Metope

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #421 on: 03 Jun 2014, 04:54 »

About tipping, I really haven't noticed much difference between the UK and the US when it comes to niceness and attentiveness. You get both great, mediocre and crappy waiters everywhere. If there's any difference, it would be the US waiters hanging over you all the time, while the UK ones will let you eat in peace. I get that it's a preference/cultural thing though, and I wouldn't let that affect the way I tip... But it is really awkward to be asked if the food tastes okay right after shoving the first bite into my mouth, let me chew and swallow first, please? I do tip more in the US than in the UK because of the wages, but I think it's nice to tip anywhere that has table service as a general rule.
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GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #422 on: 03 Jun 2014, 05:02 »

Fuck I hate it when a waiter or waitress talks to me when I'm eating. Feels like they don't want to actually engage in conversation because I have food in my craw, also comes off as a bit rude to me personally. For one, I'm eating it, so chances are it's good, I'll flag you down if I have a problem.

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I built the walls that make my life a prison, I built them all and cannot be forgiven... ...Sold my soul to carry your vendetta, So let me go before you can regret it, You've made your choice and now it's come to this, But that's price you pay when you're a monster with no name.

Method of Madness

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #423 on: 03 Jun 2014, 05:19 »

The best way to do that is to politely say "I'm fine, I'll let you know if I need anything". Then hope you can actually get their attention if you do need something.
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Quote from: Polonius
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
MR ARCHIVE-FU MADNESS
Does anybody really know what time it is?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Metope

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #424 on: 03 Jun 2014, 05:35 »

That seems like a difficult sentence to say with a mouth full of food.  :-P
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #425 on: 03 Jun 2014, 05:36 »

I figure waiters are like dentists, they're so used to hearing people talk with their mouths full that they can understand it perfectly.
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They call me Mr. Madness.

Quote from: Polonius
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
MR ARCHIVE-FU MADNESS
Does anybody really know what time it is?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #426 on: 03 Jun 2014, 06:18 »

Heh. Speaking of tipping. My brother tipped once while we were running around Japan. We went to a killer restaurant in Osaka. (Okonomiyaki. So fucking good) we paid in cash and pulled chalks, one of the waitresses actually chased after us to give us our change. It was REALLY embarrassing for everyone involved.
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I built the walls that make my life a prison, I built them all and cannot be forgiven... ...Sold my soul to carry your vendetta, So let me go before you can regret it, You've made your choice and now it's come to this, But that's price you pay when you're a monster with no name.

Masterpiece

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #427 on: 03 Jun 2014, 07:57 »

So you don't tip in Japan?

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #428 on: 03 Jun 2014, 09:23 »

a quick Google turned up the first ten results saying "Don't Tip in Japan! It is considered rude."

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GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #429 on: 03 Jun 2014, 09:25 »

There are some situations you tip... sorta. Like if you stay at a traditional Japanese inn it's considered polite to give your maid a little present like a box of tea or some chocolates at the end of your stay, but for the most part, no.
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I built the walls that make my life a prison, I built them all and cannot be forgiven... ...Sold my soul to carry your vendetta, So let me go before you can regret it, You've made your choice and now it's come to this, But that's price you pay when you're a monster with no name.

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #430 on: 03 Jun 2014, 11:53 »

When you eat in Japan, tonight
Don't tip in Japan, be tight
Don't tip in Japan, where you only pay for food
Don't tip in Japan, alright
Pay, then go outside and hail a ride
Things are awkward when you tip in Japan
When you tip in Japan
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #431 on: 03 Jun 2014, 11:57 »

... okay, that was impressive.
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Method of Madness

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #432 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:13 »

How is it rude? Is the implication that you're bribing them to do their job?
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Does anybody really know what time it is?
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #433 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:24 »

I just googled and basically the view is that the price is the price. It's just not done, it's odd and uncomfortable. Probably similar to if you gave your waitress a gift out of the blue.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #434 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:25 »

Interesting. Good to know.
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MR ARCHIVE-FU MADNESS
Does anybody really know what time it is?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #435 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:48 »

There's also an edge of the whole "bribing them to get better service" bit. Hospitality's a big deal in Japan.
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I built the walls that make my life a prison, I built them all and cannot be forgiven... ...Sold my soul to carry your vendetta, So let me go before you can regret it, You've made your choice and now it's come to this, But that's price you pay when you're a monster with no name.

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #436 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:51 »

How is it bribing them to get better service? They don't get the money until after the service has already been provided (and they don't even know how much they'll get until then).
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They call me Mr. Madness.

Quote from: Polonius
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
MR ARCHIVE-FU MADNESS
Does anybody really know what time it is?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Barmymoo

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #437 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:53 »

You're looking at this from an American perspective where tipping is the norm. Just try and be objective and accept that it isn't done in Japan.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #438 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:54 »

No, I do accept that it isn't done (and trust me, I'm not complaining about not having to tip if I go there), I just don't get the explanation that it's "bribery for better service".
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Quote from: Polonius
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
MR ARCHIVE-FU MADNESS
Does anybody really know what time it is?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #439 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:54 »

They don't want it, great. Tipping is awfull anyway. It'd be much nicer if the income of members of the service industry was a living wage, anyway. Better to fix that than this stop-gap tipping thing.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #440 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:56 »

It sort of is bribery for better service though - doing your best to provide good service in anticipation of getting a tip. Do you honestly believe that if someone gained a reputation for not tipping, they wouldn't be treated differently by staff who are used to being tipped?

I had my hair cut today and didn't leave a tip. I felt a bit guilty, but the cut cost £22. I had been led to believe I would get a 30% discount by booking in advance for an appointment on a Tuesday, and didn't, so I'm choosing to see it as a 30% tip.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #441 on: 03 Jun 2014, 14:57 »

Why didn't you object when they charged you full price?
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #442 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:02 »

Because it's embarassing to quibble over money.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #443 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:19 »

Really? Pointing out that you're being charged more than you should be is embarrassing? Even if you didn't want to raise a stink, you should've at least mentioned it, since you went in reasonably expecting to pay a certain amount, only to be charged more.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #444 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:24 »

I dunno, I just felt really awkward. I always feel out of place in hairdressers, clothes shops, anything like that. I hate, hate, hate shopping and getting my hair cut is almost as bad because the salons are always fancy and the hairdressers are perfectly made up and beautifully dressed. I just wanted to leave and not call attention to myself.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #446 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:31 »

That's fair. It's only six quid, not worth being uncomfortable about.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #447 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:33 »

You're right though, because I have a budget of a maximum £40 a week to live on (ideally £20 most weeks), so £6 is a fair chunk of that. I just wasn't confident that I was actually right about the discount and already felt awkward about not tipping.


Also, from that article - it says that touching the customer will increase your tip. Hell no. If a waiter touched me, I would not tip anything at all. Don't put your hands on me, random stranger.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #448 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:36 »

True, but if you'd got the money back, I'm sure you would've handed her some of that.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #449 on: 03 Jun 2014, 15:45 »

If someone expected me to tip them for a haircut it better be a really damn good haircut. Like, it should look perfect and remain that way for at least a week without me having to touch it. And looking at that billshrink page: wedding musicians, really? I get why you tip for food service - you pay for the food, and tip for the service - but the rest doesn't really make sense to me.

Also, SatW taught me another weird thing about Sweden.

Also, from that article - it says that touching the customer will increase your tip. Hell no. If a waiter touched me, I would not tip anything at all. Don't put your hands on me, random stranger.
I'm not sure but I think they found that effect specifically for waitresses who serve male customers.
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