Due to the nature of vacation as a concept where we let go of our troubles and generally try to relax despite the stresses of travel, it’s natural for us to just be ourselves. Of course, what this means depends on the individual. For instance, those who travel alone will typically resort to their usual habits when they are by themselves as opposed to with other people. The same applies to groups of friends, who may partake in certain activities that only they do together compared to being with family members or other adults.
While some of these are seen as typical, such as partying and doing daredevil stunts, others are seen as weird. These usually range from something innocent such as making silly poses in front of the camera to being downright rude like not cleaning up after throwing a party abroad. Now normally, these types of behaviors aren’t shown in public. But occasionally, someone manages to capture it on camera or the person who’s exhibiting this behavior is daring enough to photograph themselves in the act and share it with the rest of the world. So that’s what we’re here to examine: some of the strangest and weirdest behaviors that people do while they’re traveling to different places!
25 Pretend to Meditate in Front of a Religious Statue
For many cultures around the world, statues that have a religious significance are considered sacred and should be respected in that way. Yet when random tourists like the two pictured here decide to sit in front of a religious statue and pretend to meditate, it creates a mixed signal to the viewer of the photograph.
On the one hand, it comes across as amusing since we know they’re not really meditating and it emphasizes the significance of the statue behind them.
But at the same time, it seems disingenuous to those who actually pray to the statue all the time.
24 Walk Around Barefoot on a Rainy Day
Though our ancestors may have walked around barefoot when traversing the world, it’s generally not a good idea to do that this day and age. Apart from the higher likelihood of catching diseases, especially in larger cities, there’s also the higher chance of injuring one’s feet on discarded trash or glass.
So with that said, it makes us wonder why this woman is on the balcony of some high-rise building wearing no shoes. Though it seems like she's posing for a photoshoot, judging by the travel book in her hand, that doesn't make her bare feet any less unsanitary.
23 Lie Down on the Edge of a Cliff
Overall, this picture does have a nice composition with the person’s red jacket contrasting the grey cliffs in the background as the sun appears to be rising offscreen to the right.
Despite the obvious professional quality of this picture, that doesn’t take away the fact that this person is endangering their own life by resting on the very edge of the cliff they’re posing on.
All it takes is a few inches further, and one slip for them to go plummeting over the edge and down into the valley below. Therefore, it is important to be aware of one’s surroundings.
22 Wear a Sheet Mask While Flying
Of the recent beauty trends that have cropped up, one of the most popular ones is the Sheet Mask. Unlike a Mud Mask which takes several hours to apply absorb and take off, this thing takes about 20 minutes to wear according to InStyle and can easily be removed if necessary.
Plus, it comes in a small packet that can fit into any purse or backpack.
For this reason, many people who travel like to take these with them. Though as seen here, it does seem strange to wear one on a plane but InStyle claims it's common among celebrities.
21 Sit in a Swivel Chair Outside
Kudos to the person who took this picture, because there’s a lot to unpack here. First, there is a man in a business suit looking irritated. Second, he’s sitting in a black swivel chair at a crosswalk.
Third, the water on the sidewalk and the streets imply that it either just rained or is still raining depending on the severity of it.
While this picture certainly raises a lot of questions, such as why the man is choosing to travel this way or how he got to this point, it’s so bizarre that perhaps these questions are better left unanswered.
20 Take a Picture of a Picture
When traveling to different places, it’s typical to live in the moment and maybe take a picture of the place as a way to remember it. But here, the photographer is taking a picture of a picture.
Though judging by the similar background in the picture being photographed, it’s implied that the photographer or someone close to them has been to this particular beach before.
So maybe the picture was taken to highlight that this is the exact same place where the previous picture was taken, yet that doesn’t make this picture any less weird than it actually is.
19 Trash a Place and then Leave
For every good tourist, a bad one gets reported on by the media that makes all tourists look bad in turn. This especially applies to Chinese tourists, who seem to have garnered a bad reputation in recent years as being rude and unruly in whatever place they visit.
For instance, in Phuket, Thailand, an apartment was completely trashed (as seen in the above picture) by a middle-aged Chinese couple that rented it in June of this year.
According to Coconuts Bangkok, they were eating out of trash bags they had taken from restaurants and then left without cleaning up.
18 Ride on Top of a Moving Vehicle
When it comes to places like the Middle East, several images come to mind including the image of people riding on top of moving vehicles. This usually applies to trains, but it can also apply to trucks as this picture shows several men riding on a truck together.
While the serious expressions on their faces suggest they aren’t doing it for thrills like car surfers in America, it does suggest this is a common occurrence for them.
Though regardless of the reason behind their actions, doing this is illegal in most countries due to the high risk of hurting oneself.
17 Cover Up One’s Face Entirely
Now this picture may suggest that the location is China, given the country’s intense smog problem which would explain why the woman on the motorbike is covering her mouth with a mask. But in actuality, the picture was taken in Vietnam.
So why is this woman all covered up? Well, according to Inspitrip, women in Vietnam have a cultural fascination for white skin as it's considered to be “The most beautiful”.
Hence, they feel the need to protect themselves from sunlight so their skin stays light in tone even while traveling from one place to another on a motorized vehicle.
16 Take dangerous photos
When taking a picture of a cliff at a downward angle to give the viewer a sense of how far down it goes, a photographer will usually hold the camera in both hands and simply lower it till the cliff’s bottom is visible. But here, the photographer is holding the camera up above his head while looking down the cliff whose bottom is not visible due to the heavy mist.
While it’s a good picture, the photographer’s posture seems odd but also dangerous given that he only has one free hand to keep himself from falling over the minimal railing.
15 Take a Selfie while Lying Down on a Glass Bridge
If the above picture seems like a bad photoshop or poor attempt at a Green Screen background, it isn’t. No, this picture was taken at the notorious Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in China.
Specifically made to attract tourists, like this woman who’s taking a selfie, it is entirely made of glass on the bottom and lies high above the canyon it’s named after.
Though it originally opened in 2016, the bridge was forced to close a couple weeks later “Due to overcrowding” according to National Geographic. Guess it goes to show that if something doesn’t look safe, then don’t try it.
14 Lie on the Ground to Take a Picture
When it comes to taking photographs, photographers will usually either stand or crouch. Though some photographers might contort their bodies in weird ways to take a certain picture, depending on the subject-matter and what they’re going for.
In the case of the guy shown in this picture, he’s lying down on the ground and taking a picture of something offscreen that we can’t see.
But since this picture was taken at Auschwitz by Roger Cremers, that does raise several questions regarding what the man was photographing due to the various atrocities that were once committed in this place.
13 Get a Toy Car
Depending on how long one plans to stay in any given destination, personal transportation is always necessary. While most people typically rent a car or borrow one from someone who’s trusted (though usually a relative or family member in the area), some will buy a car in order to get somewhere.
But of all the cars to choose from, who would seriously want a car that looks like this? As the above picture shows, it looks cartoony and not exactly practical. Although, this particular vehicle is mainly used to promote an automobile business according to an article on Adrian Flux.
12 Wear a Coat on a Sunny Day
As is common with travel, it is important to determine the right clothes depending on the destination. For instance, lighter clothes are preferable for areas near the tropics while heavier ones are better for cooler climates.
But here, we see an elderly woman wearing a thin gown-like coat and white hat while behind her it’s shown to be quite sunny with the people below primarily wearing T-shirts.
The reason for this is kind of baffling, though we could easily assume that she might have sensitive skin and thus require a coat to wear especially on days like this.
11 Take Pictures of Finished Meals
For those familiar with social networking sites, it’s fairly common to see pictures of various food items that the photographer had that day. But while most photographers will take a picture of the food item before they eat it, this person decided to take a picture of the food after it was eaten.
Though the lack of leftover food certainly suggests that the photographer enjoyed the meal, it doesn’t really tell us what the meal was or give us a sense of the meal’s quality. In particular, whether it was fancy or casual in nature which is kind of disappointing.
10 Use Cardboard Boxes to Carry Purchased Items
In major cities around the world, it’s common to find tourists shopping for different items either for practical reasons or personal indulgences. Whatever the case, a tourist will typically carry large bags full of the various items they purchased.
But such is not the case here, where a Chinese woman is not only carrying bags with her but also a cardboard box.
What’s up with that? Well, according to AsiaOne, Chinese tourists are getting special discounts that are beneficial if they travel to certain places like Japan leading them to buy stuff in bulk to bring back to their families.
9 Make a Stack of Rocks in One Place
Since ancient times, trail markers have been a practical way to help travelers figure out where they’re going and potentially retrace their steps if need be. One of the more common markers are the cairns, which are basically rocks stacked on top of each other.
Yet it’s very unusual to see several cairns stacked in one place as we see in this picture.
The implication is that either multiple people felt the need to create a cairn in this one spot despite all the others being present, or it could be a grave-marker which cairns are also used for.
8 Lick Frozen Snow
Remember when our parents used to tell us not to eat yellow snow? There’s a good reason for that, as we found out later. But while it’s easy to determine whether something in nature is too dirty to eat, the same cannot be said for something that looks clean.
But the truth is there are all kinds of microscopic germs on things, even if they look clean, so it’s generally not a good idea to eat something raw in nature. Though clearly the woman in this picture doesn’t care and is licking a block of ice to her heart’s content.
7 Stick One’s Feet Up to the Window of an Airplane
When one is stuck on an airplane for a flight that’ll last several hours or more, it’s natural to want to stretch one’s legs out every now and then so they don’t cramp up. But this person seems to have a different idea, as they are basically sticking their bare feet up to the window of the plane.
This kind of gesture not only comes across as rude to the viewer, but also unsanitary.
Most flight attendants on any given flight will generally advise passengers not to walk around barefoot, Reader’s Digest states, due to germs and possible glass shards.
6 Talk on a Cellphone while on a Carnival Ride
As the picture clearly shows, we’re in Paris, judging by the Eiffel Tower that’s visible in the distance, on one of those swing-based carnival-rides which allows one to see the area around them from high up while also giving them an adrenaline-based thrill.
Yet ahead of the photographer, we see one guy who’s talking on his cellphone while the woman next to him is looking at something offscreen.
Whether it’s an important call or not, it’s not a good idea to answer one’s cellphone on a ride because of the high chance of dropping it by accident.