20 Differences Between SE Asia and the United States

Hello! Now that we've been in Southeast Asia for almost a month and a half I thought I'd share 20 differences I've noticed so far between the culture here in Southeast Asia and back home.

1. The toilet paper - All toilet paper gets thrown into the trash bin instead of flushed. The main reason for this is the level of plumbing, and although it seemed kinda weird at first it has become pretty normal at this point.

2. The butt gun - Nearly every toilet has one. Think of it as an external bidet attached to a cord. Also may be used for showering in extreme and desperate scenarios.

3. Squatty potties - Fancy porcelain bowls in the ground and has places for your feet and then you assume a deep squat position. You know you've been in Southeast Asia for a good amount of time when you have mastered the squatty potty technique.

4. Transportation - Cars are seen much less frequently, and as their replacement you might find tuk tuks, sontaos, bicycles with seats on the front of them, and millions of motorbikes!

5. Night markets - We have seen some awesome night markets at several of the cities we've visited. Picture a farmers market, at night, with many more people. Usually you see the same combination of elephant pants, jewelry, cards, bags, etc but it's been cool to see how they differ from country to country. My personal favorite was the Sunday market in Chiang Mai.

6. Street food - The street food here is delicious! You can find a fruit smoothie, crepe, or roti on nearly every corner, but there's also pad thais and tons of stuff that you don't really have any idea of what it is but tastes delicious.

7. Morning markets - Grocery stores aren't really a thing. Instead most people go to the morning markets to get all their fresh produce for the day.

8. Driving on the left side of the road - Strangely this was only a thing in Thailand, once we traveled onward to Lao, Vietnam and Cambodia we were back on the right side of the road. Thailand also had vans with steering wheels and doors on the other side.

9. No handshakes - It's not really normal to see handshakes here, instead you see the "wai". If you do see someone handshake, a strong firm grip and lots of eye contact is super strange.

10. Shoes off - In some American households it's custom to take off your shoes, but here it's much more frequent, we take off our shoes every time you visit a temple, in most guesthouses, and sometimes restaurants. One guesthouse even had us leave all our shoes piled on a rack in the lobby before you headed up to the rooms.

11. Religion - I don't know the exact numbers, but since the great majority of people are Buddhist it plays a much greater role in their daily lives.

12. Hailing a taxi - To hail a taxi or any various form of transportation it's a small gesture with your palm down and you move your fingers. Also sometimes seen to call someone over to you.

13. Face masks - Everyone in the city has one, and most come in fancy stylish colors and patterns. It's mostly due to the smog and exhaust but very common to see.

14. No trashcans - Walking around a city you don't really see trashcans around.

15. Electricity - Most places we have stayed at require a key card to be put in by the door of the room in order for the electricity to work. I think this is a genius system because when you leave for the day with your key, the power must be turned off. What a great way to save energy!

16. Acceptance of trans-gender - When we were in Chiang Mai we had the chance to go see a ladyboy show, what a cool experience. Thailand is very accepting of transgender people and it is very easy and inexpensive to have operations done here.

17. Soy sauce - It's very rare to be served soy sauce at the table, and you'd probably be given a strange look if you asked for some. Instead it's more common to see fish sauce.

18. Working out - Working out for pleasure or as an activity is not really a thing in Southeast Asia. We've sometimes gotten strange looks while running in the mornings, especially through more rural communities.

19. Sun bathing - Another thing they don't really understand. They would much rather have very pale skin, and you typically see people very covered up in long sleeves and pants even on extremely hot days in order to avoid the sun.

20. Fruit for dessert - Often we end a meal with some delicious fresh fruit, pineapple, mango, dragonfruit, and so many more.

Other honorable mentions include the laundry service, no tipping, cold showers, money going a lot further, the Vietnamese love for karaoke, and the abundance of hammocks in the southern parts of Vietnam and Cambodia!

Erin (Urnn) Coyne