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12 Things Not to Be Caught Doing In A Foreign Country

thetravelersnotebook.com — You definitely don’t want to be caught breaking these rules when you’re a visitor.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 12, 2008

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  • Benjamin10, on 12/11/2008, -0/+209Great list. I would add - Picking Up Dog ***** in Spain. Not sure if it's illegal, but there must be some reason why no one does it.
  • inactive, on 12/12/2008, -1/+128#21

    Existing in North Korea.
  • HuskyPuzzle, on 12/11/2008, -6/+77Shame on Dubai. Tagging, smoking, boozing, litter, drugs -- I can live without (at least most of them...for a couple months), but sex on the beach shouldn't be punishable by law anywhere. This world needs more sex on the beach.
  • c8h8r8i8s8, on 12/12/2008, -9/+79winning a war in france
  • theskillwithin, on 12/11/2008, -13/+82#1 rape.
  • badwithcomputer, on 12/11/2008, -0/+63watch out if you're planning on doing a chicken dance in mexico
  • deva14, on 12/11/2008, -0/+62Some of these are way easy to avoid (running drugs, carrying a firearm) but it's the almost accidental ones that make me nervous. It would be easy enough not to know about the PDA rules in Dubai, for example, or the smoking laws in Bhutan.

    And don't even get me started on the Teddy Bear / Muhammed story.... Man, that was a wild few days.
  • brandar, on 12/12/2008, -4/+64#13. Drawing cartoons of Muhammed in Denmark.
  • Trekhawk, on 12/12/2008, -3/+56Gee, the Middle East won't let you have any fun. What a bunch of Fun-Nazis.
  • chuckDontSurf, on 12/12/2008, -4/+52Apparently pissing on the Mona Lisa is frowned upon. Boy was my face red!
  • siandt, on 12/12/2008, -1/+37Wow, vandalism and drug running are illegal? Color me surprised.
  • alvarobernal, on 12/12/2008, -2/+34being gay will at least get you a beating in most places.
  • novoare, on 12/11/2008, -2/+34Love this list, with its blend of the humorous and the truly practical tips about what to avoid doing while abroad.
  • feb420, on 12/12/2008, -2/+32I live in the USA and I shoot argumentative foreigners all the time. It's not even against the law here.
  • dvsbastard, on 12/12/2008, -3/+30Uhhh... because being caught committing rape in your native country is fine?!

    I think you missed the point of this list...
  • tocsy, on 12/12/2008, -1/+26OK, as an American, let me set a few things straight. Minor arguments are most likely NOT going to result in a shooting, as most people are smart enough to realise if they shoot someone, they better have a damn good reason to do it or they're rotting in prison for a long time. If you are breaking and entering or trespassing, however, the owners can and might shoot you, probably because those situations "imply intent" to cause you harm.

    He's right about drinking though: in one of the many stupid, stupid laws we have here, public intoxication is indeed punishable. That's why you see bums drinking from bottles with paper bags over them.
  • SunnyLoki, on 12/12/2008, -1/+26I like the topping off with America.
    That was pretty classy.
  • jeffersongo, on 12/12/2008, -1/+24Apparently getting raped in Dubai can also land you in trouble with the law. Ever hear about the french kid who was held in custody because he was raped by several Arab men? The crime is "forced conversion to homosexuality" or something like that.
  • mikbunn, on 12/11/2008, -1/+23It's even more retarded than you think.
    They named it after a kid in the class, not the prophet.
  • aerohead80, on 12/12/2008, -1/+23Was her face yellow?
  • bicyclethief, on 12/12/2008, -0/+22The kid shouldn't have led them on... by having a hole.
  • Gndoab, on 12/12/2008, -1/+23ka-caw! ka-caw! ka-caw!
  • Tynan, on 12/12/2008, -1/+22"Iranian law makes it illegal for non-Muslim men to maintain relationships with Muslim women. (Don’t get too excited, all you non-Muslim ladies out there—I’m sure it works the other way, too!)"

    It doesn't. Muslim men are allowed/encouraged to take foreign women.
  • lavis88, on 12/12/2008, -1/+22no, keyword "homeowners"
  • KMartSheriff, on 12/12/2008, -3/+23It's this kind of ***** why I'm not a fan of Dubai.
  • borez, on 12/12/2008, -0/+19Stealing marbles in Greece.
  • carbonfilament, on 12/12/2008, -0/+19Yr Comment got me thinking about my friends/family, and which of those have guns at home. I'd say its probably close to 40%, and I live in the northeast and work in theatre. I imagine its higher the further west you go.
  • hillkiwi, on 12/12/2008, -2/+2150% of home owners in the US have a gun? Is that right? Does that apply to apartments as well?
  • Tiak, on 12/12/2008, -0/+18Pfft, you don't know fun until you've played a game that involves throwing a headless goat carcass from horseback.
  • ssjaken, on 12/12/2008, -4/+22#1 thing not to do? Browse 4chan
  • UberNick, on 12/12/2008, -0/+17If you want to know one from experience:
    Don't drink too much in central London then try to steal the flag from the Canadian Embassy. They seem to have cameras... and van-fulls of unamused police offers who repeatedly ask you what narcotics you're on.
  • hobbler, on 12/12/2008, -0/+16
    Thailand's pretty awesome, especially if you avoid the nightlife. The whole Lese Majesty thing is blown out of proportion. The guy got throw in jail because he'd lived there for years, got drunk on a night when no alcohol was supposed to be served, and then put graffiti on the king's portrait. Bad form all around, really.
  • smmakira, on 12/12/2008, -6/+22Wow. Screw Dubai...
  • HuskyPuzzle, on 12/11/2008, -1/+17hahahahah. so true.
  • PiRATE7, on 12/11/2008, -0/+16http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/
  • bob_the_alien, on 12/12/2008, -1/+17I really don't doubt that actually, being an American and knowing quite a few Americans, I actually only know one person that does not own a gun of some type. I personally own 4. And as soon as I pass my concealed weapons course I plan on buying a couple more.
  • lavis88, on 12/12/2008, -0/+16I don't know, I know many people with guns in the suburbs and imagine rate is much higher in rural areas.
  • s0nicfreak, on 12/12/2008, -0/+16Guess you've never been to India.
  • inactive, on 12/12/2008, -0/+15Same goes for running drugs in the Philippines. The customs forms and signs in the airport say "DEATH TO DRUG TRAFFICKERS".
  • bob_the_alien, on 12/12/2008, -1/+16Actually, in the U.S. in the state I live Kentucky, we have a law on the books, stating that if you post signs up on your property, stating no trespassing, trespassers will be shot, and you also post it in the local newspaper for a number of weeks, you have the legal right to shoot and kill any trespassers on your private property.
  • squareheart, on 12/11/2008, -0/+14Yeah, at a certain point you can't possibly be conscientious of every unfamiliar law, or interpretations thereof. In certain cultures, like western, naming a stuffed toy after a reverred figure might be considered a form of praise or an expression of respect, rather than an insult. The children named the doll after something they loved, as children tend to do--at least that's how the teacher saw the situation. I'm glad the authorities let her out of the corporal punishment.
  • PiRATE7, on 12/11/2008, -0/+14ah damn, no more romancing that local Iranian chick...
  • Olfster, on 12/12/2008, -2/+16Dugg for the U.S. tip. Even if you know no one is home, the neighbors are watching, and the neighbors own guns too.
  • inactive, on 12/12/2008, -0/+13I'm pretty sure desecrating monuments is illegal no matter where you go

    Try chip off a piece of the Lincoln Monument and see what that gets you
  • Herolint, on 12/12/2008, -1/+14On their beach.
  • Mujokan, on 12/12/2008, -0/+12+ Police on particular look-out for foreigners because they can get a couple of months salary in one bribe
  • wealer, on 12/11/2008, -2/+14Here's an obvious one... Midnight Express: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077928/
  • AFCdtLoeb, on 12/12/2008, -0/+12"So you’ve found the perfect Turkish souvenir to take home and impress friends and family. But do you know the whole story? If your souvenir falls into the broad category of “antiquity” as defined by the Turkish legal system, and you lack the proper documentation for its possession, your departure from the country may be delayed while you become familiar with the inside of a Turkish prison cell."
    "Joey, you ever been in a turkish prison?"
  • Besundale, on 12/12/2008, -0/+12wish I could digg you more than just once
  • aristideau, on 12/12/2008, -0/+12When I was in Greece in 1973 (Greece was under a dictatorship at the time), you could not play "Zorba the Greek" in public.
    Apparently the author was on a banned list and that extended to the music from the film.
    I had heard that some tourists were locked up for playing it on a beach.
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