Robert and Eve are world travelers who have lived in Thailand and other parts of the world. Between Robert’s background in travel and tourism combined with Eve’s mind-blowing perspective on photography makes them the perfect team of conquerors.
Every country has its own unique culture and with that, a variety of rules to follow. But even with so much information on the internet, we had to just step back from these and say: #WTF?!!!
If you are not squeamish and are willing to venture to new, bizarre, and extreme places, check out this list of top ten #WTF things you can do during your next trip to Asia.
Go Ghost Hunting in an Abandoned Schoolhouse, Japan
If you’re not afraid of the dark or hearing strange voices, check out the Round Schoolhouse in Hokkaido. It’s impossible to reach by car so you have to walk in from the road. Today, the area belongs to a former coal mine town northeast of Sapporo and the famous standing structure is best experienced at night.
Not for the light-hearted. Rumor has it that people who enter the place end up leaving slightly insane. While we’re pretty sure that’s a rumor, we will leave that to someone else to test out.
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Take a Photo Dressed Up as 1800’s Badass, Thailand
Not very easy to spot in the city, but in rural places across Thailand, you can find shops where for a price they will dress you up in rustic clothing from the 1800’s and take portraits for you to keep.
The #WTF part is that back then these costumes were for early slave traders in Asia that sold families and children. They will even give you a cudgel which was used to beat their slaves to hold too. Crazy right?
Get Told Off By Ajummas, South Korea
Ajummas (Korean for “elderly ladies”) dominate the streets and completely get away with it. In South Korean society, the elderly are to be respected at all costs, no matter how they behave. Ajummas are fully aware of this cultural norm, and use it to their full advantage.
They will spit at you, yell at you, or tell you to “shut up” on the subway. While their actions may not seem fair, as a foreigner especially you’ll have to put up with it at all costs. And you’d better get out of their seat aboard public transit if you know what’s right for you.
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No, we are not saying that you should get arrested and break the law but as of 2013, in rural corners of Xinjiang province, law enforcement are using geese as guard dogs due to them being extremely vigilant and having excellent hearing.
Their natural sonar and ability to be brave make them outstanding crime fighters. Amazingly, birds of a feather now fight crime together.
A big fad that hit Asia was cat cafes where you can sip your coffee with a furry companion by your side but at Houtong Cat Village, you are literally surrounded by cats. This once upon a time coal mine attracted a cat lover in 2008 who rescued abandoned cats.
But today, there is a furry surprise as cats have taken over the village jumping off roofs or sleeping on top of stalls. Although most of them are used to seeing humans don’t forget that these are wild cats.
Swim with Stingless Jellyfish, Philippines
Off the coast of Siargao Island is a place called Bucas Grande. Here, you can pay a visit to the jellyfish sanctuary where you can find thousands, if not millions of stingless jellyfish. They often come during the months of March until May, and they bloom into full grandeur, from July until August.
Because the jellyfish don’t have any natural predators, they have lost their sting. Pretty awesome huh?
Take a Break on a Subway Chin Rest, Japan
Probably one of the dumbest inventions today, the idea is that you can rest your head without looking lazy if you can’t find a place to sit. Look Mom, no hands! We will let this one speak for itself.
Get Lost In A Suicide Forest, Japan
Aokigahara is the sprawling 13.5 square miles of a forest so thick with foliage, that it’s known as the Sea of Trees. It is one of the most popular suicide destinations on earth. It is popular in part because the forest is so lush that some corpses can go undiscovered for years.
With trees organically twisting and turning, their roots winding across the forest floor, your hair is guaranteed to stand on its edge. You really need to have some balls to try this one.
Photo by: Wayne Hsieh | via Flickr Creative Commons
Eat Some Urine Eggs, China
Don’t worry you read that correctly — urine eggs. Also known as virgin boy eggs, this traditional dish of Dongyang, Zhejiang, China features urine eggs boiled in the urine of young boys, preferably under the age of ten.
Although there is no explanation why it must be boys’ urine, the cured eggs are said to provide benefits through “fragrance” that were discovered in ancient times. Although more taboo everywhere else in China, you can still uncover them for roughly 1.50 yuan ($0.24) an egg. Now if that isn’t weird enough for you to go wtf…well, I really don’t know what is!
Dine on Porcupine, Crocodile Burgers or Drink Some Weasel Poo, Vietnam
Now there are many bizarre foods that are eaten in Asia from fried cockroaches, turtles to water rats but Vietnam shines on top with an extreme array of dining options from pretty much anything that walks, crawls or jumps.
Crocodiles are typically served as burgers and once the spikes are removed from porcupines, the meat is juicy comparable to that of a duck. In terms of the coffee called Kopi Luwak, weasels eat red ripe coffee berries when harvest season starts. Their feces is collected and processed into the world’s most expensive coffee. It is always good to know that the coffee in Vietnam really is the shit!
This list is both awesome and creepy. Some of these are going on the bucket list!