15 Stories From Around the World That Can Make You Say: “What a Twist!”

Life abroad is a constant discovery: new cities, unfamiliar traditions, unexpected encounters. Every journey gives us moments that stay with us for a lifetime. And sometimes one event can overshadow everything else and become a story.

The article uses materials created by artificial intelligence.

Nice vacation

• We had a vacation in Vietnam. The sunbeds on the beach were for a small fee. A woman in her sixties comes up to us and asks, “Can I lie down nearby?” We didn’t understand the question and agreed.
  It turned out that in order to save money, she laid down next to our sunbed in the shadow of our umbrella. And she lay there all day. She also asked us from time to time to keep our voices down, because we were disturbing her. © Overheard / VK

“My girlfriend found the engagement ring a week before I was going to propose to her during our trip to Chicago...”

A private party

• When traveling solo in Vietnam, I boarded a public ferry in the lower delta. I noticed that everyone on board was white and dressed kind of fancy, but I figured it was just Europeans traveling in SE Asia.
  Then, 15 minutes into the ride, someone started pouring champagne and passing it around to passengers. I was impressed with the service on a public ferry... The person pouring champagne got to me and gave me a puzzled look as I reached for a glass.
  It was then I realized I got on a private boat. We had a good laugh and they dropped me off at the next public ferry dock. © Unknown author / Reddit

“You can find these vinegar bottles on beaches in northern Australia. They color the vinegar blue to prevent people from taking it away. It is used to treat jellyfish stings.”

“My husband gave me a trip to Norway.”

• Since childhood, my dream has been to see a real live whale. Recently, my husband gave me a trip to Norway. He suggested that we go on a whale watching tour. I squealed with joy.
  When we arrived at the agency that provided this service, the guide began to dissuade us, because there were no whales in this season. But we persuaded him to go anyway. After standing in the cold in the harbor for an hour, we decided to leave in frustration.
  When we had already turned the boat round, I saw some movement under the water and a whale came out! Moreover, it was with a baby! You can’t imagine how happy I was! © Caramel / VK

“Some of Australia’s less popular ‘Big Thing’ attractions...”

“Big Sphinx”

“Big Mandarin”

“Will you marry me?”

• I accidentally became engaged to a local in Vietnam. I was exploring this little village, and stopped at a restaurant for a drink. A guy comes up and starts talking to me in very broken English.
  Within 5 minutes, he asks, “You married?” I say no, so he then says, “You marry me?” with a big goofy grin on his face. I assumed he was joking, because we’d known each other for 5 minutes, so I said yes. He was not joking.
  He immediately began yelling something in Vietnamese, then grabs my hand and starts waving it around in the air. Within minutes, we were surrounded by dozens of people who are all cheering and smiling and shaking my hand. He then took me to his house to introduce me to my future in-laws.
  I broke that poor boy’s heart when I left for another city the next day. © quailgirl / Reddit

“Subway installed a machine that produces scent for barbeque sandwiches at the train station.”

“What a meeting!”

• When my father first moved to Oslo, Norway back in the late 70s, he lived in this bad cellar apartment that was in a very nice part of town, so he’d always go for evening walks just to get out of the dump. On his walks, he would occasionally run into this old man walking his dog, and sometimes they would stop and talk about the dog or the weather or whatever.
  Turned out that the old man was actually the King of Norway, something my father only found out later, being completely new to the country. Innocent times... © RightWhenWrong / Reddit

“In Oslo, you can drop your warm clothes at a special place at the airport. This is designed for those traveling to warm countries. That way they can travel light.”

“That was a nice cup of tea.”

• Once I arrived at a hotel and saw something disgusting. Someone had tried to cook soup in the electric kettle in the room. Needless to say, it no longer had water, had just these dried tomato soup pieces stuck inside the kettle.
  I was so angry. Some people think they are geniuses, but they have no brains. © Unknown author / Reddit

“Came to Alicante, Spain, rented a place. One day we came back from a walk and saw this:”

“I’ll never forget that flight.”

• I was returning to Shenzhen on a Sichuan airline flight from Chengdu. Sitting in the emergency row, the flight attendant explained to me the standard responsibilities, to which I gave verbal confirmation that I understood.
  Before she turned away, she said coldly, “One last thing, please hold off anyone who tries to open the emergency door.” I suddenly felt the weight of my responsibilities. © Chiang Scala / Quora

“We love traveling together. What a laugh we had when we opened our presents.”

“The food at this place is served on a banana leaf.”

• My friend was going to India with me. He was a complete American and didn’t know “Indian stuff.”
  We went to one of the local restaurants and ordered a full set of meal. In Tamil Nadu, food is served on a banana leaf. So when we went there, he was perplexed but didn’t ask me a question.
  When we had finished our meals, I told him to stay here and take care of our belongings while I go to the washroom, and then we swap. While I was not there, he started chewing the whole banana leaf. He never came to India after that. © Yash Mehta / Quora

And here are smart travel tips that can make any trip easy.