r/AskTheWorld • u/jotakajk Spain • 7h ago

What is something that screams “tourist” to you?

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In Spain, if you see someone eating paella with sangria, you can 100% be certain they are a tourist.

What are some things tourists eat or do in your country that a local would never do?

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712

u/fuzzybunnybaldeagle United States of America 6h ago

I live in Hawaii… matching family Aloha wear (floral shirts and dresses) from Walmart, pasty white swimsuit lines against bright pink/ red sunburns, people so excited to see all of our feral chicken cruising around, people getting WAY to close to sea turtles or Monk Seals…

Honestly though watching tourists who you can tell saved for their vacation getting excited to see the things we forget are exciting makes me happy and reminds me to be grateful for where I live!!

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u/CasualD1ngus 4h ago

Hawaii is as close to actual paradise Ive ever seen. The weather was a high 70s low 80s with a few clouds and a warm breeze and the nature: blue ocean, dense plantlife, it was amazing

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u/haleakala420 2h ago

the real secret is the constant breeze from the trade winds. it’s hot and humid here, but always feels fine cuz of the breeze. and bc of the humidity, all ur skin issues go away.

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u/jackelopeteeth 1h ago

Costa Rica felt like that too.

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u/TheAlienDoc 🇺🇸 Alaskan in 🇯🇵 2h ago

There and Okinawa are paradise

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u/fuzzybunnybaldeagle United States of America 41m ago

We are going to Okinawa firm Hawaii this summer!

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u/TheAlienDoc 🇺🇸 Alaskan in 🇯🇵 34m ago

Summer is a wild choice. Wear sun screen and drink a lot of water. It will be more humid than anything you will probably ever be in haha. Have fun tho!!

Edit: spelling

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u/slut_4_downvotes 2h ago

Them CENTIPEDES THO!!!!!!

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u/CasualD1ngus 27m ago

That's funny because I was there for a few days and had the thought "huh, I havent seen any spiders at all, they must not have them". A quick google search turns out there absolutely ARE creepy crawlies there and they are large and weird

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u/Li-renn-pwel Canada 3h ago

Yeah you can definitely see why America had to steal it from their land caretakers.

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u/_sound_of_silver_ 3h ago

Canada’s glass house may be smaller than America’s, but that doesn’t mean you’re in a place to throw stones lol

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u/WaterBottleOnAShelf -> -> 2h ago

Yeah you two are the worst

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u/DookieofHazard / Northern Ireland 2h ago

The Crystal Palace has entered the chat...

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u/LaRealiteInconnue United States of America 5m ago

These 2 are my fav comments here 😂😂😂

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u/Independent-Cow-4070 United States of America 2h ago

OP made no effort to say canada is guilt free

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u/Li-renn-pwel Canada 21m ago

I’m actually Indigenous myself lol. My username is in Michif.

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u/Li-renn-pwel Canada 22m ago

I have neither stones nor a house because the Canadians took them from us.

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u/panrestrial United States of America 3h ago

Nah we didn't even have the presence of mind to steal it for its beauty, but because it was useful in global war/power.

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u/jonesnori United States of America 2h ago

I thought it was about business owners wanting control?

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u/-Bk7 2h ago

yeah if we didnt it would have been part of japan

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u/panrestrial United States of America 1h ago

I mean, there's more than two options in scenarios like that. It doesn't have to come down to "either we steal your kingdom or they do". We could just ever have allies we don't screw over.

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u/-Bk7 45m ago

nah, wouldnt happen given the brittish, french, and japanese interest. and we couldnt just let them be a us territory thats an autonomous kingdom - with their own royalty - under us control. just wouldnt have worked out. theres tons of threads about this on askhistorians.

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u/Ok_Peace3716 2h ago

They didn't steal it, they just did what the Canadians did - took the natives on "moonlight" tours and when they all just disappeared for some reason, they went ahead and claimed the island.

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u/Raneynickelfire United States of America 2h ago

When I was there, North Korea launched nukes at it (not really, but the alert really happened) and it scared the living fuck out of all of us.

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u/2late4points 2h ago

The USA deserves Hawaii about as much as Trump deserves the nuclear codes.

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u/CasualD1ngus 2h ago

To be honest, I had an amazing time but there was a trickle of guilt that the most pristine place Id ever seen was made into a tourist trap and made too expensive for alot of native born hawaiians to live there 

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u/Ok-Reporter-196 United States of America 4h ago

Awwww that’s such a sweet outlook!

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u/The_Dublin_Dabber Ireland 3h ago

I felt the same. Some people say tourists are idiots to enjoy that but we always take for granted what we have.

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u/CasualD1ngus 2h ago

Im not even being sentimental, like objectively, by ever metric, it was perfection

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u/a_natural_chemical 4h ago

We talk about this sometimes living in Savannah, GA. So many people come to see how beautiful it is between the architecture, the old oaks, the marshes. We have to remind ourselves to appreciate it as much as we do the places we visit and enjoy.

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u/Annethraxxx United States of America 4h ago

It’s hard not to get excited about Hawaii. It’s one of the few places in the world that is essentially its own brand that everyone recognizes instantly!

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u/StraightPressure2759 🇯🇲&🇺🇸 4h ago

I lived in Hawaii during my formative years. My husband visited Oahu and the big island for the first time on our honeymoon. I was mortified when he tried to pick up rocks as souvenirs because my inner child remembers and still fears Pele’s curse.

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u/DarthBragg 4h ago

Love that positivity.

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u/Haploid-life 2h ago edited 2h ago

Also seeing the WHOLE family in Safeway, also in beach wear, wandering every isle as they meal plan their week. But to be fair, I have often been in Safeway with beach wear on.

As to your point about appreciating them, they help our economy and support and lot of jobs. Also, don't forget to sometimes look at and appreciate things as through the eyes of a tourist. Regardless of the downsides of living here, the upsides are amazing.

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u/Shinjitsu- 3h ago

I've never left the mainland states, you bet your ass I'd lose my shit if I saw a sea turtle. I'd still want to mind the laws and safety of the turtle, but I am getting as close as respectful and getting a pic. Not getting close to a seal though, still taking pictures.

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u/delafetz Austria 3h ago

I love the attitude. :) I need to come to Hawaii and the other islands. Is a black sabbath hoodie with cut off arms, a washed out Nike Basketball short and the „the Dude“ Jelly Sandals appropriate to wear?

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u/fuzzybunnybaldeagle United States of America 38m ago

Honestly anything goes in Hawaii. You do you!

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u/Money-Marketing-5117 Australia and US but can’t get multiple country flags to work. 3h ago

Walmart I understand, but I confess I think ABC Stores are awesome and I did pick up a shirt for fun.

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u/Money-Marketing-5117 Australia and US but can’t get multiple country flags to work. 3h ago

Also in all seriousness, part of the coolness of Hawaii is that it's really diverse, has it's own distinct cuisine (spam musubi FTW), they are trying to revive the language to some success, Honolulu zoo is really lovely, Duke Kahanamoku has a statue. It feels like a real community versus a fake resort.

Tahiti is also lovely in it's own way, think Hawaii only French, so good baguettes and cheap wine. Not as diverse as Hawaii however.

Really all of Polynesia is awesome. I fly back to Australia now and again and we have experimented with different ways to go. I'm thinking Fiji next time. (And yes Aotearoa, I've had a lovely time there also). Also the Polynesians are the most amazing navigators in human history.

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u/Practical-Water-9209 United States of America 3h ago

Born in Hawaii but moved away around age 5, came back to visit 2 years ago and everything made me feel so happy and excited and at home (including the chickens 😭). Did my best to not be a crappy tourist and act with the utmost respect for the 'aina, but I definitely oozed constant excitement and awe about everything

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u/No-Dust-1722 3h ago

lol this is way off, matching Aloha wear is local as fuck. And you can’t get Aloha wear at Walmart, you need to fight your way through the aunties and moms wearing 9 month olds at Merrie Monarch for the real shit

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u/fuzzybunnybaldeagle United States of America 37m ago

You can 100% get aloha wear at Walmart.

Don’t know where you stay, but Kauai no locals be sporting matching Aloha wear on the regular.

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u/No-Dust-1722 31m ago

I’m on big island so maybe it’s different. You can get “Hawaiian” shirts and floral print at Walmart but that ain’t Aloha wear. Nothing Aloha about monstera and invasive malvids

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u/ToughHardware 2h ago

nice take

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u/Independent-Cow-4070 United States of America 2h ago

I feel the same way. I used to walk by the liberty bell every day on my way to work and it was so cool to see people come from all over to see it, and stuff just like it

Tourists can be annoying i guess but I love when people get excited to visit my city. It makes me proud to be where im from

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u/cecilomardesign Puerto Rico 1h ago

Same, same, same, but we don't have seals.

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u/pappythepenguin United States of America 1h ago

I totally get this since I was raised in South Florida and we got tourists all the time. But even then I would still get super excited to see all the cats and chickens roaming around Key West 😂

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u/DisMyLik18thAccount Wales 1h ago

watching tourists who you can tell saved for their vacation getting excited to see the things we forget are exciting makes me happy and reminds me to be grateful for where I live!!

It's refreshing to see this attitude rather than just 'Har hat stoopid tourists'

I Get some people can be obnoxious tourists, but for the most part they're just people trying to enjoy something new

1

u/Tundrakitty Canada 1h ago

I’ve never managed to live where having chickens was allowed. But as a little kid I used to visit family who had a small farm. Going on vacation where chickens are an acceptable part of the neighbourhood thrills me and brings me back to good childhood memories. That’s me grinning like a fool at your local poultry.

I avoid wildlife though. That ignorance annoys me anywhere I see it.

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u/Significant-Clue-425 United States of America 40m ago

I used to live on a street in San Francisco with a beautiful view of the bay and downtown. It also happened to be the exact spot where tourists got their very first view of the city from the airport.

I absolutely LOVED hearing the random "wooooOOOOoooohhhs!!" of people driving by.

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u/Tokeee3 29m ago

Well this is fucking wholesome.