The worst things I've seen while traveling

Every time I go traveling I see things that just blow my mind. Not necessarily "bad," but just bizarre.<br><br>Here are some examples from the last two weeks:<br><br>1. An airport in Africa where every single flight is screened by security before entering the rest of the airport, and there's a security check again when you actually board the plane. Then the airline has a table of 3 women, who inspect every bag manually by feeling through them by hand, and if they find anything, they just pull it out without looking at it. I saw one of them pull out a full-size toiletry bag. Why? No idea.<br><br>2. On the same airport, the check-in kiosks were all just old desktop computers with a Word document on a screen where you had to type your info by hand.<br><br>3. Another airport, in Europe, I saw that one of the gates had a little security checkpoint. I'm guessing because this one goes to a neighboring island and so the security is a bit less tight, but I have no idea.<br><br>4. The airport in Rome has two security checkpoints. One is the usual, with metal detectors. The other is a bunch of women who just pat you down and check your hands. If you have anything in your pockets, they'll feel it and ask you to take it out. I saw one guy who had a huge knife, so I guess it's not a complete loss.<br><br>5. On a flight from the US to South America, the airline had a sheet of paper with about a dozen questions, like "Do you have any food or plants in your luggage?" "Do you have any live animals in your luggage?" "Do you have any electronic devices that could be used to make explosives?" (Or something along those lines.) They then went through each person's luggage and checked their boarding cards to see if they were sitting in biz or coach, and then just threw everything in without inspecting it. Again, no idea why.<br><br>6. In South America, I saw that almost every streetlight had a little cage on top. Inside the cage is a light, but it also has a tiny little camera, which is a weird thing to do. Maybe they're just for decoration? I have no idea.<br><br>7. In South America, the same airport had a "VIP lounge" which was just a tiny, cramped room with 3 chairs and a table, and a guy who gave you a glass of juice and a bag of peanuts, and then you could sit there and watch the planes land from a little window. The weird part was that they charged $40 for this, which is a lot less than what other airports charge, but it was still kind of strange.<br><br>8. Another airport in South America had two different sets of check-in kiosks, and I had to use both, but they were completely different. One was a normal kiosk where I could check in and pay for baggage, but the other one was just an old printer on a desk that the guy behind the desk had to use to print out a receipt. No idea why.<br><br>9. The same airport had a weird little room where there were about 10 small tables with chairs, and every seat was occupied by a different woman who was just sitting there staring at her phone. I have no idea what that was for, but it looked very weird.<br><br>10. I saw a sign in a small town that said "Please do not throw stones at the plane." I have no idea what to make of this. It can't be real, but I took a picture and asked some locals and they said it was real. Apparently the sign has been there for years, and nobody knows why.<br><br>11. In another small town, I saw that there were two little shops side by side. One sold "traditional" things, and the other sold "imported" things. I took a picture of the latter, but it was just filled with the same stuff as the first store. Apparently the difference was that the imported shop had a little sticker on the window that said it was foreign-owned, which I guess means they paid taxes to the government? I have no idea.<br><br>12. On a bus ride, I saw that there were two little rooms attached to the back of the bus. One was a bathroom, and the other had a little table with a sign that said "Emergency Only." I asked a local and he said that it's because the bus was very old and the bathroom was broken, but they were still required to have one because it was a long ride. So the emergency room was basically for if someone had to pee really bad and couldn't hold it.<br><br>13. Another bus ride, the driver stopped every single person who got on and made them pay their fare again, even though they had already bought tickets in the terminal before boarding the bus. Apparently it's some kind of regulation?<br><br>14. In a small town, I saw that every streetlight had a little sensor that measured your height. Apparently they're trying to save money by only turning on the lights if there's someone in the area.<br><br>15. In another small town, I saw a sign that said "Please do not park your car on the side of the street." I have no idea why.<br><br>16. I saw that there's a bus company that offers "luxury" bus rides, but they were just normal buses with no legroom and no reclining seats. I think the "luxury" part was just a fancy name?<br><br>17. On another airport, the "VIP lounge" was basically just a regular restaurant, but you had to pay $100 to get in. Again, no idea why.<br><br>18. Another airport had a weird little room with a bunch of TVs showing cartoons and a little play area with toys and coloring books. I asked a local and she said it was for kids, but I think it was actually just for the airport staff?<br><br>19. In another small town, I saw that there were two sets of bus stops. One was for regular buses, and the other was for "express" buses, which were just the same bus but with no signs and no announcements. I have no idea why they need two sets of bus stops.<br><br>20. I saw a sign in a small town that said "Please do not walk on the highway." I have no idea what to make of this. It can't be real, but I took a picture and asked some locals and they said it was real.<br><br>21. On another bus ride, the driver stopped every single person who got on and made them show their boarding pass. Apparently this is a thing, but I have no idea why.<br><br>22. Another airport had a weird little room with a bunch of computers showing the same Word document with a bunch of text. I asked a local and he said it was for employees only, but I think it was actually just a weird decoration?<br><br>23. In another small town, I saw that there were two little shops side by side. One sold "local" products, and the other sold "imported" products. I took a picture of the latter, and it was just filled with the same stuff as the other store. Apparently the difference was that the local shop didn't have any prices on anything. I have no idea.<br><br>24. Another airport had a weird little room with a bunch of old computers showing the same Word document with a bunch of text. I asked a local and he said it was for employees only, but I think it was actually just a weird decoration?<br><br>25. I saw that there's a bus company that offers "discounted" bus rides if you book in advance. I asked a local and he said it was just a marketing trick to get people to book early.<br><br>26. Another airport had a weird little room with a bunch of TVs showing the same news channel. I asked a local and he said it was for employees only, but I think it was actually just a weird decoration?<br><br>27. In another small town, I saw that there were two little shops side by side. One sold "traditional" products, and the other sold "modern" products. I took a picture of the latter, and it was just filled with the same stuff as the other store. Apparently the difference was that the modern shop was owned by a woman. I have no idea.<br><br>28. I saw that there's a bus company that offers "free" bus rides if you have a certain credit card. I asked a local and he said it was just a marketing trick to get people to sign up for the card.<br><br>29. Another airport had a weird little room with a bunch of old computers showing the same Word document with a bunch of text. I asked a local and he said it was for employees only, but I think it was actually just a weird decoration?<br><br>30. I saw that there's a bus company that offers "luxury" bus rides with extra legroom. I asked a local and he said it was just a marketing trick to get people to pay more.