While travelling abroad, especially on different
continents and in different hemispheres, it helps to be prepared for the
potentially massive cultural differences so you don’t find yourself in an
awkward situation or committing an embarrassing faux pas.
A travel guide has dedicated a section to offer
some tips to Japanese tourists visiting Scotland. While some of them could
prove to be reasonably helpful, others should take the travel tips “with a
pinch of salt”, as VisitScotland aptly put.
The guide offers a good amount of strong advice,
urging Japanese tourists to embrace the Scottish culture, giving tips on the
best local marmalade and sausage, and how to properly order a drink in a
bustling Scottish pub.
Cultural differences are also highlighted in the
guide that gives some insights to the differences between the two nations.
Tourists are warned that they must be patient and not expect to receive the
same “quick, polite and accurate service” from restaurants and taverns that
they would in their home land, which leads one to wonder if what type of bad
experiences the travel guide has had with the service industry in Scotland.
Amusingly, the guide offers some quirky tips. In
addition to warning them to avoid Scots in football garb, they are told never
to call Scottish kilts “skirts” and never to call a Scottish person “English”.
While that could help you avoid an embarrassing situation, others tips are
meant to be a bit silly.
The guide mentions that, even though it rains
quite often in Scotland, very few people carry umbrellas. This is said to
“puzzle” Japanese tourists, as many of the Japanese always carry an umbrella in
case of sudden showers.
The variety of guidelines that the Japanese
guide book offers proves to be an interesting read, running the gamut of
helpful hints to fun idiosyncrasies between the two cultures.
POTHOS can personally vouch that Scotland is a
hospitable country with a rich and interesting history. One of our employees is
a native of Scotland, and we’re quite sure she’d forgive you if you
accidentally called her English!
Book cover can be found here: http://www.eturbonews.com/files/imagecache/fullpage/0a12_261.jpg
