(Photo courtesy of Vyacheslav Argenberg )
You know what they say, when in Rome, do like the Romans do.
In this day and age of travel, I think the phrase should be: When visiting countries that are foreign to you, do remember to review the laws of the land.
Well last week, my husband learned, when in Germany do like the Germans do. Or at the least he learned that it is best to familiarize yourself with any laws that you might possibly break. Sadly it was a lesson that cost him 30 Euros. (It could have been a lot worse though.)
My husband travels on average about two weeks out of the month. There are times when in one week he will be in 6 or 7 countries. That’s a lot of laws to familiarize yourself with.
Last week he was in Germany for a day and a half. The morning of the second day started off okay. He caught a cab quite quickly to get to his first meeting. And then his day started going downhill. The cab was pulled over by cops. My husband was then given a ticket for not having his seatbelt on.
My husband was a bit flabbergasted. Nowhere in the cab was there any sign stating the seatbelt law. The cab driver had also conveniently forgotten to mention it. It seems that initially the cab was pulled over because the cab driver was not wearing a seatbelt. As soon as the cops saw that there was a passenger in the car, they then fined my husband and explained that it was okay for the cab driver not to be wearing a seatbelt. Why? Because the law states that if a cab driver has passenger he does not have to wear a seatbelt because it would hinder him if he needed to make a quick escape.
Then the cops told my husband to pay them on the spot. My husband was incredulous. He told the cop that if he were to give cash to a cop in the USA he would be arrested on the spot for bribery. They then asked for his passport, the conversation went on a bit longer but luckily my husband managed to calm down and keep from getting arrested and just paid the 30 Euros.
I know from hubby’s previous trips that other countries have weird laws as well. For instance in Singapore there are fines for littering, jay walking, failing to flush toilets and chewing gum. Hubby actually loves the chewing gum law because he hates people chewing gum. But if you are a drug dealer you better not be caught, because Singapore had a death penalty for that. 
(Photo courtesy of Alexander Steffler )
I don’t know if it is true, but I was told that in Thailand it is illegal to leave the house if you are not wearing your underwear. It’s also against the law to step on the nation’s currency.
Each country it seems has its own unique laws. Some that are obvious and some not so obvious. It can certainly get a bit tricky.
So what laws of different countries do you guys know that you think my husband should be aware of? I prefer the fine money being spent on gifts for me.
NEW DAY NEW LESSON 