travel

18 habits from home you should never take abroad.

Handy tip: count those flowers you’re about to give your Ukrainian host – and make sure there aren’t 10. Because in the Ukraine, an even number of flowers is only given at funerals. And we don’t want this generous little gesture to lead to yours.

In China, don’t point with your finger (use an open hand instead). And clocks are associated with death, so giving one is the equivalent of offering a death wish.

In India, use your right hand to receive and eat food; the left is considered unclean.

And if you’re jetting to Thailand, think twice before finishing that plate of delicious pad thai. There, it’s polite to leave a small amount of food on your plate when you’ve finished your meal to indicate you’re full.

If you’re heading overseas for a mid-winter break, here’s a list of just some of the customs that wouldn’t turn a hair in Australia, but aren’t quite the done thing in other countries.

You might think it’s okay drink a cappuccino at any time in Italy. But we are here to tell you that you it is not.

So step away from the coffee machine and check out this list of etiquette, laws and customs Gulliver from Globelink International Travel Insurance.

No clinking glasses in Hungary?

No talking about money in France?

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