What crazy forms of transportation have you seen throughout the world? I once saw three boys who had to be under twelve speeding down a street on a motorbike on an island in Thailand once. What about you?

Have you ever underestimated a food and have it turn out to be something you love? What was it?

In Washington, DC where I’m from, we have the Washington Monument. I love it because it symbolizes my home in a way that can only be achieved by a large phallic monument. [Insert manly growl here.] There seems to be a trend worldwide, actually, for large phallic monuments . While traveling, my bursting pride always makes me quick to tell people, “Hey buddy, that’s why my monument is bigger than yours!” In Belgrade, Serbia they cut straight to the tip of the issue of manly monuments and statues with what has become one of my favorites. I call it, “Man with impressive… sword.”

This statue, overlooking the water, is very well equipped and his weapon looks like it’s well built, sturdy and good for sticky situations. Definitely one of my favorite monuments ever. When sightseeing, just be careful which angle you show grandma.

For me, I’d say Egypt has to be near the top. I took this picture in Cairo and it doesn’t even begin to show how bad it is. In Cairo, if you honk your horn, that serves as a warning to everyone near you and you can then pull erratically into whatever lane you choose, regardless of the position of the other cars around you. You honked so they were all forewarned. Everywhere you go, every street you hit is just a constant mass of honking chaos 24 hours a day. That’s the problem: it never stops!

The only place that I can remember being comparable was Bangladesh… or maybe Kenya. Where do you think the worst traffic in the world is?

Something that was hard not to notice in El Salvador was that no matter where you went, there was always someone with a shotgun! It wasn’t just banks and jewelry stores that sported malicious looking armed guards. There were nice men with shotguns outside of drug stores, restaurants and even little corner stores. I didn’t know whether the constant armed presence should make me feel safer or more afraid. This little, armed teddy bear here agreed to take a photo with me to commemorate that wild west feeling. If only I could’ve gotten him to point the shotgun in a different direction.

When your best, classiest restaurants post no smoking signs with the same casualness of a no guns allowed sign, you know your city may be a little unsafe. I took this picture outside a restaurant in Guatemala City. I tried to persuade the shotgun toting security guard to pose in the pic as well but he wouldn’t go for it. And I thought my neighborhood growing up had a lot of guns.

Gathering in a mob and beating an effigy of one of your childhood heros until its guts spill to the floor can be a great addition to any child’s development. How many of us have been to a party with a piñata? I certainly have. I used to think my childhood was already complete until I saw this store in Guatemala and realized how pathetic my influential birthday party piñatas were. Look at what they have there! I missed out. As I realized how inadequate all the piñatas in my life were, I started to question how much my parents really cared.

I grabbed this photo while we were driving down the street and I was immediately jealous. I admit that at seven years old, the four-armed red alien monstrosity in the center would have made me crap my pants but that Michael Jackson piñata would have fit right in. How can I claim I had a great childhood without having had the pleasure of a birthday with a Michael Jackson piñata complete with the authentic crotch grabbing grip? Back then, I’m sure that the trend would have caught on in the States and I know Michael would have loved being the center piece of children’s parties all over the US.

How did you celebrate your birthday as a kid where you’re from? Did you have piñatas? I love seeing different cultures and small examples of the different ways that we live. If you have any cool examples, be sure to share!

In Grenada, I saw this sign in a bar on the beach and I LOVE IT! Really, I need one of these in every room of my house… because I think it would compliment the color of the color of the carpet perfectly, of course

I love signs from foreign places so if you’ve got any cool or crazy signs, I would love to see them or even hear about them in the comments.

While in Hong Kong and traversing the mid-level escalators, I saw this HILARIOUS billboard. This is funny, funny stuff. Check out all of the individual ads and tell me which one on the billboard is your favorite. I, personally, like the dude with the ad for time travel. LMAO!

Have you seen any really cool billboards? I would love to hear about them or, even better, see them!