Part of the fun of travel is in the stories and anecdotes you bring back with you. Imagine how many of these stories are told over drinks or at dinner parties or wherever.

Here are a few examples from my travels. In a market in Penang I saw watches being sold.  Trying to be funny, I asked ‘Are these watches guaranteed?’ ‘Yes’, was the reply.  ‘For how long’ I enquired?’  ‘Until I say goodbye to you sir’.   Serves me right!

On a recent trip to China we were in a tea house watching a demonstration. One of the amusing items was the ‘pee-pee boy’ . A little ceramic figure of a boy was dipped in cold water for a while and then hot water was poured over the top of him, causing him to pee in an arc across the table.  I decided I should have one of them to ‘demonstrate’ at dinner parties, or whatever.  I was told I had to buy packets of tea to get a free one but I did not want any tea, so I had to pay 50 yuan for the boy.  At a market a few days later I saw them for 5 yuan!  Furthermore, when I tried it at home it didn’t work very well, just a little dribble!!

On another occasion we were staying in a cheap hotel in the quaint Spanish town of Ronda. After an enjoyable dinner we were offered, for free, a little ceramic jug of their local wine (Vino de Malaga – a type of sherry).  We went up to our room only to find that the key would not open the door.  After the burly manager tried unsuccessfully, we were given another room together with another little jug of this wine for free.  We were assured that a locksmith would be employed early next morning to remedy the situation.  Sure enough, early next morning a team of people arrived but they succeeded in solving the problem by hacking and splintering the timber door frame, accompanied by much noise and complaints from other guests.  So much for the delicacy of a locksmith! By the way we were given one of the little ceramic jugs as some sort of compensation.

There are many more but these ones come to mind.