I have spent the last 6 months living in Cyprus, then recently returned to England for a couple of weeks. This gave me an opportunity to see what we sometimes take for granted in the UK. Cyprus is a fantastic place to live; the sunshine, low crime rate, cheap cost of living and relaxed lifestyle all make the island a top spot. Even the beautiful waters hold some of the world’s best dives sites, so what’s not to love?! Believe it or not, there are some areas where the UK tops Cyprus. In this post, I’ll be taking a look at what the British take for granted.
Tap Water
There’s nothing like being out at a bar, where your sixth beer is sinking in, when you lean over the bar and ask for a water. A cup’s filled, you down it, and are back on your way. If you want this luxury in Cyprus, you’re paying at least €1 a time for a bottle.
The water in the South of the island is perfectly safe to drink, however it’s ‘harder’ than what we’re used to. The increased mineral content can cause upset stomachs for travellers, and it also tastes more metallic. In the North, it is recommended to only drink bottled water. That being said, all over the island, bottled water, or filtered water through dispensers, is the norm.
I’ve certainly missed the ease of drinking straight from a tap, instead of walking to the water machine each time. Especially when I need to take a few bottles a time to make it worth the trip!
Highway Code
Taking your drivers test in the UK is quite a monumental occasion for many. You study, take the theory test, including hazard perception, then the practical. Once passed, you’re free to forget everything you’ve learned and develop your own driving style. Regardless of how you drive, most people still maintain a level of respect for the Highway Code.
Now fly just past Greece and touch down in Cyprus. Although they drive on the left hand side of the road, their regard for the Highway Code is somewhat nonchalant. People drive with a disregard for lanes, indicators and the decency to say thanks for allowing them to pass. Despite driving at the speed limit, you often find yourself being overtaken on any road. Literally, any road. This could be due to the fact that Cyprus got rid of its speed camera system some years ago. Now, the country relies on the police to catch speedsters.
Still, I appreciate that driving in Cyprus has heightened my awareness, as I’m now always expecting the unexpected.
The Police
Let’s give the police their own section here. Living in the UK, you may see the police on patrol on the streets, or passing you on blue light runs. For the everyday, law abiding citizen, your contact with them may be limited.
Cypriot police are a little different to those we’re used to on the streets of the UK. Some still patrol with their blue lights flashing, despite the rules on this changing some years ago. Although most drivers in Cyprus have become accustomed to this, it can still be distracting. For example, when sat in a bar and the darkness is lit up by blue, you think something’s going down!
There have been many cases where suspicions of corruption have been aired, including a friend of mine. They were stopped after having bought cigarettes from a Turkish bakery. They were questioned on the spot as to why they weren’t buying them from a Cypriot shop. There was no further action, but coupled with claims that the police sometimes pocket on the spot speeding fines, it paints the law in a bad light.
Despite all this, Cyprus remains the second safest country in the EU, and eighth safest in the world. So for their apparent flaws, the police must be doing something right!
Smoking Areas
As smoking laws changed back in 2007, the UK has become a much cleaner place (for non smokers that is). You can go for a night out, and only smell the faint aroma of smoke if you pass a club’s smoking area or as you walk through the door with people smoking outside. The country is gearing towards non smokers, there is doubt about it!
Out in Cyprus, though, smoking laws are much more relaxed. For starters, you see about 70% of other drivers smoking in their cars, then launching their butts out into the road. Your hazard perception increases tenfold just dodging ash! Furthermore, most restaurants, if not all, that have outside seating have ash trays on the tables. Very few have dedicated smoking areas, so people just light up around their dinner and it’s difficult to escape the smell! To put the icing on the cake, there are clubs in Larnaca (Club Deep) and Ayia Napa (Pirates) where it is acceptable to smoke inside. Yes that’s right, inside.
Coming back to the UK and not being constantly surrounded by the smell of smoke is refreshing…literally.
Insects
Or lack thereof. When you live in Cyprus, you become accustomed to seeing the odd snake, tarantula or cockroach walking up to you and charging you a toll to get to your own room. At first, I was quite jumpy every time a cockroach scurried by. Some places were worse than others, but you eventually get used to them and it just becomes a norm.
Although not strictly insects, but in the animal category, Cyprus is also home to a lot of strays. Both stray cats and dogs are often found wandering around various areas of the country. Many people I know have adopted rescues out there, which is a beautiful sight seeing abandoned dogs find new homes.
In comparison to the UK, where our biggest infestation are pigeons on the high street, the Cypriots definitely get it worse. Your dinners can be frequently disturbed by stray cats pestering you for food, whereas even just eating outside in the UK is a rarely experienced luxury.
Despite the UK weather preventing much of the outdoor lifestyle lived in Cyprus, it is still pleasant to be able to freely walk through the countryside without the fear of running into a snake, or worse.
Nature’s Scent
Last, but most certainly not least, is the smell. Now this sounds ridiculous, I know, but bear with me.
In Cyprus, where it’s hot for probably 320 days of the year, the only weather variable we get is a bit of wind. Some days it’s stronger than others, sometimes the sun will be blocked by cloud for an hour or so, but most of the time it’s blue skies and sunshine. Therefore, you rarely get the scent of the outdoors as there’s little ‘green’ vegetation or rain to get that outdoors smell we find in the UK.
As crazy as it sounds, when you’ve spent 6 months living in the hot, dry, barren, sandy land that is Cyprus, some rain, greenery and smell of the British outdoors really is appreciated.
So there we have it. Just a selection of things that we, the British, take for granted. Some may seem very minor, and hardly worth a mention. Nonetheless, when you spend time living in a not too dissimilar country, you come home to notice these minor things and be able to once again appreciate them.