50 Times Travelers Were Shocked, Amused, Or Amazed In Other Countries (New Pics)

Whenever we embark on a new trip, we can get so excited that we forget about the people around us. But as we check destinations off our bucket list, it's important to remain mindful of others—especially on planes, where passengers can quickly get on one another's nerves.

But "generally, as long as people act normally and leave each other alone, they don’t affect the flight experience much at all," Lisa Stentvedt, the woman behind Fjords & Beaches, a travel blog dedicated to everyone who refuses to stop exploring, told Bored Panda.

"All it takes is a smile and polite conversation to improve it, or a pair of bare feet on your armrest to detract from it."

Out of all the annoying things, "What I experience the most is people who forget that the seat in front of them actually has another passenger in it," Lisa said.

"Too many people use the seat in front of them to pull themselves out of their own seat (instead of the armrest), aggressively tap their video screen to change their movie, or even lean on the seat when getting into their own. All of these actions disturb the person sitting in that seat and can be really annoying."

And as tricky as flights can be, Lisa of Fjords & Beaches tries to avoid open conflict whenever possible. "I would personally never bother the crew for anything that isn't an actual violation of safety or airline protocols," she said. "If someone smells bad, for example, that's not something the stewards can do anything about. Nor is it against airline policy, as far as I am aware." So, be empathetic, stick to your boundaries, and when you land, you will (hopefully) be in a good enough mood to make the best of your journey.

The Pew Research Center examined the travel habits of people from 24 countries. The data showed that the share of those who have traveled abroad ranges from a low of 3% in India to more than 99% in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Overall, a median of 79% across the 24 countries surveyed say they have been to at least one other country, while a median of 21% have not traveled outside their homeland.

There are large differences by region, with Europeans being the most likely to have traveled to a country other than their own: about two-thirds or more in every nation on the Old Continent surveyed have traveled abroad. By contrast, roughly a third or fewer people from India, Indonesia, and the Latin American and African nations surveyed have done the same.

While the physical size of the country or the region someone is from may play some role in people's travels, it is not the only explanation. Economic factors are also important.

Higher-income countries have much higher rates of international visits. For example, Sweden and the Netherlands are among the richest nations surveyed, and in both places, nearly all respondents said they had traveled to another country.

The country that departs from this pattern is the US. While it's at the top of the countries surveyed in terms of gross domestic product per capita, about half of the nations had higher rates of international travel.