How do different cultures send their post?
Whilst nowadays, courier services worldwide are becoming standardised because of the global presence of large companies such as FedEx and UPS – but there are still some interesting quirks and unusual practices which remain in certain countries. Here’s our round-up of the world’s quirkiest postal service facts. We hope you enjoy them!
India
India has one of the largest populations in the world, and as such, it also has the largest postal service on the planet with 155,618 post offices in total across the country. India in fact has one of the oldest postal systems in operation, as their postal service began back in the 14th century and was developed in earnest in the 16th century.
China
With a population of 1.3 billion, China also has one of the largest postal services worldwide – running closely behind India with over 77,000 post offices. In one year, China’s postal service will process over 7 billion letters and an incredible 95 million parcels.
Island Living
On tropical isles all over the world (such as French Polynesia and the Caymans) post is still brought in via air and on boats. It is then distributed through a central office on one of the main islands before being taken, once again by air or by boat, to the recipient. In some cases, the recipient is required to travel to pick up their post, and of course in the event of stormy weather, post deliveries can be delayed indefinitely.
Germany
In 2001, Germany’s postal service workers underwent ‘dog psychology training’ to enable them to deal better with frisky canines who were becoming a troublesome issue as they tried to deliver post to certain households.
Arizona
In Supai Arizona, mail is delivered by Mule train. They don’t just carry post and packages however; these mule trains travel 3-5 hours to deliver food and medical supplies to the settlement of around 500 native Americans living there. It is the last place in the world to accept and deliver post via a mule train.
It’s insider knowledge like this which helps us to gain a better understanding of how our courier services relate to postal systems overseas – allowing us to offer a seamless service when it comes to sending packages and letters further afield. If you’d like information about sending parcels and post worldwide, then please take a look at our Services page or get in touch with us to find out how we could help.
