He saw French tourists misbehave with tattoo artist — so he turned their sketch request into a joke they'd wear forever

Misbehavior, if not addressed properly, can spread like a contagion. A Chinese-Indonesian dad, who knew it too well, responded to a group of misbehaving tourists with an epic payback. In a June 9, 2026, Reddit post, their grown-up child (u/gordorioaquinno) described an old incident that happened in Helsinki when their dad was waiting at a tattoo shop to get inked. There, he saw a group of rude and loud French tourists misbehaving. Pissed, the dad took matters into his own hands and quietly turned their Chinese tattoo into a lifelong mystery.

A tattoo for each memory

The incident dates back to the 90s, when their dad was in Europe on a two-week backpacking trip. Interestingly, during each travel, the man used to get a small tattoo to preserve the memories. Similarly, while in Europe, he visited a tattoo shop to have the Finnish flag inked on his back. "When he arrived, there were already a couple of French tourists ahead of him," the author shared. They were rude, loud, and acted entitled to special treatment. 

The dad was obviously pissed, but did not confront the group. However, one particular tourist asked him to write down the Chinese character for “love” for his tattoo. And to teach them a lesson, the dad wrote the Chinese equivalent of slang. Lucky for him, the tattoo artist haphazardly designed the tattoo without double-checking the characters. This way, he left the rude tourists with a mystery they’d probably never solve. "To this day, my dad still has no idea if that man ever found out what his tattoo actually meant. I kind of hope he did. My dad still laughs after all these years whenever he tells the story," the author said. 

Mishbehaving tourists 

Although the man could have had the chance to teach the rude tourists a lesson, most people never get that opportunity despite frequent encounters with entitled travelers. In fact, a survey across seven countries by Saily found that most tourists behave badly during trips. In fact, close to half of American respondents (47%) said they are most irritated by tourists arguing loudly. Similarly, 52% said coughing or sneezing without covering their mouth annoys them the most. A similar share of Americans reported tourists leaving trash on the beach. Additionally, 44% complained about tourists playing music or videos without headphones.

Netizens have a mixed response

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit story, u/wheelsuch11 said, "The best part is that the revenge lasted longer than the vacation." However, u/ishavedmyballz4this defended the rude tourists and wrote, "They probably weren’t being rude purposely. I’ve heard that’s just how French culture is. Like rudeness is expected, and if you’re too polite, you’ll just be overlooked." Similarly, u/wide_comment3081 asked, "Your dad let someone put something stupid permanently on his body because they were loud and rude? Is he a psychopath?"

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