TravellerHints! Travelling like a LOCAL! Well, the word comes on my way like a magical thunderbolt to give me some sort of enthralling wanderlust. Many are the diverse ways of travelling in the world and in the universe at large. Oh buddy, here’s a bit of a crazy fancy. Do visit, the places that you wish to visit.
Yes, the places that your wanderlust takes you to. Wow! What a desire! It takes you everywhere and that brings diverse people into your ardent company.
Now travelling in the world is a lot similar to travelling to a huge city. You may be able to meet up interesting people in interesting but diverse outfits.
And if you find a group of such people walking behind a leader holding a flag, you experience no uneasiness, but the novelty of the experience.
If a thought ever occurs to you, a thought like crawling under a double-decker bus and hiding under the encouragement of a tourist, do not ever feel beset by embarrassment.
It is just a new experience. After all great craving for travelling or getting stuck by wanderlust will open up new avenues to widen your horizons and have new experiences in a diverse location in the world.
Find Ways To Connect With Local
While you explore various cultures and ways of their people, start new connections by making friends with locals. You should do it in a natural way, in the same manner, you opt to do it at home.
The most prudent way is to show great interest in the people and their lifestyle. You have to ask things that are of great concern to them.
Why not start with their families, religion food and everything they do for fun? You should be prepared to respond to them if you are asked to answer their questions in the same manner. It amounts to mutual understanding despite all the kinds of differences.
Well, it is nothing, but sharing things about your culture as you explore theirs. What else can you share with them? Well, how about sharing stories and songs. They do not cost you much and do not take an extra room in your suitcase.
In addition, you can illustrate with photos on your smartphone or your camera that you take with you while travelling.
I advise you to make friends with the locals. During my trip to Iceland, I made friends with a couple of friends. What followed as a result was being able to drive around the country’s Ring Road in a rented car.
Let me tell you this frankly. It was, indeed a trip that put a spell on my whole life changing it completely. When I happen to come across people travelling to Iceland I recommended them to do the same.
However, during the visit to Iceland, we could not meet many a real Icelander for we were always in our own bubble.
Dating Apps – Getting the Local Hook UP
What becomes clear is that you do not need the guidance of a lonely planet any longer nowadays. You could make up your mind and decide to travel like a local.
You will be helped by a few dating apps. They are hookups, Lulu, Down, Tinder, Bumble, Coffee, Meets, Bagel, Happen, Plenty of fish, Okcupid and many more.
What matters is your skills to get casual hookups during your travel. You might be able to get free accommodation, taste local meal while travelling like a local.
Show Respect to Local
A bit of knowledge about the customs and traditions and also learn about cultures of places you hope to go. Why should you do so?
That is because the religious beliefs and customs are not the same across the world. You see, in Thailand, it is impolite to show the bottom of your feet.
The other thing is, this belief that you find in most parts of Asia. That is, putting a child on the head is an omen of bad luck. At the same time, you have to be fully aware of the varying economic conditions around the globe.
Ditch the Bus Tour
When I say that you should say bye to the bus tour I mean the bus tours that you have faith in when it comes to visiting the places that you look forward to getting to. Here you use the services of guides with amazing knowledge.
That is a benefit of a bus tour. However, the disadvantage is that you miss out on the chances of handling any of the transactions by yourself. The package tours are greatly confined to their itineraries, meals and the stops for resting for you.
They involve a great many moments of getting in and getting off. What else? What happens when nobody is talking to you? Well, all you would find yourself doing is being asleep.
Bus tours are a bit boring in that sense. So your hot enthusiastic spirit that desires more involvement by way of getting connected to the locals and smoothly getting involved in travel activities with more open friendship and freedom cannot be achieved with the help of a bus tour.
Doing something in a different way with the free interaction of locals and exploring the country on your own using the trial and error method would be more exciting. Oh, yes, it is exciting in its truest form.
You achieve self-confidence and independence while you are engaged in travelling. Your independence, having your own way will be achieved when you travel like a local.
Homestay or Hostel That is Better Than a Hotel
I recommend this with emphasis as it is more exciting and helps you travel like a local. Local people can be met in their true, natural unaffected form as you happen to live with them in a house while you opt to travel like a local.
As you find yourself accommodated in a hotel, limited are the opportunities to move with the locals there. You only find many a tourist concentrated here.
You only meet them, not the locals. The excitement you could get from being with your fellow travellers is limited indeed and the kind of excitement you get with moving with the locals living in the same house is much more fulfilling and thrilling. You see, you travel like a local when you do like that.
Homestay Travel Like a Real Local
Once you find a homestay you can find its benefits coming on your way in the form of cheaper Accommodation than in a hotel.
This is becoming a lot popular. It can be found greatly popular among the backpackers and solo travellers. Anyway, it is not confined only to them.
It has its benefits for anyone who wants to try homestay so as to be able to travel like a local. This type of accommodation is affordable and it guarantees safety too. This aspect makes it really suitable for solo and female travellers.
When you take up homestay you will be able to live with some people with a good knowledge of the area you are staying in.
They will help you to understand the people of that area, as well. That is to say, you will be made aware of the ‘no-go areas’ and other local customs.
Your landlord will furnish you with useful advice and information about the best places to go and make the most of your visit.
Rent An apartment or a Couch Surf
To feel like a local on your visit there is no other better way than choosing an apartment or locals’ couch than selecting a hotel with high tourist concentration and where opportunities to feel like a local are really absent.
Choose the locality that is a bit outside the main areas of tourist concentration. This earns you a genuine experience.
You get the opportunity to get tips from your host about where to go and what to do feeling and travelling like a local.
So choosing neighbourhoods away from places with high tourist concentration will lead you toward your goal of travelling like a local.
Take Public Transport
Let me tell you how selective I am about transport. I travel using public transport. In them, you feel the heartbeat of the locals always.
I usually travel through the part of the country with a lot of beautiful scenery. While helping to travel like a local it also helps you save your money. Can you imagine the contrast between public transport and arranged bus tours.
You get the opportunity to feel the heart’s throb and natural ways of the locals when you travel with them. It is because you merge with them and become like one of them. Then you travel like a local right?
Keep Your Cameras Away
It is better not to behave like a monkey and always try to take pictures of everything you see.
Don’t Wear High Heels and Very Fashionable Clothes
Do not wear your best clothes like on Sunday. Such a dress is liked by Eastern European or Russian hookers.
It is always advisable to wear general, ordinary clothes. Use ordinary fashion such as clothes with adventure style or sport and try to travel like a local.
One of the best options would be to wear a local outfit. Anyway, this would amount to travelling like local overdone. However, you might as well try and see.
Dress Prudently
You will hear people making statements like It’s not cold. You have not dressed warmly enough. I was told all these things by a sensible vendor at a flea market in Reykjavik.
At that time I was wearing all my clothes all together at one go.
As you know calendar are accustomed to a cold climate. They can bear up the bone-chilling wind. If you ever found to be uneasy because of such extreme weather conditions you will look funny and silly in the presence of them.
You had better get an idea of the dress code in the locality. People in Scandinavia have a clear dress code to practice when they choose to go out.
Their dress is called ‘All black chic’ As this is the case where your presence will be conspicuous in a funny way if you go to a restaurant wearing furry snow boots and fluffy white sweater, the way I did only to experience embarrassment.
Read Up on Places in Advance
Buying a guidebook is not necessary indeed. It is true they are attractively designed. If you choose not to buy them, well, there is the library to help you.
Maybe, you have access to the internet. You could easily google your designations. Most probably, you may find expats who have done blogging or programming about their new lifestyle in their new places in this country.
Do Not Try to Display Gallantry or Heroic Traits
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t try to do so. The reason is that the Norwegians are on the lookout to make pseudo celebrities from the tourist whose behaviour that they find to be stupid. You can get that fame silly fame for only a short time.
You can do so by pooping near a volcano and setting fire to your toilet papers. Stupid isn’t it? In fact, you have got to practise the golden rule of treating other people well. Take the utmost care not to destroy their beautiful landscape by doing anything silly or stupid.
It is really important that you take great care not to spoil their beautiful landscape and national monuments that are precious to them. They will appreciate you for your loving care for the landscape and national monuments.
Learn Some Local Customs and a Few Key Phrases
Almost all Scandinavians speak English. Anyway try to say hello (hello) and thank you (talk) in Icelandic. It will be a great expression of goodwill and they will be happy to hear you say those words.
No worries if your accent is very bad. What is important is the effort you make. It will help you travel like a local.
Nightlife and Festivals
Eat their food. They make excellent dishes. Try their smoked lamb, meat soup, Icelandic hot dogs, Skyr and grilled langoustines.
The case might be that you have never eaten such food before. Do not stick to trying only those kinds of food because as you do so you might miss out on some other lovely Icelandic delicacies.
Once you have experienced the taste the delight of having those sandwiches called subway sandwiches its great taste will still haunt your memory once you are back at home.
Nightlife – Try all local music with bars or local style Nightclubs
Be a Local Traveller
Do not always seek the company of other people who are exactly like you. I should frankly admit to you that it is possible to go to the American bar or the other places that have facilities to see spending events that you are made about.
But mate it would be just boring and will not let you travel like a local because you will find you will find yourself bumped into just the tourists and expats.
Go during the offseason. It is because there will not be many travellers then. But as far Iceland there is no such thing as offseason. In the past winter appeared to be the offseason. However, now you find the incidence of tourist visits even in winter.
Now the general feeling you get once you find yourself here is that you are not aware of the fact that you are just a member of a multitude of tourists visiting Iceland.
If you want to travel like local you should make sure that you avoid travelling with the people of same nationalities.
As you can see travelling like local will open up new avenues of experience and your visit will be more than fulfilling.
You will feel free to explore the country its environs, the community, the customs and various other local practices that are of great significance to the locals.
When travelling like a local you become sort of a participant observer. Try travelling like a local and bag the precious moments of enthralling and awakening experiences.
