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The locals don't know

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Re: The locals don't know

#111

Post by watwut »

socalgal2 wrote: post #76
exmadscientist wrote: post #60

My best travel advice (for urban areas) is simple: get lost. If you don't know exactly where you are or what's around the corner, you've got to take it as it comes, and that makes it all the more interesting. No FOMO or opportunity cost struggles, just what's in front of you right now. This is both easier and harder with smartphones and GPS. Harder because, well, you know exactly where you are and have to actively ig…

What are some of your experiences with this? I can say I've had good and bad - I've wondered through cities with no direction and found -- nothing, two that come to mind are Paris and Barcelona. I'm sure there is interesting stuff to be found here and there but mostly, outside of the main attractions, I found the rest not much more interesting than American suburbia. Yes, I'm glad I saw it to basically see that "life…

I liked walking around Paris and did found minor interesting things there: statues, parks, that sort of thing. Paris looked good outside of main tourist attraction to me.

Re: The locals don't know

#112

Post by sayamqazi »

absynth wrote: post #105

I remember traveling 1000km for work. On the radio I heard of trips to where I lived. They were all prizes for some competition. I realized that my home was someone else's destination and my current place was where people from home's had chosen as a destination. The grass is sometimes truly greener. When I returned I looked at my home with the eyes of a tourist and went everywhere I could. I have since traveled elsew…

I spent my childhood in a place that was a destination for others but later in life moved to a city. When the company i work at decided to have a trip there I was like eh whaterevr. its just some boring mountains and waterfalls but went anyway. Seeing my coworkers be really enjoying that was really an experience in itself.

Re: The locals don't know

#113

Post by mmarq »

ValentineC wrote: post #19

> I’m skeptical of the term tourist trap (it’s mostly used as a term to place yourself as higher status/taste than other people, and is often used out of insecurity) One thing I've read years ago about tourist traps is that one shouldn't be actively trying to avoid them, especially if they come from a country with higher purchasing power. Some of these "tourist trap" activities are locals trying to make an honest liv…

> Some of these "tourist trap" activities are locals trying to make an honest living doing what they can.

The local working in hospitality is earning minimum wage, the premium you pay goes to the landlord.

Re: The locals don't know

#114

Post by ramon156 »

For a friend's birthday we actually did a hiking tour through the city we grew up in, and realized we knew very little about the city we grew up in.

That should be enough motivation to start where you're already standing. Build up from there. Figure out if you want to see more mountains, more ocean, whatever. It's a great eye-opener.

Re: The locals don't know

#115

Post by darkwater »

ashley95 wrote: post #36

The title is a non sequitur from the argument. The point is not to ask for a "bring a non-local to work day" where you tag along to a rando doing their normal routine. The thing that locals do know a lot of the time, is the spots that are actually great but not hyped up by influencers/social media, the cool spots that are often good by virtue of not being well known, etc. And no one is arguing that the locals know al…

There is a reason why touristic spots are touristic spots, even before the rise of social media and influencers. The reason is that they are usually the nicest spot in that zone.

Same reason why rich people buy (and inflate its value) land for holidays homes in certain places and not others. Because those are nicer places, where the landscape is beautiful.

Re: The locals don't know

#116

Post by bondarchuk »

starky wrote: post #63
lorecore wrote: post #3

The locals are living their lives on an organic cadence. They're not maximizing entertainment value or whatever. They will certainly know entertaining things to do, but it's literally not their job to entertain tourists. Maybe seeking out a Disneyland like experience in someone else's home is the problem? Bourdain, Rick Steves, et al. are fun to watch, but I can't help but feel they've actually made the world a worse…

While the folks like Bourdain did romanticize tourism, and TV shows are known to regularly kill businesses that don't know how to manage the increase in customers, they did at least project the proper attitude of embracing the differences in other cultures when they traveled to places. The current issues with tourism are significantly more to do with "influencers" and social media. Many places are overrun by people t…

Ah yes all those other people who want to take photos ruining your chance to take photos...

Re: The locals don't know

#117

Post by piaste »

left-struck wrote: post #87

I work in tourism in Japan and so many tourists ask me what are some good places to eat. It’s such an annoying question because the honest answer is I eat what the locals eat, which is to say the most authentic Japanese cuisine is what you find in a Japanese supermarket. That’s what the people of Japan are actually eating. Of course that’s not really what the question is though, but my point is I’m not a good person…

> It’s such an annoying question because the honest answer is I eat what the locals eat, which is to say the most authentic Japanese cuisine is what you find in a Japanese supermarket. That’s what the people of Japan are actually eating.

Well, that's only true if you also observe what Japanese customers are buying and do your best to mimic their habits.

You could go into any Italian supermarket and fill your cart with weißwurst, avocados, and Camembert cheese - and they're all right there in the meat, fruit, and dairy areas respectively, not in an 'ethnic' corner - but it would be hardly a good representation of what the locals typically eat.

Re: The locals don't know

#118

Post by ehnto »

My little related insight, is that maps are extremely lossy. Even satellite maps. Life on the ground, is full of detail.

When I travelled Japan specifically, maps didn't tell you much at all. It might look like a residential deadzone from high up, but be bustling with cool stuff to do when you walk through.

Re: The locals don't know

#119

Post by dyauspitr »

zarzavat wrote: post #7

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things. I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do. For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a loc…

I lived in Manhattan for a decade and never went to see the Statue of Liberty. And it’s not like I wasn’t doing lots of things and I would go out three or four times a week and I’ve been to all sorts of places in NYC. Just never been to the Statue of Liberty.

Re: The locals don't know

#120

Post by razorbeamz »

I think the writer of this misunderstands "tourist trap."

Tourist traps, at least as I see it, are places or activities that are more expensive than they should be.

For example, a tourist trap in Tokyo is going to the top of SkyTree. It's not something locals can really reasonably afford doing more than once, because it's really expensive. The price is such that basically only tourists would do it.

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