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The locals don't know

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Re: The locals don't know

#171

Post by anitil »

interloxia wrote: post #151
anitil wrote: post #106

I live in Sydney, does anyone have any recommendations on things I should do? Things I'd like to try - * Visiting the tank stream (I believe there are tours) * The Greater Sydney Bike Trail * Walking from Manly to Bondi (80km along the harbour) Things I've done but recommend if you visit - * Walking the bridge (free) * Catching a ferry to Manly or Taronga * Climbing the bridge (expensive!) * Centrepoint tower (since…

Lots of touristy and proper hiking in the Blue Mountains. I like the cliffs and waterfalls loops at Wentworth Falls. Random blog with photos https://www.walkmyworld.com/posts/wentworth-pass Rent bikes and cruise the Olympic site. Or cut through briefly to the Cooks River and ride to the beach. Walk through the glow worm tunnel in the mountains or find someone to take you canyoning. Eeevblog has a video. (Not public t…

Thankyou! I'll add them to my list

Re: The locals don't know

#172

Post by anitil »

thesimon wrote: post #136
anitil wrote: post #106

I live in Sydney, does anyone have any recommendations on things I should do? Things I'd like to try - * Visiting the tank stream (I believe there are tours) * The Greater Sydney Bike Trail * Walking from Manly to Bondi (80km along the harbour) Things I've done but recommend if you visit - * Walking the bridge (free) * Catching a ferry to Manly or Taronga * Climbing the bridge (expensive!) * Centrepoint tower (since…

I'll be visiting next month so can't comment yet if it is any good, but kayaking Sydney Harbour sounds like a lot of fun. Lots of tour operators doing it, deals on BookMe and Groupon.

Ah I should have put that on my list, I've done a lot of standup paddle boarding and kayaking on the harbour, and I can highly recommend it. Places like Balmoral are ideal for it because it's very calm and there's a lot to see and do

Re: The locals don't know

#174

Post by mncaudill »

randycupertino wrote: post #71
mncaudill wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed! I routinely cycle around the city and one of my favorite loops is along the Embarcadero and up through Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. We live in a beautiful city that people come from all over to see and there are good reasons for that. I’ll also offer to take pictures of families taking their photos with the sea lions (which I also always stop to watch) and chat them up a bit. Fun times.

Have you seen Chonkers yet? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chonkers-the-massi... He is a Stellers Sea lion (2,500 lbs and 11 feet) while generally the other sea lions are Caldiornia Sea Lions (850 lbs and 7 feet).

I didn’t catch him but did look for him every time I rode that way.

Re: The locals don't know

#175

Post by strken »

brewdad wrote: post #104
strken wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would quite like for more of the cafes and restaurants near my home to be other peoples' Disneyland, to some extent, since this would provide a lot of jobs in the area and help the owners.

It can be a double edged sword. A restaurant near me got written up in the NYTimes and a few other "foodie" publications. What used to be a plan a head a few weeks reservation turned into the place selling out the month in less than 10 minutes. The owner, recognizing that eventually the hype would die down and locals are his lifeblood, had to come up with all kinds of creative ways to make sure at least half his seat…

Yeah, I guess there's a big difference between generational tourism of the "our family always used to go there" variety, and the social media hype cycle.

Re: The locals don't know

#176

Post by futune »

adammarples wrote: post #155
futune wrote: post #154

Apologies for wasting time on this fluffy comment, but: They're using Finland of all places as an example of somewhere with a reputation of being happy all the time? This is bizarre to me. As a Scandinavian, the thing Finland is known for is being unusually depressed and alcoholic...

Finland is also famous for coming top of happiness surveys all the time

At first I checked out this happiness survey claim, which is true. Then I was thinking, maybe my initial informal impression was wrong?

But looking at the depression and alcoholism data, it also seems to be true!

This is really confusing!

Re: The locals don't know

#177

Post by alsetmusic »

kstrauser wrote: post #43
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’m routinely surprised by native San Franciscans who’ve never been to Alcatraz, seen Pier 39, or gone whale watching. Yes, they’re touristy things to do. They’re also very interesting and lots of fun!

I have to comment on this because it's so relevant to this moment. My partner has been telling me how much I would enjoy Alcatraz (I've never been because tourists in airports wear Alcatraz tshirts; what a dumb way to single yourself out). I finally agreed to go see it sometime, but you have to understand that being around a bunch of tourists is offputting when you're in your own space.

I remember someone telling me how much she hated tourists taking photos in the middle of the street at the top of hills and blocking traffic, then we saw someone doing exactly that. Her response: "This is a working city!" I understood the frustration.

Whale watching, hell yeah. We are going at the end of June around Monterey Bay. That doesn't feel touristy to me at all.

Re: The locals don't know

#178

Post by starky »

ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #110
starky wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> Last year I was in Kuala Lumpur for a few days and took the person I was with to a bunch of the places I had visited when I was there a decade ago. Usually explained by a different time of week/year/month. If you stay in a place for a while you get a sense of patterns. Often there's waves of tourists depending on neighboring country holidays and if you're a local you learn to avoid popular landmarks during those ti…

>Usually explained by a different time of week/year/month

I hadn't thought about that and checked the dates of the photos I took on both trips. Coincidentally apparently I was there within a week of exactly 10 years apart!

Re: The locals don't know

#179

Post by starky »

bondarchuk wrote: post #116
starky wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Tourism is a huge benefit for many places and brings lots of money into their economy. But at the same time over-tourism can significantly harm locals and the environment.

My photo example is just a example anecdote that proved a point, being a major city having a very localized area get busier is pretty inconsequential, but if its a lake view somewhere it definitely draws a risk of irreparably damaging the environment.

Re: The locals don't know

#180

Post by exmadscientist »

BobaFloutist wrote: post #169
socalgal2 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 personally like navigating to random city parks. I'm not truly lost, but municipal parks vary widely, so there's a good chance of seeing something interesting or pleasant at the destination, and who knows what I'll see on the way!

Also one of my favorites, even in my own city!
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