Kevin Kelly, an author and founder of Wired magazine, wrote out 50 years of travel tips here. I agree with many. Examples:
If you hire a driver, or use a taxi, offer to pay the driver to take you to visit their mother. They will ordinarily jump at the chance. They fulfill their filial duty and you will get easy entry into a local’s home, and a very high chance to taste some home cooking. Mother, driver, and you leave happy. This trick rarely fails.
Note: I did something like that in Istanbul. I didn’t ask to visit a mother, I asked if I could take them to lunch. Worth it!
When visiting a foreign city for the first time, take a street food tour. Depending on the region, the tour will include food carts, food trucks, food courts, or smaller eateries. It will last a few hours, and the cost will include the food. You’ll get some of the best food available, and usually the host will also deliver a great introduction to the culture. Google “street food tour for city X.”
Note: Always do that! Go to the places with long lines. Anthony Bourdain said that street vendors rarely stay in business if they’re poisoning their neighbors.
Go to a cemetery. Look for sacred places. People live authentically there. Don’t just visit the markets, but also go to small workshops, hardware stores and pharmacies – places with easy access to local practices. See how it’s different and the same all at once.
Agreed. I love visiting a cemetery — maybe for more personal reasons though. As a kid, I believe with reasonable certainty that my parents shielded me from death. Even today, they don’t enjoy talking about the subject. I believe that’s made me insatiably curious about the topic and wanting to understand it more. Paradoxically, meditating on death gives me profound peace and contentment.
In 53 years of traveling with all kinds of people, I’ve seen absolutely no correlation between where you eat and whether you have intestinal problems, so to maximize the enjoyment of local foods, my rule of thumb is to eat wherever healthy-looking locals eat.
True. In fact, the restaurants that appear as if they should be condemned are the best. I still dream of a bulalo soup I enjoyed while sitting on coke crates chatting with taxi cab drivers in Manila.
The rate you go is not determined by how fast you walk, bike or drive, but by how long your breaks are. Slow down. Take lots of breaks. The most memorable moments—conversations with amazing strangers, an invite inside, a hidden artwork—will usually happen when you are not moving.
I best learned that lesson while in Ireland and England. In both places, strangers went out of their way to chat, take an interest in me, and force me to slow down and enjoy. I still remember visiting a bar in England (alone). I met this stranger who sat next to me. We talked. He asked me if I wanted to go to another bar, I said why not. We ended up having an awesome night meeting his friends, enjoying awesome ramen, and have super warm beer (I don’t know how the Brits drink cask ale).
I’ll add my own tips:
Generally speaking, humans are good natured creatures anywhere you go. A smile, rice, cigarettes, and a humble demeanor (all or a combination of) will win you a helpful acquaintance in most places.
You’re not in Kansas, so don’t expect Kansas. Surrender yourself to the paradox of other cultures and embrace. Eat the food. Embrace the norms around time, family, and work. Don’t seek out Instagram shots — seek out experiences.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re going to screw up — that’s the point and that’s how you’ll learn. Enjoy the process of making mistakes and getting better. The experience will humble you and you’ll come out a stronger person as a result. ]
Consume lots of local art and music! See live music, visit art exhibitions, get exposed to architecture. Visit museums. If possible, go with (or better — make!) local friends. That’s how I experienced Bangkok, Dublin, Cork, Manila, St. Petersburg, Bali, Semarang, San Jose (CR), Lima, and other places.