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Travelers love to throw around the term "authenticity" when they talk about visiting places. There's also a huge movement around slow travel - I'm a fan of the concept. We've been so lucky to do most of our travels in Europe at the guidance of friends all over the continent. But how do you get that local insight if you're not a local? How do you connect with a place on a local level when you're just passing through?
Going Local Travel is a blog devoted to just that concept:
The internet is, undoubtedly, an incredible tool for travellers - helping to enhance experiences on so many levels. I'm continually advocating the use of travel networking to make contact with locals. Often, a quick search and an email exchange is all it takes to get a fast-track straight into a side of the country you may never otherwise see.
Frill Seeker Diary suggests traveling cheap and asking for help - they've put up a video about their adventures on the You Tube.
Shane Sakata pointed me to the Nihon Sun with the suggestion that you visit a temple or shrine, but also, that you do a little homework so you can tell the difference.
Many visitors to Japan can’t tell the difference between a shrine and a temple and they often use the terms interchangeably. Using the terms temple and shrine interchangeably is the same as using the terms church and synagogue interchangeably. Two primary religions are practiced in Japan, Shinto which is practiced at a shrine and Buddhism, which is practiced at a temple.
There's a nice post on Jaunted about using local transportation - advising you get off the tour bus and get around the way the local people do.
Getting around Cambodia on local transport is often equal parts shock, misery and exhilaration.
Shock because it's hard to believe 28 people, 6 ducklings and 34 chickens can cram into the bed of a pickup truck. Misery because on the road from Phnom Penh to Mondulkiri, you'll learn that it's actually possible for both butt cheeks to fall asleep at the same time. Exhilaration because the quirky ingenuity of Cambodian transport gives rise to some of the most memorable journeys you'll experience anywhere.
For grins, I checked out Localyte. Type in your destination and you'll get a list of "Localytes" - local people offering services and advice. I was underwhelmed by the results for my town, but like any social networking tool, you get out of it what you put into it. I also looked at Next Stop - they publish guides to places written by locals. Again, I checked this against my home town - and hey, it handed out some pretty good advice.
Facing the Street specializes in traveling like a local. You could start with tips for blending in, if you're the kind of traveler who doesn't want to be singled out as a tourist...
Cover up (unless you're in Sydney or South Beach). Like several of these tips, this one applies particularly to women (hey, I don't make up the rules; I just report them). In many locales--particularly the Middle East and parts of Asia--bare arms, bare heads, tank tops, short skirts and open-toed shoes are frowned on, if not banned completely. [trimmed] And no matter where you go, bathing suits are rarely appropriate further than 20 metres from a body of water, unless you're still in nursery school.
There are a few things I try to do to get local - use public transit when possible, stay far away from chain restaurants, get out out out of the hotel, resort, complex, whatever. I also ask people who are NOT behind the hotel desk where to eat - the maids, the doorman, the barrista who made my coffee - I try to get advice from people who might live nearby but aren't in the business of pointing tourists places. I'm big on alternative accommodation - places with kitchens that mean you'll have to find a supermarket, weird little cottages and mother in law units, odd rentals from Craig's List. Believe it or not, as much as I hate shopping malls, I really like shopping mall food courts because local people go there.
I'm absolutely a sight seer, I'm good with museums and tourist highlights, but also, I like to get a feeling for what a place is like beyond the postcards. That's the point of traveling like a local. There's no guarantee
