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A Travel Blogger's Guide to Having Authentic Experiences Abroad

A Travel Blogger’s Guide to Having Authentic Experiences Abroad

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You travel to experience a new culture, correct? Following the crowd of tourists as they go from their hotel room, to a cab, to the “must-see” destinations almost certainly ensures that you won’t experience the culture—you’ll experience a curated version of it. And after saving and spending your hard-earned money, the last thing you want to do is have regrets about what you did or didn’t see.

The best way to make the most of your trip is to have as authentic of an experience as possible. Luckily, it’s possible to see popular tourist spots and enjoy your destination like a local. Use the following tips to do exactly that on your next trip abroad.

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Don’t Bounce Around

Instead of spending just one day in each country or city you plan to visit, dedicate a few days, or even a week if possible. The more time you spend in one spot, the more you learn about the way locals live. This also gives you time to relax, rather than running from one museum to another to fit everything in one day.

My husband and I spent one week in Paris and this is where we had the most authentic experience. We got into our own little routine of living like a local: morning breakfast of chocolate croissants in our rental apartment, a walk to wherever we were off to that day, espresso at a café in the afternoon and either bought food for dinner on the way home or took the metro out to a small, quiet dinner. My memories from our time in Paris are nothing but blissful, and I believe this authentic experience has a lot to do with it.

If you can only squeeze in two days, spend one checking out the popular tourist stops and then spend the next strolling around, enjoying local parks and restaurants. Check a local event calendar to find events that day or music that night; heading to a local event ensures you’ll have a more authentic experience.

Get Hyper Local: Instead of taking a cab, always use public transportation. You’ll be able to observe locals going about their regular day and take cues from what they’re wearing and how they’re acting. I loved emulating the way women dressed in Paris; it was such a wonderful combination of casual and classy.

Learn the Lingo

Learning a whole new language may be out of the question—especially if you’re working full time, planning for the trip, and still trying to enjoy some semblance of social life. However, you don’t need to speak the language fluently before you go, just a few key phrases and slang terms can make it easier for you to blend and have an authentic experience in when you arrive to your destination.

When planning, research which language(s) are common in the area you’re traveling to. While we all know French is spoken in France, you may not know that it’s also spoken in 31 other countries, including many in Africa. It will only take a few minutes to look up the language and start practicing a few words and phrases.

Get Hyper Local: Check out this Conde Nast guide to slang in other countries so you can speak to people like a local. When my husband and I traveled through Europe, we’d always ask servers about the local slang so we could use it as we traveled around. In places like Paris, where locals are hesitant to speak English, even if they know it, this knowledge comes in handy.

Stay With Locals

AirBnB is an easy and safe way to stay with locals when traveling abroad. Instead of getting a hotel room by yourself, find a house with an open room. Many times, hosts offer to show people around if requested, and may even give a list of the restaurants and sites that locals love to frequent.

In Amsterdam, the host’s son happened to have a boat, and he offered to give us a personal canal tour (as opposed to taking one of the large—and packed—tour boats). The experience was exceptional, and one we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

If you don’t want to stay with a local, you can dine with one for a night instead. Use Bonappetour to browse for hosts in the area you’re visiting, book your “home dinner” and enjoy an authentic meal one night during your stay. Few opportunities allow for as authentic of an experience as this.

Get Hyper Local: Ask the person you’re staying with to take you out for a day and show you what they might do on a nice day off. While not all hosts will be interested in this, some will love the opportunity to show you what their hometown has to offer.

Having an authentic experience abroad is not only possible, it’s actually pretty easy. Use these tips to make the most of your trip and live like a local, if only for a few days.

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An Authentic Kerala Indian Cuisine dining experience with Rani and her family in Singapore

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An Authentic Kerala Indian Cuisine dining experience with Rani and her family in Singapore

I have never considered having a dining experience with another local from my own home town – Singapore. Afterall, it does not make complete sense for me to dine with a local when I am already one myself. But dining with Rani and her family was such a joy, that it completely proved me wrong!

‘Hello! Come on in!’ were the first words of my hosts for the night and I had to double check the unit number to make sure I was indeed in a strangers’ house. I felt so at home with the warm friendly welcome by Rani and her husband. Besides the cordial company that embraced our arrival, the interior of the house could be easily summed up in 3 words: modern, spacious, and homely. We had a nice chat while sipping the Mango Smoothie that our local host, Rani has prepared for us as a welcome drink. We later learned that Rani was from South India, and had been living in Singapore for a good 12 years with her Singaporean husband!

Rani and her husband were a perfect team in the kitchen! They worked like a pair of cutlery; it was a wonderful sight to see! As cheesy as it might sound, to me, Rani and her family feel like long-lost relatives. A gathering like this felt like a mini strangers’ reunion- unfamiliar yet heartwarming.

While preparing for Kerala curry dish, Rani would share with us the different spices that she used to enhance the flavors of the chicken. These authentic spices were hand-carried by Rani from India. Not only do they work great to elevate the taste of the dish, but spices such as turmeric powder also have a medicinal effect that could cure cancer and boost the immune system. It would be safe to say that Rani’s cuisine really does the job of nourishing the body while satisfying my Umami cravings.

A dining experience like this provides a sneak peek into the work behind the local food that I have always taken for granted. Despite being able to easily spot a Papadum, lightly roasted crisps in the public canteen, the process of frying one was an entirely foreign experience for me. Nothing comes more fascinating than seeing a flat dough crumbling into golden crisps upon meeting the hot oil. Perhaps this almost-magical experience was how the name of Rani’s kitchen magic came about?

 

I’ve got to say the spices and their fragrances does a great job in whetting my appetite because my stomach was grumbling by the time Rani and her family formed a human chain in setting up the tables in serving me and Fai, my friend who accompanied me for this experience. 

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No authentic Indian cuisine experience would be complete without eating your meal with your bare hands! Rani and her husband tutored us on the art of eating with your hands, before long, Fai and I were able to eat Indian cuisine the authentic way. Scooping rice into our right hands, and moving our thumbs skillfully to push food into mouth. I guess we must have looked pretty amateurish because Rani snapped some shots of me and Fai out of great fascination.

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I really love how there were multiple conversations happening concurrently during the meal times, it was as if they are all fighting for air time. This dining experience is a really precious one to me because it is not an everyday affair for me that the whole family get to spend some common time collectively. Rani and her family definitely did a fabulous job in granting me the opportunity to indulge in an authentic and genuine company of true blue Singaporeans. Book your Rani’s homely dining experience here!  

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5 of the Easiest Ways to Meet Natives Abroad

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5 of the Easiest Ways to Meet Natives Abroad

We all know about the importance of travel and how it helps us become well-rounded human beings. But can you really have a culturally enriching experience just by visiting monuments and museums?

We strongly feel that a country’s soul is carried in the heart of its people, and the only way to discover this is to meet and interact with locals. This is of course easier said than done, but after reading our top tips you will be well on your way to making the most of your trips abroad.

  1. Meetup Groups

Not only can this help you meet a country’s local community, but you’ll find people who have the same interests as you. With over 9000 groups to choose from around the world there are so many different activities you can experience at the click of a mouse.

 

  1. Tours with Natives

Locals will always want to show you the very best of their country, so it’s a great idea to let them show you around! Plus they are more likely to know off-the-beaten-track attractions that you won’t find in your guidebook. What’s more, lots of companies like Discover Walks offer tours for free! Their “Walk Paris With a Native” is a great way to see a country first-hand, through the eyes of the people that live there.

  1. Live with a local

You couldn’t get to know a native more intimately than if you lived with one. As you do not normally get invited to someone’s house after a first meeting it is very rare that you will ever see the inside of a local’s home while travelling. However AirBnB often have the option to stay in accommodation where the host is still living there.

 

  1. Learn the language

As Nelson Mandela said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” The best way to connect to a local is to try and speak their language. Even just a few sentences. There are lots of great apps and guidebooks out there to pick up some local lingo, or you could just try learning through immersion!

 

  1. Eat the native cuisine with local people

The most fun way to experience a culture is definitely to taste it! No one makes a national dish better than locals. Visiting the sites that tell the tales of history, roaming the streets and eating in eateries and restaurants along the way can tell a lot about a city, but this merely grazes the edges of the local community. What better way to immerse yourself than to bond over a hearty home-cooked meal, coupled with the taste of home?

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