What kind of tourist are you?

[The Larch]

Hey Larch, did you ever give an AAR on your West Coast Boertrek?

No he did not

What the esteemed Alaskican said. I still owe you guys that. 

[merithyn]

I don't understand how "meeting people" can be a goal for a tourist

I travel to learn about a different culture. The best way to do that is to mingle with the locals, talking to them.

[garbon]

I don't understand how "meeting people" can be a goal for a tourist

Why not? Great way to learn of the best parts of a locale.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't understand how "meeting people" can be a goal for a tourist

What's not to understand? 

[Valmy]

I travel to learn about a different culture. The best way to do that is to mingle with the locals, talking to them.

That I can get.  What always drove me crazy was my traveling companions meeting and talking to the other tourists the whole time.

'You are from Cleveland?  Hey we are from Texas!  How about Florence eh?  Italians are funky am I right?'

Talk about a waste of time.  It was like traveling abroad to eat Tex-Mex.

BUt my last big trip out of the US was in 2000 so I guess when I heard talking to locals I was thinking about going to meet real authentic Coloradans...OMG!  What a weird and exciting culture!

[garbon]

I travel to learn about a different culture. The best way to do that is to mingle with the locals, talking to them.

That I can get.  What always drove me crazy was my traveling companions meeting and talking to the other tourists the whole time.

'You are from Cleveland?  Hey we are from Texas!  How about Florence eh?  Italians are funky am I right?'

Talk about a waste of time.  It was like traveling abroad to eat Tex-Mex.

BUt my last big trip out of the US was in 2000 so I guess when I heard talking to locals I was thinking about going to meet real authentic Coloradans...OMG!  What a weird and exciting culture!

When I was abroad at Oxford, we made a big point of making sure we talked to English students rather than doing the easy thing of talking to other Americans (as we were really concerned we'd end up doing the latter). Of course, I think the British students would have liked it better had we not been so garrulous.

[Malthus]

I travel to learn about a different culture. The best way to do that is to mingle with the locals, talking to them.

That I can get.  What always drove me crazy was my traveling companions meeting and talking to the other tourists the whole time.

'You are from Cleveland?  Hey we are from Texas!  How about Florence eh?  Italians are funky am I right?'

Talk about a waste of time.  It was like traveling abroad to eat Tex-Mex.

BUt my last big trip out of the US was in 2000 so I guess when I heard talking to locals I was thinking about going to meet real authentic Coloradans...OMG!  What a weird and exciting culture!

Well, there are good reasons for that ... locals are mostly busy doing stuff. What sort of person has time to sit around and talk all afternoon in a cafe? Well, for one, tourists. 

[Admiral Yi]

One of my best tourist experiences was sitting in an Amsterdam hash cafe and chatting with locals.  Two chicks getting stoned on their lunch break from beautician school, one dude getting stoned on his lunch break from working a jackhammer.

That's also one of the advantages of Jamaica: all kinds of people just loafing around trying to sell you ganja and nicknacks with nothing better to do than jaw with you.

[merithyn]

Well, there are good reasons for that ... locals are mostly busy doing stuff. What sort of person has time to sit around and talk all afternoon in a cafe? Well, for one, tourists. 

Retirees, for another, and they usually have the best stories.

[Zanza]

I like to be active during tourism. Hiking, climbing, skiing, swimming, husky tracking, safari etc. That would be a third category I guess...?

[Valmy]

Husky tracking?

[Admiral Yi]

Dog sledding maybe.  If so, pretty fucking hard core.

[Zanza]

I did that in 2011 in Finland. Was fun, but not particularly hardcore.

[Admiral Yi]

I did that in 2011 in Finland. Was fun, but not particularly hardcore.

At the very least it must have been cold.

[Zanza]

I did it in late March, when it is already a bit warmer again, so the coldest was -25°C/-13°F. We got pretty good clothes from them which kept us warm. I bought a balaclava with fleece on the inside and that was a really good investment as the wind is very chilly when you cross a frozen lake or so. However, we slept in huts, not in tents, so at least at night, we had a sauna and a cozy place to sleep.