The Traveling Fool
Traveling off the tourist path. Talking about those places most tourists just don't know about because, well, nobody ever told them. Also travel tips and news about travel and tourism to make your trip a little easier, cheaper and more memorable.
The Traveling Fool
Travel Like A Local Or How To Be A Modern Day Explorer
What if your best travel memories aren’t on any list? We dig into the difference between moving through a place and letting a place move through you, with practical tips to shift from tourist to explorer. Instead of racing to landmarks, we talk about landing light, walking slow, and using your senses—smell, sound, and small cues—to find the real city living between the sights.
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Hi and welcome to The Traveling Fool, the show where we talk about travel destinations and the history and culture around those destinations, along with travel tips and news. I'm your host, Bob Bales, and today we're going to talk about the difference between traveling and exploring. Now traveling gets you from one place to another. Exploring though changes the way you see everything in between. Now we're not going to be talking about bucket lists or postcards or five day itineraries. We're talking about rediscovering the old fashioned thrill of being somewhere new and truly seeing it. That quiet curiosity that you get when you hear something and you want to go off and see what it is. The small courage it takes to order food from a stand where there's no English menu, or to strike up a conversation with someone who doesn't speak your language but understands your smile. So stay tuned and we'll be right back. Now, before we get started please go to thetravellingfool.com, which is the blog and the website. On that site you can sign up for the monthly newsletter. I send it out normally towards the last week of the month, and all it is is travel news. And sometimes I put in there stupid things that tourists do because well, they're stupid and I enjoy reading about them and how stupid people can be when they're out traveling the world. Other than that, I put in travel contests, so who knows, you might want a trip to somewhere internationally or even in the States or whatever. If you like to sign up for it, I don't sell your info. That's all it's used for is the monthly newsletter. Okay, now let's get into this. You know we're living in an era of social media is everywhere. Everybody wants to be an influencer, everybody takes photos of their hamburger every time they eat and every place they go. It's an era where every street corner's been photographed, mapped, reviewed. Exploration though, isn't about where you go. It's more about how you go there. And I'm gonna explain. We're gonna unpack what it really means to travel like a local. How to uncover those little hidden gems that never make it onto the travel blogs and the travel channel TV shows. How to find meals that taste like memories and how to engage with locals in a way that opens doors. Not just restaurant doors, but those ones that you're gonna find something that is gonna blow your mind and you're gonna be talking about it for years to come. You know, there's still a lot of magic left in this world, and it's not hidden behind glass cases in museums, although I do love a good museum. But it's tucked into those little morning markets and those street benches and the kitchen tables, and it's waiting for anyone who is curious enough to just slow down and look for it. You know I love a good market when I'm traveling internationally and going overseas to these various places. The market is the heartbeat of that city that tells you everything you need to know and you meet some really cool people. But traveling like a local, it isn't just a trend. It isn't one of those little catchy things. It's not the up and coming new thing to do. It's a mindset. It's choosing to trade convenience for a connection. Instead of checklist or a bucket list, you're gonna exchange that for conversations and photos for stories that you'll actually remember. And if you learn to do that, really do that, then every trip becomes more than just a vacation. It becomes a chapter in your little personal atlas of wonder. So grab your drink, relax, and we're gonna rediscover how to see the world like it was brand new. And, in this episode we're gonna explore how to uncover those little hidden gems that tourists miss. I hate that word hidden gems, but you know, I like to call it traveling off the tourist path. Not off the beaten path, but off the tourist path, the places where the tourists don't like to go, or just don't know about. We're also gonna talk about how to find authentic food experiences beyond the guidebook, how to engage in meaningful conversations with locals, and how to adopt the mindset of a modern day explorer for every trip you take in the future. And it's not gonna be a very long podcast, but by the end of it you will have tools to leave the checklist mentality behind and embrace travel that is immersive, authentic, and unforgettable. Let's talk about the lost art of discovery. You know, we live in a world that has perfect planning. You book a flight, you check the reviews, you preview your Airbnb, you look up menus, you translate all the signs, and you might even take a virtual tour of it all before ever leaving to go on that trip. It's efficient, it's safe, and it's completely at odds with discovery. Because when everything's planned, nothing can surprise you in discovery. True discovery thrives on surprise. There was a time when travel meant mystery, when the road ahead held questions that you couldn't Google. Travelers kept journals, not itineraries. They didn't post on social media, they noticed things. They followed the smells, the sounds, and the instincts. And today we can reclaim that spirit. It doesn't require a compass or a machete or a Harrison Ford bush hat for Indiana Jones. It just requires the willingness to wander without a preset goal. If you're in a new destination, let's say you're traveling internationally or even somewhere here in the States, you start by walking around slowly, without the headphones on, without a map. And notice what draws your attention? Is it the smell of bread baking from some little side street bread store? Is it a line of locals at a small cafe? Some of the best places you can eat are cafes where there's a line of people, or it's always busy. And they can be some of the smallest, most run down looking places that have the best food. Is it music maybe drifting from some little alleyway and some little nondescript place? These are the real guideposts of a place. And you can't schedule these things, but you can listen for them. You know if you arrive in a city and you rush to check off all the landmarks, you'll see everything. But you won't feel anything. You'll see the same thing that everybody before you has seen, that everybody's posted on Instagram and Facebook and every other TikTok and everything else out there, and you can say, Well, I went there and I saw it. But, if you spend your first day just simply walking around without a plan, you'll start to understand how the place breathes. You'll get a sense of the area. You'll see the little small gestures, the way that locals greet each other, how they cross the streets, and what time life begins to pick up and hum in the city. And this is especially important if you're traveling internationally. The rhythm of the city, it's the culture, and once you hear it, you can move with it and integrate into it. Discovery starts when you stop performing as a tourist and start paying attention as a guest. Now I've traveled a lot internationally, and I used to go places where I would spend, I don't know, maybe even a month in one location. And I always did the same thing when I initially went. The plan I'll tell you exactly how I planned arriving. I would look at a place that had good public transportation or was convenient in an area that I could walk around and explore the area. So I would map out a section of the town. It could be close to downtown where the square was. Or it could be nearby, and I would look at hotels in the area. And then I would do a quick Google search. Is this area of town safe? Is it a good place for tourists? And if the answers I got were yes, then that was really all I needed to know. And I would book a hotel for two nights. That's it. It didn't matter how long I was planning on staying there, I would only book the hotel for two nights. That way I could get to town, get to an area that was convenient for public transportation and seeing some of the stuff I wanted to see, and I knew I was in a good area. Now once I got to town and I explored the area, that's when I decided, do I want to stay at the place that I originally booked and stay there? Or did I find someplace better, little nondescript guest house somewhere where it looked like it was just a really cool place to stay? I might want to stay there instead. So I never made plans more than the first two days of where I was going to stay. And while you're out walking around and exploring, you might spot, I don't know, a small crowd that are gathered around some guy selling something and it looks pretty good, but you have no idea what in the world it is. Well, instead of stopping and photographing it and posting on Instagram and walking away, just walk up and ask him, what is this? Point at it, smile, and use your little phone translator. Every phone has a translator on it. All you gotta do is download some app, there's millions of them out there. And curiosity is universal. And that one small little interaction, that little two-minute exchange might lead you to a hidden cafe, or a festival, or a friendship that you just never expected. If you travel like that long enough, then you realize that hidden gems aren't really hidden, they're just simply overlooked. Because most travelers are travelers, what did I say? Travelers? Travelers never slow down enough to see them. And I know I've told these stories a couple of times on podcasts and in blogs and everything else. I've had drinks with a guy in the Philippines because there was a monkey there that I thought was kind of cool and it was his monkey and he invited me in for drinks. I met a guy named Ray in Central Texas that invited me out to his place to look at his longhorns. He's got a little herd of longhorn cattle out there. And tell me all about the town he grew up in. I sat in a bar that was owned by witches in Prague and had beer with a bunch of witches. It was pretty cool. I've met so many interesting people just by talking to them. They were curious as to what I was doing there, I was curious as to what they had, and we just bonded and one thing led to another. And I've got experiences that I will never ever forget that are much better at any Instagram photo. You know, the art of discovery, it's not about having better research tools, it's about having better attention and curiosity. You don't need to outplan the next traveler. You need to out notice them. You know the way that lights hit a courtyard or a local joke written in chalk on a cafe board, the old man that's feeding pigeons on the same bench every morning outside your Airbnb. He probably knows more about that neighborhood than the internet ever will. So instead of looking out the window and go, oh, the old man's out there feeding pigeons again. Instead, go up, ask him if you can sit down, start a conversation, ask him about himself, and then ask him, hey, if you if you were to go out and eat lunch here, where's a really good place to eat? You might find your next favorite meal just by asking a random stranger. And after the first five or ten minutes, who knows? It may not be a stranger anymore. So how do you find those hidden gems? That word I don't like hidden gems. It's overused. I like traveling off the tourist path, like I said before. Not off the beaten path. You don't have to go out in the wilderness somewhere, just travel where the tourists don't go, where they don't know about. Well, those hidden gems don't just announce themselves. They rarely have websites, hashtags, or glossy brochures. And if you read about a whole bunch of hidden gems on the internet, well they're not hidden anymore. They live in the quiet corners of the cities and the towns. They're tucked away behind everyday life. To find them, you need three things. You need to have curiosity, patience, and just a little bit of humility. So let's start with curiosity. When you get somewhere new, resist the temptation to open up your phone. Instead, go outside and simply look around. Ask yourself, if I lived here, where would I go on a Sunday afternoon? Maybe it's a park or a fishing pier or a bakery that's been opened since before you were ever born. Curiosity leads to the first little breadcrumb, but patience is what makes the trail. Locals can sense a traveler or a tourist who's in a hurry. The best conversations happen if you've lingered a little bit. Maybe your second visit to the same cafe, or when you return a borrowed umbrella or you take the same morning walk and see the same faces. The second hello often opens up the first door. When I traveled to the Philippines, I went there several several times, and one time I was staying a little place and I found a place that was across the street not too far away for breakfast. And it served a Filipino breakfast. And I loved that breakfast. Very basic. It was tocino, which is a pork. The only thing I can equate it to is kind of like if you go to an American Chinese restaurant and you get the little pork spare ribs and they've got that sticky red glaze on them. That was kind of how the pork was. So it had tocino, one fried egg, and garlic rice. I'd never had garlic rice before. And I, my god, it was delicious. And I asked them how they made it, and they showed me how they made it. So I make it now. But I went there for breakfast every day for like four or five days. And that led me to asking them about places to go and see in the area. And I discovered so many places I never knew existed and would have never known they existed just by talking to these folks, and they recognized me because every morning I came in there and had their little breakfast. It was a really good breakfast too. And then there's humility. To travel like a local, you have to admit that you don't know everything, and that's okay. Ask for help. Ask for stories. Ask for why. When a shopkeeper or driver tells you about a place they love, listen to them. Even if it's not on any travel list. Go check it out. One of the easiest ways to uncover those hidden gems is to think like a local problem solver. You need a good breakfast? Well, skip Google Maps and just ask somebody, where do you eat on your day off? You're looking for a really cool souvenir? Ask somebody, what would you bring someone from out of town? If someone were to visit you, what's one little gift that you would give them that just epitomizes this area and this place? Those answers rarely lead to crowded tourist maps. They lead to people's favorite little corners, their real lives, where they spend their time. And if you want to dig deeper, use local digital clues. Search community boards and neighborhood Facebook groups and small business Instagrams. Don't look at how many followers they have, look at the comments. See who's talking to each other. That's where the local pulse is. You can also explore like a historian. I love history. If it's if there's some history behind it, I love visiting the areas. Read about how the town grew, what industries thrived, who settled there first. The history leaves clues, and those clues lead to culture. The old train depot, it might now be a brewery. The abandoned factory may have become an art space. I've discovered so many really cool places all over the world. To include where I live in Texas that date back for things that occurred in history, and it's fascinating to me. The point is every hidden gem was once just an ordinary place until somebody looked closely enough to see its story. And every place has a story. And when you find that story, protect it. You don't have to geotag it, you don't have to flood it online, you don't have to make eighteen, nineteen posts about it. Let discovery remain part of the adventure for the next curious soul. Now, eat like you belong. If there's one universal doorway into any culture, it's their food. But food tourism has become its own big performer. People chasing Michelin stars and viral street food and Instagramable plates. Traveling like a local means flipping that idea completely on its head. You're not looking for the famous, you're looking for the familiar, the familiar to that area. Start small, find the markets. I love visiting markets when I travel internationally. You meet the best people, you see what the people are buying and eating and doing on a regular basis. It's the hub of the town, I'm telling you. Every culture gathers around its food, and markets are their beating heart. Walk through a local market and listen, not just to the vendors that are shouting prices, but to the laughter, the bargaining, the rhythm of it. And buy something small. Ask them how to eat it. I mean, I've discovered great fruit that I've never even seen before in Texas over in some of these places in Asia and Europe. Compliment the flavor. Even with gestures, if the words fail you, you can, you know, make it known that hey, this tastes pretty good. It breaks the ice instantly. Now when in doubt, eat where the chairs don't match. You don't have to go into a fancy place with tablecloths. If you walk into a place and there's a whole bunch of different chairs, that's probably a good place to eat. The meals are often served from little holes in the wall, little pop-up stands or family run spots that close whenever the food runs out. I spent some time in Kosovo. I was actually working in Kosovo and about once a month or once every two months. Me and a couple of the guys that I worked with would take a trip about 45 minutes away to a Serbian restaurant. Now, the restaurant, I'm using the term loosely. It was a two-story stone house. The entire bottom floor was the restaurant, and the upper floor was where the guy and his family lived. Now when I say the entire bottom floor, it had room for three, maybe four tables where three to four people could sit at each table. And during the summertime when it was nice outside, he he set out like a big picnic benches outside, so you could sit out there. It was some of the best food I'd ever eaten in my life. And he was always so happy to see us. He would bring out food for us to eat, saying, Well, this is some sausage I just made last week, or this is this I made. I want you to try this. And then after we'd sit there and ate for like thirty or forty five minutes and drank a few beers, then he would bring the menus and go, okay, now what would you like to eat today? I mean, we always left that place just stuffed. It was some of the best food I'd ever had in my life. Now here's another trick. Follow the smoke or the smell. You can tell when something's cooking and you're like, hmm, man, that uh that smells pretty good. I'm gonna go check this place out. And it could be down some little alley, some little out of the way place, or it could be a food truck, or a little pop-up stand or a street vendor in Thailand, could be jerk chicken in Jamaica, or you just never know. The nose will never lie to you though. And remember, mealtime isn't just about eating, it's about learning. Ask what's typical to order. What do people usually order when they come here? What do you like to eat off the menu? Notice how people share dishes. Pay attention to pace. In some places meals are fast. You go in, you eat, you get up, you get out. In other places they're like rituals. You see people spending an hour and a half, two hours. If you really want to connect with people, especially the locals, food is your greatest translator. Offer to share something. Compliment someone's homemade dishes. Attend a cooking class that's actually taught by someone in their home kitchen rather than in some tourist center. You can also use modern tools wisely. Apps like Eat With and Bon Apateur let travelers share a meal in a local's home. It's dinner with conversation and not just consumption. I had a and this is kind of like it, I had a home stay when I was in Nepal. This is where you go stay in a local's home. I stayed there, uh, spent the day, spent the n spent the night there, and the next morning we got up and left. They there was only one person spoke English, and that was the teenage daughter. The mother, the father, the two little kids, and the grandmother and the grandfather did not speak English. But we had the best time. I mean, they showed me uh photo albums, and I sat there and cooked dinner with mom and grandma, and grandma kept giving me homemade liquor that she had made. That was some potent stuff. I wanted to bring grandma back with me and open up a distillery. That was some good stuff. But every time I turned around, grandma was shoving a glass of homemade liquor in my hand. Making dinner with the family, and this is what they ate on a regular basis. This is the food that they ate daily. And so she was showing me how to make it. We sat down and had a family meal together. It was fantastic. It was the best time ever. So if you go out and you find a local place that you really like, go back. Repeat visits, turn strangers into friends. By your second or third meal, they'll remember your face. And they'll introduce you to people. Hey, this out of town guy from America keeps coming in here and eating. Let me introduce you to him. They might even invite you to a family gathering or a local festival. The secret ingredient in every unforgettable meal, it isn't the spice or the sauce or the celebrity chef. It's belonging, being part of that community. Now, conversations can change a trip. Every destination has its landmarks, but the true monuments are the people. Some travelers treat locals like background actors. You know, a little polite nod or quick transaction and they move on. But those who pause and talk, they come home with stories that cannot be bought. So how do you engage with locals authentically, especially when you don't share the same language or culture? Well, you start with observation. Respect the local customs. Now remember how I said on my monthly newsletter I put stupid tourist stuff? Well, these are people that do not respect the local customs and they make headline news and then a lot of times they get barred and thrown out of countries. And if they don't, they just wind up doing stupid stuff. Well watch how people interact, how they address their elders, how they line up or negotiate. Then when you speak, mirror that tone. Begin conversations with curiosity, not assumptions. Instead of asking, what should I see here? Try what do you do or what do you love about living here? What's your favorite part about living here in this town? And that subtle shift changes everything. People open up to you when you ask for personal insight and not just generic advice. Be genuinely interested. Locals can spot fake enthusiasm faster than you can think. Learn a few basic phrases. Greetings such as thank you and compliments. Even if it's not perfect, an attempt is appreciated because it shows effort and respect. And listen, don't rush to fill silence. Some of the best travel stories emerge in pauses, in shared looks or laughter that doesn't need translation. And if you're lucky, you'll stumble into what I call those chance mentors. You know, the taxi driver who gives you a history lesson. Remember I told you about the guy Ray with the Longhorn Cattle. I met Ray because I stopped at his gas station. It's like something out of the past, out of the 1960s. And I just thought it was cool, so I went in there and I started talking, found out Ray owned the place, and next thing I know, Ray had hooked on to me and I'd latched onto him, and he was telling me the entire history of the of the town. And you can find those people. They're out there. Maybe it's an old woman selling fruit who tells you about her childhood. I'll tell you another story about Kosovo. Me and the guys I were with. Um we took a weekend trip and rented a car and drove down to Greece. And all we did was look on a map and say, well, let's go out to the very end of this point, which was a couple hours away from where we were standing. So we just hit the GPS and went go. Well, if you know anything about GPS, they never take you the right way. We wound up and lost half the time, but we kept following this little GPS, and we met some fantastic people along the way. One was a lady who was outside tending her little vineyard that she had next to her house. And we stopped and I asked her, I said, can I take a photo of you and you know getting grapes from your vineyard? And she spoke some English, she said yes, and then she asked us if we were Americans, and I said yes, and one thing led to another, and her son came out and she's bringing us grapes and wine to drink. And we spent about 20 minutes talking with her. Or maybe it could be the innkeeper where you're staying at that shares his grandmother's recipe. I mean, those are your true tour guides. And when you return home, these are the moments that stick because they're human. These are the things that you remember. If you think about it, if you've traveled much at all, the best memories that you've had are not that Instagram photo. If somebody says, Well, when you went to Arkansas, did you see this waterfall? Oh yeah, that oh is beautiful. What else do you remember about the trip? Oh, I remember there was this little coffee shop in the morning. That's what you remember. You don't remember the Instagram photos. You remember that one little nugget, that memory that brought something to you, and that's where you can get them from. And we often say that travel broadens the mind, but what it really does is it deepens the empathy. It reminds you that no matter where you go, people everywhere want the same things. They want safety, laughter, and a sense of belonging. The more you talk with the locals, the smaller the world feels, and the more you realize how much goodness there is out there. Just waiting behind a simple hello. So how do you become a modern day explorer? Well, to be a modern day explorer, you don't need one of those little pith helmets, or you don't need the Indiana Jones hat, or a map drawn in blood or ink. You need awareness and a sense of wonder that refuses to die. Exploration today is less about conquering geography and more about connecting perspectives. The modern explorer doesn't plant flags, they plant friendships. They plant something that's going to grow into those experiences. Start by being open to discomfort. True exploration often begins where the convenience ends. It's when your phone battery dies, when the bus doesn't show up, or when you get lost in a maze of streets that suddenly all look alike. Instead of panicking, see those moments as invitations. Maybe the detour leads you to a hidden park. Maybe the stranger who gives you directions becomes your new friend. The modern explorer also travels lightly, not just with luggage, but with ego. You don't need to prove that you've been somewhere, you need to experience that you were there. And try traveling slower. Spend more time in fewer places. The depth always beats the breath. Keep a small notebook. Write down the smells and the overheard conversations and the little small moments. Later those little scribbles will become the most vivid souvenirs you own. And above all, just stay teachable. The world is constantly offering lessons in patience and humility and generosity and creativity. Every new place expands the edges of who you are if you let it. Being a modern day explorer isn't about how many stamps you have in your passport, it's about how many perspectives you've welcomed into your art. Now when you start to see travel this way, even your hometown becomes an adventure again. And remember, you're not in Kansas anymore. I was in Asia. I won't tell you where. I was in Asia. And there was a guy from, I was sitting having a beer in a little outdoor venue, just facing the street about one o'clock in the afternoon. I just stopped, grabbed a beer, and was sitting there watching the people walk by. Well, there was a man and his wife who were tourists from sounded like Australia. And all he did was complain. I hate it here. It's so hot. The people, and the waitresses aren't like anything at home. Here you gotta wave at them and wave at him and get them to come to you. They just ignore you. Well, no, they don't. It was Their culture. They just don't want to bother you while you're there. And yes, you have to raise your arm and kind of wave at them and they will come over and take your order. They'll let you sit there for an hour and a half. They don't care. They're not rushing you in and out like some places are. That's their culture. He didn't understand that. He didn't like the food. He didn't like this. He didn't like that. Things were better at home. Finally I turned to him, I said, then why don't you just get the hell out of here and go home? Why are you even going somewhere if all you're going to do is bitch and moan? You're not in Kansas anymore. I don't care if you live in Texas and you go to Kansas. It's different. Or if you live in Michigan and you go to Munich, the culture is different. You're not going to be at home. Things are different. And you need to embrace that. Embrace the difference. That's how you truly become an explorer. Learn the cultures and learn the differences. So here's the truth. Traveling like a local isn't about pretending you are one. It's about honoring the people who are. It's about showing up with respect, curiosity, and a willingness to listen. It's realizing that hidden gems aren't rare, they're everywhere. You just have to slow down enough to notice them. And when you return home from a trip like this, you'll notice something else. You will start to see your own world differently. You'll recognize a small cafe that's always been on the corner. You'll smile a little bit more at strangers and you'll ask your neighbors questions. Because the spirit of exploration doesn't end with the plane lands. It becomes part of who you are and how you live. So wherever you go next, whether it's a village halfway across the world or a small town just down the road, just go with open eyes. I mean open eyes and just a little bit of curiosity. Wander, listen, taste, ask questions. Be curious enough to get lost, humble enough to be taught, and brave enough just to slow down a little bit. Because the real map of the world isn't printed on paper. It's drawn in the connections you make along the way. And that is how you travel like a local and become a modern day explorer. And that's where we're going to leave it for today. The spirit of travel. It's not a checklist, but as a conversation with the world. You know, if this episode made you pause and smile a little bit or daydream about your next adventure, I'd love to hear about it. Tell me when was the last time you discovered a hidden gem. Maybe it was a food truck that changed your life. Maybe it was a market that you stumbled into or a local who turned a simple walk into a story that you'll never forget. You can share it with me on social media, you can email me at editor at the travelingfool.com. You can tag the show or leave a voice message on the podcast page. I mean, I feature listener stories in future episodes. Because the best travel tales are the ones that we collect together. And if you enjoyed today's little journey, take a moment to rate it, review it, wherever you listen at. It helps other people find us and keeps the stories rolling. And if you know somebody you think might like us, you know, send them a link to it. So that's it for today, and until next time, safe travels.
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