Chasing the local experience — 5 reasons to get out there in Southeast Asia

This Week’s Guest Blogger

Alexander Molendijk is a Dutch student of linguistics and a part-time writer for various media productions. Having seen most of Europe, he recently decided to set off for his first big trip to Southeast Asia. There, he figured out which ways of traveling put the biggest smiles on his face. Want to say hi? Hit him up through @Alexej17. 

Your plane takes off and there is the thrill of adventure! You’ve put your life on pause, picked an exotic location and are ready to cast yourself into the unknown. But only hours later, as you’re trying to make your way down a murky, crowded street and the mists of jetlag start to clear, you get gripped by a strange and not-too-pleasant sensation.

Suddenly you notice the fast-food chain to your left, westerners coming out with all-too-recognizable deep-fried cuisine. There are sounds of familiar accents, as some teenage girls who probably went to the same high school as you are passing by. You’re thousands of miles away from home, yet everything around you feels like a grease-stained version of what you already know.

Does this scene sound familiar to you? Does there seem to be no escape from all the things you came all the way to Asia to escape?

Then it might be time you started chasing the local experience. Let’s escape from city centers, obnoxious salesmen and their tacky touristy t-shirts. Instead, dive into the vast regions in Asia that are yet to be discovered for mass tourism, and be surprised by what they have to offer.

 But why even bother, you ask? Why not be satisfied with backpacker Disneyland? Well, for the following, skillfully written down reasons of course:

1. Changing it up

Whether you’re planning to lock yourself up in a monastery trying to unlock your chakras, or you just want to get drunk and chill out on a beach somewhere, deep down we’re probably all traveling for pretty similar reasons – we just want to get away from it all. Ironically, our widely shared and ever-growing desire to discover new places comes with an unfortunate byproduct: these places start to become more and more like home. As pristine coastlines make way for big hotels and locals start learning how to prepare pizza instead of the food they’d eat themselves, it gets harder and harder to feel like you’re experiencing something new.

But for those of us who are looking, an escape from all this is still within reach! You just need to break out of the tourist hubs, and soon you’ll be surprised by unforeseen experiences.

2. The palate-reset

Traveling around Asia in search of new experiences, there’s a solid chance at some point you’ll have had enough of ‘western’ restaurants or endless amounts of generic pad thai – delicious as it is. Begone, predictable staple dishes! It’s time to start eating like a local, to discover the real taste of the country you’re exploring. Getting off the beaten track and finding your way to local communities is an excellent way of challenging your taste buds.

Granted, the food put together by a fisherman’s wife might not always be as delicately put together as the food in restaurants that employ professional chefs. But the sheer authenticity of these dishes, combined with the kind smiles with which they are put on the table, will never fail to make for an enjoyable meal. (And for the budget travelers among us: food gets crazy cheap once you make it out of the hubs!)

3. Grins and greetings

No guided tour, no bustling backpacker street and no amount of Thai massages – though they all have their merits – will ever weigh up to the responses you get when you pull up to a local coffeehouse along the road, somewhere they’ve never seen a tourist before. Slumberous oldtimers arise from their hammocks and smile a toothless smile. Exhilarated schoolchildren jump and shout and wave at you and practice their three words of English. Out comes Google Translate – yes, it’s everywhere now and it works – for some inquisitive conversation. A father might ask you to marry his son or daughter – how flattering! Such warm-heartedness will never fail to brighten your day and make you feel welcome.

4. Become an enlightened fucker

Being the dreadlock-sporting, elephant-pants-adoring travel clichés that we obviously all are, we’ve heard and repeated it a thousand times before: traveling equals insight. Worn out as it may be, there is definitely some truth to it, especially when applied to the local experience.

Spending some time with locals can teach you a lot about their respective cultures, their ways of looking at the world and the hassles and joys of their everyday lives. So strike up a chat with those locals over at the next table. Who knows what you might learn today!

5. The Challenge

Almost out of gas? No English speakers around? Unable to find an ATM out there in the farmlands?

There’s a unique thrill to overcome any such obstacles, especially when you’re far away from the nearest hostel or travel agency. It goes without saying that you should always take care and that common sense is key to safe exploring. Yet, when circumstances do get challenging, we can have our best qualities come to the surface. For this reason, it can be very educational to get away from laundry service, English food menus, and bus pickups right in front of your hostel. Out there is where we get badass. So get your Indy on and get on out there!

Sounds fun! So how do I get there? 

Well, for those of you who are planning such an escape but are not sure how to break out, here follows a very unhelpful remark: You will have to go find out. It’s often quite hard to predict exactly how touristy or authentic your next destination is going to be. But luckily, even though you can never be quite sure where you’re going to find that exact sort of experience you are gunning for, there are various ways to get started.

One surefire way to experience a country from a more authentic perspective

Skip your next bus, train or plane and arrange your own wheels instead. Exploring a country by car – or even more fun, on a motorbike – is generally a very effective way of getting off the beaten track. You can stop for roadside lunch and have a chat with some schoolchildren. You can park your ride, chill out and observe rural life. Or you can marvel at magnificent views as you ride along an adventurous mountain pass. In any case: a road trip is definitely launching you into the unexpected and making you appreciate the region more deeply. 

Alex and Cruz on an adventure in Northern Thailand

Fellow Travelers can be the best travel guides in town

However, that does not mean you’re doomed to dwell in Tourist Limbo if you’re not crazy enough to venture into Southeast Asian traffic. Local transport options will get you to a lot of places worth visiting, especially when you know where to go. A great way to pick an original destination is by talking to your fellow travelers. They’re the best travel guides around! Develop a keen ear for word of mouth recommendations, and make note whenever somebody in your dorm mentions a helpful local guide or an undiscovered island somewhere. It could be your next local experience!

Once you find your way, chat with the locals. Smiling is a universal language

Once you have found your way there, make sure to have a chat with some locals as they are generally the coolest dudes and dudettes around. Don’t panic if they do not speak English, (electronic) dictionaries go a long way and can even be quite fun!  And who knows, your new friend might even show you some unexpected kindness and show you around, tell you about local attractions or let you have some fresh, exotic fruit. People can have a tremendous impact on your experience. So remember: always keep smiling!

Get your hands dirty doing paid or voluntary work abroad

A third strategy that a lot of travelers enjoy undertaking consists of getting their hands dirty. Doing either paid or voluntary work in a country of your choosing can be very rewarding, in a way that is quite different from what you get just touring around. You can stay somewhere for longer, get a feel for the region, hang out with the people living there and maybe even learn some of the languages! You could think about working in a hostel, yes. But if you really want to get out there: consider a farm, an (ethical) volunteer project, or even taking care of some monkeys or something (shit, that would be dope).

As you can see, there are different approaches to chasing the local experience, and these three for sure don’t exhaust your array of possibilities. One thing to keep in mind though is that a (paid) tour is never really authentic, especially when it says ‘authentic’ on the brochure.

A good rule of thumb is that the further you get away from other tourists, the more authentic it will all get.

However, you can even experience stuff like this within (in)famous touristy towns such as Bangkok or Hanoi. As long as you think outside of the box or start hanging out with the people who actually live there and know all about the area, you just might get where you want to go.

The Wrap Up 

Made it all the way through this slightly pretentious essay? Then it’s time to go out now, little grasshoppers! Burn your itineraries and get out of your comfort zones. You might face language barriers, faulty infrastructure, or extremely unpleasant bowel-afflictions. But surely all this will not deter you. Whatever obstacles you will have to overcome: I am sure your adventure will be worth it. Tell us your craziest stories in uncharted territories or let us know about any bold plans for future endeavors. And remember: ignore my advice and do whatever resonates with you!

Planning to Digital Nomad or Get your Hands dirty in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?

If you are a nomad planning to start your Vietnam trip in the capital of Ho Chi Minh, here are my tips and recommendations for settling into the big city. Plus, the best cafes in HCMC to digital nomad from and get heavily caffeinated.

Are you feeling excited to get the local experience?

Check out our Top 5 recommended do it yourself experiences in Vietnam! 

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