Check
out Long Noses and All
under Glimpses of the Road,
back on Randy's Travel Page.
One of the highlights of travel is all the amazingly different people you meet, not the least of which are the travelers you share your experiences with. There are a few other foreigners out there that you will come into contact with, and their company can be a refreshing change (or at least a change), from the company of backpack travelers.
Check
out Long Noses and All
under Glimpses of the Road,
back on Randy's Travel Page.
Foreign Tourists
Years ago, backpack travelers rarely saw foreign tourists, who stuck to the cities, making daily forays out to the tourist attractions. You would meet the odd tour group in places like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Machu Picchu, and Nairobi, but you generally stayed far from each other's paths. Things have changed so much that you can hardly tell travelers from tourists anymore -- they dress the same and they visit the same out-of-the-way places. I distinguish them by the fact that tourists travel on escorted tours with nice buses, and stay in the fine hotels that have been constructed in some of the world's most isolated, and previously unspoiled areas.
Tourists are useful for learning the latest football scores, or just catching up on news from back home. If you are missing your friends and family, you will find people just like them on tour buses, and they can be just as friendly and interesting as anyone else, in spite of their handicap of group tourism; just try to catch one or two of them alone.
Some tourists are just wealthy travelers. They travel on their own but prefer the western style and amenities they can afford. Some of them are Old Road Hands who have moved up in style with their accumulated wealth, age, and families. When they want to get to a really isolated sight, they just hire a car and driver. Your only hope may be to hitch a ride with them, so be nice.
Check
out Candidasa
under Glimpses of the Road,
back on Randy's Travel Page.
Expatriates
You may run into a few Westerners in far-flung countries whose life is quite unlike your own -- they live there. The general term for such people is expatriates, or "expats". Some of them settle down, raise a family, and stay for the rest of their lives; many others are only in it for a couple of years. Expats will usually have some good perspectives and not a small amount of inside information on their adopted countries, so take the opportunity to get to know them when you can. They often know the best ways to get through the bureaucratic system, when and who to bribe, and what the export laws are -- not to mention travel information. Many of them are quite happy of some contact with people from home, while others couldn't care less.
Expatriates can be anyone from an embassy employee, to a beach bum, to pensioners getting the most out of their retirement checks. Many are embassy staff and employees of large foreign banks and corporations who live on some of the highest rungs of the society, and may have little contact with the realities of the common people or travelers. The embassy staff in places like Beijing and Islamabad (Pakistan) get so tired of their own company that they open up their weekly cocktail parties to any travelers who care to attend. You can meet some quite interesting (and boring) people at these gatherings, not to mention the opportunity to buy a drink in an otherwise dry country.
Different again are high-level representatives of rural development bodies like the World Bank, various United Nations commissions, the Red Cross, and aid groups. They may have nice accommodations and cars, but part of their job is getting out to understand the problems of the local people and economy; they can tell you more about these subjects than most locals.
Independent business people may travel in and out, live semi-permanently, or are married to a local, enabling them to actually own a local business. The business may be no more than a bar or a dive shop at a beach hangout. Sometimes you will meet them in the course of your normal travels, running safari companies in Africa ("Hi, Mike and Louise!"), charter boats, or a local hotel. These people really enjoy being among the local people, and usually among the travelers they sometimes serve. They can be very helpful, informative, and welcome of genuinely intelligent conversation, but don't impose on them.
Aid Workers
Aid workers are volunteers who typically work out in the poorest communities, providing some kind of basic services. The most common are the volunteers for national overseas aid programs such as the Peace Corps, VSO, CUSO, JOCV, etc. Many of them are young and getting one hell of an experience on perhaps their first time away from home. They are actually poorer than you are, because they live at the level of the common people -- they have virtually no money. But they will usually be very happy of your company, especially if you can buy them a beer. If you don't meet them in their village, they often stay in traveler's hostels on the way through town. There are a couple of city hostels in the Philippines where you are assumed to be a Peace Corps volunteer if you stay there.
Anthropologists and Such
You won't meet too many anthropologists on your travels, and if you do, you have probably found a very remote and interesting local culture. Anthropologists live among the local people, trying to be accepted into the local community. Associating with foreign tourists can often be detrimental to their standing in the community, and they would rather you did not exist. As a broad rule, they dislike travelers the way travelers dislike tourists, and the feelings are usually mutual. But you will meet so few that perhaps you will hit upon a really friendly anthropologist, as I did in Pakistan. Archaeologists, on the other hand, are not required to keep up decorum with the communities they are digging up, and can be a pretty rowdy bunch; if you want to work all day for nothing, ask if you can join up.
If you get out to interesting natural and wildlife areas, you may meet biologists studying the local animals, birds, insects, and flowers. They can be a gold-mine of information about how best to enjoy the wildlife, if you can get them to talk to you. Like anthropologists, they can be reluctant to even acknowledge you at first. Although they may lead quite a lonely life, they are often obsessed by their work and sick of being a tourist attraction. Again, it doesn't hurt if you offer to do some work. I spent several days tagging sea turtles in Costa Rica, and while it was not always enjoyable, it is one of my most memorable experiences. (See Nancite, on my Travel Articles Page.)
Missionaries
In some of the most remote parts of the world you will come across missionaries (and anthropologists); in some places they provide the only accommodation for miles around. Some outposts actually do have guest rooms and charge something for them, but often staying with these people places an imposition on their cramped conditions and limited supplies. You can also meet missionaries in various small towns and cities. The YMCA is a common place for Christian missionaries to stop over on their way through the cities, and you might meet some if you stay there.
While it is the intention of some anthropologists to "go native", missionaries may be said to be the opposite. They strive to maintain what semblance they can of their lives at home, and sometimes encourage it upon the local people. If they don't meet many foreigners, missionaries will be happy just to have come conversation with Westerners. Once my girlfriend and I were invited to coffee at the home of some Canadian missionaries in Thailand, and enjoyed a long evening of conversation. After their long talk about the number of local men carrying pistols, and the real danger of contracting leprosy, however, we were almost afraid to walk back to the hotel.
Check
out Father Paul
under Glimpses of the Road,
back on Randy's Travel Page.
"You mean, you're going to a strange country where you don't know anyone at all?" Yes, this will usually be the case, and as commonplace as it may become for you, actually having someone to visit in a strange country can be a refreshing change. Even if you hardly know them, you may actually get to see the inside of a house, eat home-cooked food, and sit around talking, like regular people do.
You may already know several people at home who come from other countries. Even if they are casual acquaintances, let them know that you will be visiting their country and ask their advice. They may even beg you to visit their family and bring first-hand news. Check with your business, church, or school to see if they have connections with organizations in other countries. You may just have a cup of coffee with someone there, but it is a rewarding gesture for both sides.
Forced VisitationMy mother forced me to visit some friends of hers in India.
"Now, when you get to Bhubaneshwar..."
"But Mom, I'm not going to Bhubaneshwar, it's really out of the way!"
"Of course you're going, you have to deliver this gift for me."So I went to Bhubaneshwar (Bhubaneswar), and P.D. and Nina Das and their whole family were unbelievably friendly and helpful to me, at no small trouble and expense to themselves. The time I spent in their company was the warmest experience I had in India.
Thanks! -RJ
I suggest that you do not visit people simply for the purpose of saving money on lodging. Travelers often do this with friends of friends in the First World, where the price of a hotel is considerable, and having guests is not a formal occasion. But in the Third World, the trouble and expense that both you and they may go to is not worth the few dollars you may save on food or lodging. Visiting people should be an act of friendship and cultural learning, with both sides contributing to the experience, and the expense.
Don't take advantage of these local contacts, especially if you don't really know them. Have your mutual friend write them ahead of time, or do so yourself, to let them know that you are coming. Get your own hotel room, and then call or visit them without expecting to be given lodging. Should they expend a great deal of hospitality on you, you may feel like repaying them in some way. For some people, just hearing your stories will be repayment enough, but an offer to take the family out to dinner would be a nice gesture. Don't expect to save a lot of money on the experience -- even if a well-to-do expat takes you in and entertains you all over town at his expense, the one night that you insist on paying for dinner could blow several days worth of traveling money.
If you already know people overseas, contact them and ask if there is anything you could bring them from your home. A small appliance or a special book can be like gold overseas. You could decide to just mail it to them, saving the trouble, and paving the way for your arrival; but local mail systems are often unreliable. Yes, carrying such things will be an inconvenience, but it is a selfless act of friendship that will reward both of you.
Happy Trails!
Randy's Travel Page
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