Comments on: Curious Travel: 8 Essential Questions to Ask in Every New Place

By: Lauren@GreenGlobalTrvl

Lauren@GreenGlobalTrvl — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:01:36 +0000

Thanks for the tips! It’s good to talk to locals and find out the best places to visit. Safe travels :)

By: 3 Kids Travel

3 Kids Travel — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 07:44:56 +0000

Dear Amanda,

Thank you for these good tips. It is a good reminder of how much knowledge you can get if you take the time to ask somebody living in the streets you only visiting.
We like to add one favourite from our travel with kids perspective> Where is the best playground in town?

By: Djong Tan

Djong Tan — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:55:37 +0000

i love this article! :) whenever i travel, i really want to know as much about the place as i can, but i don’t know what questions to ask.

and i especially love question #2. when i’m showing people around in my city, i make it a point to let them try our weird food (balut, chicken innards, and other delicacies).

By: Marilyn Terrell

Marilyn Terrell — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:00:20 +0000

These are excellent questions! I’ve had great luck asking #3 and #5. In Taiwan I asked about Taipei 101 (still the tallest occupied building in the world), and learned that despite the official explanation of how its architectural features relate to Chinese zodiac symbols, some Taipei residents affectionately refer to it as the Chinese takeout container building. You can see the resemblance here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dans180/188859143/in/set-371883/
And in Zadar, Croatia, I gained an insight about life in Croatia by asking high school kids how the school system works:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2006/10/cravable_croati.html

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:41:14 +0000

Yes, Yellow Tail (unlike Fosters) is drinkable in Australia! I really like seeing that Aussie wines are spreading their way around the world. The frustrating thing is they’re cheaper outside Australia – nobody can explain why to me, but when I lived in Germany I could pick up great Australian wine for at least a third less than in Australia, where it’s made. Crazy.

Maybe the US should try exporting some well-preserved PB&J sandwiches and then the rest of us might not be so repelled by the idea :)

By: Tony P

Tony P — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:48:31 +0000

Yeah, they have branded Foster’s pretty hard over here, in the US. I assume they are the Bud Light of OZ. I’m definitely into good microbrew’s and what the locals eat and drink.
I must say that OZ is churning out some good red wines. I don”t know if Yellow Tail has a good name there, but they provide a good quality inexpensive option here if you’re in the mood for a tasty Cab, Shiraz, or Merlot=)

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:58:19 +0000

Tony, yes, asking about typical foods is great. And drinks, too: just today I was in a pub here in Australia with a bunch of my foreign students, and a Swiss guy asked me why there was no Fosters beer at the bar. I laughed, because everybody thinks Australians drink Fosters, but actually nobody does. We just send it abroad. So I educated him about “real” Australian beers.

Mike, you’re right, and I have learned my lesson about PB&J!

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:50:47 +0000

I guess we here in the U.S. take PB&J more seriously than I thought!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:43:23 +0000

Sorry, I wish I’d never mentioned peanut butter and jelly :-) I’m curious to know what the weird foods are in ET Barton’s home town though.

You reminded me of something – when I traveled around Japan I always asked the local about their ice cream specialty (every place has one) – I saw squid ice cream, black sesame ice cream, crab ice cream … but I wasn’t brave enough to try all of them.

By: Tony P

Tony P — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:02:56 +0000

Nice article, Amanda. I agree with the wierdest food (Hey, “when in Rome”…right?!), but I usually ask “what’s the typical food that they eat here? And where do the locals go to eat it?” In Madrid, I wanted paella, but my friends in Madrid said “that’s tourist food.” So off we went to restaurants that tourists didn’t go to and ate really good food that the locals ate.”