theflashpacker.com

Sorry for the brief silence this past week - Ben and I have been relocating to Southeast Asia for the next four months! I’m here settling into Hanoi, which will be our base, while Ben climbs a mountain somewhere in China. I’m sure we’ll hear which one soon….

Luckily I know a few people in the city so I can get advice from locals and long time expats, but that got me thinking about other tricks that can be used to get to know a city more intimately, or in a shorter time frame. How do you turn yourself into an expert in one week or less?

Lonely Planet Encounters - I really like the lonely planet encounters series, which boasts that you get “twice the city in half the time.” If I were writing their byline, though, I’d say it’s more like: “This is all the stuff I really love about the city. The rest of the information I put in the original LP is just me being a dutiful, comprehensive guidebook writer.” Plus, the Encounters series definitely has more of a flashpacker taste to them than the regular books. It’s all about where the best experience is for the time and value.

The Rough Guide Directions Series is a similar concept, but when you buy a Directions book, you also get the e-book as well, in which they have embedded links for all the places to see, hotels, restaurants, etc., which is pretty darn handy.

Besides the “best of”-type guide books, a little blog stalking is nice trick. One that I’m reading now, Stickyrice, does good reviews and insiders tips, but also focuses a lot on the “street food docudrama” element. It’s hard to describe the karmic good these people are doing by dissecting (sometimes literally) Hanoi street food for the uninitiated.

Even if you’re going to be somewhere just a few days, I suggest googling the city name + expat (e.g. Madrid expat). There’s almost always a website for expats living in the city that has great tips on where to eat and, most importantly, a calendar of events! You’ll often get a better listing of interesting cultural events that are not a shoddy tourist-intended experience.

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