Always visit the toilets

Generally speaking, the toilets are part of the architecture decisions of the place you are visiting and will therefore get their own treatment.

For example, Bletchley Park in the UK has allowed their toilets to retain their 1940s look. Another example are the toilets in the Hassan II Mosque will differ if you are a tourist or a Muslim visiting to pray, which is a great exposure to how different cultures approach the act of going to the toilet.

Generally speaking, architects will consider the toilets as part of the visiting experience. Sometimes, the toilet is a hole in the ground and you gotta squat and use your hands (not toilet paper) to wash off. Other times, you get to see very expressive graffiti displaying the fun services if you who wish to take part in them.

Always carry dress to impress clothes

Some really nice spots sometimes have a dress code.

For example, Ricks Cafe in Casa Blanca will ask for something smarter than average backpacker T-shirt and worn out sneakers. These experiences are gate kept by dress code.

Personally, I’ve carried a collared shirt from work and black Adidas shoes because no one can tell unless they look closely from a distance.

Pick up Chinese, Hindi, or a language of a country which has a lot of emigrants

This is particularly useful if you are in a region where they don’t speak English. I’ve found looking up Indian restaurants and heading over a massive lifesaver. In Japan, there are tons of Indian restaurants for example.

Indians emigrate and tend go all over the place and open up Indian restaurants wherever they go so you can just go up to them and ask for help if you get lost or need something.

I’ve been able to navigate all sorts of hard situations because of this. I’ve also noticed this to be the case with Chinese restaurants. A lot less with other types of restaurants. Maybe it’s because I’m not paying attention but I rarely see French restaurants in the wild.

Get on WhatsApp

I have noticed that a lot of countries, WhatsApp is not just a communication tool - it’s an entire way of conducting business. From ordering takeout to booking massages, WhatsApp seems to always be used to facilitate these transactions.

Some places have a website which basically just leads to WhatsApp so you can DM there directly. I guess it’s a bit cheaper and more convenient that creating a form on a website and processing that.

Football / Soccer gets you so far

My recommendation is to pick an evergreen club. So don’t pick Manchester United or Dortmund.

Pick between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Personally, I pick Real Madrid because as a genuine Arsenal fan, Barcelona have given me enough generational trauma to deal with.

Don’t bother even following those teams: just learn the absolute basics. Like how Barcelona has a lot of wonder kids and seem to be on the up (the potential of youth), and Madrid are not doing great but they always seem to win (the establishment).

Football is some serious stuff in most parts of the world outside of the good ol’ US of A so take it as serious as the locals do and you’ll easily make friends.

This was originally written for my Substack: https://bhurghundii.substack.com/p/odd-travelling-tips-that-work