Once You’re There —
Look around, check out the neighborhood near the hotel, inn, guesthouse, hostele or private home where you are staying, study the map and plan efficient ways to visiting significant landmarks or monuments. Figure out where the business sectors of the town or city are located. Research where the sports or entertainment districts lie. Note the location of public spaces – parks, piazzas, markets, plazas, waterfront or harbor quays. Pay attention to landscape and topography; you may not want to be trudging uphill in the afternoon heat.
Align outdoor research tours with the weather. Raining in the morning? You might have to postpone the walk through the area and grab the local transport whether its a bus, cab or a scooter-pulled jitney. Launch your research where people are congregating — is it a food market a kid’s playground? A factory or museum, school, library, church or upscale shopping area? Of course, with appropriate garments (boots, umbrella, rain hat, rain pants and coat) you need not let rain change your plans. Indeed, experiencing the mood of a locale in all kinds of weather is the way to really understand the place. How local people react to the weather is also part of the research.
If there is a concierge at the hotel, introduce yourself. Or make certain the desk manager knows of your interests. Behind-the-scenes tours won’t be offered if no one knows what you are writing or what media outlet you write for. On the other hand, be discreet about how you describe your project, lest you be inundated with information. Perhaps you are reviewing the hotel; you may not want your true purpose known to staff, as the management may lavish special treatment designed to influence your opinion. Maintain your own agenda, but be sensitive to interesting alternatives that may arise.
For example, in Malucca, one of the earliest British colonial settlements in Malaysia, I stayed at the youth hostel. The couple managing the hostel were engaging, energetic, and outgoing. Making the most of their continuing supply of guests, they ran tours on the side and invited the half dozen or so backpackers in residence to visit a rubber plantation. A small fee would cover petrol and lunch. Two of the hostel guests, a lawyer and a teacher, both Americans, passed up the tour, saying they didn’t want to pay the $15 fee, which they considered too expensive for a home-grown tour in a rural area. This was before internet wi-fi was available for travelers, so comparison shopping would have been by word of mouth, phone or on foot. Still, $15 was hardly big money even back then.
I found their attitude difficult to understand. Two Swiss students and I accompanied our host. It turned out that this side trip was both interesting and rewarding. I came away with a travel story and photos about how rubber is harvested and cured. Perhaps the two American visitors just didn’t have sufficient curiosity about the region they were visiting. When we returned and described the day’s adventures, they complained that they wished they had gone along. Un-huh.
Curiosity is standard equipment for the travel writer and indulging it, our pleasure and profit. More tips on how to research and write travel stories is featured in my book Travel Writing by L. Peat O’Neil.
Recommended Resources:
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing by Don George
Writing Away – a Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal Writing Traveler
Adventure Travel Writing 