Calcutta, India
According to our definition, Asia shopping trekkers roam around Asia for all the usual reasons, plus a few more:
FIT (Free Independent Travel)
We are independent to a point, and don’t always enjoy traveling with the group. We like the one-on-one approach to meeting people along the way. Sometimes tour guides act as a barrier to making contact with local people. Visiting outdoor markets solves that problem. It’s an easy way to make contact. It’s also fun.
Arts and Crafts
We definitely like to check out the local arts and crafts scene at the outdoor markets. It gives you a good insight to what the people are about. Like everywhere else, people express themselves by what they do. The purchases remind us of these experiences, long after we leave a city or country.
Focused Travel
The outdoor markets are usually located in the center of town (although not always). It makes it easier to decide on a hotel if we identify the location of our target market. Once we are tuned into the market and hotel locations, we can then plan to visit other attractions. Hopefully, most of the interesting places will be within walking distance of your hotel.
Trekking
Maybe trekking is too strong a word for what we do. If so, how come we are so tired at the end of a day, after visiting the market and other tourist sights? It takes a lot of energy to walk the neighborhoods of most Asian cities. You have to be physically fit.
Note: In a future posting, we plan to discuss trekking to hill-tribe villages in the mountains of northern Thailand.
Saving Money
By utilizing Low-cost carriers (LCCs) to fly around the area and staying at clean, moderately priced, air-conditioned hotels (cheap & good), we save the bulk of Aunt Nelly’s inheritance for another trip. Walking is also much cheaper than taxis.
Please feel free
…to comment on the above. We appreciate your ideas.
