Tuesdays are kind of a blah day, don’t you agree? To liven them up a little, and share some useful advice with my readers, I’ve decided that Tuesdays will be Travel Tips Day here at Midwesterner Abroad. I’ll start out by sharing some of my best seasoned traveler tricks but I would really love it if in the future this section would be about answering reader questions, either left in the comments, or sent to me via email (about travel, not my personal life, of course).
So today, for tip número uno, I’m sharing my favorite way to save money/ live like a local when I’m traveling: grocery shop.
Why? You’ll save some cash (whoohoo!) and learn a little in the process.
Because whatever your opinions are on Walmart and its ilk, supermarkets are a great place to learn about the locals. What do they eat and drink? What’s on sale or in season? Are there local products you haven’t seen elsewhere? Is there a wide variety of imported foods? Food-shopping is a great chance to try out new edibles without maxing out your Visa.
Junk food is especially telling. What flavors of potato chips are for sale (if chips are in fact, available) says something about local tastebuds. From Spanish ham flavored chips here in Barcelona to Thai sweet chili chips in London, everywhere is different. The types of soft drinks for sale also tend to vary. As loyal drinkers of large multinational brands (think Coke and Pepsi) will tell you, sodas don’t always taste the same. For example, Coca-Cola produced for the European market doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup, like it or not, the type of sweetener used affects the over all flavor of the final product. But beyond these internationally known beverages, there are likely local varieties you’ve never slurped like Asia’s cultured milk flavored sodas or Austria’s herb-and-fruit-flavored national drink, Almdudler. Of course the local spin on bread and butter shouldn’t be forgotten.
Everyday staples vary pretty wildly. One man’s bread and butter, is another man’s bread and oil, is another man’s flat-bread cooked in ghee, is another man’s corn tortilla with lard, is another’s rice with fish is another’s rice with beans. Forget junk food, European grocery stores are pretty much paradise for Americans that are fans of cured meats and raw-milk cheeses (otherwise known as illegal contraband stateside). In Mexico’s Superama chain of supermarkets, visitors will be amazed at the variety of tortillas, and salsas for sale. At the Big Bazaar supermarkets in India, you can buy the spices and grains to prepare every Indian dish imaginable.
Entertaining supermarket tours aren’t limited to international travel, either. Chances are, if you’re from Boston, they’re stocking at least a few products in the Dallas supermarket that they aren’t back home. In Europe, where regionalism is king, supermarkets in the same country certainly vary a lot from place to place.
And no matter what type of accommodation you sprung for online, chances are you can slap together a meal of fresh fruit, canned goods (mmm, baby artichokes in olive oil), and whatever cold cuts and grain-based carbs are available where you are. So forget about wimping out and whipping out your wallet in local restaurants for every meal. Head to the supermarket. Be open-minded and go a little crazy, eating and trying new things is a necessary and enjoyable part of living and as the saying goes, you only live once. P.S. Cash, exact change, and your own shopping bags are best buying bed. It stings to waste my travel dollars and cents on crappy plastic bags, and it stings even worse when the credit card reader is down (it’s always down) and you have to leave a pile of goodies and a disgruntled cashier at the store while you rush down the street to an ATM.
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