Our family loves to travel. We love going to different places, we love going out of town and sometimes when our budget permits, we love going out of the country. This provides us with rest and relaxation from everyday work and the hustle and bustle of the city. It also provides us with adventure and excitement. More often than not, we purchase from groupon deals and stay at hotels or resorts.
With my peanutbutter♥ at the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon 2012
Different places have different cultures. In order for us to experience those culture, what we usually do is we make a DIY itinerary and try to visit the tourist attractions in the area.
I’ve heard a thousand times that if you really want to immerse yourself in the culture of the place that you’re visiting is to eat what the locals are eating. A unique food experience is a treat to me because it sends my tastebuds to an adventure.
Lucban Longganisa (local sausages)
But we can only eat so much local food because we are limited to street food.
When we went to Lucban, Quezon for the Pahiyas Festival in 2012, we stayed at the Batis Aramin Resort. On the day of the festival itself, we feasted on local food being sold on the street like Pilipit, Longganisa….
Pancit Habhab (local noodles eaten without fork)
..and the popular Pancit Habhab, a noodle dish, served on a rectangular cut banana leaf which acts as a makeshift plate, which you must eat using only your mouth {without the use of any utensils}.
Street food is good but of course, home cooked meals are always better because it’s not for commercial purposes. Meals that are cooked at home for the family is prepared with love and passion.
So how can you eat delicious home cooked local meals if you’re a traveler? Ah, that’s easy — Withlocals.
So what is Withlocals?
The Withlocals website is a marketplace connecting travelers from every corner of the world with locals in Asia offering unique travel experiences and home dining opportunities.
And soon, Withlocals is coming to the Philippines!
Their mission is to connect people and cultures not just through food and but also through unique experiences as well. The experiences are sorted into three categories:
- EAT Withlocals – Experience fantastic, authentic cooking and make friends by dining with a local family in their home. There’s no better way to get a taste of a country than by enjoying its cuisine, and no better way to understand a culture than by getting to really know its people. This will be the one meal on your travels you’ll most definitely remember.Our ambition is to see over 10,000 new ‘home restaurants’ In Asia up and running in the next three years, providing a source of sustainable income to local people.
- TOURS Withlocals – Reading a guidebook will take you only so far. To really experience a country and get the most enjoyment from your travels you’d be wise to uncover its hidden secrets, get to know its people and wander off the beaten track. Go local!Tours Withlocals are truly unique, led by individuals with knowledge and passion. No one knows a place quite like a person who has lived there their whole life. Withlocals tour guides will give you their insights and share their local knowledge with you, giving you an experience you’ll never forget.
- ACTIVITIES Withlocals – Take part in activities and learn traditional skills taught by talented locals, expanding your mind and your knowledge in the process.Our network of talented local artisans and experts offer a range of exciting activities to get involved in. Learn new skills and dive deep into the culture of the place you’re visiting by teaming up with a local person who’s passionate about sharing their skills with you.You won’t just be observing, you’ll be doing. Drive a Tuk Tuk around Bangkok, craft your own silver jewelry or carve your own musical instrument. From extreme sports to skilled artistry, there’s an activity for everyone.
You can either join Withlocals as a HOST or as a TRAVELER.
Withlocals believe that every person is good at something and that there’s no greater way to earn a living than by doing something you are passionate about. By starting Withlocals.com, they hope to enable people, especially those in developing countries, to boost their income by offering their skills and knowledge to travelers.
As a HOST, you can make new friends, earn money, and offer local experiences and as a TRAVELER, you can fully immerse yourself in the Filipino culture and make unforgettable memories that will inspire many stories in the future.
For more details. check out their website: https://www.withlocals.com/
Wow! This is super interesting and I am sure a great way to travel and experience local culture (and food!)…I will check out their website! We also like to travel 🙂
It is. I was really interested when I found out about it.
Really interesting! Fun way to travel. Thanks for cluing us in!
Yeah, it’s a way of immersing yourself in a different culture.
I couldn’t agree with you more. In the last ten years when I have traveled many times, I have been sooooo lucky to have a local as a guide. They know all the secret places. Truly the ones off the beaten paths, the best times to go certain places, the inside scoop on food and you get to meet some wonderful people. You get spoiled once you do that a time or two.
If you want to really discover a certain place, you can never go wrong with a local to guide you.
This is great to offer to tourists ah so they’re not scared of getting scammed or tricked by those who mean no good to foreigners. I think I saw one similar to this but in Japan naman where it’s so much harder to communicate with the locals there.
It’s also good for the host because they can make some money.
With locals definitely makes traveling much interactive experience and also a lot easier.
Yeah, I think so too.
Groupon really does have some good deals, I didn’t know they had them in the philippines. I’m planning a trip there to soon so i’ll check it out. That food looks amazing! Good review peachy
Thanks John!
Does Withlocals have any similarity with couchsurfing? We also love to travel in budget and eat! 😀
Yes Roch, I think they are similar.
The wilderness that makes Alaska unique means one have to think about the Alaska budget differently from their destinations. Some of Alaska’s most dramatic sights can only be accessed by plane or boat, and most unique experiences require expert guides and gear (river rafting, glacier hiking, dog sledding).Unlike resort or city vacations where your hotel choice can define your experience, you’ll want to reserve more of your Alaska travel budget for Alaska day tours that let you explore the otherwise inaccessible wilderness.
The Withlocals website is a marketplace connecting travelers from every corner of the world with locals in Asia offering unique travel experiences and home dining opportunities.
the peach kitchen is one of my fave food and lifestyle blogs in the web. another great article on the Pahiyas festival. the pacit habhab looks sumptuous. thanks for sharing about withlocals. i will check it for sure.
Much with traveling that you can experience the locals; traits, foods, and even hospitality.
I am interested in doing this..I am wondering how difference this is from Couch Surfing.
I agree with other commenters, it is the same with coach surfing.
Nice way on maximizing your travel experience eating local foods is a good choice to do. 🙂
Will definitely check this out since I am into travel blogging and my friend is into organizing tours 🙂
Lucban longganisa is my favorite food from quezon…the first i taste it i never forget it…that longganisa is so delicioys and so tasty than the other longganisa…Anyways, it’s good to eat our own dishes…
Home cooked meals is really much better since it’s not commercialized and it is also made with care.
Seems like WithLocals will be a huge hit among backpackers.
Very fun and learning traits to be with locals when traveling.
I love travelling! This looks interesting. Will surely check the website 🙂
This is such a great idea! I definitely agree that the best way to really learn about a place or culture is to learn about it through the locals themselves. I’d love to experience this someday.
Its great to know that there are company and website like withlocals to help travellers
We love to travel too! This will be a new kind of experience for us!
Nice to know about this new website, Withlocals & I agree that it can be popular with backpackers. I love Lukban especially during the Pahiyas.
Totally agree on the local thing! One of the most memorable evenings we’ve ever had was @ a Sushi place in Campbell River, Vancover Island sitting at the sushi with a couple of locals, chatting with them and the 2 sushi chefs. What fun! Great post Peachy! Looks like a fabulous trip!
I saw this in another blog. I love the idea!
I love to travel around the Philippines. Checking out WithLocals now. I’d never heard of it before, but it sounds like something I would totally love.
The concept is very similar to Couchsurfing, I love it! Hope I could try this platform soon 🙂
This is interesting. More ways to spice up travelling.
Hi,
I work as an ambassador for withlocals.com based here in the Philippines. We are the people who verifies host here in our country. So whoever signed up gets reviewed by us. If any of you wants to be come a host. Just send me a message on my email, Facebook or even skype (username: nesteerip). I might be able to help and answer all your questions.
Cheers,
Nestor