When we travel, it’s always nice to see amazing scenic spots or go on that epic adventure through the country. It’s what makes us go there in the first place. They create memories, sure. But what really makes a trip worthwhile is the people we met along the way. How we interact with them can really make a difference, whether that is a good or bad experience. Of course, we rather have good experiences, so we asked a few travel bloggers to share their story of meeting the friendliest locals during their trips.

Tamshuk Saha | Tamz Explores – Indonesia

On the road away from my home, my family and my friends, I was visiting a place I’ve never been before and seeing faces unknown to me. As I sat on the motorbike driving through the village roads, greetings of “Hello Mr” from those unknown smiling faces filled the air around. Three weeks later as I was preparing to leave, I had a heavy heart and shed silent tears at the thought of not seeing those very faces anymore. Who are these faces and how did they become my family, my friends in those three weeks? These are the lovely people of Balebo, a small and serenely beautiful village of South Sulawesi in Indonesia.

There is a reason why Indonesia feels like home to me. This country has some of the most loving and friendly locals I have ever seen during my travels. Always seen with a smile on their faces, the people of Indonesia are extremely welcoming and helpful to foreigners, which is why Indonesia is a hugely popular country among travelers. Fortunately for me, I got to experience this hospitality on a much more personal level when I traveled and lived in Balebo village for three weeks as a volunteer. Living in the house of an elderly couple and their sons, I soon became a part of their family. From the early morning coffee to papa and mama’s (yes, I called them papa and mama) call for makan (food) at dinner, they treated me like one of their own sons. The sons became my brothers and his friends became my friends.

The young students at the English class, the kids from neighboring houses or just anybody from the village who I came across had an amazingly adorable vibe to them.

“There are problems everywhere and in this village too. But we always try to be happy. The whole village is a big family“

my best friend there said to me one morning. I witnessed that sense of a free and close-knit community every moment during my stay. Having spent some of my best days with these lovely folks, either a trip to the nearby waterfall or carrying logs with them and riding on top of a loaded truck while hanging on to dear life or those 6 hours of English classes every week, slowly but surely became a part of that community. And that is why they are the friendliest locals I have ever met.

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Delphine Ruki | Del Abroad – Singapore

I always get a thrill of excitement when I fly into Changi International Airport and the plane touches down on the tarmac; a second home coming of sorts.  I have loved travelling to Singapore over the years and am happy to say that it is up there as one of my favorite holiday destinations.

Not only is it a Great “stopover” destination, it is also an interesting, historically rich and culturally diverse nation and holiday destination in its own right.

I believe Singapore is one of the safest places to visit and mainly one of the reasons why I keep returning. The locals are friendly and accommodating – just as an example, my husband and I were slightly disorientated as we made our way through the MRT station endeavoring to navigate our way out of the maze of exits to find the “Chinatown” Markets.

I must have had that “confused tourist” look of  on my face (as I often do) because I had a lovely little old Chinese lady approach to ask me if I was lost and where was I going?  She kindly pointed me in the right direction with a beautiful big smile on her face and I was so grateful that someone cared enough to help a stranger, she said it was her pleasure and with her walking stick in tow she sauntered off.

That simple act of kindness will stay with me forever. It was a gentle reminder that in a world that is often times chaotic and busy that there are people out there with big and generous hearts who are willing to help others.

Evan Kristine | Pretty, Wild World – France

Back in 2013 me and my good friend, Benson, was planning a month-long backpacking trip around Europe starting from Paris to Amsterdam. Not a long route but long enough to get to know amazing people along the way. We both decided that we will keep a small budget for this trip and use CouchSurfing as a way to find a place to stay and as well so we can integrate ourselves with the locals. It was, by far, the best idea we came up with because we met not only amazing people in each city we visited but also became good friends with some of them. Our first host was Quentin, a young French chef and a local of Paris – born and bred. He didn’t have so much reference in his CouchSurfing account, in fact, he had three at the time when he replied to my public request, however, we still went to stay at his place.

He turned out to be the best host we had during our trip because not only he gave us the best tips where to go but also showed us the unseen French hospitality a lot of tourists don’t get a chance to experience when visiting France. We stayed in contact for years till to this day and that week long stay at his place was considerably one of the highlights of my travels!

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Sixtina Alwardt | Six Miles Away – India