INTERVIEWEE K
23, F, University Student / Freelance Video Editor
K prefers free and easy traveling more, as it allows her to drop by almost all the stores on the street and everything is pretty much “own time, own target”.
K went to the Netherlands (free and easy) for her latest trip with her friend (7 days) and mother (15 days) for a total of 23 days. This was her process of getting ready for her most recent trip.
** PAIN POINTS DURING PLANNING **
K is afraid that she does not know how to get around on her own with public transport. Every city has a different bus operator, which gets confusing for her, and she is afraid of wasting time traveling and getting lost.
[insight from her experience]
Public transport systems differ in every country, which can make traveling around scary. It’ll take some trial and error to familiarise yourself with the routes of the public transport.
** PAIN POINTS/EXPERIENCES IN NETHERLANDS **
01 Slower way of life.
- K left the house at 9+a.m., only to find out most shops and eateries only open at 11 am and closes at 5 pm.
- K was initially confused by the short operating hours, but considered this “lifestyle is nice”.
- Compared to Singapore (a city that wakes early and sleeps late), the lifestyle is way slower there, with “no sense of urgency and rush” among the locals.
[insight from her experience]
Every city has a different pace of life, some notably slower than the others. People are usually used to their own country’s pace of life, and may not always be used to a foreign country’s pacing, though they may prefer the pace there.
02 Contradicting radical culture.
- European countries were more open-minded compared to Singapore. “Singapore is super conservative, but when you go there, everything is out of the bag.”
- In Amsterdam, there is a whole street dedicated to their red-light district (a popular tourist attraction).
Drugs are also sold in souvenir shops. - Despite the country’s openness, K admitted to experiencing racism, which was something totally unexpected.
Though she deduced it may be due to COVID-19, since “much Asian hate stuff have been going around the World” since then. - When walking on the streets at night, junkies were throwing used bottles at the route K and her friend was walking in. “I was honestly very scared.”
Even little kids were mean, purposefully revisiting their aisle in the supermarket to knock/hit K. “It’s damn rude and it’s only to us. I stared at him and he ended up apologising.”
[insight from her experience]
In every country, there will be the good and bad sides to the culture. Sometimes, both sides will intersect and contradict one another. They may be experienced by a foreigner, which can cause an equally contradicting mix of emotions.
03 Payment in specific Dutch debit card.
- Payments in the Netherlands (for vending machines, toilets, groceries etc.) are mostly done with a specific dutch debit card. K was confused that some places did not accept international cards.
- People don’t seem to use cash or coins. Maybe due to COVID-19, where most countries converted to cashless payment.
- Before the trip, K could not find this information easily online(unless she specifically searches for it).
[insight from her experience]
International cards are not widely used in certain areas within a country. It is crucial to note what is the common payment type the country accepts. Additionally, not all information on the locals’ daily life can be easily found online. Foreigners may only know once they are in that country experiencing it.
04Written Dutch vs Speaking Dutch/English.
K speaks English and understands Mandarin Chinese. She did not know the native language of the Netherlands was Dutch, hence she did not research on the language.
- Many locals do speak English, so K can still understand. “They’ll talk in Dutch first, but when you reply in English, they’ll auto-switch to English.”
- However, most food menus were written in Dutch, with little to no images. K resorted to google translate everything, though sometimes not accurate. “I don’t know what I’m eating, to be honest.”
- K thought that the tone of the Dutch language was not welcoming and friendly. “It sounds like they’re scolding someone 24/7.”
She got used to the aggressive tone by the end. - K is not interested in learning the Dutch language. Crash-coursing will not suffice since everything is written in Dutch. “Even if I knew a little of the language going there, I feel like it’s not enough. I’ll still not know a lot.”
- If she had to learn though, she’ll take lessons and learn to read the menu, since “ordering food was really the main issue”.
[insight from her experience]
Though some locals speak English, it doesn’t mean everyone in the country uses English to commute. To smoothly interact with the locals, just learning a fraction of a foreign language may not be enough since there will be more terms foreigners will be unfamiliar with.
05 Avoiding certain areas.
- It is common to see Junkies on the street, which K is fine with. Though she gets startled by some who approach her. She usually just walks a different route when she sees them approaching and “avoids smaller alleys.”
- Not all underground train station has lifts, which hinders K’s comfort when commuting especially with heavy luggage. “It would have been much better if we knew which train stations have lifts.”
[insight from her experience]
K admitted she is willing to go the extra mile, especially if it meant traveling in comfort and safety.
** WAYS/TIPS TO IMPROVE EXPERIENCE FOR FUTURE TRIPS **
- Hearing others’ experiences is the best research.
K usually travels to places friends have been free and easy to, and will “asks for their itinerary and place/food recommendation”, since she knows her friend (vice versa), these recommendations are usually good to her. - TikTok is a good tool for research.
After purchasing the air tickets, her phone algorithm changes to recommend more content in regards to the country. Often, this content is authentic and kept up to date. - Avoid places/activities that can put you in danger – Safety is key.
Being in a foreign country can be intimidating, especially with the cultural unfamiliarity. Be observant of the surroundings and act accordingly. For K, since she realized the racist acts are happening on the weekends, she’ll visit the mall/more touristy attractions then.
** OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE PRODUCTS/MEDIUM TO IMPROVE TRAVELING EXPERIENCE **
The following aims to uncover opportunities that can be explored for my ongoing project to improve one’s traveling experience.
Below are some suggestions for my project that K has provided.
- A digital platform that includes all the information needed
(transport, translator, cultural information etc.)
She “wouldn’t have to suffer that much” by referring to multiple apps. - An extension to Google Maps revealing logistic information on a location
Compares the imagined experience to Airbnb, where it informs users if the place has lifts, what if Google Maps does the same, and reveal which train station has no lifts. “Then I can plan my route and avoid those places.” - A digital platform providing a complete breakdown of getting from one place to another
Usually has too many options on Google and other transport apps, which confuses K. When she expands the options to see the fastest route, she tends to lose the route she intended of going. Though she admits this solution is more of a UIUX issue with the apps.
[Audio recordings of the convo can be found here.]