What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?

Globalization and multinational corporations, the internet and supply chain management, homegeneity of goods and services, bring the world cheaper and higher quality goods overall, but often the experice is superficial, diluted and bereft of any local flavor or regionality.

A perhaps apochrophal example of this is Szechuan cuisine. Prior to the 1970's, Chinese food in the United States was synonomous with Cantonese. The only authentic means to have Szechuan food prepared for you was to somehow go to China or know someone that was from that region. It is reported that Nixon's détente with China exposed journalists to spicy Szechuan food and it is a style that is now everywhere (albeit, often executed in a diluted/mass-market format... McSzechuan Chicken salad).

You can buy Chimay in grocery stores.
You can get Porugese cheeses in specialty stores.
Many brewpubs are franchises.
Even vacations in exotic locations are somewhat sanitized. You can name 100's of beach vacations that are virtually identical because the hotels are the same and the staff speaks English. The local culture is Disneyed up to the point that you need a series of cab/bus rides to get to the "real" culture.

You can buy almost all of these items on the internet that usually required someone to schlep it back in their suitcase.

What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?
In other words, what experiences do we take for granted and which ones have to be done in a certain time or place to be fully experienced?

The only caveat to this list is the obvious family and friends experieces that we all personally treasure.

Enjoying a Home Brew from a fellow brewer?
Running with the Bulls in Pamplona? (I know there is an event in the SW that tries to "replicate" this experience.)
Jumping into a pile of harvested hops?
Certain live sporting events?

Just looking for ideas on what to spend time and money on for the rest of my life.

Good thread, good thoughts. I agree these things are worth seeking out.

First, if you're a golfer, there are some golf courses that are hallowed ground. If you can afford it, play a few. I can't afford it and I'm not into golf enough to care, I'm just saying...

Second: You already mentioned sports, and that's a biggie. Remember, running with the bulls is a sporting tradition too (leading up to the bull fight). We just have different sports now, making the old ones seem like something else. And English Soccer games. The Indy 500. There's other races, but then there's the Indy 500. Paris-Dakar, Baja, Bonneville Salt Flats.

I hear that Miami is still a very flavorful city, with a lot of varied influences. Chicago, New York too. You can go there and find chinese people making chinese food for other chinese people, the way it is made at home. German places will cook for Germans. The greeks cook for greeks. You can get a real authentic meal, from a different nation, 7 days a week and never repeat a country. Ever go out for Dim Sum? Grab a few friends and enjoy. It's chinese breakfast, meant to be enjoyed as a group. Most things taste just like chinese food... except it's breakfast. Yum!!

There are little pockets of these traditions that are still strong, you just have to find them. You have to know where to look. And don't forget that the most memorable traditions all evolve over time. The best, most authentic, awesome experiences probably aren't really on the map yet. Remember Woodstock? Well it won't be repeated. Sometimes part of it is just being willing to put yourself in the right place at the right time...

Thanks for the quick response Sir H. Don't golf, but I think you're on the right track. If I were a golfer, then St Andrews.

I'm not an auto racing fan, so for me, any auto race would be somewhat interchangable (and valued), but I certainly understand the gravity of Indy or other landmark races for race fans.

Also good point about one-time events.

I may have made this a little overly broad and overthunk the whole concept, but in the beer related vein....

Jamil stated on his Munich Helles show that there are no commercial examples of this style available in the US. You have to go to Munich to experience them.

Is this true? If so, it's list worthy IMO.

What about a fresh, peak of the season, strawberry wine? The flavor won't last long enough to ever be made into a decent commercial brew.

A lot of things like this are freshness-oriented.

Sir Humpsalot said:

What about a fresh, peak of the season, strawberry wine? The flavor won't last long enough to ever be made into a decent commercial brew.

A lot of things like this are freshness-oriented.

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Exactly. Now we need someone to tell us when and where to go.

I think a great one would be to track down your ancestory, visit the 'motherland' so to speak, learn about the culture, area, family trade. Who knows, maybe your great great great great great grandfather was a brewer?

That could be a worth while way to spend some time and gain something from it.

My wife and I vacation on the French side of St. Martin. While the Island is getting more and more tourists and the Dutch side is a stop for several cruise lines, the French side has managed to retain some of its uniqueness. We stay in Grande Case at a beach club that is unlike any of the mega-resorts one often finds these days (it is more like the 1960s version of a resort). In the evening it is a short walk into "town" where the streets are lined with French restaurants and local "lo-los" which are these great Caribbean BBQ places. It may not be 100% unique, but it is not the typical Caribbean vacation. One day out of the week we venture to the Dutch side (after making sure no cruise ships are in town) for some shopping (to placate the wife), but other than that it is lazy days on the beach and awesome food for dinner.

The other thing for me is going to the traditional breweries in Europe. I know you can get Chimay at the grocery store, but it's not really the same thing as being there, is it? For me, I want to sit in a real Munich bier garden before I kick it.

I think most "true experiences" include overcoming some sort of adversity. As a Harley-Davidson salesman, I would love to say "your first bike trip". However, it is my job now to try and produce as many of these experiences as possible. Between ready made bike rallies, hotels, bikes that hardly have a problem, road-side assistance with rental/hotel/meal reimbursement, few of my customers get that "Easy Rider" life- changing ride they paid for.

The Flip side to this is how many people have no interest in the AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE of anything. Don't want to take enough time off from work, don't want to run into problems. You get so much from the AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE, you really have to throw yourself into it, truly invest.

One of the best times of my life was a spring break road trip alone on my 10 yr old wore-out CBR with $98 to my name. I camped in the hill country, on the beach, napped in an alley, and met some awesome people along the way. Perfect strangers I partied with all night, RVers who lent me tools, I can remember almost every moment of that week. There are entire years since that I only remember a few highlights from.

To get an AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE, you just have to go out and do it. Most people aren't willing or able to commit to it, so it never happens for them.

quickerNu said:

I think most "true experiences" include overcoming some sort of adversity. As a Harley-Davidson salesman, I would love to say "your first bike trip". However, it is my job now to try and produce as many of these experiences as possible. Between ready made bike rallies, hotels, bikes that hardly have a problem, road-side assistance with rental/hotel/meal reimbursement, few of my customers get that "Easy Rider" life- changing ride they paid for.

The Flip side to this is how many people have no interest in the AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE of anything. Don't want to take enough time off from work, don't want to run into problems. You get so much from the AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE, you really have to throw yourself into it, truly invest.

One of the best times of my life was a spring break road trip alone on my 10 yr old wore-out CBR with $98 to my name. I camped in the hill country, on the beach, napped in an alley, and met some awesome people along the way. Perfect strangers I partied with all night, RVers who lent me tools, I can remember almost every moment of that week. There are entire years since that I only remember a few highlights from.

To get an AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE, you just have to go out and do it. Most people aren't willing or able to commit to it, so it never happens for them.

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I'd say your first rally, your first organized ride, and your first 5 solo rides of more than 100 miles. I remember all of my reasonably long solo rides, virtually mile-by-mile. Some of the best experiences of my life. You meet the most interesting people when you don't know where you are.

My friends and I go camping and to the desert every year. It's more of a tradition, but its lead to other ideas of going backpacking/fishing in alaska and other truly wild areas. I think the outdoors is key to having a great experience.

olllllo said:

Jamil stated on his Munich Helles show that there are no commercial examples of this style available in the US. You have to go to Munich to experience them.

Is this true? If so, it's list worthy IMO.

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Visiting belgium and germany would be the only way to truly experience some of the worlds greatest beers. However, I can get Weltenburger Helles at a local restaurant. Is this authentic?

The ONE thing i really want to do in the next couple of years is go to Wacken.



:rockin:

Interesting thoughts. I hadn't really looked at it that way before.

However, there are still many htings to do, many authentic experiences. Sure, you can read about it or buy thinkgs from there, but it certainly doesn't take the place of actually going. Many other countries still have strong ties with their cultures and past. You usually have to leave the major cities out to the towns and 'back country' but it is well worth it.

Visit England and drink local real ale, visit Germany and drink local beers, visit Belgium and drink local Trappist brews, visit local pubs, breweries, etc. Talk to the people where you visit. Get to know them, buy them a drink. That's much more of a 'real' experience than simply going to your supermarket and simply buying a beer from whatever country or place.

I visited Japan last summer, and it was amazing. We did some touristy things, but went to a lot of the local things too. We ate the local traditional foods, visited breweries, temples, shrines, drank their sake and beer, talked with people (it helped we had someone who knew Japanese), visited the Geisha districts, and went to every museum we could find. It was great.

There is a whole lot more than simply looking at pictures and ordering something off the internet. Most stuff here in the US is commercialized anyway, so I can see what your saying. Pick any country in the world, and when you get there, leave you hotel and the tourist traps, and get out and see the 'real' country. You can make any experience a worthwile and real one that way.

So anyway, stay out of touristy shops or tours and such, and go to that small out of the way place. Buy someone in there a drink and start talking.

olllllo said:

What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?
In other words, what experiences do we take for granted and which ones have to be done in a certain time or place to be fully experienced?

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We take daily comforts and conveniences for granted. A truly authentic experience is to deprive yourself of those things and find out just how superfluous they really are.

I was set to leave on a 10-day backpacking survival trip just today, but I got sick and it just killed me to bail out. I emphasize "survival" because you're carrying enough food for 10 days in a small 8"x14" sack....as well as everything else on your back. we have to find water along the way and deal with weather as it comes. It gets extremely uncomfortable at times, but when all is said and done, I have a feeling of confidence and accomplishment. No technology, no people, no trails, no contact; just nature as unadulterated as you can find in the States these days...it's not hard to get used to, actually.

DeathBrewer said:

However, I can get Weltenburger Helles at a local restaurant. Is this authentic?

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IDK.
Jamil on 9/25/06
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/archive/Jamil09-25-06.mp3

I guess alot can change in 2 years, but here's what he said @ about the 9:16 mark (or so)...

"This is the problem, that most homebrew examples, and alot of the commercial examples in the United States at the local brewpubs and stuff tend to be far too sweet."

Then @ 19:33
"All of the commercial examples, that are good of Munich Helles, that are really the best, They're all in Germany. I'm sorry, but I haven't really found a really good one in the US."

i've listened to that podcast. maybe they just didn't export it here yet, or he didn't know it.

here's more info on the brew: http://www.beer-pages.com/stories/weltenburger.php

it's damn good, too.

I head for Africa for experiences to remember for life.

orfy said:

I head for Africa for experiences to remember for life.

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I hire hookers.

For me, most of the genuine experiences that I know I have to look forward to center around my kids. They're all still fairly young, so I've got high school sports, college, weddings, grandkids, etc. etc., all looming in the future.

Beyond that I'm a football fanatic so going to the BCS game (this year would have been nice), and going to a Superbowl are right up there as well.

As for beer, I can't top anything that you haven't already done - you jerk.

ohiobrewtus said:

As for beer, I can't top anything that you haven't already done - you jerk.

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I've never been to Marion, OH, but I understand that there's a brewpub there.



Apparently there's some sort of "Mystery Spot" there that needs some HBT decoration.

How 'bout "Drinking Heavily With a Bunch of Fellow HBT'ers, Including Myself, Glibbidy, Kaiser, And A Whole Bunch Of Others, At A Yet-To-Be-Determined-Date Sometime In The Next Month Or So, Then Crashing On Glibbidy's Floor"?

the_bird said:

How 'bout "Drinking Heavily With a Bunch of Fellow HBT'ers, Including Myself, Glibbidy, Kaiser, And A Whole Bunch Of Others, At A Yet-To-Be-Determined-Date Sometime In The Next Month Or So, Then Crashing On Glibbidy's Floor"?

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*Checks Calendar*
Has to be a Saturday... 5,12,19,26 are open but SWMBO has the last word.

olllllo said:

I've never been to Marion, OH, but I understand that there's a brewpub there.

Apparently there's some sort of "Mystery Spot" there that needs some HBT decoration.

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Indeed there is. This brewpub is never crowded and has the best beer in town. :cross:

When it's finished I'll send an invite for you to burn some frequent flyer miles on.

Joe Dragon said:

My fishing is all about spending time with my dad so it’s not applicable here.

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On the contrary- that is precisely what makes it very applicable here.

The last true untouched experience that I had was 10 days of backpacking through New Mexico. 250 miles and the entire time we were there we saw a total of about 15 people (and they were all on day one). Canoing into the Quatico Superior was another one. Seeing cliff paintings that were drawn thousands of years ago......man that was something else.

I've often thought aout doing a solo back packing trip where the goal was to spend 24 hours without seeing another person.

I was going to also include not seeing a jet contrail or a candy wrapper, but sadly that's a difficult proposition in the lower 48.

Props to all the backpacking posters.

It's not that I want to diminish those kinds of experiences. I just didn't want everyone to feel obligated to preface all of their remarks with a shout out to the family.

olllllo said:

I've often thought aout doing a solo back packing trip where the goal was to spend 24 hours without seeing another person.

I was going to also include not seeing a jet contrail or a candy wrapper, but sadly that's a difficult proposition in the lower 48.

Props to all the backpacking posters.

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The guy that organizes the trips I go on has done several solos, at least one being 30+ days long. He might have seen people 5 times in that month; 4 of those were when he left, when he got back, and for two food/water drops in between. He says that a lot of people have trouble with isolation like that.

Jeeping in the Rockies is always a great experience for me untouched by commericalization.

Camping at Big Bend as well.

I have my authentic experiences at different times. Some involve solitude and being outdoors (wilderness backpacking, kayaking, etc) and some involve getting lost somewhere were Americanization has not occurred. There is a village in Belize called Black Man Eddy (NOT a pc name, I realize) where I felt lost in the village life, as well as a village called Succotz or something like that. No satellite TV preceded me at that time, so I felt kind of "real" there.

Beer-wise, brewing an Alt, since there are very few examples here in the US.

Besides that, the first thing I thought of when I read this thread was "getting off of the Interstate". I've driven Route 66 here in Illinois several times. But four years ago I had time and severance money from a layoff and it gave me the chance to go all the way to Oklahoma on the Mother Road. What a great trip! All alone, just me, the car, the road and time. Stayed at motels that had no connection to any chain and didn't offer any free breakfasts. Just a nice room and a unique look. Ate at diners, burger joints, family-owned restaurants and the occasional Waffle House, since there aren't any of those back home. Before I die, I plan to do the whole trip to California.

I plan to do Belgium for the beer; Ireland, England and Germany for the beer and my ancestral roots. Finally, I want to take a nice train trip from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. At the rate things are going (the way Congress is squeezing Amtrak, but that's another subject), that, too, may be gone from our landscape in the future.

I studied abroad in Hungary for a semester and took a trip to Transylvania for a couple days. Spending the night with a Romanian family in a town where cattle-driven carts are still the means for transportation was an incredible experience. Seems like a lot of people are emphasizing the "escaping" aspect of today's commercial culture, and I happen to really enjoy that as well.

Backpacking, fishing, golfing are great ways. I love rockclimbing and it really blocks out all surrounding thoughts. I think doing things yourself really gives you the unadulterated, purest form of authentic experiences. Obviously, we all homebrew so we can appreciate it (which makes this thread that much more appropriate in this peer group-thanks). I like growing my own vegetables as well and crafting different things. I used to be involved in woodshop and really enjoyed it. Even books offer the escape opportunity, yet one can argue these aren't physical authentic experiences, but an option for those who can't go somewhere just yet.

I have a couple that I haven't seen yet.

1. Learn to scuba dive, with SWMBO. Go do, well, you know, about 20 feet under water. Awesome.

2. Go some place where you don't know the language, and pack at the last minute, the night before, drunk. The one time I went to Tangiers I was hung over and I had no spare under things, just clean shirtrs. I speak zero Arabic.

3. Get off the interstate. OK, OK, somebody said it already. I have been averaging 25,000 miles annually (all in the lower 48) for work for going on 17 years now. My record, Los Angeles to North Carolina, with no interstate, is 25 days. Quite a vacation. I have credit card receipts from Minnesota, New York and later Texas on that one trip, no interstate. Coast to coast, even in my new GTO is ~3 days and I have lost count of how many times I have done it.

4. Stop and strike up a conversatin with someone in your town with whom you have zero in common. For us mostly it would be a sober homeless guy, so kinda a hard to find, but you get the idea. Go find that someone you might completely ignore or totaly disagree with and talk to them -even just about the weather. The fat lady who campaigns for the WCTU, whatever, just do it, give it three minutes. Amazing.

5. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. I don't mean look at child porn, I mean somethign that needs doing that you don't want to do. Stop your car in the middle of an intersection, get out of your car, walk up to the American flag that fell off somebody else's minivan. Come to attention, even if you are a civilian. Salute the flag. Retrieve the flag. Flip a bird to anyone else still honking after you pick up the flag. Get back in your car and drive away. You just changed somebody's life.

I am deep into my first bottle of (750ml, 9%) La Fin Du Monde, but I am of the opinion that behaving like a principled, moral American citizen may be one of the last great genuine authentic experiences out there.

Apologies to Orfy and that really cool guy from New Zealand who probably just started his coffee pot, I don't mean to come off as a jingoist boob....

Dibby33, Hobart, Tasmania, good morning to ya!

OK, so i am going to jump onto the backpacking bandwagon. I've had three experiences in the Wilderness in the last year alone that have sent chills through my body and made me question the purpose of why we ever sit at a desk.

I spent 7 days alone in the high-desert of Oregon after a depression set in. I didn't see another person for all 7 days--except for coming through the local town about 30 miles away.
I then spent a weekend in the redwoods out of season with a buddy, where we didn't see another person all three days except for a bear!
Then, about 2 weeks ago i septn 5 days near Hells Canyon and came within 15 feet of a bighorn sheep and watched a buck and coyote battle.

The reason i mention these is because each is an experience that is so unique, so fulfilling, that not matter what i cannot forget them and all of that is thanks to take the initiative to go backpacking.

Also, for pure comedy and therapy, grab a fifth of dirt-cheap whiskey, a harmonica, and go sit with your feet in the water while fishing for some bass and trout. Now that is something that is genuinely fantastic! I can't wait till summer now...

Concerts are pretty genuine music experiences too. I love seeing my favorite bands play and it really strips down (sometimes) the altercations of studio recording and allows you to see the music in true form.

I've had different 'chapters' of personal experiences like these in my life at different stages:


I'll drop a nod in to backpacking here. Early in life I was in the Boy Scouts and we were a backpacking troop. In addition to the weekend "training hikes" we did 50+ miles (usually 75) each summer in the High Sierras and alternated between hiking and canoeing on the Colorado River. Either way, it was 50+ miles (foot or float, ya know?) I'm originally from CA, so had access to both. One Sierra trip had us starting in Kings Canyon and ending by peaking Mt. Whitney. Truly humbling and an awesome achievement for a teenager.


Later in life I went to the Grand Canyon and felt a similar feeling as peaking Mt. Whitney. I wasn't expecting much, I mean it's just a hole in the ground, right? But, it was a truly awesome experience that once again shows you what a spec on the earth you are and how awesome nature is.


Most recently, I bought a motorcyle in Union City, TN and rode it back home to Waveland, MS; almost exactly 600 miles. I picked a route that utilized the Natchez/Trace Parkway as much as possible and it was an INCREDIBLE ride. I'm glad I had a full face helmet on, otherwise I'm sure I would have looked like a dork with a permagrin on my face for mile after mile. Awesome and beautiful. We took our time and "smelled the roses" as it were.


I'm big on experiencing things of this nature. It's just a shame that most of us wait too long in between and much time passes before we think to find the next experience.

I guess to answer your initial question, I think the last genuine experiences are things that you actually have to go to a specific place to experience. I think that's the common link.


Great thread!

I used to collect animation cels and still have a bunch of them. Most studios aren't using acetate anymore (using digital ink-and-paint now) and each cel is unique, so you know when you get one it's one-of-a-kind and something that simply isn't really done anymore.

One of the most culturally rich and profoundly significant experiences I have had was my trip to Arnhemland, living among Yolngu learning yidaki and participating in ceremony. Not much else matters when you can step out on the beach with a galpu (spearthrower) and fishing spears or eat magpie geese and long-necked turtle cooked over embers, or hearing manikay (ancestral songs) being sung with yidaki and bilma.

My rules for good authentic experiences:

NEVER stay in a hotel. Bed and breakfast or don't go. I hate hotels.

NEVER eat at chain restaurants.

Travel to Europe and don't do the touristy areas. (even five minutes walk away from those areas, are real people who don't speak (much English).

Try your best to blend into the culture you are visiting (within reason). Make the people you are visiting feel special and they won't treat you like an ignorant American.

Don't plan your whole vacation. Let the wind and the moment take you. These will always be your best memories.

Picnic for lunch. Find a local beer or wine, and some snacks, find a cool spot away from everyone, or int he bustle of a crowd, and sit and enjoy the world.

These are basically the rules I try to use everyday to avoid getting caught in the rat race. I know they seem like things to keep in mind when traveling to far off places, but all of these apply to your hometown (except you can sleep at home).

Also, exported Helles is not nearly the same. That's a good one.

As far as stories go, (not mine) my brother traveled to Mongolia 2 years ago with one friend and that was by far the most real, thrown back 300 years experience I have ever seen! Unbelievable. He and one guy friend went, and booked one night at the airport hotel so they would be let into the country. Then they found a driver/guide who spoke 3 English words, and lived in his very nice Land rover. They paid this man $400 total for 8 days through the steps. They had read ahead of time and brought D-batteries and crayola crayons which they used to barter for lodgings each night in the nomadic hut towns. They stayed with a different family each night and ended up having all sorts of weird adventures from drinking fermented horse milk (fermented in a skinned horse hanging from the center of the tent) to watching Japanese Sumo wrestling on a make shift TV with a satellite powered by a car battery. They got to ride cool little Mongolian horses and saw incredible Buddhist temples in the mountains. In their whole time, they met no English speaking people and my brother spend a total of $400 for almost two weeks (the most expensive thing he bought were new cloths for the plane ride home, he smelled bad I guess, horsey). That was an authentic trip....

Someone already mentioned, but if you don't SCUBA, it's pretty close to what you're describing. Sure, the sea is being screwed with and overfished and reef recession, blah blah, but given the right locations it is really about as close to untouched and alien than you'll get on land. You don't necessary have to drop the dime on a Great Barrier trip either. A mile off the coast of cheap Cozumel will do it and you're a short flight away.

I missed this thread earlier. How about planting a vegetable seed and nurturing the plant and then reaping the harvest. You'll never get anything as tasty from the store.

This could obviously be extended to grow your own hops and brew with them.