Though meeting people is always interesting and even more interesting when they are from other countries the interactions with other travellers can, if you have enough of them, become a bit formulaic. At the end of the day there are only so many ways that you can start a conversation with someone you don’t really know. The good thing about talking to another person traveling though is that there is always a built in ice breaker – you’re both away from home and there are questions that just come straight to your lips. The questions travellers always ask each other are.

Where are you from?

When you meet someone in the city you are from, its rare that they will ask – so where are you from?… with travellers though it is a legitimate question since they probably won’t be from the same place as you. A great in built ice breaker this leads both parties to be able to discuss each others homes and usually leads at least to some connection starting to form. Of course when this question has been asked to you for the thousandth time it may not seem quite as exciting as the first time singing the praises of your home.

Where have you been?

Next question that travellers tend to ask one another is where have you been? A point of reference question this allows both parties to find common ground on the trips they have each been taking. Usually there will be some overlap in places travelled and again this will lead to conversation as both people can say what they thought of gothic quarter in Barcelona or the acropolis in Athens. This question is a fun one if you are fairly new traveler, but gets a bit tiresome if you have traveled a fair bit. If you have been around a lot, it always sort of feels a little like your bragging when you tell the other person.

How long have you been here? What have you seen?

And finally the last question pretty much always asked when travellers meet is how long have you been here? With here of course being the city that you are both in. Next question is what have you seen? Now depending on the traveler you meet, where have you been and what have you see here, can be friendly answers or answers that let one person try to act as if they have seen more. Like anywhere traveling brings out fantastic people, usually, and the odd competitive douche bag who will want to show they have seen more and know more.