Explore the working life of the city and learn about the locals by renting yourself out to help with daily chores. Paints or pens to make a sign, a sales pitch and a device to draw attention to yourself (eg loudspeaker, red flashing light). Stand in the main square or plaza with a sign advertising yourself as a tourist 'for rent'. If you have time, consider handing out a flyer that lists your possible duties. Avoid dark alleys, backstreets etc which could lead to confusion over your, ahem, 'job description'.


This experiment is inspired by the idea to transform travellers from, figuratively speaking, 'bovine hordes' of gaping tourists into 'urban players', where meaningful and unpredictable interaction can occur. Our 'Rent a Tourist' experiment was conducted in Hampi, India, around midday, with the temperature around 42°C in the shade.

Experimental Traveller Steven Baker:
Shiva knows what the locals were thinking as they witnessed this tambourine-banging, sandwichboard-clad figure proclaiming 'Rent a tourist! Rent a tourist!' every 10 paces. I had earlier decided that a sign offering myself for hire in big letters against a backdrop of Hindu gods, with my head superimposed onto a picture of Krishna with a cow, would be a tasteful yet subtle method of advertising. For my first assignment I spent an hour in a blur of chai and chapatis as I dealt with the lunch-time rush of a local restaurant, and it was with a sense of triumph that I emerged from the restaurant with a crisp 10-rupee note in my hand. Word soon spread of the bizarre, bazaar 'Rent a Tourist'. Five hours and five jobs later I was able to add not just waiter but English teacher, street vendor/children's entertainer, road sweeper and rickshaw driver to my CV.