Funny travel tip -- meet folk through bottle caps

I used to be painfully shy. But traveling has helped me a lot over time opening up and connecting with people around me. A funny little experience in Amsterdam gave me a little funny trick to put in my back pocket tool box in the department of meeting folk.

My bud and I were chillen at the edge of a canal about to take advantage of public drinking laws. Looking like idiot foreigner kids we are sitting there trying to open beers by cracking them on the edge of the concrete edge.

A dude, surely laughing to himself, watching us for a bit for his own amusement, finally comes over to give us a hand and opened it with his lighter. Woah.

Easily enough we started talking about traveling and tips on places to go see.This little heroic act of saving us with our Heineken made me feel a nickle closer to having experienced the city.

If you want to meet and greet strangers of the world, just go hit your beers against a rock and see who will approach you.

JK, JK. just go out there and ask "have a bottle opener?". Hey, chances are they will be able to relate and would love to do this small act.

It's fool proof. Simple and unavoidable conversation starter.