Get off the beaten track to find interesting travelers. The locals tend to be friendlier too.
Sigh. That's the most obvious of knee jerk responses and the most naive. I hear stuff like that a ton from people who are chasing that old illusion of authenticity.
16 months on the road through the backwaters of SE Asia and India as well as the expat nests is plenty of time to get the "authentic" experience and mingle with locals. rolling eyes emoji
Maybe that's what I should have been more clear about. You'll end up hanging out with boring people because you miss home after a bit. Before I went traveling I would have expected that community to be a lot more interesting than they were.