Mostly idealistic reasons: If you want to stop being a tourist and become a traveler, can there be any better way than getting in touch with the locals?

Mostly alternative rock, but I guess you can find something beautiful in almost every genre of music. I seem to like movies about relaxed, but somehow odd characters such as The Big Lebowski or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I have read many books by now and almost all of them kept me entertained, but still there are some all-time favourites like The Picture of Dorian Gray or Paul Auster's Moon Palace.