[MisterBastahrd]

If you're taking a trip for a week at a time somewhere, you are experiencing their tourism industry, not their culture. Experiencing culture requires you to remain in a place for a period of time, and you don't get that by visiting shops and bars. You get that by building relationships with people where they are.

[uoaei]

Depends entirely how you approach it. You can build relationships that last a day and still learn a lot.