Proof That Los Hippies Have Been Forced Out Due To Visa

[stranger_in_the_alps]

And to the British, there is a Yorkshire accent, and ask any Thai if there is an Isaan accent. Plus all of the regions of China that have Mandarin accents. California has it's own just like the South, Texas, Boston, and Wisconsin etc. I grew up in Cali, so I know it when I hear it.

Edited February 1, 2007 by stranger_in_the_alps

[OlRedEyes]

"Dave man, I must so do my dreads, the're like, wild man"

Absolutely hysterical. What decade are you living in? Did you know its 2007 and young people haven't talked that way since, oh, about 1987?

GH says it all with this sensible response:

If Thailand had any sense they would realize that attracting well educated people to spend time in Thailand when they are young is a great way to build loyalty among the people who will later be able to afford the up market hotels and holidays that Thailand is trying to promote.

Too bad some people don't get it. But, never mind, you keep your mind closed, I am sure it makes you happy to look down on someone else solely based on their age and their luggage

I have to agree. This thread gives a feeling of old men bitching about 'teenagers'. Just like our fathers did. And probably theirs.

[thai_time]

I started my travels as a backpacker.

Like many of the backpackers I met in Thailand on my last trip, traveling was something I did between University and Career.

My second round of backpacking was as a career break (actually a break away from Thailand). And that gentlemen is another aspect of backpacking, take some time to talk to backpackers in Thailand and you'll find many are mid career professionals enjoying some of their hard earned money.

Backpackers are on the whole, well educated, middleclass and very sociable. My guess is most go on to good jobs earning the kind of money and getting the kind of employment conditions people preaching off bar stools in Thailand dream of/resent/BS about (select the cap that fits).

It's also my observation that the backpackers, smelly as many claim them to be, are not paying for the company of the women they are with, unlike many of those denigrating them on the basis of blind ignorance and prejudice.

If Thailand had any sense they would realize that attracting well educated people to spend time in Thailand when they are young is a great way to build loyalty among the people who will later be able to afford the up market hotels and holidays that Thailand is trying to promote.

Very well said. I backpacked around Thailand for 20 months in 2 different times when i was 23 and 24. I was not dreadlocked or smelly. I spent a lot of MY hard earned money in small restraunts, guesthouses and bars. I didn't use prostitutes i just chilled out on the beach and travelled around this great country. I have since returned on 3 week holidays 4 times spending more money and seeing more of the country. I hate this backpacker vs expat debate. Its based on ignorance and stupidity.

[Jimjim]

So all backpackers are smelly hippies? Uh, I don't think so. Someone said "dirtbags"?

That's just low, man, low.