The Western backpacker: an endangered species?

[whooshbang]

Thought i'd share this....... hope no one has already posted it!

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/backpacker-no-more-162048955.html

[johnatong]

An interesting article which I fear correctly identifies the demise of the traditional back packer.

The back packer has, of course, morphed into the "Digital Nomad" who is anything but Nomadic !

[Speedo1968]

As a young Limey who immigrated to Australia in 1968 for 20gbp, stayed then backpacked and left first week of 1971, I managed to backpack to UK via Timor, inc ferries ( Rangoon to Chittagong ), military vehicles, buses, trains, carts, feet. A year later and back in UK worked for a couple of months before hitching it thru Scandinavia, Returned to work in UK before heading back to Asia. There was of course "The Magic Bus" from London to Istanbul for those who didn't fancy trekking along the Dalmatian coast and around Albania ( closed at that time ) ! The Pudding Shop to eat at or travel news when you arrived. What was different then ??? Borders you could walk across ( Iran, Iraq etc ), visas you didn't need or could one stop shop for, places you could work ( safely ) for a place to sleep and food, lack of the now seemingly inheirant fear of others, word of mouth of where to go and what to expect from someone who had just come that way. Stand by the road and hitch to where you would like to go, if nothing came by and stopped just cross the road and go back the way you came, or somewhere that way. Not getting uptight if you had to wait a day or three or five for a lift or the late train or bus or ..... Offers to stay the night in peoples houses as a guest even in places like Kuwait. Time. Respect. Nearly 50 years later I find myself back in Thailand after as many years in different countries, just spent a few days in Phuket,my last visit was 1971 - I know which year I wish it was now .........

[Fookhaht]

I'm 65 years old, and my most prized possession is my backpack – which I occasionally shoulder and take off for parts unknown in Southeast Asia.

The article is a bit one-sided, bemoaning the transformation of only the touristy spots.

The writer has obviously never seen Isaan, home of 20 million culturally distinct people, where you CANNOT find a MacDonalds in every town.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Fookhaht

[mesquite]

Hopefully

[roamer]

The advent of the mobile phone and internet bought a wave of people travelling around the region who would never previously strayed beyond the bounds of a package tour. Whilst in the days where a well thumbed LP guide did tend to produce a type of travellers trail I think that trail has become evermore rigid. Possibly due to being able to see at any minute where ones friends are by social media. Certainly backpackers are few and far between once you are off that trail.

"Journey choices, and the scope for true independent or even spontaneous travel, appeared vastly reduced, the study found."

Explain to me how this is possible ? The reverse is the case, it's possible to travel far more independently and spontaneously than it ever was before, low cost airlines, hotels that can be booked online, a wealth of information on the internet. The people (sheeple) travelling becoming more herd like all heading to the same places is the largest factor in increasing costs. You can take the person out of the package tour but not the package tour mentality out of the person

[Razzler1973]

I think mobiles, online bookings for rooms and credit cards totally changed 'backpacking' as I knew it

In previous times backpackers would discuss the meaning of life and hippy stuff but nowadays they are discussing which Uni they went to and what they did their degree in whilst recording all their 'adventures' on their facebook via their phones

[Saastrajaa]

My own experience with backpacking in SEAsia didn't start until the early 90s, so I can't comment with certainty beyond that, but at that point (some 25 years ago now), this situation was very much also a reality: the sameness and lack of local culture in "backpacker ghettos," where if one could be transported instantly into Katmandu, Bali, Khao San Rd., etc., one would have no idea what country one was in, other than accidentally hearing snippets of the local language here and there. I imagine one would have to go back to the 1970s to find anything resembled real "adventure" in backpacking in Asia.

I avoid backpackers like the plague now, but I imagine all the things that were bad 25 years ago are as bad/worse now: the desire to only hang "with one's own," to only go on pre-packaged, carefully shepherded tours to selected local "sites," to eat that awful "backpacker food" that bears almost no relation to local cuisine, etc., and to have virtually no interaction with local people who aren't involved in the tourist industry. Oh yeah, and why do they overpack like that...!! Seriously, some of those gigantic backpacks contain more than enough supplies for several years, when they're only traveling for a month or two...

The only thing that saved the experience for me was the fact that I never traveled anywhere (Bali, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) where I didn't speak at least some of the local language (and in a few of those places, I was fluent/near-fluent). Language really helps the experience, allows one to truly connect with locals, and have some experiences outside of the pre-packaged "tourist program" they always try to put you on (and which most backpackers seem quite content with).

[shagorillaHotel]

meth and modern allied drugs killed the backpacker.

turned these young people into vile creatures that no one in their right mind would sleep in the same dorms as. dorms were the hallmark of the backpacker.

ditto for the bargirl industry to a large extent. only meth heads themselves will touch 'em now

Edited March 29, 2016 by shagorillaHotel

[JHolmesJr]

Replaced by the more annoying millennial vlogger with a strange urge to share every minute of holiday on facebook or instagram.

[Razzler1973]

As evidenced by the 100 'backpacking in Thailand' blogs full of information ...

They are pretty much all the same, zero actual information of use but some pictures but god darn those guys had an adventure and want to share it with YOU!!

It's like these people are the first people to visit Thailand

[fey]

really miss those hairy pitts, leg hair and overgrown bushes and funk of women who dont bathe as a sacred rite

brings back memories of college. stinky, nasty, musty, in the closet, mind blowing funkitude, all with a later attitude that lets you know it was a one off

chances of reliving that here at my age are close to zero

Edited March 30, 2016 by fey