Deathknell for the backpacker?

“trolleypacker”
Oh yes, the trolleypacker. There was one point we were waiting for a ferry and we looked around and commented that it's the new face of backpacking - we put a picture on one of our blogs of use surrounded by wheelie bags! Great blog, it describes perfectly the changes in demographics and attitudes of backpacking. We have also commented in blogs about people making the effort to experience a new culture/country and then looking like they are forced to be there or constantly complain about how things aren't like home. Maybe these are part of the 'tick-list' travellers who feel it's something they should do versus what they want to do. Oh and Poste Restante still exists, we have used it a few times over the last couple of years!

Thought provoking
Interesting blog. It got me thinking about how I travel. I want an inexpensive room with a door I can lock and an ensuite toilet and shower. That may not be "authentic," but I'm 60, and I don't want to have to stumble down the hall in the middle of the night to pee. However, I eat at hawker centers in SE Asia, or little restaurants full of local people. Great food, low prices, and never mentioned in guide books. I carry my own luggage, use public transport, and drink the local beer. For me travel is about absorbing a place. Sometimes that means sitting in a corner cafe and people watching or talking to the vendor in the market. That is one of the advantages to traveling alone - I can take the time to talk to someone. And since I'm by myself, I'm not scary. But the reality is that my skin and ethnicity sets me apart in certain parts of the world, and yours does, too. I remember walking into a local market in Sanur and hearing the market ladies whisper "Nonya," (foreign lady) as soon as they saw me. No matter how simply you travel, you are a visitor. So, I always learn a little of the local language wherever I go, I leave the guide books at home, and my baggage is minimal - no cell phone (hate those things!) but a netbook and a map. I think that puts me in the category of traveler rather than tourist, and allows me to continue to have adventures.

True, true
Great blog post - as a mid-40's backpacker that's hit the road various times over the past 20 years, I think your observations are right on the money. The backpacking environment has really changed profoundly due to technology. It's certainly more convenient, but definitely more disconnected, both from other travelers and the host country and people. That said, I think it's fair to say that everyone has different preferences - and they should feel free to experience travel in whatever manner they choose - whether w/o guidebooks and sleeping on the beach, or with all the latest gadgets and 5-stay hotels. Costs will go up, esp. in the 'discovered' places, but that's always been the case - it's good incentive to push the more adventurous out onto destinations unknown rather than following the typical banana pancake route. I do strongly agree that we need a replacement for the current round of guidebooks - every one of them has gone more upmarket than what I think most 'backpackers' are looking for - and online tools can only do so much when you find yourself dumped out onto unfamiliar remote lands.

Fear not!
I suspect and very much believe the 'authentic' or if you will the 'frugal' backpacker still has a future and shall continue to be even in years to come. Perhaps it will become a niche, but it will remain. Higher prices just forces us to be more 'creative' when finding our accommodation and bad guidebooks can nowadays be tossed aside in favour of finding once own information on the internet (including city maps, though of course for the smaller villages this might not be the case and there are still plenty of countries which a service like Google maps doesn't cover) via travel forums, blogs, wiki's and more. And lets not forget the information provided by fellow travellers, possibly the most useful of all. You could say the 'flashpackers' are forcing the old-school backpackers to return to the essence and find their own way around, just like in the past, and it pushes us to look for new and 'undiscovered' spots of which there are still plenty and always will be plenty. The good thing about all these new and affluent travellers is that they tend not to go off-the-beaten track, as they want their creature comforts which cannot be guaranteed beyond the well known tourist spots. Uncertainty keeps the hordes on the same route and in place, thus ensuring there is plenty of room for others who are on a tighter budget if they move beyond those roads.

great blog
well put together thoughts on the changes that happen in the travel world...sadly, we observed similar decline in the 'authentic' backpacker community but hey, people miss on so much when they take the easy options:-) wish we could have traveled years ago as sometimes we felt we came too late... B&T

A great piece of writing.
Loved your description of the evolution of the backpacker, flashpacker and the trolleypacker. Each person has to do it their own way. We embrace technology and travel with computer, kindle and cameras. There is an attitude that if you aren't a backpacker you aren't an authentic traveler. We don't support that notion. We feel all travelers should be applauded for getting off the couch and leaving the comfort of their home to explore in a way that makes them happy and comfortable-- whether they are sleeping on the floor, cot or in a bit nicer accommodation.

Wow
Wow, what a blog! I don't usually read blogs I just scan but this one I read cover to cover. I stumbled across it whilst looking for some information on Nagaland and the other NE States. I agree with much of what you say, I can't claim to be a hardcore backbacker although I have had my fair share of challenges. And this is my point, I think that travel, well long term at least, should involve a degree of uncertainty and discomfort (he says, writing from an Wifi enabled restaurant waiting for his Pizza Napoli in Varkala). It is the uncertainty and the discomfort that you look back on in years to come with pride. My god sometimes you hate both at times but it is part of the experience. I also agree about Czechs and Romanians. They do still have some of that spirit. Anyway, thanks for this, and the info on Nagaland, and I notice the Andaman Islands, which I am also planning on going on this trip. Cheerio John