What is that ....??? You guys just give up your jobs.....cushy lifestyles...and go on a whirlwind tour of developing countries.....for 6 months -- to a year ...and endure the hardships....??? I sometimes wonder..as to why ???????
One question to all backpackers...........
What is that ....??? You guys just give up your jobs.....cushy lifestyles...and go on a whirlwind tour of developing countries.....for 6 months -- to a year ...and endure the hardships....???
I sometimes wonder..as to why ???????
Reply to this Well, I love the freedom and variety that backpacking provides.
Our jobs may pay more than one would get payed in some parts of the world, but while in our own countries we dont in fact get so much for our money. One joy of travelling in countries that are less expensive than our own is that our money goes a long way. The luxuries we can afford in those countries everyday are often occasional treats in our own countries. Just imagine how you would feel if you could take the savings you have now to a country where the prices are only one tenth of what they are where you come from.
For sure with backpacking, you cant have things like a whole wardrobe of clothes to choose from every day, but it isnt really hardship in my opinion. Nothing hard about getting up everyday at whatever time you want, and doing no work all day.
Mel
Reply to this I am a masochist! Ha, ha, ha...
But really my cushy lifestyle is the travelling. I have the means and opportunity to do what I love and so I do it... I don't need a house, steady job, car, tv, the latest fashion, or anything else which other people might enjoy and want. I just want to see the world, preferbly as cheap as possible so I don't have to work too much in between...😊
Reply to this You wake up everyday with the possibility of adventure 😊
That doesn't happen in many of the cushy lifestyles so prevalent in the west... and as the rest of the world rushes headlong to join us - I think backpackers from Brazil, India, Indonesia and even China will gradually start to join us 😊 (many already have!)
I don't think it's a purely economic thing though - backpacking in Europe is incredibly popular - and we can vouch for it not be cheap. But cutting costs by staying shared dorms rather than private rooms, using cheap forms of transport, budgeting etc - mean that a long stay away is possible even on modest budgets.
Reply to this why not?
People surely have some reason for doing the things they do. It has to feel good or be useful or something.
Reply to this The material objects that people gather up over the years are just that "OBJECTS" that can be replaced. The experiences you get when backpacking will alter your outlook on life. You start to appreciate the smallest things and then you realize that there is more to life then the big screen tv with all the bells and whistles. When you die, people remember you for what you did, not by what you collected over the years and if they do, I think they are pretty shallow. So many people live a sheltered life that it's not funny. I'm not knocking that style, it's just not mine. I would prefer to be taking that picture of Angkor Wat then to be looking at a picture of it.
Backpacking isn't all fun and games as some people think. There is allot of work involved to pull off a huge trip. You have to be dedicated and willing to take that next step in life. It's a life style not for everybody that is for sure.
Reply to this Fact is many people don't just travel for 6 months or a year but for years. It beats working for sure. All you really need to own is a change of underwear, although I confess sometimes I feel I need my camera and my net book computer. You don't actually need to own anything except the clothes on your back So, wondering around the world with a full backpack doesn't feel like any hardship to me.
Sometimes it can be hard work or even lonely, but the things you see and experience are beyond compare.
Reply to this The fact is that more you see more you are worthily!!!
Reply to this I desperately want to travel and can't afford it so backpacking is the only option. And I figure a better way to meet people.
Reply to this I haven't ever had a cushy-enough job nor interesting-enough job to keep me from wanting to travel. When I'm on the road, I don't feel the pressures of the material "before-30 checklist" that I feel when I'm working the 9 to 5 grind (by the way, who actually works 9 to 5? I'd like one of those jobs!).
I am happier and less stressed; even though traveling itself can be stressful, I know it's not generally giving me wrinkles and grey hairs! I set my own schedule as much as possible, I'm creative with the camera, I'm challenged by new things...and I end up with great stories that are way more interesting than office gossip.
And I second the crashpacker...why not?
Reply to this Traveling breaks down preconceptions unconsciously instilled in your mind. For example, geography is not an concoction of easily defined and distinct countries separated by solid lines on a flat, neatly colored map. It’s not about countries or cities or distances at all. And everyone knows that, but to understand it means that it becomes an organic, evolving concept composed of names, languages, cultures, foods, smells, and experiences. Nothing compares to the call to prayer from a mosque in Mali before the sun rises, fearing for your life when falling into water with prehistoric dinosaur-like reptiles in the everglades, or sipping a pina colada from a coconut while sitting on white, powdery beaches in the Caribbean. When backpacking, you gain time-- time to admire architecture, linguistics, economics, world literature, human interactionsall on your own accord, without the nagging hassle of pressure or self-imposed commitments. Seeing true poverty and starvation, seeing child slavery and living standards worse than you would wish on your worst enemy makes your own worries and concerns insignificant. And it is these thoughts that you have while backpacking, these thoughts worth thinking, make you realize that
you don’t see with your eyes, you perceive with your mind. There are no imaginary lines or artificial boundaries - the world composed of seamless transitions into the fabric of reality.
Reply to this I think backpacking is less of something that I just like to do- and more of something that I have to do. I can't imagine the idea of "settling down" for years and years in one city! There is so much of the world to see, I just can't keep still. Even when I'm on a trip I am thinking about the next trip.. and the trip after that.. and after that! You learn so much about the world, yourself, people, and the person you want to be. Only backpackers understand the kind of freedom you feel when you've just been on a miserable bus ride for 10 hours and your lost in a city that you don't speak the language, carrying all your bags, and you just say- Screw being upset about this, let's enjoy life while we are living it.
Reply to this Only backpackers understand the kind of freedom you feel when you've just been on a miserable bus ride for 10 hours and your lost in a city that you don't speak the language, carrying all your bags, and you just say- Screw being upset about this, let's enjoy life while we are living it.
My boyfriend came with me, on my last backpacking trip to India. He has done hardly any backpacking. He said about it 'There is a certain sense of freedom. You arrive someplace, get to your hovel, and do whatever you want'.
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