BootsnAll Travel Community

To all the backpackers:

Why do you choose to travel as a backpacker and what does it mean to you? Is it a choice determined by money or does it reflect a sort of philosophy?

As a backpacker, which is the information resource that you value and use most? (they can obviously be more than one though)
Last question: which are the difficulties you think a backpacker has to face most often?

Thank you soooo much to all the fellow travellers who will help my research, I really appreciate!!!

Have a bright day, stay in the flow :-)

Dude that's some deep thought there...man it's totally different for everyone....for some its the thrill of not having a clue what the next day or hr or even min will bring....for some its their chance to find themselves.....and for some its just what makes them truelly happy...

its like choosin a job or even a sport....u either like it or u dont...sometimes its the rush and sometimes its just what u do.

as for me....who knows....its a mass mesh of things...the rush....the high of being somewhere new....the hope of discovering something most people havent seen....the way God just seems to work everything together to get u where ur goin....not to mention the fact that its like finding yourself and then realizing everything u do is who u are....not what others think of u...or even what u think of yourself...its a place where reality is what u make of it...not what society makes it out to be....

backpacking is just a part of who u are....u do it b/c one can only be yourself in the end...

wow that was way too much thinkin....
I digress.......

Kemp

it's easiest to carry a heavy load when it's dispersed amongst your strongest parts

I do because I like the autonomy. Because I like the opportunity. I feel more open to the world, when I'm moving more under my own steam, and have my stuff right on my back.

Brass tacks? I like backpacking in part because I detest suitcases.

The money factored in some; I always like to be able to save. I've rather stay at a hostel than a hotel, because I can put the dosh to better use elsewhere, for example.

Difficulties? Stereotypes (lazy pot-smoking bums, etc.). Boring the hell out of your non-traveling friends whenever you talk about a trip. Doing everything on your own, from organizing accommodation to finding food to just getting around - it's all on your own steam, and sometimes that can wear you down.

Advantages - and maybe this ties into philosophy - you're much more open to what the world offers you, and backpacking is a firm, sometimes smack-in-the-face reminder that it is totally up to you, and no one else, how you handle and what your attitude is towards what the world puts in front of you.

Have backpack, will scribble,
Anthony
Eurail Blog.com: 4 months. 1 continent. Lotsa train. & a loopy Yank writer

I always considered backpacking like being a turtle or tortise.
You are a self contained unit. Everything you have or need is on your back.

I would actually liquidate/sell off everything that I did not need to travel, so if someone where to rip me off for my backpack, they would in effect be ripping me off for all my worldly goods.

Instead of worring about this, I would actually relish in the fact that had this actually happened, they would also be lighting my burden or load in life by 100%.

I never had this happen, but have considered that all you really need in life, is the clothes on your back, and your witts...and possibly the kindness of strangers.

It is good to be a minimalist. The less you have, the less you have to worry about!

The less you need, the less you have to lose.

To sum it up:

Backpacking= total freedom and a path to self actualization.

Pack light! Less is more!

My thoughts exactly........

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Advantages - and maybe this ties into philosophy - you're much more open to what the world offers you, and backpacking is a firm, sometimes smack-in-the-face reminder that it is totally up to you, and no one else, how you handle and what your attitude is towards what the world puts in front of you.
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Perfectly said Ant!

Tops to u!

Kemp

[This message was edited by Ant on 12 May 2003 at 15:40.]

Hey what the deal?!?!?!?! How do u get this thing to bold type words???? Man I'm mass confused!!!!!

Kemp

oldhippy---->>>once again speaking words from my heart for me...in other words i agree...

>>>>>Backpacking is like yer five again and the world is your playground. Everything is new and exciting and you start to believe in yourself again and believe in humanity again...
and just for a bit the world is right and good.

I don't really mind when people stereotype me anymore. I've been harassed and attacked a few times because I'm a "dirty hippie" and a "freak" but whatever. I know me. they don't. sooo who's right in the end?

Hit it on the head old hippy.

Before I took off the most liberating thing was giving my bed away to my neighbour who had a bad back. Me and my lad slept on my bedroom floor for the last couple of weeks in the house.

I had to make a financial decision regarding my pack. Did i take out insurance for the contents....nah. Got good medical cover instead and left all info back with a friend. Anything in my bag could be replaced eventually. I just made sure that my lad carried his own 'important' possessions on his back!

Lisa

WHY AM I CALLED CONTIKI BUS BUNNY!!!!?>????

When I was a kid there was an older lady who lived in a nursing home down the road from my house. She was on the Titanic and they interviewed her once. They asked her many things and at the end of the interview, asked what she learned from the whole experience? She said that she liked to keep all of her things packed cause you never know when you will have to suddenly leave! Sure enough, the reporter looked around her little room and there was all of her stuff sitting neatly packed away in a little suitcase by the door...funny hunh?
One of my regrets in life was not going to see her before she died...and I only lived down the street. I don't wanna let that happen again. I often wonder if my life would have been different if I would have got to know her. Imagine what I will learn, now that I have no fear of walking down different paths and meeting new people...

"...Fear this one, for he is the soul of the storm..."

Back packing is just freeing to not have to stay at a hotel. I always pack way to much thinking what if; the truth is I never needed most of the stuff in that thing; and I could only walk so far before my legs were hurting and I had to hitch a ride. I am thinking about doing Europe with a grass mat I got in Hawaii and the cloths on my back. I would feel so naked with out a pack it would be great. Have to go when it is worm you people know when it’s worm in Europe?

If you see a guy with a grass mat come say Hi!

And Lisa6297 it is because of how many posts you have that your name is Contiki Bus Bunny don’t know what the F it means but I am one too, so cheers!

I have this arguement with a friend often. he would much rather stay at posh hotels and travel by luxurious means when he travels....which of course would be great....but theres something about the nitty gritty that pulls me in...the crowded taxi vans in south africa, the rows of bunkbeds and like minded travellers at hostels, the carrying everythign you own on your back, the trains and tickets and faces and crowds, not having any real set itinerary or guide, just roaming around with a backpack and a bagette...haha....ok im getting sentimeatal and exciting myself, bascially any backpacker after a while im sure would love the luxuries of a five star hotel and 5 course meal, in fact i reccommend treating yourelf to such things every couple weeks when you backpack....but you could sit in a fancy hotel room anywhere,,,,why not try a hostel in an old school bus or a rickity gondolla in amsterdam? if you really want to get to know a country take as little as possible from your homeland and comepletely submerse yourself in theirs!!

You mean there's another way to live. How?

E.

1. Freedom. I don't need a room, I've got a tent.
2. Language. Talking to people is the best ressource.

Backpacking is the most liberating way to travel. Avoiding the clone hotel chains and choosing a hostel is ideal to me. Meeting new people, and interacting with them is just as important as the destination. I like to stray off path and randomly ask people about their lives, dreams, and goals. Learning first-hand about cultures, food, and ideas completely opposite of mine. That is why I backpack and will continue to do so.

I'm cheap.

Because it slightly scares me.. and my life is so comfortable, I need to be slightly scared sometimes, just to remember that I can do things on my own.

my grandfather REALLY instilled the spirit of exploration in me compounding what was already an obsession, and backpacking (whether its wilderness or travel) allows me to explore as long as i want. its also a much different way of life. whenever that backpack gets thrown on, i feel more natural than when it wasnt there. it makes me realize how often i mix up what i want, and what i need.

<<Instead of worring about this, I would actually relish in the fact that had this actually happened, they would also be lighting my burden or load in life by 100%.>>

What a marvelous, insane, and completely out of touch view of travel! As someone who HAS his backpack stolen, been rolled, and awakened bloody in a ditch, I can assure you that "relish" is the LAST word that comes to mind. The phrase that does occur is "what the fuck am I going to do now?"

I understand the concept of being free from worldly goods, but trust me, when you are 5,000 miles from home in a third world country, being robbed in NOT being made free-it is being completely alone and utterly exposed.