In this tech-savvy age we live in, Flashpackers are eclipsing the humble Backpacker. But is an easier, gadget-heavy form of travel the way forward, or are we just being soft? After all, aren’t the iPhone-wielding, Facebook status updating Flashpackers missing out on so much?
Like all good travel essentials of my yesteryear (2004 – think Travel Scrabble, long train rides and Mad Cow Disease), backpacking has been replaced and upgraded by its yuppy cousin Flashpacking.
I remember when it was considered the norm to lug a rucksack (without wheels), which was full of Lonely Planets (the books, not the iPhone apps). Trains and buses were the preferred method of transport, with bonus points for overnight journeys saving you money on accommodation.
Hostels were the roof over your head, with bonus points for sharing a single bed in a 10-man dorm. I still believe these experiences are the most authentic. And the new generation of backpackers are sending these triumphs to an early grave.
Reasons why backpacking is better (AKA the beauty of nostalgia that washes over the shit)…
Freedom
As a Backpacker, nobody would hear from me for weeks on end because phone calls were way too expensive. Carry a mobile? No way! I would be a target for muggers! Instead a long and detailed group email was sent to everyone when I felt it was time. I remember having to save unfinished emails in my drafts as I wrote them because I could only budget for 10 minutes worth of internet access at a time.
Nowadays, the Flashpackers are whipping out their laptops at cafés and constantly sending status updates to brag to their mates back home. Do your mates really care what you are up to every second? It’s too much. Let people miss you. That way they’re more likely to be interested in your travel tales when you get back.
Getting Lost
You know how they say you have to get lost in order to find yourself? Flashpackers have no chance of this. They have their journeys so pre-planned and programmed into their electronic devices that they never get the chance to have that brief encounter with a stranger on the train. Probably because they’re on a plane with their earphones in.
Maybe I have seen Before Sunset too many times but there’s something romantic about chance encounters. And it’s when you’re lost that you always end up finding the best places, the ones that aren’t listed in any guidebook. Oh and did you hear about that woman that got hit by a truck because Google Maps directed her to its oncoming path? [Ahem, that's a joke, Mr Scary Google Lawyer – Ed] Further proof that Flashpackers are clueless.
Take a chance. You might meet Ethan Hawke
Adventure
There’s more adventure when you’re a Backpacker. More often than not, Backpackers find themselves in situations they would have avoided had they had the right technology at their fingertips. Meeting a friend at the airport, for example, only to discover, too late, that the city has two airports (damn you Ryanair).
Then there’s turning up on the doorstep of a girl you fancy because you can’t call or email ahead… before you start screaming “stalker”, this did have a happy ending. These avoidable, often stressful experiences seem a nightmare at the time, but often provide the most lasting memories.
You never really care about losing anything because nothing has any value (except for your cash secured tightly between layers of clothing). You don’t even have a credit card. I got my bag snatched in Barcelona. What did they get? A few euros and the token for my hostel breakfast. Nowadays insurance policies go hand-in-hand with Flashpacking. Or should I say hand-in-pocket.
Mo Money, Mo Problems, as a wise man once said
Knowledge
Before iPods you tended to read more along the way. So while Backpackers may not be able to afford the guided tour of the museum, they have probably read more about it than the Flashpacker, who is keen to quickly tick the boxes on the long list of to-do’s.
And when it comes to carnal knowledge, the Backpacker knows exactly what they’re getting into. These days the Flashpacker carries the right grooming tools and armour to attract its prey. When you wake up the next morning you realise the stunner you picked up is not exactly the oil-painting they were the night before.
The problem is that once you’ve gone Flash, you can never go Back. All I can do now is try and find a balance. A true Backpacker at heart, I try to travel with an open mind and a sense of adventure… like camping, but with a fully-equipped tent and a fine bottle of wine (I just found out this is referred to as ‘Glamping’).
I guess Flashpacking will have its use-by date too and one day we’ll be complaining about this new breed of… er… Bratpackers?
Guest post by Alex Harmon
Hmm .. Not sure if the author actually understands what a Flashpacker is. A backpacker that happens to travel with a laptop and iPhone forever updating what and where they are at and doing is not the definition of a flashpacker. Just in most cases a Gen Y bother backpacker.
Flashpackers have normally already been backpacking have already done the whole living on the bones of ones ass and seen it, done it, trekked it.
They tend to still have the backpacking bug but be a little older now, often leaving behind a career and a thirst for adventure has bitten.
They still want the close to grass roots of backpacking but with a few more creature comforts, they no longer want to share a room with testosterone dripping youths.
A flashpacker will often see more, and do more than many of the Gen Y backpackers they often trek further and spend less time getting drunk and looking to hook up.
Don’t confuse the new ‘connected’ backpackers with flashpackers they are not the same at all.
By: FootprintsDownUnder on July 2, 2010
at 11:52 am
Howdy Footprints!
Thanks for the comment, although we fear you might be being a bit harsh as we weren’t aware there was a set definition for flashpacker!
Very basically, we’ve always considered flashbackers to be people who go backpacking, but in a bit more luxury – whether they are older, loaded or just a bit soft.
Personally, I’d say that travelling with lots of expensive gadgets like iphones could be deemed unnecessary luxury. While some of these people no doubt still get well off the beaten track, I’d argue there’s still plenty of 18-year-olds who aren’t keen on roughing it like previously they’d have had to.
Cheers,
Tumbrella
By: 00dangermouse on July 12, 2010
at 6:00 pm
True could be a little harsh, tugs forelock in a smiling manner.
There is defiantly the distinction between the two groups maybe we need another ‘tag’ for the new backpackers.
I do agree that it does seem like many of the new generations are carrying fat too many gadgets and not being as adventurous as we were when once were backpackers.
By: Footprints on July 12, 2010
at 6:36 pm
Agh, don’t write us off yet. I’m sure we still have adventures to come, don’t we… please?!
Agreed, new definition needed. Perhaps backpackers who graduate to luxury over time should remain flashpackers, while those that head straight there should be bratpackers… or ipackers
By: 00dangermouse on July 13, 2010
at 11:50 am
I like the term bratpackers not sure if they will but sounds right to me, or maybe whateverpacker…
By: Footprints on July 13, 2010
at 1:08 pm
Have to agree with some of the other posters here that Flashbacking is not necessarily just a more tech-savvy backpacker.
However, adding a little bit of comfort to backpacking fits into a large (and growing) market of independent travelers.
I, for one, have neither money for backpacking, let alone flashpacking, and will be doing most of my traveling from my armchair in my apartment’s lounge area.
Just heard that National Geographic is airing a TV series on Ben’s “Best Job in the World” in August.
Looks like I might be ‘travelling’ to Queensland this summer!
By: MIchael on July 20, 2010
at 10:01 pm
I would consider myself a flashpacker and the reason I won’t be doing the typical backpacking thing is because I have been there bought the t-shirt. When I was in my early twenties I some of the normal backpacking but after a while got utterly tired of it. Most of the backpackers I met in hostels saw very little culture or emersed themselves in a country they met other english speaking backpackers got horrendously drunk most nights, spent a lot of time hungover, no thanks!
I realised in the last 6 months of backpacking in my early twenties that most hostels I had stayed in did not cater for a traveller. So flashpacker/traveller is probably a better definition for me. Yes having an ipod is nice, sometimes you want some alone time listening to music, yes a mobile phone is helpful especially for keeping touch when travelling solo but its not a bad thing. Comfort is really great! I have no urge to re-visit being bitten by bedbugs in Australia or watching the girl in the bed next to me have sex with a guy shes just met. A nice private room, space and heck I dont even want to do hostels anymore.
By: flyingfree on January 26, 2011
at 1:33 am