“Backpacking” according to Wikipedia:
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to
denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. The factors that
traditionally differentiate backpacking from other forms of tourism include the use of
a backpack or other luggage
that is easily carried for long distances or long periods of time; the
utilization of public
transport as a means of travel; a preference for inexpensive lodging
such as youth hostels;
a longer duration to the trip when compared with conventional vacations; and an
interest in meeting the locals as well as seeing the sights. It is typically
associated with young adults, who generally have fewer obligations and thus
more time to travel.
“Backpacking” according to me:
The act of backpacking taught me a lot. Maybe even more than
some of the people I met on my trip in SE Asia and maybe even more than some of
the museums and sights I visited. Resilience, street smarts, patience, and a
strong “go-with-the-flow” mentality are all of the utmost importance when
traveling without a plan or guide or local in almost lawless countries. I learned
that “structure” and “reason” were two ideas I needed to throw out the window,
and that getting annoyed because a bus left three hours late is just not worth
the fuss. When I first arrived in a very developed, Western country (Spain)
after my trip, I felt a little bit sheltered. Things aren’t supposed to be this
easy. A little green man notifying me to cross the street is just so simple
compared to dodging hundreds of motorcycles coming from four different
directions on a five-lane gravel road. And that’s what backpacking is to me: a
lesson in the importance of resilience and contrast. Living in an
“untraditional” way toughens you from the inside out and secures in you a sense
of appreciation that will never waver.
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| Strut-packin' the streets of Bankok |
Along with the difference in means of travel, a few details
stuck out to me during my 6-week excursion that I haven’t included in earlier
posts…
The term “flashpacking” is funny. There are classifications
within every activity around the world, and flashpacking is a reference to
backpackers who don’t always stay in community dorms, who buy souvenirs every
once in a while, and who sometimes splurge on airplane tickets to make it
cross-country. I admit, there were times when I was a bit “flashy”. When you’re
traveling for a short period of time, squeezing everything in sometimes leaves
no room for frugality. Abbie and I had fun with the term, and we also met quite
a few “gappackers” as well (newly graduated travelers enjoying their gap year
by backpacking). Most backpackers we ran into were Europeans, Canadians, and
Australians. I met nearly no Americans, and in the current book I am reading,
“Tales of a Female Nomad”, the author shares this observation. An American
herself, Rita Golden bluntly explains that Americans simply don’t take time off
like the rest of the world does. Usually we have a shorter time frame in which
to travel in, more responsibilities, and we typically prefer the structured
lifestyle in our more comfortable society.
However, to avoid a cross-cultural analysis of “why people
travel”, I’m going to turn to some more humorous observations from Asia. First,
I have to confess; I still have NO idea how to flush a public toilet in
Thailand. Primarily I was too embarrassed to admit to Abbie that I didn’t know
how, and then it got so long into the trip that asking at any point would
signify that I hadn’t properly been flushing the toilet the whole time. There
is a toilet, and next to it is a large basin filled with water, and in this
basin is a bucket. At the end of the trip Abbie and I laughed because she had
no idea what the heck was going on with that either. We figured out you have to
put a bucket of water in the toilet to make it “flush”, but even then I felt I
was doing something wrong. So there’s my confession.
“Sidewalks” in Asia serve a completely different purpose
than they do in the West. Sidewalks are not for people walking. Sidewalks are
for motorbikes, food vendors, rats, kitchens, and clipping your toenails. We
preferred to walk on the street.
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| Sidewalk in Vietnam = Parking |
What is polite in SE Asia? A book alone could take you
through the “do’s” and “don’t’s” of the region, but one rule I particularly
liked is the necessity of taking off your shoes before entering a hostel,
store, restaurant, etc. It gives everything a more bohemian vibe and in an
uncanny way I felt like I was more part of a community. While we spent pretty
much all of our time in cities where tourism is thriving, I particularly liked
stopping over at the extremely local market in Surathani, Thailand. Abbie and I
were the only Westerners, and were treated with such respect in comparison to
the more touristic locales. The children would come right up to us and bow, and
people were constantly smiling and walking with us.
Random fact: The pre-game song at all UNC basketball games, “Jump
Around”, is one of the most popular on the SE Asia backpacker trail, and I
heard it more times than I had during my four years at Carolina.
Why do all tuk-tuk and taxi drivers have one extra long
fingernail on their right pinky? I had noticed this odd little trait and
commented to Abbie about it – her brother had told her it was because of the
prevalent drug use in the region; the fingernail serves as a tool for users to
facilitate this abuse.
I know many books and online guides exist to facilitate
travel to SE Asia. However, booking hostels, tours, activities, buses, etc. is
something you just have to learn along the way. Word-of-mouth is the ultimate
source for finding the right places and things to do, and by the end of the
trip I understood what hostel profiles on hostelworld and hostelbookers looked
sketchy, and which ones looked awesome. A 100% rating means the hostel itself
wrote all the reviews, and anything below 60% should be avoided. Customer
ratings helped us so much throughout the 6 weeks, that I made sure to write my
own recommendations on TripAdvisor and hostel websites to spread the travel wealth.
Occasionally seeing locals and hostel workers give a hot cup
of coffee each morning to their Buddhist alters made me happy. To pure
themselves of greed, Buddhists make food offerings to their personal alters
every day. If I was Buddha, I would want a caffeine boost every morning, too.
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| Namo Amida Buddha |
…A few groundless remarks about the randomness of
backpacking seems like the perfect way to finalize my “Asia posts”. I hope
you’ve enjoyed the wild journey along with me (perhaps it has made you want to
quit your job and jet over there, too??)
