Flashpacking is a New Travel Trend
A flashpacker is defined as a person, unusually in their mid 20s to early 30s, who travels like a backpacker but has more disposal money as well as electronics such as a camera or laptop. They usually arent walking into a hostel without a reservation. A number of hostels are opening to meet the increasing needs of these travelers. Flashpackers still have no fixed route and all the time to meander like a backpacker around but dont pinch every penny.
Backpacking is not about a look or style, its a way of life. Even though a person doesnt have a certain style, that doesnt mean they lack the character of a backpacker. It doesnt make them less of a traveler. Backpackers should be open minded to new trends not the other way around. It is against the backpacker attitude to look down on someone else because they travel in a way that is different than ours.
It comes down to what makes a backpacker a backpacker. That’s spirit. The desire to explore new places and experience new people. Backpacking is about opening your mind to new things and looking differently at the world. It’s not about the stuff you carry. As your spirit is the same, what stuff you carry shouldn’t matter.
We’re all flashpackers, whether you like it or not. We may not be driving up to the hostel in a limo but we all expect a little “flash” nowadays. According to a study, 21 percent of people travel with a laptop, 54 percent with an MP3 player, 83 percent with a mobile phone and a whopping 86 percent travel with a digital camera.
We all travel with fancy electronics now. We check our email at the internet cafes and use Skype to call our friends. We are flashpackers but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. All these electronics allows us to stay better connected and help us better document our travels. What is important is that we disconnect ourselves and go out and enjoy the place we are visiting.
The backpacker who set off with 1 shirt, a small pack, and two baht to his name is getting hard to find. Many of us have a little more means and expect a little more but we still carry the backpacker spirit. We still seek new cultures, exotic locales, and long term travel. We still look for cheap hostels and transport. We camp on that jungle trek. Now, we just want a bit of pampering too.