Guest Editorial by Matador member Matt Kepnes
Somewhere before my bus broke down in Australia, I was called a flashpacker. Despite being on the road for 18 months, it was the first time I’d heard the term.
What is a Flashpacker?
“Flashpacker (def): Someone usually in their mid 20s to early 30s, who travels like a backpacker but has more disposable income, as well as electronics such as a camera, Ipod, or laptop. Flashpackers also expect better accommodation and amenities.”
Neither fully backpacker nor tourist, flashpackers are new to the traveling lexicon. Flashpackers sleep in hostels, carry a backpack, and find cheap transport, but blow their wad on meals, tours, and parties.
They usually aren’t strolling into a hostel randomly or wearing the same shirt for a week.
A number of hostels are upscaling to meet the growing demands and needs of flashpackers and you’ll find them in all corners of the world. Flashpackers still have no fixed journey and all the time to meander around but don’t pinch every penny.
They are backpackers with means.
Is flashpacking backpacking?
What makes a backpacker a backpacker? The backpack? The clothes? The lack of showers? People look down on flashpackers, but they are just as much a backpacker as anyone else.
Backpacking is not a look, it’s a lifestyle. Just because someone doesn’t have the look, doesn’t mean they lack the spirit. It doesn’t make them less of a backpacker. It goes against the backpacker mentality to look down on someone because they travel differently.
Aren’t we supposed to be embracing different ways of life?
When I travel, I don’t want to sacrifice. I pinched pennies at home so I could enjoy my travels. I didn’t work hard to go to Italy and not drink the wine or eat a meal in Florence. I didn’t fly to Japan to not eat the sushi. And I didn’t fly to Australia to skip the Barrier Reef.
It comes down to what makes a backpacker a backpacker. That sprit. 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. If your spirit is the same the stuff you carry shouldn’t matter.
The Wave of the Future
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 2006 Hostelworld study, 21% of people travel with a laptop, 54% with an MP3 player, 83% with a mobile phone, and a whopping 86% travel with a digital camera.
Think about your last trip- how many people did you see with cameras? Ipods? Laptops? I can’t remember seeing one person without a camera, and at least 3/4 of the people I saw had Ipods.
We all travel with fancy electronics now. We check our e-mail and Skype our friends. We all have a camera and most of us have an Ipod. We’ve become flashpackers…and it’s not a bad thing. All this stuff allows us to stay better connected with our friends, our family, and helps us better document our travels. The key is to put down the camer and turn off the computer once in awhile to enjoy the culture you came to see.
The backpacker who sets off with one shirt, a small pack, and two baht to his name is getting hard to find. Most of us have and expect a little more but we still carry his 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. The difference is that now we also want a place to plug in our camera, check our e-mail, take a hot shower, and splash out on tours.
We just want to be pampered…once in awhile.
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Matt Kepnes is a globetrotter who’s “fully sick with the travel bug.” Whether at home in Boston or on the road, he offers fresh travel ideas daily on his website, www.nomadicmatt.com.
Are you a flashpacker? What do you think of this idea? Share your reactions in the comments.
Luxury Backpacker Photo: klenze17 (creativecommons)
Lone Packer Photo: Werner Schnell (creative commons)
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6 Comments... join the discussion!
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Agree. Flashpacking is about the spirit, that spirit of travelling that makes the Flashpacker so independent and with no fixed journey. At the same time though I wouldn't go as far as saying that we're all Flashpackers; Flashpacking is not necessarily about tech gadgets or bigger budget, but about backpacking in style (with a flash!). For more: ” target=”_blank”>http://www.flashpackerguide.info/whoistheflashpac...
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Hello Julie,
You're so right!We're now closing our packs for a 11 months trip arround the world, and it looks like if you had been watching over our shoulder while fiiling them! Ipod, laptop, camcoder, DSLR, HDD…
But as you said, the main difference with the past is that people used to backpack at the end of their studies and before begining to work. Today, more and more people take a break in their profesional life for travelling (maybe old backpackers who have the feeling they had not finished their trip!). That's why they can now afford a better bed or a hot shower when they want. But their backpacker's mind and behaving are still there.
I was born in a youth hostel in 1975 and grew up in it till I was 20 (my parents were the owners). In 1980, in our youth hostel (in France), we had 4 16 people dorms. Today, only few people would accept such accomodation. Then, with the time, we had to transform the place in order to build 2 and 4 people bedrooms to accomodate the clients.
So, backpacking is changing because our societies are changing. It's just the reflection of our cultures. That's life! Small colonies of backpackers will still remain. In the sane time, some of flashpackers will appear.
You know, people used to thinnk that no more music would be created after that Rock'n'Roll was invented. But new sounds have arrived and Rock'n'Roll is still alive.
So, no matter if we're backpackers or flashpackers. Let's just Rock our packs!
Marius…
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Hello Julie, You're so right! We're now closing our packs for a 11 months trip arround the world, and it looks like if you had been watching over our shoulder while fiiling them! Ipod, laptop, camcoder, DSLR, HDD… But as you said, the main difference with the past is that people used to backpack at the end of their studies and before begining to work. Today, more and more people take a break in their profesional life for travelling (maybe old backpackers who have the feeling they had not finished their trip!). That's why they can now afford a better bed or a hot shower when they want. But their backpacker's mind and behaving are still there. I was born in a youth hostel in 1975 and grew up in it till I was 20 (my parents were the owners). In 1980, in our youth hostel (in France), we had 4 16 people dorms. Today, only few people would accept such accomodation. Then, with the time, we had to transform the place in order to build 2 and 4 people bedrooms to accomodate the clients. So, backpacking is changing because our societies are changing. It's just the reflection of our cultures. That's life! Small colonies of backpackers will still remain. In the sane time, some of flashpackers will appear. You know, people used to thinnk that no more music would be created after that Rock'n'Roll was invented. But new sounds have arrived and Rock'n'Roll is still alive. So, no matter if we're backpackers or flashpackers. Let's just Rock our packs! Marius…
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I'm a proud flashpacker! I like taking my digital camera and laptop with me, they're my babies and most expensive gadgets I own. "It's not about the stuff you carry" is spot on.
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Backpackers look down on Flashpackers? Excuse my laughter. Are we talking about the same backpacking crowd that hangs out by the droves in places like Khao San Road and the Full Moon Parties on Koh Pha Ngan, thinking they are experiencing the "real Thailand" and intrepidly living through the wildest sort of travel adventures? What a sad joke! Sadly, the largest share of backpackers I have met are just as ignorant as package tourists, clinging to their Lonely Planet's as if it was some sort of a holy book, and only straying as much off the tourist trail as their "knowledgable" and "culture-aware" mates tell them it's safe to do. It's pathetic! Especially the ones who are travelling half around the world and end up not having the means to actually experience the places they have come to visit…
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