I have never been a backpacker in the true sense of the word -- not until I walked the Camino in 2008. That was the first time I carried a backpack in my life -- but also the first time I slept in dormitories with strangers, showered in the public under icy cold water in the heart of winter, had to contend with bed lice and other strange creepy crawleys as bedmates -- in fact, slept in a sleeping bag and cooked on a rusty hotplate. But I do travel as close to the 'real people' as I possibly can -- I take local transport - amongst the goats and chickens and pigs and babies, I eat in very local hole-in-the-wall eateries or try all the local fare from the road stalls (including the snake and frogs, the worms and insects and grubs, if that is what is on offer), I talk to the locals in sign language, the few words I manage to pick up, the body language of an interested traveller, I stay off the beaten track of the regular tourist.
However -- as Nomad Matt asks in this article ( -- is it age or is it finances -- I would say yes to both those)even when I was much younger and started off on my world travels, even at the age of 20, I preferred to sleep clean and comfortably, I preferred hot water to cold and a proper towel to getting wind-dried. So it is not only age which makes my travel style lean more towards the jetsetter than the backpacker. And now - age and finances more often than not enable me the luxury of clean sheets and fluffy towels and hot water almost everywhere I travel -- and when those luxuries are there and available and I do have the finances to afford them, I do not believe I sacrifice anything of the 'real thing and the true travel experience' by availing myself to those. During the day I can be backpacker with the best of them, but at night I turn into a jetsetter - and no one will tell me that is as good as a pumpkin!
Have a look at these interesting comments from an interested and interesting young traveller -- and let me know what you think about your travel style and why it is what it is!
Changing Your Travel Style from Nomadic Matt's travel site : Life untethered posted by NomadicMatt, May 18, 2009
Whenever anyone asks me what kind of traveler I am, I always tell them I’m a backpacker. It’s what I’ve been doing since I left home in 2006. I stay in hostels, live in dorms, stay with backpackers, travel with them, take the backpacker trail, eat cheap, travel cheap, and do it all with my big backpack. In many ways I’m like a budget travel but overall, I consider myself of the backpacker mind set. That’s what this site is all about- sharing my tips and advice about long term budget travel and backpacking. I ramble on about my personal travel experiences so that when you travel, you know where to find the deals.
Yet, things are changing. Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s income. Whatever it is I feel that my travel style is slowly changing and that the worst part is that I know it. I’ve already upgraded myself to flashpacker. One of those travelers who has a little more means and a lot more fancy electronics.
When I first started traveling, I always went for the cheapest option. Big dorms. Eating in hostels. Buses. Hitching. Overnight trains. Constant haggling. Street food. Stealing extra breakfast rolls. Now, I go for smaller dorms, I don’t mind flying, and I don’t like traveling to countries in order to cook pasta in a hostel.
I’m not a 21 year old gap yearer on a finite budget. When most backpackers head off around the world, they have a limited budget. They saved up a certain amount of dollars and when that is spent, the trip is over. However, for me, I make my money via my websites so I don’t have this constraint. Money is constantly flowing in since I work and travel.
This has lead to a certain upscaling in my travels and, frankly, I’m not sure I like it. I like being the vagabond backpacking traveler. I find it’s a more organic way to see the world and a better way to interact with the locals and get to know the local culture. My travel philosophy is live like a local. The closer you can live to how the locals do, the more understanding of their culture you can have.
However, the more you upscale your travels, the more you lose that local pulse. It’s hard to experience the local life flying from resort to resort. Sitting in some fancy restaurant or taking private buses around a country disconnects you from much of the local population. You are seeing but not experiencing. Yet the more I travel while I earning money, the more I upscale where I stay and how I live.
Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that I’ve been living in Asia for awhile so I’ve done the backpacker trail and this area of the world more home than a place I travel. Yet even when I go away, I feel like I’m moving away from my roots. I seem to spend a bit more than I used to in the past.
I’m don’t like it. It makes me wonder- What moves a person away from their original travel style? Age? Income? Relationships? A combination of them all? Can you still be the vagabond you were when you were younger? If you do change, can you change back? Or should we just accept this as another part of life? Can we simply live a modified backpacker lifestyle or will there be a point where I forgo hostels and places like Khao San forever?
I feel like much of it has to with my income more than my age. I may be 28 but I look and act young. You are only as old as you feel. And I don’t feel old. I enjoy hanging out with the college kids- they keep me young. But as my income rises and I can afford to do more thing and eat at better places, I want those comforts. That moves me away from my my old backpacker lifestyle and I’m not sure I want to give that up just yet.
I see my travel style changing in front of me every day I’m on the road and I’m not sure how to stop the rising tide.
About Nomadic Matt:
I’m a twenty-something vagabond who has been on the road regularly since 2005. I’m a native of Boston, Mass but, lately, everywhere has been my home. After a trip to Thailand in 2005, I decided I to leave the rat race and explore the world so I finished my MBA, quit my job, and, in July 2006, I set out on an adventure around the world.
My original trip was supposed to last a year. I didn’t come home until 18 months later. Once back, I knew I couldn’t go back to my old life or a typical job- I wanted to travel more. Three months later, I was traveling again. I haven’t stopped since.
This website is not only a chronicle of my travels but also a way for people to find inspiration, travel tips, destination advice, travel news, and beautiful photos. People always say to me how much they would love to do what I do, even if it just for a little while. I’m here to tell you you can. I’m here to show you how. Travel doesn’t have to be an expensive task nor does taking a Gap year require you to uproot your existence. If I, a lazy guy from Boston, can do this, you can do it too!
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