Thread: Rise of the western 'beg-packers' in SE Asia

Originally Posted by redhaze

Originally Posted by Slick

Fast forward to today and I'm thankful as hell my parents made me work and earn as a kid.

Same here. My parents didn't hand me anything, ever. We were fairly poor when I was younger so that helped I suppose.

I never resented working, I always wanted to work. Always had a drive to earn my own money. I had a savings account when I was like 12, all of it money I earned from doing little odd jobs or whatever. Some of it saved from when my Grandparents would give me money on my birthday or whatever, so I suppose it wasn't all earned. I probably still have some of that money lmao.

Been working as long as I can remember. I agree man, its pretty soft to not work until after college. Don't think it really sets you up for a good future.

First job, where I was on a schedule and actually had to work on the weekends was in Grayton Beach, FL at a place called The Red Bar (go ahead stalkers) as a dishwasher in the 5th grade. Paid under the table. On the weekends, and during the week, at night. Used the school bus to get to Grayton, then my mom would come and scoop me up at 1 or 2 AM on the weekends... Thank god for moms right?

Can still taste the key lime pie & pot smoke right now

I liked working too. It was when I would save and waste and be a kid - then have nothing on the weekend cause I was a kid and spent it. Parents be all "Should've thought of that before you went & spent all your money on those shoes"...

Now I'm drinking in the boonies of Thailand and would kill to have a night out in a place like this, in a location like that... And to think I used to hate it when I was like 13.







But yeah, lets go beg-packing in Thailand because "culture" and "food" and "lonely BTS stations"...

Red Bar looks like a pretty far out place. Like a Reggae bar or something.

Originally Posted by Slick

Originally Posted by redhaze

Been posting with TC for a long time, my understanding is that he has worked quite a good bit

Because its the biggest load of stinking un-wiped ass to 'congratulate' parents for not working the kids.

Slick gets it; others don't

Originally Posted by redhaze

Furthermore, why would someone who is retired become a politician? The dude is retired and living in LOS lmao.

And apparently I want other people to pay for my lifestyle.

No idea what that's based on

Maybe prance is another of td's 'super mature' posters?

Originally Posted by cyrille

Originally Posted by redhaze

Furthermore, why would someone who is retired become a politician? The dude is retired and living in LOS lmao.

And apparently I want other people to pay for my lifestyle.

No idea what that's based on

Maybe prance is another of td's 'super mature' posters?

Of course you do Cuntrille

(Some) Politicians like to tell us how we are victims; right up TC's alley. Good parent's hire brown people to do the hard work so their white darlings don't have to. Sounds progressive to me

You can become the board's maturity instructor, as in tell other folks what to think and discuss

Found this on Youtube.
[Media]: [/media]

I'm quite sure whoever I come across and verbally abuse on monday will take my photo and put it on backpacker social media and portray me as some kind of right-wing spoil sport. Then hopefully the Thai netziens will get a hold of it and I could be a hero, a 'Robin Hood' type.

I'm looking forward to that.

Think you're building this up a tad too much, pat.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Think you're building this up a tad too much, pat.

Agreed. An anticlimax is always disappointing.

bloody disgrace to the human race,at least the black fellows in OZ usually only want a smoke or $2 for the bus.

Yeah, I can see it now in the backpackers press

'The spoilsport of Siam'

You could sell your pics to the Daily Mail.

I don't have a problem with people busking their way around the world. I once bought some skilfully painted postcards from a French girl in Laos. Trying to earn a few $'s is fine in my opinion. Work visa not possible, they take a chance using what skills they have.
I see few complaints here about young Thais sucking falang cock for 500 bht.
Begging is different, most countries embassies will get them home.
A ponce is a ponce.

Originally Posted by Slick

Originally Posted by redhaze

Originally Posted by Slick

Fast forward to today and I'm thankful as hell my parents made me work and earn as a kid.

Same here. My parents didn't hand me anything, ever. We were fairly poor when I was younger so that helped I suppose.

I never resented working, I always wanted to work. Always had a drive to earn my own money. I had a savings account when I was like 12, all of it money I earned from doing little odd jobs or whatever. Some of it saved from when my Grandparents would give me money on my birthday or whatever, so I suppose it wasn't all earned. I probably still have some of that money lmao.

Been working as long as I can remember. I agree man, its pretty soft to not work until after college. Don't think it really sets you up for a good future.

First job, where I was on a schedule and actually had to work on the weekends was in Grayton Beach, FL at a place called The Red Bar (go ahead stalkers) as a dishwasher in the 5th grade. Paid under the table. On the weekends, and during the week, at night. Used the school bus to get to Grayton, then my mom would come and scoop me up at 1 or 2 AM on the weekends... Thank god for moms right?

Can still taste the key lime pie & pot smoke right now

I liked working too. It was when I would save and waste and be a kid - then have nothing on the weekend cause I was a kid and spent it. Parents be all "Should've thought of that before you went & spent all your money on those shoes"...

Now I'm drinking in the boonies of Thailand and would kill to have a night out in a place like this, in a location like that... And to think I used to hate it when I was like 13.







But yeah, lets go beg-packing in Thailand because "culture" and "food" and "lonely BTS stations"...

Hey, I've vacationed three times in Grayton Beach, in the cabins by the state beach there. It's an 11-hour drive from my house. I bet I walked through that neighborhood last year! I'd still rather be in Thailand though.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

Yeah, I can see it now in the backpackers press

'The spoilsport of Siam'

Still waiting Pat.

After all that build up...

Originally Posted by Cujo

Still waiting Pat.

a number of restaurant owners are saying the same thing...

^You're still waiting for my nude pics, tc.

I did go out that day, and maybe being a monday, there wasn't any about in 3 locations (Asoke, Central World and Silom)

And I really wasn't in the mood for arguing that day.

MBK is the place.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

You're still waiting for my nude pics, tc.

true, though Halloween is probably the best time to send them...

Originally Posted by 12Call

MBK is the place

that's what I would have said, though there's long been an empty space on the pedestrian overpass where a falang beggar used to sit...

^They been reconstructing for almost a year

they're done...ready for begpats...

Traveling the world for free has always been a privileged, utopian dream. Whether it’s hitchhiking and scrubbing floors in a hostel or ashram or “WWOOF-ing” (working on an organic farm in exchange for a free place to live), travelers have found ways to live a version of their frugal dream.
But in the age of social media, crowdfunding, and hashtags, the dream of free travel has morphed once again, giving us the phenomenon of #begpackers: People who travel backpacker-style on a beggar’s budget, asking for contributions, freebies, and handouts from locals or fellow travelers to as they go.
View image on Twitter



Some busk, some beg, and some sell odds and ends. Often, they do it in countries where the average income is far lower than what they could earn working a minimum wage job at home. But however they do it, by the end of 2017, pictures of these beggars became a social media meme.
People uploaded photos of bedraggled-looking travelers clutching cardboard signs. While the phenomenon appears to be centered in Southeast Asia—a favorite of Western budget backpackers—the ethos underpinning the trend shares spiritual DNA with folks who set up Kickstarters, GoFundMe pages, and crowdfunding campaigns to help fund their trips around the world.

The ethical implications, many critics point out, are clear: Intentionally touching down in a country with no financial means to support yourself effectively guarantees you will be a drain on the local economy. It is perhaps distasteful at best and unethical at worst. In addition, consuming food, water, space, and utilities without spending cash also diverts resources away from locals who need (and deserve) them far more.
It is true that, stripped of context, it is hard to tell if a traveler depicted begging in a social media post is doing so as an ideological lifestyle choice or because they met some actual misfortune, such as losing one’s passport and wallet. (Though it’s worth pointing out that embassies generally have resources to help travelers who are well and truly stranded.) But the glamorization of “traveling for free” in our culture extends beyond this subset of backpackers—and the internet hashtag they’ve spawned.

There’s a Discovery Channel series depicting Westerners who want to see how far they can get with no money, how-to articles in the Guardian asking travelers how they pulled off traveling without money, and professional adventurers who live Tweet their cash-free journey across a continent (including begging for food in a developing country). It’s become enough of an issue in Thailand that there were reports last year of officials asking tourist arrivals to prove they have a minimum amount of cash on them before they enter the country.

Traveling on the cheap, of course, is a time-honored tradition for those privileged enough to contemplate leaving home for leisure. Working while traveling is a tactic many use to keep their wanderings going longer, hence the trend of digital nomads. But intentionally choosing to forgo money—rather than just running out of it while on the road—are two different things. And while some who crowdfund (or beg) their own travel may claim to have charitable leanings, the common thread among these free-loading wanderers is that they have a choice in the matter.
In the age of social media, how we travel, whether we realize it or not, is not just about how much money we have. Instagramming from a luxury hotel versus a so-called authentic homestay are both signals of something much larger than where we are sleeping that night. While begpackers may think their travel habit appears humble, it is a status symbol just like anything else.
https://qz.com/quartzy/1192690/begpa...without-money/

travel "influencers" have been blagging their way around the world in 5 star luxury for the last few years

Three years ago, Lisa Linh quit her full-time job to travel the world and document it on Instagram, where she has nearly 100,000 followers; since then, she has stayed in breathtaking hotels everywhere from Mexico to Quebec to the Cook Islands. Often, she stays for free.

Linh is part of an ever-growing class of people who have leveraged their social media clout to travel the world, frequently in luxury. While Linh and other elite influencers are usually personally invited by hotel brands, an onslaught of lesser-known wannabes has left hotels scrambling to deal with a deluge of requests for all-expense-paid vacations in exchange for some social media posts.

Kate Jones, marketing and communications manager at the Dusit Thani, a five-star resort in the Maldives, said that her hotel receives at least six requests from self-described influencers per day, typically through Instagram direct message.

“Everyone with a Facebook these days is an influencer,” she said. “People say, I want to come to the Maldives for 10 days and will do two posts on Instagram to like 2,000 followers. It's people with 600 Facebook friends saying, ‘Hi, I'm an influencer, I want to stay in your hotel for 7 days,’” she said. Others send vague one-line emails, like “I want to collaborate with you,”with no further explanation. “These people are expecting five to seven nights on average, all inclusive. Maldives is not a cheap destination.” She said that only about 10 percent of the requests she receives are worth investigating.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...-crazy/562679/