Thread: ‘Flashpacking’

‘Flashpacking’ costs glamorous backpackers £3,000 before they’ve even bought their flights
Monday 16 Sep 2013


Flash: Backpacking is a lot more expensive than yesteryear
(Picture: Getty)

Back in the day, a trusty compass, a map and a disposable camera were all vital tools for young globetrotters as they trudged through the wilds of Thailand.

When it was time to get some sleep, a dark, dingy hostel along with a cheap meal would have to suffice.

But life as a backpacker has become materialistic, it seems. The average ‘flashpacker’ spends more than £3,000 on so-called ‘essentials’.

First, there’s the iPhone and iPad to buy for £850, presumably for holiday snaps using a 1970s Instagram filter to make them appear old-fashioned.

Long gone are the days of hiking with just two outfits, too. Typical flashpackers will pack £1,000 of designer clothing.

And disabuse yourself of the idea that hairstyles will suffer. Many take £520 in cosmetics, dragging a make-up bag, perfume and even hair straighteners through deserts and rainforests, research from The Flash Pack suggests.

Flashpackers are typically thirty-something professionals who have cash to splash but no desire to slum it.

Instead of a warm beer in a rickety beach shack, these high-class hikers prefer rooftop bars above a private beach.

And as they’re pressed for time, they will fly between destinations instead of hopping on board a sweltering bus.

How you would fit all of your gear into a backpack or protect an iPad from muddy puddles is beyond us.

metro.co.uk

So what? Old news.

many the Backpacker I,v meet in Northern Australia didn't buy there own Ticket or pay there own expensive's!
Mummy back in Essex might also buy them an old Banger to drive around the Ranges, not that they have driven much any where before..............

no your average Traveler..

'' introduced to my as Wivnall or some such,''

That wouldent be ''Wivnall Stokes' ?

Shares His Asses with other Blokes?

Anyone noticed the size of the backpacks these normal Backpakers have?
Jesus Christ.. what do they carry in there?

I traveled around se asia for 3 weeks with my small carry on backpack..

5 shorts, 5 tshirts, 5 underwear, toiletries, phone charger, flipflops, towel

easy

Originally Posted by ShrewedPunter

Anyone noticed the size of the backpacks these normal Backpakers have?
Jesus Christ.. what do they carry in there?

I traveled around se asia for 3 weeks with my small carry on backpack..

5 shorts, 5 tshirts, 5 underwear, toiletries, phone charger, flipflops, towel

easy

Yeah, it's such a joy when they get on the BTS with all their gear...

Never forget this guy..



I had that exact model, a single rucksack and a ridge tent. I doubt people hitch-hike anymore...and I don't blame them.

^
Had one of those when I hitched around Europe a couple of times. Carried it in an old army kit bag along with a tent, sleeping bag, a few shirts and some boil-in-the-bag meals. Had a little Kodak instamatic camera for those 'Kodak Moments' but never used it. I just bought postcards of sites I saw or places I visited. Still got them now, clear and colourful as the day I bought them.

That was back in '81 and got lifts from some right nutters but also got to meet some really great people. No real itinery, just stuck out a thumb and see where a lift would take me.
I would love to hitch again but.........times have changed.

Gaz.

I know this has been posted before, but bollocks.

Found my tent too:



Except mine was blue.

That's nice. Like the flowers.

Originally Posted by Gazza

That was back in '81 and got lifts from some right nutters but also got to meet some really great people. No real itinery, just stuck out a thumb and see where a lift would take me. I would love to hitch again but.........times have changed.

nothing has changed much except a climate of fear, on both sides

Originally Posted by patsycat

That's nice. Like the flowers.

Mine was plain blue. I have pics somewhere.

Yo - found my canteen.

no, some places are not too safe, but that was true then too, just different places

^
I have a picture of myself with a group of Germans and my tent next to one of those Volkswagens, taken in 1976 near Alta in Norway.

^

Some good stories / memories in here.