May 31st, 2012 at 6:30PM:
One of the travel world's more annoying debates is backpacker vs. rolling suitcase. Those with backpacks scoff at travelers wheeling suitcases along cobblestones, while the roll-aboard lovers might want to avoid the connotation that "backpacker" implies. Even backpackers are being criticized now for taking too much. In the end, it's just a place for one's stuff. We can all agree that seeing ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
backpacker posts
Photo Of The Day: Tibetan Travelers
May 31st, 2012 at 6:30PM:
One of the travel world's more annoying debates is backpacker vs. rolling suitcase. Those with backpacks scoff at travelers wheeling suitcases along cobblestones, while the roll-aboard lovers might want to avoid the connotation that "backpacker" implies. Even backpackers are being criticized now for taking too much. In the end, it's just a place for one's stuff. We can all agree that seeing ...What's in a name? On pronouncing difficult country names
Sep 7th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
When I traveled through Southeast Asia some years ago, I was amazed by the number of fellow backpackers who ridiculed me whenever I pronounced the "s" in Laos. Apparently, I was supposed to pronounce it "Lao," just like locals do.
The thing is, those same "s"-dropping travelers never insisted on calling Bangkok by its proper name ("Krung Thep Maha Nakhon") when they were in Thailand -- ...VIDEO: Many steps around the world
May 10th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
A new video by Japanese filmmaker Takayuki Akachi shows people taking steps all around the world. Sounds simplistic, because it is, but the video shows a beautiful slice-of-life from around the globe. His concept is described as "collecting the steps from all over the world and playing a music with the steps." The artist specializes in a "lone backpacker" style of filming that allows him to ...
My year in adventure travel: a look back and a look forward
Dec 26th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
Happy Boxing Day everybody! As I sit here stuffed with my mother-in-law's cooking after a traditional Spanish Christmas, I'm thinking back on all my travels in 2010 and looking forward to 2011. One of the best parts about my travel year has been sharing it all with you. I love the comments you've sent suggesting sites to see and trails to take, and was especially amazed by the outpouring of ...Photo of the Day (8.1.10)
Aug 1st, 2010 at 6:00PM:
There's nightlife, and then there's Thailand nightlife. In addition to its rich cultural legacy, astounding culinary traditions and stunning scenery, the buzzing nightlife of places like Thailand's islands continues to be a major draw for young (and young at heart) travelers. Flickr user myeyesareclosed does a great job of capturing the essence of a fun night out on the Thai island of Samui. I ...Photo of the Day (6.27.10)
Jun 27th, 2010 at 9:30PM:
Vietnam's Halong Bay is natural oddity unlike anything on earth. Huge limestone rock formations surge from the Vietnam's coast like looming sea monsters, lending the landscape an unforgettable visual appeal. Flickr user andreakw has put Halong Bay's unique rock formations to good use in today's photo. The darkened outlines of limestone float mysteriously upon the horizon like some vanishing ...Hitchhiker's Requiem
Mar 27th, 2010 at 10:30AM: My father taught me to never, ever hitchhike because I would die. He illustrated the point with dinner table horror stories starring chopped up teenage bodies strewn along the highway and acid-crazed madmen speeding across America at 120 mph: "Those are the kind of people who pick up hitchhikers."
I followed his advice until I turned 18, which--in this country--is the legal age to stop ...South by Southeast: The hill tribes of Southeast Asia
Jan 13th, 2010 at 9:00AM:
Welcome back to Gadling's series on backpacking Southeast Asia, South by Southeast. Southeast Asia is modernizing rapidly. These days, malls line the streets of Thailand and WiFi signals and cell phones blanket the cafes of Vietnam. But that doesn't mean the ways of the "Asia of old" have vanished – in fact, in the mountainous northern regions of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, a ...South by Southeast: Exploring Luang Prabang
Dec 30th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Welcome back to Gadling's series on backpacking in Southeast Asia, South by Southeast. As travelers, we have a tendency to overload our trips with adventure and movement. This is especially true in Southeast Asia - as I've discovered in Thailand and Laos, there's no shortage of motorbikes to ride or zip lines to catch. But if you truly want to understand this part of the world, it's not a vigorous ...South by Southeast: The Gibbon Experience
Dec 21st, 2009 at 10:30AM: As a kid, did you ever fantasize about living in a tree house? Of climbing into your own hideaway stocked with chocolate bars, hanging out with monkeys and doing as you please? If you've ever wanted to feel like a kid again, it's time to visit The Gibbon Experience, a magical realm of tree houses, waterfalls and exotic wildlife hidden deep in the dense jungle of Northern Laos. The Gibbon ...British backpackers spreading sexually transmitted diseases
Oct 23rd, 2009 at 10:30AM: "No sex please, we're British." That old joke has been proven wrong by a new medical study that found British backpackers in Australia are picking up more than just short-term partners; they're picking up infections that they spread around Australia and back home. A survey of 1,008 backpackers at youth hostels in Sydney and Cairns revealed that 24 percent of British backpackers had unprotected sex ...South by Southeast: New directions in Southeast Asia
Oct 9th, 2009 at 9:00AM: What is it about Southeast Asia that so captivates our attention? For many Westerners, Southeast Asia has attained an identity of exoticism and escape, enchanting travelers as a destination "off the map" of global tourism. It's a myth readily fed by popular culture. From Graham Greene's The Quiet American to Alex Garland's The Beach we're painted a picture of a magical world, unsullied by the ...Fake Canadians go home
Aug 30th, 2009 at 4:30PM:
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/08/30/fake-canadians-go-home/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
I'm as mad as a polar bear reading about global warming. Everywhere I look I see Canadian flags on backpacks. A maple leaf seems to be as important an item of budget travel gear as daddy's credit card, but there's one problem--many of the people flashing the good old red, white, and red ...Dim Sum Dialogues: The Chungking Mansions
Jul 25th, 2009 at 8:30AM: This is Nadim. Nadim is originally from Pakistan. He came to Hong Kong seven years ago with his wife and two children to find a better life. He tells me that he never envisioned his better life to be what he has today, but he's happy, and enjoying moderate success selling mobile phones out of his shop. The shop is actually a small stall, at most ten feet wide and four feet deep, situated in a ...Backpacker Tourism "booming" Down Under
Apr 26th, 2009 at 9:31AM: While the travel and tourism market in general is suffering, thanks to the international economic crisis, Australian newspaper The Age is reporting that that country has seen a steep increase in backpacker tourism in recent months. In fact, visas from the U.K. and Germany alone are up more than twenty percent. Deeply discounted airfares are helping to spur the budget travel trend as well it seems. ...Are you turning into a traveling stereotype? Find out here.
Apr 10th, 2009 at 9:30AM: I'm halfway through cooking a dinner of Ramen Noodles at my three-dollar-a-night hostel in Mexico, and suddenly it dawns on me: I haven't showered in two days, I have ten pesos in my pocket, and I slept in a cave last night. God dammit, I thought, I'm turning into a traveling stereotype.
To help you avoid the same dark path, I've composed a "Field Guide" to traveling stereotypes. If any of the ...Backpackers learn how to steal Australian travel
Apr 7th, 2009 at 12:00PM: It's really pretty simple. Foreign backpackers go to Australia. For several weeks, they'll wander the country, get drunk and ... I don't know ... go to the opera. When the trip's over, these visitors file fake income claims, which get them thousands of dollars in tax refunds – despite not having actually worked (and thus not having paid any taxes). Through word of mouth, and probably a few ...Thai prostitute refuses sexual encounter with American backpacker; "He too dirty," she says
Apr 1st, 2009 at 1:30PM: Backpackers have never had a reputation as being especially finicky about their appearance or cleanliness. But things may have reached a new low in downtown Bangkok yesterday when a Thai prostitute named Chanhira Thanarat refused a sexual encounter with American backpacker Brad Thompson because he was "too dirty."
"He never shower," Thanarat said of the 19-year-old Thompson. "He think he can love ...China Closes Tibet To Travelers
Feb 21st, 2009 at 7:59AM: Earlier this week China once again took steps to close off the borders of Tibet once again, as the region prepares for a new round of tensions as we approach the 50th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama. The move mirrors similar steps that were taken last year, when protests by Buddhist monks turned violent. British newspaper The Telegraph is reporting in this story published a few days ...How To Buy A Backpack
Feb 9th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Whether you're floating around Europe for a couple of months or trekking through Asia, your most important piece of equipment will of course be your backpack. It'll be your constant companion, your lifeline, and it will protect and carry all of the rest of your belongings for the extent of your journey. That's why it's important that you pick the right one, and have an idea of what you need before ...
