How would you know if you’re really a backpacker? Travelling around got me meeting different people, different kinds of travellers, just tourists, backpackers, flashpackers, adventure seekers, etc.  They all seem the same right? But they are not.

Who are you?

1. Tourists just go to places to take pictures and see the place, splurge, stay for a short period of time to relax, wears fashionable clothes, carries lots of things, shops for souvenirs, then leave.
2. Backpackers travel around without definite period of time, no itinerary, no plans, live the life of the place, learn things around, talks to locals, live like locals, do whatever it feels like (sometimes stupid), goes to wherever their feet wants to go, always on a budget, open minded, and fun.
3. Flashpackers are backpackers with time restriction and therefore have itinerary to follow, but they will always be backpackers (wait sometime, prolly few months and they will backpack again).
4. Adventure seekers travel for whatever adventure, may it be for food, sports (extreme or not), experience, actually anything.  Backpacking is also an adventure so do not be surprised if backpackers are naturally adventure seekers too.

But really, now that you know those kind of travellers.  You think you’re really a backpacker now?  Then check out if you have some points from the list…

You’re a real backpacker if …

• You see ethnic things, food, people and you recognize where they are from.
• You know at least few words of a language or two (or probably know and speak it) from places you’ve been to.
• You start converting currencies everywhere you go (even back to your country).
• You save most of your salary to your next trip.
• You always think of how to extend your trip.
• You miss travelling around after few months of being back in your country.
• You began missing those things when routine starts kicking in.
• You’re back to your country, you starts cooking exotic foods you met during your travels.
• You can’t keep yourself checking promo airfares, destinations, visa runs, and accommodation rates.
• You always want to pack light wherever you go.
• You don’t stop researching about places to go to for possible next stop.
• You start getting rid of things in your room that you survived not using when you left for your trip.
• Your OC (Obsessive-Compulsive) behaviour is gone.
• You don’t care about ironing clothes much.
• You wear comfortable clothes more.
• You want to see your friends in the country like you’ll be leaving the next day(because really you don’t know if you are…:D).
• You become less serious and more fun.
• Your bargaining skills are sharper.
• You recognize more country flags, currencies, language, capitals, places, means of transportation, what to do or see in that place, etc.
• You blog, write a journal, or write for a travel company.
• You tried using traditional toilets without toilet papers but water.
• You’ve been sick from eating something weird.
• You can walk a lot.
• You have travelled more than 10-15 hours on a bus, boat, or plane (beating motion sickness).
• You slept in the airport.
• You slept along the highway waiting for a bus in the middle of nowhere.
• You’ve been lost many times.
• You sleep in the cheapiest accommodation you can find.
• Knows how to travel cheap or if not, always finds a way.

I don’t know if I missed something, share it here if I did but so far, these are what I remember how backpacking changes people. This is according to the  observation of my backpacker friends  and we all agree in unison!

(Image from wearesolesisters.com)

As soon as I saw the magic number 21, I know this has got something to do in promoting Philippines and I am soooooo excited, overwhelmed, that two of my favorite travel bloggers have thought of this.  Yes, they will do a 21 Day trip around the Philippines with no flights, covering all major spot worth visiting to cater a foreign backpacker that is just given 21 day visa in the country.

There are many reasons why backpackers skip Philippines and one major factor is the visa.  Although we could not force what we want overnight, the figures of tourists contributing to the figures of income they bring into the country is feasible, making it as a potential income earner. Which is why I love sole sissies’ idea of Philippine promotion, their 21 Day Pilipinas Challenge.

How great is it? From their initial plan to do it January this year, they have moved it by March 2012.  They will make a documentary out of it and they have partnered with a major company to sponsor the sisters on all expense paid trip for this challenge.  What’s even cooler is that, they are making this as a 5 man team and looking for people to join the crew in this awesome adventure by March 2012!  If I wasn’t booked for my trip I would join this challenge for sure.

Man, my dream is to be part of  The Amazing Race challenge and this is like their similar self made ‘The Amazing Race’ kinda local trip challenge  that will surely get people’s attention.  You guys will be big for this, keep it up!

When Jim cracked the news to me that my application for my vacation leaves were approved, I was so excited! (and I still am).  I missed one trip already and thought I would miss another just because I am new at work, but since it was booked way back I was not even with them yet, my bosses are so considerate to grant it to me.

Now that I know I’m free to take on that trip, I am researching like crazy for the cheapest tranfers, accommodation, activities to do to the places I am planning to visit.  It was actually Leizel’s original itinerary and I thought we would meet there, but then I booked late and now she did not pursue the trip due to a way better trip! (Right Liz?!)

I know I’m going solo (what’s new?) and I’m dang excited!  I need a break from a stressful start (not with work, but I was stressed for some reason).  My dose of my drug (travelling) will help me a lot and I’m counting down from now… Hmmm… 16 days to go.

Wohoooo! Less than 3 weeks and I’m off to Kota Kinabalu, one year after a 3 month long backpacking Southeast Asia.  Hoping I would be able to hike Mt. Kinabalu during the trip (for god sakes, I hope the people I contacted would reply to me before I go back to Taguig, I don’t have Internet there!)  Don’t worry, I’ll be updating you heaps on Facebook, Twitter, and if I have time to spare… Here on my blog to give the fresh photos and stories straight from my destination. I’m already flying, I’m high…

I have never been to China to see the Forbidden City.  Forbidden City is the home of their royal bloods and their households, judging from the photos, Vietnamese in Hue province where Forbidden Purple City (the smaller replica of Forbidden City) did a great job immitating China’s one.  Too bad, I didn’t take a good comparison shot. Apology to all, it was my very first backpacking in Southeast Asia (2008-2010) when everything was so overwhelming, don’t even know what to blog about.  All I care then was to see as much as I could, and eat every food they have!

I am not sure now, if I want to see China’s Forbidden City, a colleague who have seen it says it is huge and the Hue version is not as huge but got me really tired touring around it.

(Entrance of The Forbidden Purple City, Note: There’s an entrance fee that I forgot now how much but its cheap)

Forbidden Purple City is the only spot to visit in Hue, Vietnam (not to mention they have good cheap food and hotels there too, in case one spot won’t motivate you).  Going in the Forbidden Purple City was amazing, I was overwhelmed by the Chinese culture like I started imagining living in that place during the era where the empress and emperors were still living in the city.

(The Empress’ Place I’m talking about)

I can still feel the spirit of them lingering around, why not?  The place is so serene, every children of the emperor has their own tiny village and each one has its own signature personality, its so quiet and peaceful there.  The garden was amazing,  I forgot the empress’ name who lived there, but it was simple house (like an old school Filipino house with Capiz windows and dark brown wooden walls with a man made river just outside.  The simplicity of the style is such an amazing looking hang out of a female royale, I stayed there to rest for a bit and it calms me down, that place.  My skills in photography was worse than I am now, so please bear with the old photos I have here, they were taken 2008 and I don’t have a lot.

I want o go China one day, but I think I’ll skip Forbidden City for that matter.  China’s the biggest nation anyway, I’m sure there are other places to choose from like Ghuangzhou, Shanghai, etc.

Wow! That’s good news for Filipino backpackers who are wanting to backpack Cambodia.  Cebu Pacific Air(CebuPac) now flies to Siem Reap!  Man, it was just last year when I tried so hard to find a direct flight to Cambodia, either Pnomh Penh or Siem Reap (I want to see Phnom Penh too) but it was such a hassle that there was none.

From Manila, I flew to Ho Chi Minh City, stayed there for a night (which means plus hotel cost and food, less time) then board a bus to Phnom Penh-Siem Reap that took 14 hour border crossing in total.  Going back to Ho Chi Minh, you have to stay a night in Pnomh Penh because first bus trip is at 5am.  It’s part of the adventure I know and I enjoyed it as I met a 7 year old multi-lingual boy, saw that they eat Tarantulas, and biked around the city of Phnom Penh, enjoyed a $1 set of food every meal time (that of course are street foods), but hey its better to have options like this flight.

I hope CebuPac would launch a direct flight to Luang Prabang, Laos and that would be another dream come true for me. I want to go back to Laos specially there up north but I don’t want to go back to the horrible bus ride within Laos,  I remembered how my friend Or reacted, “Lyndsay, that’s part of the adventure!”. I am quite an adventurous person, but hell no! I don’t want to experience Laos dodgy transport system again, no way!

I’d go for any long bus ride involving Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia (those are just I have experienced) but not Laos, it was a nightmare! They don’t care about you really, they can just leave in the middle of nowhere, one solo Israelian girl with us cried over that and I can understand.  Dang, that was scary!  So I wish, since flight to Siem Reap has become a reality may the Luang Prabang flight be granted by CebuPac (fingerscrossed).

Resisting urge to splurge when you travel is not easy, that’s a fact.  This is not a hulabalooh (I know its not a word, I just made that up)words that are just coming out of my mouth, it is based on experience of not just myself but even first time travellers.  Even veterans sometimes give in to the urge of spending their moolah but they know the limits now.

It took me awhile to figure out what good and not I can get from resisting to shop around, specially if you are backpacking.  Easy when you are travelling just for a short period of time, but not when you really want to backpack.  Why?

Reasons why resist the urge to splurge…

Less money.  Of course, when you spend money on something you will have less money on hand. Less budget for your travels, food, accommodation, etc.

More to carry. You lose some, you win some.  Yet, on this case you gain more pounds to carry from the shopping spree you did not resist and can cause mood swings as to why you did buy those things you don’t actually need, carrying them around will piss you off. TIP: buy souvenirs at the last leg of your trip, if you really want to shop for you and your friends.

Less activities.  You say, “Shopping is an activity!”… True, but you can shop anywhere, even from where you are from but the fun and experience in that new place is priceless.  Although, I am not asking you to change your choice of fun if that what makes you happy on that trip.  However, setting your priorities is always important.  I personally, would choose to go to a natural waterfall, beach, or river spending less but doing more (just for a thought).

Those are just something to ponder.  I still shop one or two items from places I go to, a friend asked me “So you have a lot of souvenirs from places you’ve been to?”.  I have some and mostly easy to carry, bracelets, shirt, fisherman’s pants, genie pants and believe me, there are lots of things that triggers my urge to splurge everywhere I go but I only use my personal  mantra in my mind.  Telling myself  “You don’t want to carry that a lot, don’t buy that”, and if it works then good on me, if not then that means I could handle to carry it around and not complain.

Sooner or later, you will realize or let say, you will learn the importance of it.  Backpacking is such a humbling experience really, no matter who you are when you started your trip, you will never be the same because you will be better.  Even how glamorously, self centered, self conscious you are at the beginning you will be surprise how it will transform you just like how the sole sisters did.  I am proud that they are self confessed glampackers to poorpackers, read their inspiring story.

Congratulations! Now, that you have decided to backpack on your own the first time and skip all those well pampered, fully organized, dodgy travel tours (just to say you have travelled here and there even if you just went to see a jewelry shop in Bangkok), its time to have and experience the coolest adventure of your life! To backpack.  Yeah, I’ll give you tips on how to do it on your own.

Okay, so you will soon be a backpacker, what to do next? Here it is…

5 Tips for First Time Backpackers

Research.  Find out anything about the place where you want to go first, their visa rules, currency, climate, culture, hostel prices, food, etc. You have to be equipped with the necessary information of the place to start up with. Lonely Planet is the ultimate backpackers bible(do not be so stubborn, this is just a guide and not super accurate fact. Take note of the time it was researched to being published ok?)

Pack Light.  When you’re backpacking (no time frame and itinerary), it is way better that you pack light, that is my most important travel packing tip so you won’t have to worry carrying a lot. You’ll have what you need along the way anyway, rather than carrying things you don’t need.

Choose your accommodation wisely. I suggest you book your first night online on your preferred hostel, you have the next day to explore and find more cheaper and better hostel (look for the accommodation  near where you want to visit to save you money from transfers).  Most backpackers choose to stay in hostels, its cheaper and you get to meet new buddies there that may be your next guide to your next destination.  They always provide safety lockers (and if they don’t, I won’t trust the place). TIP: Beware from Vietnam Provinces’ accommodation, bring a small padlock there are several incidences that people lose their valuables in their room (private rooms), so always ask for safety boxes or cabinets where you can put on padlocks.

Travel Cheap.  Backpacking is all about extending your trip, no limits, no boundaries (well, most of the time). So how is it possible to travel cheap? Man, I found out not so long ago and its never too late to let you know and share how I enjoyed how it was and will be. If you could resist the urge to splurge, you’ll get to see more places.  Keep in mind that its either you get to see more or carry more things around is your choice, so set your priorities.

Set Your Mind for Real Adventure.  There are little adventures along the way too, like walking everyday to save for transfers or staying in a $1 dorm room, eating street foods, or trying things you haven’t done before (with caution and responsibility of course) like Vang Vieng, Laos‘ style, outdoor sports like rock climbing or surfing, eating exotic strange foods, or even volunteering for some charity English teaching in Southeast Asia.  All of these will make your experience worth remembering and will always make you high reminiscing every moment of it.  Take every experience as an adventure, don’t whine, complain, get mad, or depressed, just always have fun and it will make your trip light and grand.

Now, if you read all of this post including the links then you’ll be set for your first backpacking trip that will be an amazing adventure if you keep a positive mind set.  Do not expect too much, so you’ll gain more.  Bon voyage!

Who are the burned out backpackers, you’re probably thinking? I asked myself if I will ever get burned out backpacking?  Why would I? It’s fun, it’s awesome, it’s adventure.  All you have to do is travel around indefinitely, aimlessly, just following where your instincts want to go, discover things you never thought you will or learned something you only dreamed of doing(and thought it was impossible).  I thought  then, NEVAH!

I met lots of long time travellers too, backpacking all over the world continuously for years and some of them said, they will soon have to stop, go back to their country and work, or settle somewhere to live (whether in Southeast Asia or Europe or somewhere away from their home country).  It is fun going around, meeting people, doing things, exploring languages and cultures but when you’re doing it for so long, you will get burned out, bored.

Bored?!  Well, yeah…funny how I thought then “How the hell would that kind of lifestyle bore you?”  I think, its not how but when it becomes your routine, no matter how adventurous your routine is will become normal to you and soon will bore you.

Did I felt the same?  Hell yeah!  The first time I went backpacking non stop for more than a year and a half Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific, slowly got me bored and tired hopping places to places that I thought I want to settle down (good thing I didn’t).  I went back to Philippines and wanted something new, but I know travelling will always be a part of me.

I went working in Singapore, but then again after few months of draining myself working and thinking about the visa stuff, I started travelling again and that time I was bold enough to do it alone.  Once again,  the travel bug’s venom was triggered in my blood and it was stronger.  Stronger, because even after 3-4 months backpacking solo I still have to go and do flashpacks here and there.

My passion to see the world is still there, and I don’t know when or will it ever stop burning in me but true to the title, burned out backpackers will always look for adventure, just need to break the routine!

(Me, trying to munch a grasshopper)

I grew up in a family that runs food business, my mum is a native of the culinary capital of the Philippines, my brother a culinary graduate, and me with a degree of Hotel and Restaurant Management we know what’s good and bad tasting food.  We were a great food critics when were dining out, discussing what’s the dish’s ingredients missing.

(Balut)

Never thought in my life I would be daring enough to try bizarre food although I have small hints here and there growing up as I have tried strange food here growing up, intentionally and not like fried little frogs when I was 8.  Accidentally ate a dog kinilaw (broiled dog, chopped, and mixed with chopped onions, chilis, salt, and vinegar)normally eaten in drinking sessions, that tasted good though, but I hated it when I found out it was dog’s meat and my uncles started laughing! Carabao meat stew, horse meat stew, goat stewed in tomato soup, balut, one day old chick,and curried snails.  Yet, it never occured to me that I will be up for eating bugs until I started backpacking.

(Fried Tarantulas)

Cambodian Tarantulas

In Cambodia, if was not in transit, I know I will try their friend Tarantulas. It looks freaky alive and dude, they’re deadly! But they looked okay when they’re cooked, so I thought I can give it a try if I was not in transit just in case I would need to rush in the toilet. That’s their delicacy.

Thai Grasshoppers

In Thailand, it wasn’t my first time to see the fried bugs in Bangkok (it’s my 4th or 5th time to roam around the city) but because they looked like the way they are alive, I am not that gutsy to try.  Until a little peer pressure from Dougly came , that moment he saw the lady with the cart of fried bugs he was delighted and I thought “Uh oh…”.  Doug bought a scoop of grasshoppers and I was a little hesitant. He volunteered to eat one first, and so it was my turn.  I wasn’t sure if I was ready or not, but I thought Thai people eats it and they’re alive, this is not my everyday food so why not? Trying to psyche myself to eat it, I took my first bite. “Crrrunch… crrrunch…crrrunch” as I chew the grasshopper’s head, Doug was quiet and I know he was trying to conceal a laugh! It tasted like soy saucy, crunchy chips with a weird form in your mouth but its not bad, although we didn’t eat it all. I ate two, I think Doug ate three or four, I’m not sure.  It was cool trying new things like that, but it’s definitely bizarre.  I could do the other bugs the lady’s selling…cockroaches, scorpions, worms, crickets.. Maybe I can do ants, but I’m overwhelmed with grasshopper already.

I don’t know what I would try next time, as the saying goes… “You’ll never know…” What about you? How strange would you go for your taste?

Four years ago, I have no idea what backpackers are.  All I know are tourists.  I didn’t know there are type of travellers roaming around the world, and even if I always dream of travelling around the world then, I thought it would take ages before I’d be able to do that because of the expenses.  I didn’t know you can travel in a budget way like backpackers do, until I met my then boyfriend T, who introduced me to backpacking.

When I started backpacking alone, I began to have this huge curiosity to learn more my way (and not fed information from someone else’s opinion).  I began doing things I always want to do but never thought I could, see things and places I always want to see, and crack out of my shyness shield when I can.

Hostels, guesthouses, backpacker inns  became my means of accommodation. Suddenly, my yuppy attitude began to fade away, everything is such a humbling experience. Why Backpackers Choose Hostels? Because they’re a place to sleep, place to mingle, ask real travel information from real travellers(I find backpackers the real ones than just taking photos, splurgy tourists), and they’re cheap!

Although there are hostels that are not as clean as the others, you must consider where you are in the world (don’t set standards when you’re backpacking, you’ll not enjoy your trip). Then again, why are you there? Isn’t it to explore? So you’re hostels are just a place to sleep and most probably meet new friends, it’s a bonus if you get a clean, comfortable, with friendly staff and cheap at once.

Majority hostels in Southeast Asia have these common amenities;

• Clean Bunk Bed and Sheets
• Free Towels (Some may charge extra)
• Toilet papers (They charge this in Cambodia, but hell, they have the cheapest accommodation rates I’ve been so far)
• Soap and Shampoo (Super cheapies don’t have them at all,so what? you should have yours anyway)
• Free WIFI (this is always essential for me)
• Others offer free small breakfast (bread, butter, jam, and coffee/tea)
• A/C rooms or fan rooms

They’re good enough to have when you’re travelling, you are forced to explore more of the place.  Hostel prices ranges from $1-25 USD/night, depending which country you are in.  So now you know why backpackers prefer hostels/guesthouses to stay in, yeah?