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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Why become a backpacker ?

Backpacker is a term refer to young people (it can be solo or duo) who like to travel usually abroad with low-budget cost.
They usually use low-cost airlines, public transportation, preference of youth hostel or even free accommodation from locals, an interest to make relationship with local people and don’t forget they use a backpack of course.


It’s not only about the budget I think , more than that it’s about a lifestyle. A lifestyle which has a passion for a challenging adventure. Recent research has found that, "...backpackers constituted a heterogeneous group with respect to the diversity of rationales and meanings attached to their travel experiences. ...They also displayed a common commitment to a non-institutionalised form of travel, which was central to their self-identification as backpackers.
So it can be differentiated between backpacker and usual traveller, who emphasize in the comfortness on their trip.

Some backpackers do it to spice their lifes up because of getting bored from his / her day to day job. It’s about a freedom of creating the challenging adventure , making new stories and discover a new things in outer world.
Become a real backpacker needs a qualification.
It’s not very hard to be, but you need to possess some qualities before you start your journey. A backpacker needs to be independent. You have to be willing to take risks and responsibilities by yourself. That includes looking for proper accommodation like hostel, seeking information, and choose your meals and transportation. It’s hard to succeed if you always depend on others to do the job. Dont worry if you haven’t had that qualification now, just learn and learn again. Never give up. You can find many tips how to become  real backpacker from various sources.

Being prepared is very important for backpacking. You need to find some information (from internet or travel guide) and plan your trip, especially about your destination and how to get there. Without planning, you might have a terrible trip. Plan your travel route and destinations wisely so that you can save time and money. You also need to prepare your equipments such as backpack with all of its equipment ( such as medicine, dictionary, travel map etc). Don’t forget to be smart in packing your stuff, so you could save space and reduce the weight of your backpack. The other important thing to be prepared is about the documentation for your trip. You can bring camera, handycam or maybe just a diary to accompany you. It will be your sweet memories in future.

The principal thing, you must be willing to sacrifice. Backpackers encounter many difficulties and challenges. They have to travel for long hours, endure bad weather, and sometimes interact with bad local people. It’s not all honeymoon experience and you should prepare to pay the price for your golden experience.
Finally, backpacking is not just about experiencing the new things, but also an inner journey of self discovery and character development.

So if you have a leisure time , what are you waiting for ? Take your backpack and lets start your own challenging trip and make it become your unforgetable momment in your lifetime.

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