I Am So A FLASHPACKER! Are you?

FLASHPACKING… when I first heard my sister mentioning this, I went like “HUH?! What??” She gave this lengthy explanation & description. And since then on, I have been wanting to do an entry on this but laziness and lack of ideas (excuses as usual LILY!) supersedes everything (like EVERYTHING). But the last few days, I finally got an inspiration while I was in the bathroom on the throne (of all the places ahhahha….).

OK! Here’s the thing, I was so uncomfortable with the word, I mean.. who wouldn’t right?! Flashpacking, I kept visualizing man in overcoat flashing his thing way on his “traveling” trip across the continent…. WHAT??? YUK! What’s next best thing to do..? Ask Mr. Google…. Hehehhehe…. I got this from USA TODAY and I thought I should share it with you guys, link can be found HERE.

Basically most of us now travel with ton of tech gadget, me too and I ain’t gonna lie. All gadgets combined probably weight 1kg at least… You don’t believe me? Check out for yourself (this doesn’t apply for super duper light travelers), basic minimal will be digital camera (compact or DSLR), spare batteries + cable (we have to be selfish here, I need to make sure battery is sufficient or I lose pic moment), SD cards (we can’t travel with just 4 or 8 GB right), then there’s the notebook + cable (fine! we can always use those public PC at hostels/guesthouses, but not as convenient as our own), iPod + cable (you need to have an iPod, else you will be bored to death on loooooong journey), PSP/NDS (little game won’t hurt) and last but not least HANDPHONE + CABLE. Wouldn't this make up to minimum 1kg of your luggage weight?? Thus WE ALL do seem flashier then the average “backpacker” or what we perceive of a backpacker.


And the above is excluding the fact that people like me don’t travel with backpack and preferred to be a trolley dolly traveler with lower budget BUT more gadget AND prefer good place to unwind… wow! I guess I fit the bill right in – FLASHPACKER (minus the overcoat “flashiness” AHHAHAH). Am sure more of you are like me…. As we do want some comfort and staying in a hotel will be too costly.

I got to know that Hostelworld.com completed a survey back in 2006 (YUP! Flashpacker term in NOT NEW!) that by 2,561 visitors to its website found that 21% of them travel with a laptop, 54% with an MP3 player, 83% with a mobile phone and 86% with a digital camera. AH HAH!!!! SEEE…. I told you! I knew without knowing, truthfully! Hahahha….

Not only this, you’ll also notice that now, most hostels comes with dorm and twin sharing or even twin sharing ensuite/attach bathroom (normally I choose this as it’s more convenient for us ladies). Some even comes with pool, diners, parking etc etc (base on my experience in Australia, New Zealand,, Indonesia, Thailand to name a few).

Casablanca, Morocco Low Budget Hotel

Noah's Ark Backpacker; South Island, New Zealand 

City Backpackers; Brisbane, Australia

City Backapackers' facilities.

 City Backpackers' Pool

Romania's Prince Park Residence in Bucharest

Prince Park Residence comes with kitchenette & huge patio

Baan Lotus in Ayuthayya, Thailand comes with pond, pets, courtyard etc

Soooo…. Which one are you? Pure backpacker? Or Flashpacker like me?