I’ve started thinking about my travel itinerary for 2017, and while the planning process has mostly consisted of me squealing in excitement at my computer as I narrow down the list of places I want to go, it’s also brought along a distressing realization:
I’m not a backpacker anymore.
Okay, duh, I haven’t been on a backpacking trip since 2015.
What I really mean though, is that I no longer travel like a backpacker. That shouldn’t be such an upsetting thing to admit. In fact I should probably be patting myself on the back for completing some of those super hard adulting goals. Except why do I feel so weird?
I’m going to be spending a few days in London in November (uh… for any London friends I haven’t mentioned this to, guys let’s meet up!) and when I went to book a hostel I found myself checking to see which places have female dorms, or better yet private rooms, and then suddenly I was booking a hotel room and sure, why not spend a bit extra to have breakfast included?
What’s next, am I going to start buying the expensive olive oil?!
Ha, as if. No, the reason behind my change in travel style is less about me suddenly becoming super fancy and more about the simple fact that I’m traveling a lot less these days.
Whereas travel and everyday life used to be one and the same for me, now trips are something I plan and look forward to, and a chance for, well, a holiday. And that’s not actually anything new, as even as a backpacker I would sometimes splurge on mini “holidays” in nice hotels.
If it sounds like I’m desperately trying to justify my upgraded travel style it’s because I am.
Because what I’ve realized while crisising over this change is that not only had I somehow packed my identity into my choice of luggage, but also a big part of me kind of does still think backpacking is the best way to truly experience a place as a traveler.
And mostly what I mean by backpacking here is slow travel over several months, where I’d stay at hostels, Couchsurf, hitchhike, and stick to a tiny little budget.
I do hope that I can go on more backpacking adventures in the future – I’m dying to take a few months off to drag Dan through Central Asia – but in the meantime I’m going to have to figure out new ways to meet people and wander off the beaten path that don’t involve hostel common rooms, hitchhiking, and spending weeks exploring any given location.
Because it turns out when I’m on a tight schedule hitchhiking takes way too long, I have days instead of weeks in a place, and however much I love hostels, it sort of kills my travel high when everyone starts talking about how many months they’ve been on the road and I have to be all “I’ve been traveling for three days – two more to go!”
Ugh, what have I become?
So my mission this coming year is to find new ways to continue to enjoy the benefits of slow travel – getting to know locals and other travelers, stumbling on hidden gems, and getting a real feel for new places – except without the “slow” part.
I’m thinking I might be using sites like Couchsurfing more for finding people to meet up with than couches to sleep on, I’ll have to get a little (okay a lot) better at narrowing down the number of places to explore, BlaBlaCar will be the new hitchhiking, and maybe someday I’ll even splurge on the flights that leave after 6 am. Whoa, I might have just gotten carried away there.
And maybe I will find the balance I’m looking for, instead of just feeling like a boring old woman.
Right? Right? Oh my goodness, brb while I go cover myself in glitter gel and bright blue eyeshadow in an attempt to restore my youth.
Please tell me someone can relate!
Norman says
Well…i tell you what it is…the thing is called age. It’s why I always have to laugh when I see another digitial nomad – backpacking through East Asia blog. You think this is life…but then life moves on and it’s just as nice!
the importat part is Siliva…travel becomes so much more intense. In standard week with a good itinerary i see twice as much as the typical digital nomand with a month. When you don’t backpack, when you don’t hitchike, when you am not searching for hostels…well…freedome happens (at a price $$$, admittedly).
I remember myself saying so many things. very opinioned things in my youth. The usual crap about going local, independent blablablaab…I am quite ashamed now..20 years later. Only now do i know how very wrong i was 🙂
but…that’s not bad. you live, you learn, and as long as you do, it’s fine.
Silvia says
Oh I love the idea that travel gets more intense! And I think I’m already experiencing that in a way – five days feels much longer than it used to, I guess because I can be on full “travel” mode the entire time.
Nynke says
I’m sure you’ll get used to all of this! And I feel certain that’s true because it goes for pretty much everything about growing up, not just about losing a backpacker identity. What still gets me, though: when I started teaching at university I felt just a few years older than my students because I had only just graduated myself, and now, after what feels like only a few years, I’m suddenly 18 years older than my first-year students! I’m twice their age! So weird! Still, I am slowly getting used to that idea, too. It’s just weird how the years creep up on you…
Silvia says
Haha I can totally relate! When I was little I always thought my parents’ university students seemed SO old, and even now when they talk about their students I think of them as older than me, when in fact they are a decade younger! So crazy.
Megan says
I can relate 100%. I literally can think of nothing worse than to be unshowered for days on end and have to be sleeping in a room with people snoring nonstop. Does this mean you’re going to change your blog name to “Heart my Samsonite”?!! (I’m kidding). But yes, I can completely relate 🙂
Silvia says
Lol I shoooould, it’s totally catchy, right? Ha
Renate @ Renate's Travels says
I can definitely relate too. It’s amazing to meet others on the road, but I definitely need a little time to myself and the little extra comfort a private room etc, means every now and then. I guess it’s all about the change getting older brings… *sometimes feels like I’m 70+*
Silvia says
Seriously though, like now every once and a while my hips start to ache while exploring a place and I’m like, definitely feeling like an old woman. Haha
Danny says
While I haven’t been on a backpacking trip longer than two weeks, I’ve noticed that – for the first time in a LONG time – I have hardly any travel plans for the next year. We’ll see what happens (since I’m sure I’ll start feeling restless pretty soon), but I’m actually enjoying taking things easy and not overdoing the whole travel thing at the moment (side note: is that even alright for a travel blogging to admit?!).
Silvia says
Well I think my page views tripled in my first year of being “settled” so maybe not traveling is the way forward for travel bloggers? Haha
Mary B says
It’s hard because obviously your backpacker identity is a big part of who you are and this space you’ve created – but don’t let that limit you or make you feel bad. You can be whatever kind of traveler you want to be – and sometimes you might be all of them in one trip! What adulting has given you is the freedom to choose how you want to travel (okay… and probably some time restrictions on how much vacation you can take). In my mid-30’s, I run the gamut from hostel dorms and street food to luxury hotels and prix fixe dinners. Often, I combine them in weird ways – hostel + fancy dinner splurge; hotel splurge + street shawarma. In fact, that’s one of my favorite things – getting to choose to splurge on the things that matter to me, as opposed to being forced to go with the cheapest option because it’s all I can afford. So have fun in London and enjoy the hell out of that hotel breakfast!
Silvia says
I’m a HUGE fan of the hotel + street/supermarket food, haha. It is really nice being a position to choose what sort of travel style I want to go for, instead of being forced into the cheaper option.
Allison says
I’ve kind of done the opposite! I got the “real job” early in life (at 21, what was I thinking?!) working as a teacher, and I used to plan the HELL out of my week-at-a-time vacations! Since I looked forward to them so much, I spent virtually all my free time (and lots of time I should have supervising children, oops) thinking of and planning my travels. Now that I’ve quit to do the whole backpacking thing, I find that I plan so little – which sometimes works great and sometimes doesn’t! Back when I was just traveling for 5-7 days at a time, I’d go somewhere and rock out my itinerary. I saw more of Istanbul in 6 days than most people would see in two or three weeks – and half the time I did it with a ridiculous fever because fuck it, it was my vacation and I was going to do it whether it felt like a fever dream or not! Now that I’m backpacking, sometimes I see a lot, sometimes I really don’t… Like, I just spent over a week in Rome and I didn’t even go to the Coliseum or to the Vatican museum and basically just jumped from place to place eating pasta. Neither is better or worse – just totally different. PS If you go to Camden Lock market in London, they have the most delicious Ethiopian food stall and you get a massive amount for only 5 pounds, it’s the best thing ever <3
Silvia says
Oh my goodness, totally craving Ethiopian food now! And I really like the idea that no travel style is really better or worse, and it’s something I think I’m quickly learning now.
Edna says
Can totally relate — but more importantly, are you going to London for WTM?? Would love to finally meet up!
Silvia says
Yesss I am going, we need to meet!!
Lia @ Practical Wanderlust says
I totally get how the length of your trip can affect this. I backpacked right after I graduated college for a few weeks and loved staying in hostels. But over the next 4 years, I didn’t stay in a single hostel, because I was only traveling for a week at a time on a break from work. Why not spend my hard earned income on a nice hotel room? It’s only a week, after all. Now, here I am 4 years after my first backpacking trip, much older, and on a much longer trip …. 7 months. And I LOVE hostels again. We tried staying in hotels (as that “mini vacation” you mentioned!) and just felt … lonely. And irritated that we couldn’t save money by cooking our own meals or getting laundry done for cheap. We missed hostels on our little vacations away from them! When we go back to reality and back to having jobs, I doubt I’ll stay in hostels on my week-away little vacations. But right now, hostels are perfect for us and for our lifestyle. So maybe it’s not that you’re not a backpacker anymore, it’s just that you’re not taking any backpacking trips at the moment 🙂
Brigitte says
I can totally relate to this.. I find that ever since I got myself a decent (full-time, relatively well-paid) job I prefer to stay in a hotel instead of a hostel, just because I can afford it. I guess it comes with age!!
Karen says
Love this and totally relate. I was recently on a similar trip where we stayed at hostels the whole way and I don’t know, although I used to be a true backpacker in many senses, I’ve grown older and my preferences have changed. I still enjoy staying at hostels in private rooms and couchsurfing while having my own place (in order to meet locals), but there’s nothing wrong with being aware of what you dislike. Travel is not about little boxes that we tick off.
Brooklyn says
Yup I can relate! After being a backpacker, now that I have a more settled and stable lifestyle I’m not the backpacker I used to be. I still love the environment of hostels and all things backpacker, but now I really value having more comfort to go “home” to and spending a bit extra for a bit more.
Victoria @The British Berliner says
I can totally relate!
I wouldn’t even say it’s an age thing as backpackers come in all ages and sizes. It’s more to do with the particular situation in hand.
I prefer very nice hotels but I tend to aim for boutique, quirky, at design hotels, that are actually more expensive than corporate hotels! Having said that, I like boutique hostels too. In a private room of course. Ho! Ho!
Don’t beat yourself up, times change and so do you. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t do as much travelling as you used to, but when you do, make it count & mix things up!
Camila @ AdventitiousViolet says
Very interesting post! I’ve never been a backpacker and will never be one, but I really admire those who are. This is a very interesting way of looking at it and I can understand it must be difficult to reconcile that part of yourself with your current life situation. But there are so many other ways to travel and I hope you’ll find solace in one of them 🙂
Cierra says
Defiantly can relate! I am 26, I started traveling when I was 22, and now traveling for me doesn’t look like hitchhikes and sleeping in airports and buses. I now have hotels, and direct flights. It is strange sometimes, but in the grand scheme of things, life is one big trip, so enjoying the different paths we take, the unplanned ones ( i never thought i would be anything more than a backpacker, and here we are haha). Anyways, enjoy! If you do end up doing central asia can’t wait to read about it! Will love going there one day with my husband .
Silvia says
I adored Central Asia the first time I went, and I can’t wait to take Dan someday! But until then I probably will be a hotel girl, haha.
Mark Walden says
Sorry to be a cynic but the amount of blog type travel websites such as these that are bereath online is neausauting. Yes I agree with alot what you are saying but you could probably line up literally thousands of people who love travel and could write the same drivel. But beneath these pearls of wisdom lie the affiliate links which immediately put an end to any interest I would have. But at least you are transparent about this which I’ll give you credit.