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The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

perceptivetravel.com

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Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#71

Post by frontman1988 »

eezurr wrote: post #58

>In every culture the native costume is the first thing to go, native architecture is next. Food is one of the last to go, even in modern places where people are wearing blue jeans. So these days I like to go to places where there is still native costume and native architecture. Unfortunately these areas are shrinking. I'm not nostalgic about it; I understand the reasons behind the changes, and it's a net improvement…

Currently there's a famine going on in Eastern Africa. Children are dying daily of acute malnutrition in Somalia. I don't think life is too rosy for them.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#72

Post by julienchastang »

Interesting read though I think he focuses a little too much on the hardship of his travels and not enough on the joys of his journey. Or maybe his travels were not that pleasurable -- that is the impression I got anyway. Also unfortunately, the pictures do not have captions (where are those two fellows on their small donkeys?) and it seems the digital scan of the 35mm could have been a little higher quality. Lastly, if interested in a good read on a similar subject checkout "L'Usage du monde" (The Way of the World" in English) by Nicolas Bouvier. He covers similar territory but expressing more of the delights of wanderlust (as well as the hardships).

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#73

Post by frontman1988 »

tomatowurst wrote: post #68
symlinkk wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah this is the elephant in the room that no one talks about. And it’s not just about old guys going over there and picking up prostitutes, young guys will go over there and pick up regular girls on Tinder, just because it’s way easier to get laid there than in the West, for a bunch of controversial reasons that we aren’t allowed to talk about.

Probably because prostitutes are on Tinder now and poverty drives them to such behavior. You will have a tougher time in more economically advanced countries compared to one popular hotspot which you are talking about. Also why fly 4000 miles just to have sex? Why not just pay for a companion here? As an asexual I don't really understand this. My friends are constantly rambling on or making remarks about how so and s…

Sex is a very primal need for most people. Lack of it for long time drives people crazy. It's just how evolution has primed most homo sapiens. Going to south asian countries is cheaper for sex travellers probably. You can rent a gf experience for few weeks at the same cost it will take to hire an escort for few days in the west.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#74

Post by 0xRusty »

robga wrote: post #36

(with the disclaimer that it has been 30 months since travelling widely) It's still possible. 99% of travellers proceed along narrow planks of tourist hotspots that represent 1% of what is interesting in the world. Once it was lonely planet trails, then tripadvisor routes, now instagram pin plots. It's so easy to step off those paths, and doing so is very rewarding. Use those guides as guides as to what what not to d…

Hmmm I'm afraid with my limited vacation time each year I'm now a firm believer in following the well trodden path most of the time. I've had too many trips where you try and do something completely unique like go to an island or a province "tourists never go to"...and then you discover why. There's nothing there. I went to a couple of the Pacific islands in Micronesia which don't get many tourists thinking I was being so adventurous. It was the biggest pain in the ass to get there and it turns out no one goes there it's because it's basically a sulfur mine (1 nice beach though). So call me boring but from now on I'll queue up to see the Taj Mahal with 20,000 other people and enjoy that experience just as much.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#75

Post by jltsiren »

robga wrote: post #36

(with the disclaimer that it has been 30 months since travelling widely) It's still possible. 99% of travellers proceed along narrow planks of tourist hotspots that represent 1% of what is interesting in the world. Once it was lonely planet trails, then tripadvisor routes, now instagram pin plots. It's so easy to step off those paths, and doing so is very rewarding. Use those guides as guides as to what what not to d…

Wasn't the Lonely Planet era basically about hordes of Western backpackers going off the beaten path, while Lonely Planet carefully documented all the good things the backpackers found? It made many obscure places famous, but only a few of those famous places became touristy, because the others were too difficult to reach.

Consider something like Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal. If you mentioned something about the Trans-Siberian Railway, everyone and their dog would recommend going to Olkhon. Not that many people actually went there, because the island is quite remote.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#76

Post by contingencies »

My parents were both travelers of this period. I sent them the article.

Parent one: This is just the time I was in Indonesia. End of 1971. No guidebooks. No english spoken. A different time. A wonderful time to be travelling. It's so true about the expense of developing pics. Which continued after we had children.

Parent two: Great article. I remember those dorms in India and the 6 weeks I spent in Nepal where you walked or cycled everywhere. I carried my medium format camera with me. I photographed the main temple in Bhaktapur which was destroyed by the big earthquake in 2015. That's where I met Tom who carries on his travels, currently in Sri Lanka with his bicycle. Great memories. Your pictures of China will be a good record in the not too distant future.

NB. I have spent most of my life in Asia since 18 (now 40). Caught the end of TCs and no ATMs or internet. Also sent the article to some other friends of the era, may update with their responses when received.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#77

Post by tomatowurst »

frontman1988 wrote: post #73
tomatowurst wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because prostitutes are on Tinder now and poverty drives them to such behavior. You will have a tougher time in more economically advanced countries compared to one popular hotspot which you are talking about. Also why fly 4000 miles just to have sex? Why not just pay for a companion here? As an asexual I don't really understand this. My friends are constantly rambling on or making remarks about how so and s…

Sex is a very primal need for most people. Lack of it for long time drives people crazy. It's just how evolution has primed most homo sapiens. Going to south asian countries is cheaper for sex travellers probably. You can rent a gf experience for few weeks at the same cost it will take to hire an escort for few days in the west.

why is it that for some people this is not a problem? what makes them this way vs most people? for a very long time I pondered why I am not like others but after I realized that I wasn't alone I found much solace.

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#78

Post by Karrot_Kream »

0xRusty wrote: post #74
robga wrote: post #36

(with the disclaimer that it has been 30 months since travelling widely) It's still possible. 99% of travellers proceed along narrow planks of tourist hotspots that represent 1% of what is interesting in the world. Once it was lonely planet trails, then tripadvisor routes, now instagram pin plots. It's so easy to step off those paths, and doing so is very rewarding. Use those guides as guides as to what what not to d…

Hmmm I'm afraid with my limited vacation time each year I'm now a firm believer in following the well trodden path most of the time. I've had too many trips where you try and do something completely unique like go to an island or a province "tourists never go to"...and then you discover why. There's nothing there. I went to a couple of the Pacific islands in Micronesia which don't get many tourists thinking I was bei…

I mean, that's what "adventure travel" is most of the time. If you don't like the journey then you won't enjoy it. My partner and I backpack and bike travel quite a bit, and yeah there's definitely towns you enter that are just... boring towns. Sometimes you end up at a beach you found on the map/saw in the distance and you realize it's cold and rocky. There have also definitely been occasions where we've been quite scared for a variety of reasons.

It's fundamentally a bit of a gamble. The folks that keep doing it enjoy the gamble. There are some hills I've crested while bikepacking and some towns I've been through that have been absolutely gorgeous and those certainly help, but everyone I know who enjoys this kind of travel enjoys getting outside and getting a bit rough and dirty. I encourage everyone to travel like this as long as they feel safe (and it's important to remember that different genders, sexual minorities, and ethnicities will feel differing levels of discomfort in different locations so safety should always be top priority.) But if you don't like the gamble, then head to a resort and take a tour bus to the Taj Mahal!

Re: The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s (2018)

#80

Post by Karrot_Kream »

tomatowurst wrote: post #77
frontman1988 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sex is a very primal need for most people. Lack of it for long time drives people crazy. It's just how evolution has primed most homo sapiens. Going to south asian countries is cheaper for sex travellers probably. You can rent a gf experience for few weeks at the same cost it will take to hire an escort for few days in the west.

why is it that for some people this is not a problem? what makes them this way vs most people? for a very long time I pondered why I am not like others but after I realized that I wasn't alone I found much solace.

I think for the same reason that you're asexual but most folks aren't. I didn't have too many issues being single for large portions of my teens and early 20s, but I knew friends who would structure their weeks around finding a sexual partner at the end and would get intensely emotional about failing. Age is probably a factor as most people become less sexually and emotionally motivated with age.
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