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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)

#91

Post by refurb »

IntFee588 wrote: post #20

Although I maintain that a persistent travel itch is a symptom of dissatisfaction in day-to-day life which should be addressed, I backpacked Europe and the Middle East the summer after university. I was an incredibly enriching experience and one of those things people should do if they can afford it. I plan on doing Cape Town to Cairo in a few years.

Why dissatisfaction? Do I pick up a book because I’m dissatisfied? Do I paint because I’m dissatisfied? Travel is another form of exploration, but not the only one.

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

#92

Post by MaxLeiter »

netsharc wrote: post #62
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…

This part grabbed me: > I remember taking an overnight bus from India to Kathmandu. That bus was probably not more than $5. I remember that morning, after traveling all night, rolling down the Kathmandu Valley and seeing the Himalayas, and a whole city with zero cars. Imagine all the cars in a big city in the 70s, with all the inefficient carburetors and the leaded gasoline fumes, and arriving at the above... Nowaday…

I was in Myanmar a few years ago as one of the few tourist groups to enter when they (temporarily) re-opened. I saw numerous children, living in huts and on dirt roads, playing Clash of Clans using military-provided electricity and internet (in order to influence votes)

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

#93

Post by ghaff »

dontbenebby wrote: post #89
ghaff wrote: post #14

One of the biggest changes is that even in the 1990s in many places, you'd have minimal or no contact with anyone back home and probably even reasonably cut off from news. When I went on a few ~month long trips to Nepal around that time, you were just starting to see some terminals for email here and there towards the end of the decade. But you were pretty much cut off from most communications.

>One of the biggest changes is that even in the 1990s in many places, you'd have minimal or no contact with anyone back home and probably even reasonably cut off from news. But did you grab english language papers as you traveled? Or truly just stop getting western news? (I agree going offline can be cool and good.)

Mostly there weren't English language newspapers. I guess I'd have found out about anything truly important on an international scale. But mostly no news. But then even at home most of my news was Time magazine once a week unless something was sufficiently important to reach me day to day.

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

#94

Post by jltsiren »

dontbenebby wrote: post #86
jltsiren wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Tran…

>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 was about first generation international travelers showing up with thousands of dollars in electronics in places with much less tolerance for wealth inequality, feeling entitled to selectively decide when to follow local customs.…

I think you are talking about a later era.

For me, the Lonely Planet era was after the overland routes to India closed but before smartphones became popular. Flying started becoming affordable, and infrastructure in the form of backpacker hostels and printed guidebooks largely replaced the word of mouth as a way of sharing information. It became increasingly likely that if you discovered something nice off the beaten path, other backpackers had already been there and documented the place in a guidebook.

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

#95

Post by wsc981 »

MaxLeiter wrote: post #92
netsharc wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This part grabbed me: > I remember taking an overnight bus from India to Kathmandu. That bus was probably not more than $5. I remember that morning, after traveling all night, rolling down the Kathmandu Valley and seeing the Himalayas, and a whole city with zero cars. Imagine all the cars in a big city in the 70s, with all the inefficient carburetors and the leaded gasoline fumes, and arriving at the above... Nowaday…

I was in Myanmar a few years ago as one of the few tourist groups to enter when they (temporarily) re-opened. I saw numerous children, living in huts and on dirt roads, playing Clash of Clans using military-provided electricity and internet (in order to influence votes)

I live in a pretty remote village in Thailand (actually very close to the border with Myanmar) and our village has an internet café. A lot of (mostly) boys spend time in the internet café after school playing video games.

When not in the internet café, many children and young adults play games on their mobile phones.

About 2 weeks ago I was in a coffee shop nearby and 3 adolescent boys were playing games there on their mobile phones. They bought a coffee to get access to free Wifi and then spend at least a couple of hours, perhaps all day, playing games.

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

#96

Post by NoImmatureAdHom »

JohnBooty wrote: post #28

Growing up in the 1960s in New Jersey was very parochial [...] I knew nothing about Asia, or even travelling; I had never even been out of New England. I realize I'm nitpicking here with regards to a very enjoyable and wonderful article but... what? New Jersey is not in New England. Same quadrant of the country. But that's bizarro.

I had the same reaction. This...was a very weird oversight.

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

#97

Post by dontbenebby »

jltsiren wrote: post #94
dontbenebby wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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 was about first generation international travelers showing up with thousands of dollars in electronics in places with much less tolerance for wealth inequality, feeling entitled to selectively decide when to follow local customs.…

I think you are talking about a later era. For me, the Lonely Planet era was after the overland routes to India closed but before smartphones became popular. Flying started becoming affordable, and infrastructure in the form of backpacker hostels and printed guidebooks largely replaced the word of mouth as a way of sharing information. It became increasingly likely that if you discovered something nice off the beaten…

> I think you are talking about a later era.

Probably right, I didn't leave North America until the twenty aughts. Things changed very rapidly in a short time between that first trip and just a few years later.

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

#98

Post by voldacar »

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.

endocrine disruptors, possibly

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

#99

Post by bricemo »

I was an exchange student in rural Japan in the early 2000’s and I think that was the final moment you could see the world like this. There were no smartphones yet or ubiquitous internet. I had some guide books but they were very general.

My host family didn’t speak English at all. Every day was like a puzzle: what does this building do? What are these tickets people have? What is this strange food, is it even food? How does this toilet even work? My only contact with home was an email I sent every month, because I had to go to a special place a different city that had internet. There were so many snacks, books, products, clothes, TV shows that no one at home had ever heard of.

I went back in the 2010’s and everything had changed. The security of your phone makes the feeling of isolation, risk, and adventure disappear. You can look everything up, it’s been documented, you’ve heard of it already. You’re still texting and talking to your normal friends on social. Everything is everywhere, you don’t really detach from home.

It really was a special window of time.

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

#100

Post by lotsofpulp »

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…

There might be some things between isolated Micronesian island and queueing behind 20k people to walk around the Taj Mahal.
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