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5acrefarmer
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Hi
I've never seen the term/word 'flashpackers' before, wondering what its exact meaning is.
(I have a feeling I don't want to be one!)
I've notice it used as a term to possibly describe a form of traveller/tourist/backpacker
but also maybe a chain of hostels or hotels throughout SEA.
Interesting AND insulting?
#1 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 07:36
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neosho
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It means you travel a little more upscale economicly. You stay in 3 star hotels with private baths, fly or take the VIP buses. I think I fall into the catagorey and don't take it as an insult.
#2 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 07:53
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busylizzy
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Flashpacker primarily relates to how much disposable income you have to upgrade your choice of accom and transport.
I think I would be considered a flashy backpacker. I don't always go for the cheapest option around, am happy to spend money where it counts, but will do things to save money where I can.
I definitely don't like dorm-style, shared accom and I will pay more to have private bathroom. I'm happy to persevere on non-VIP bus rides for up to 6 hours or so, but would 'upgrade' if I had the chance on anything longer. I will sometimes jump on a flight rather than suffer a 10-12 hour bus ride.
I definitely don't think it's an insulting term - and in fact, it can be quite helpful to 'categorise' yourself when asking for advice, or giving advice to others.
#3 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 09:29
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exacto
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i'd definitely say i'm a flashpacker too. i think we tend to be folks who have been backpacking for awhile, and rather than give up the fun and adventure and freedom of the backpacking style, just decided to upgrade accommodation and transport a bit. sure, i have more money to spend than i did before, but i also have less time in which to spend it - six to eight weeks if i'm lucky rather than that money months.
anyway, i don't think there is any insult to the term either. but as lizzy says, it helps to get a sense of what a person might be seeking when they ask questions on the board, etc. cheers.
#4 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 10:38
svendj
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well agree with all these posts here, definitely don't find is as an insult.
and as exacto says, you're probably working now, so don't get a lot of holiday's any more, but if you do get some you'd rather want to go with upgrades on everything.
But there still are 2 different flashpackers in my opinion, the ones who go for the upgrades and stuff but still act as being a normal backpacker (I belong to this one, and I think Exacto, Busylizzy and neosho as well), and the ones who start bragging about it, that they are backpacking and having a **** load of money with them so they'll go for the higher standards, bla bla bla.
You won't find them very often, though did manage to bump into 2-3 while on my trips. Anyway I don't give much of respect to these last ones.
Every backpacker turns into a positive flashpacker sometimes.
#5 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 14:57
5acrefarmer
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I think I'm ready to join!
I thought maybe a flashpacker was a backpacker rushing around seeing an entire country in a week and a half (flash as in fast).
I've always loved 'roughing it' since my first trip way back in 1979 but to ease up a little seems like a good idea. I too am tired of dorms and hate long bus trips and with SEA being so cheap the comfort of your own room makes sense.
So are Flashpackers seasoned travellers who through experience know how to get the right balance between quality and quantity?
#6 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 16:54
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5acrefarmer
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PS. I just threw that word 'insult' in to spice things up a bit!
#7 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 16:55
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shaydan_01
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Most people would consider my partner and I to be "flashpackers" because we will usually opt to stay in places that have private bathroom, and air-con where budget permits. However.... we rarely ever drink alcohol, and so we still manage to stick to a $30 a day or under budget because of this (which from what I have read seems to be the average daily budget for most backpackers in south east asia). Most people who would be considered to be "backpackers" rather than "flashpackers" that I have met, who stay in the cheapest possible dorms with shared bathroom and fan etc, still spend more money than I do each day because they drink very regularly.
So as a means to determine the kind of accommodation and transport you use, then the term can be quite accurately used, however to determine a budget that you should travel on, well that's a little more ambiguous.
#8 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 19:28
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caseyprich
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just to agree: i want to sleep in a room by myself or with just my friend whose snoring i'm used to - i'll pay the extra three dollars for the more comfortable mini-van - so what if i already had a massage yesterday, my back still hurts and i've got nothing else to do this week.
heard of a macpacker . . . i myself don't go on vacation with my computer.
#9 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 21:24
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5acrefarmer
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PCpacker just doesn't have the same aura!
#10 Posted: 18/9/2010 - 05:02
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humpdawg
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The other day I heard someone been called a fudgepacker. Would that be a step up from flashpacker?
#11 Posted: 18/9/2010 - 15:01
MADMAC
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What are you when you travel from Province to province on a chopper and stay in the nicest hotels in the city where you happen to be?
#12 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 13:22
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caseyprich
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CIA
#13 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 19:34
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somsai
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bike tourist
#14 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 23:43
MADMAC
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Having worked with (not as a member mind you - in association with) the CIA before, I am pretty sure that they do not travel on choppers from province to province and hang out. Well, I guess some might for fun afte they've retired...
A bike tourist - OK that's me.
#15 Posted: 20/9/2010 - 09:24
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