Good heavens, that's an annoying word. Apparently, times have changed so much, so quickly, that those who spent their travelling days hitchhiking, doing without showers and cramming four people into a single room in the name of economising now feel compelled to point out how much easier the youth of today have it by naming it. So let's get things clear. The 18 to 25s who can afford to go off on their world-wide jaunts these days almost certainly already have a digital camera and an iPod, and quite possibly a laptop too. They can afford to not run the risk of hitching a ride with what might turn out to be a crazed serial killer, they can afford to sleep in places with showers every night and they can even – gasp – afford private bedrooms. Dare I say it – with private bathrooms. This is not, I repeat, not, a cop-out. This is the world we live in making progress. To assert that travellers don't have a real travel experience because they have a smoother and easier ride than their predecessors is sheer nonsense. I concede that they may well have a different travel experience. But in many ways, the technology that it has become par for the course to travel with makes the experiences fuller, because rather than wasting time trawling the streets trying to find somewhere to stay, you've already dumped your bags at your pre-booked hostel and are well on your way to see the sites and get to know the place.
Anyway, rather than venting my frustration about those who start sentences, “Well, in my day...,” I'll just get on with it. Flashpacking, as I think I may have implied above, is backpacking in the 21st century: with all the gadgets that you usually carry around with you. It is, essentially, backpacking in style. Travel has become cheaper and easier in recent times, and much more readily available. More people can do it than ever before, and far fewer of them have to well and truly slum it in the process.
All of this is supremely unworthy of attention – in fact, your average 20 year old might look a bit bewildered at the idea of travelling any other way – but the one interesting point about it is the speed at which hostel owners worldwide are proactively adapting their establishments to fit in with this new-fangled travel style. We seem to be saying goodbye to dormitory-only hostels – more and more have private bedrooms. And shared bathroom facilities? Urgh! Why put up with that if you can avoid it? So the hostel rooms are mysteriously developing en suite rooms for travellers' convenience. No longer are we seeing dirty, smelly hostels, reserved for those who have no standards – or, at least, if we are seeing them, we see them for as long as it takes for one traveller to rock up there and then text all his friends and fellow travellers and slate it on forums to warn everyone against it. What else characterises hostels in all their glorious stereotype? Let's see... communal kitchens. Well, they're certainly on average a lot cleaner than they used to be, what with the cleaning staff hostels employ these days. Groups of travellers playing cards round a table? Much more likely that it'll be travellers checking their emails/uploading their photos on their laptops, courtesy of the free wireless, or on the hostel-provided computers. In fact, thinking about it, there is very little to distinguish current hostels with hotels – except the price. And when you can stay in hotel-level comfort for a much better price, why would you stay anywhere else? Lo and behold, the Youth Hotel concept is born.
And here's the brilliant news. This shiny new flashpacking is not just for the young and grungy, unlike the backpacking of yesteryear. Older people who have well and truly turned their noses up and their backs on backpacking, deeming it something you do when you're young, can quite happily partake of this new style of travel. After all, it's about comfort. But the idea of travelling for however long you want, to wherever you want, and not having to stick to a rigidly organised plan, should not just be available to the young. That's the beauty of progress. You may have your cake and eat as much or as little of it as you see fit.
So, embrace the new, more comfortable way of travelling. Do not pine for the days where it was almost impossible to get anywhere. And remember, if you're desperate to push the boundaries of challenging travel, there's always the Mondulkiri province of North East Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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