Backpacker or Flashpacker

I kind of abandon my blog for a very long time due to personal reason but now I got to stay positive and think positive. Just hope I can stay in this state for some time before another emotional breakdown. I find that whenever I have a upcoming trip or travel, I will automatically feel better, think more positive and focus all my energy into researching for the trip or trips.

I think I have gradually graduated from a backpacker to a flashpacker. I feel that I was more a backpacker when I was in my twenties and now being in thirties and married, travelling takes a whole new different view and off course packing involves two instead of one person. Even when I called myself a backpacker in my twenties, I rarely carried those gigantic backpack save for the Tibet, Bhutan & Nepal adventure. Most of the time I used a rolling luggage bag and carried a small backpack for my big ass camera. I find that giant backpacks tend to consume me as I was quite a petite size (which I keep telling myself that) comparing to the giant backpack.

In my twenties I love staying in hostel and plus the budget constraint I had, it suited me well. I think the last time I stayed in a hostel for my whole trip was in New Zealand and Japan. Ok, it seems like I am still much of a backpacker in my thirties as well. So how do you classify yourself as a backpacker or flashpacker? For me, it's the accommodation, my style of packing and what bags to used, budget constraint in buying food or shopping and mode of transportation. I find that the older I get, I am more incline towards a bit of luxury. I still use the occasional excel worksheet to work out my itinerary and cost just like how I am doing now for my Hanoi trip in May, which it will be definitely a flashpacker trip. And I find that only my friends who are accountant / auditor background will use an excel worksheet to work out the itinerary and cost, haha.

So in conclusion, which mode would I prefer now? I guess it's mixture of both flash and back. I still tend to find cheap accommodations such as B&Bs, hostel but at least with a private bathroom. I still cut on my transportation, getting the best and most cost effective way to travel around. I still haggle like mad eventhough it was just to reduce a few ringgit (probably I feel happy and sadistic just to get what I want according to what I am willing to pay).