The travelling experience, seen in retrospect….

Our home hidden in the garden

We have now been home 4 days. Looking back on the trip it has been very interesting. Staying at the Backpacker hostel was the most interesting. It is nearly 10 years since I stayed in backpackers hostels. We now observed at close quarters the backpacker travel species both international and local and how they had changed in that time.

They are gregarious creatures and usually travel and congregate in groups of two or more. In the evenings they gather in larger numbers to talk, chatter,laugh and swap stories, loudly, till very late at night. Sometimes, actually most times, accompanied by alcohol They are the young of the species, generally in their teens to late twenties. Their body clocks are set at a different time to ours.

So for two weeks we would go to bed after midnight, when the hostel quieted down. Then sleep through till about 9am. Our usual pattern on the road is bed at 9-00pm, up at 7-00am. (We did revert back to that pattern once we were back on the road).

They are a friendly crowd, most are electronically wired with computers, tablets, a few had Kindles and they all had mobile phones, usually the smart phones. Their dress is trendy, casual, not a daggy pair of old blue jeans to be seen. Their diet surprised me as in the communal kitchen I observed some very healthy meals being prepared. Not too many instant noodle meals.

After two weeks we were pleased to mix again with that other travel species, the “grey nomad” and “baby boomer”. The types that inhabit the caravan parks and camp grounds. Travelling in a variety of vehicles.

That got me thinking of other sub-species of travellers…

The tourist or group traveller that travel on buses and move around in packs led by a dominant organizer. They generally inhabit hotels and graze in restaurants.

Within this tourist group is the traveller on the cruise-liner. They prefer to sleep in one place, the cruise ship, but be taken to different countries. They are loosely organized but have the option of choice at each port.

There is one more species I can think of and that is the lone traveller, dedicated to long distance travel, carrying their few possessions on their back. They travel light, sleep rough in either tents or cheap hostels and have a very basic diet.

Can you think of any other types you have met in your travels? I would love to hear your stories…