Backpacks - What is the Basis for the Prejudice/Snobbery Against Them in this Forum?
Sep 6th, 2001, 01:50 PM
#42
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Holly - <BR> <BR>I have also occasionally seen these types of remarks and wondered about them. I have noticed some relative generalizations both in my travels and on this board. Many, if not most, of the people older than 23-24 who carry backpacks tend to fall into the category of those who became well traveled at a young age, i.e. high school/college type people studying/working overseas who discovered the benefits of carrying a backpack early on. Convenience of one bag, free hands, etc. I also notice that most who carry them well into adulthood appear to be fairly athletic/in shape - which helps. Using a backpack vs. the roller bags is only more convenient/comfortable if you're strong enough to carry it. <BR> <BR>I'm not suggesting that all people who traveled young continue to carry backpacks - but I haven't seen many who start later who do. <BR> <BR>Moreover, anyone who thinks that whether or not they use a backpack as luggage reflects on their class/sophistication/worldliness one way or the other is . .well . . uninformed. The woman with the 2 roller suitcases filled with too many pairs of shoes/hairdryers etc may return from a trip to Europe no more culturally aware/exposed than she was shen she left . .or not. No way to know just looking at someone's luggage. <BR> <BR>
Sep 6th, 2001, 04:36 PM
#44
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I have a backpack for school & I am an OWL (Older Wiser Learner) It's ok...laugh! I'm 41 yrs. old! Anyway, I carry a backpack when I travel BUT I think it's dangerous because it's easy to have a pickpocket get what they want without you feeling a thing. So if you use them, don't put your valuables in there.
Sep 6th, 2001, 07:31 PM
#45
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Personally, I think people who travel with backpacks around Europe just HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY TRAVELING <BR> <BR>I agree that you need a backpack if you are going to camp in the Arizona desert, trek through the Andes Mountains, the Australian outback, or climb the Himalayas. BUT WHEN YOU ARE IN CITIES LIKE PARIS, ROME, MADRID, BERLIN, AMSTERDAM, ETC, where you can basically find anything you can imagine, WHY CARRY A BIG BACKPACK AROUND? <BR> <BR>Europe has all the necessities, why you feel the need to carry everything with you all the time? How can you possibly walk the streets of European cities with those heavy bags. What FOR? <BR> <BR>You can travel on a low budget without breaking your back! You can take a small luggage with wheels, and you will see how easy that is. <BR> <BR>So you need to camp out in the Plaza Mayor, or the Spanish Steps? BETTER MAKE SURE YOU CARRY GALLONS OF WATER AS CAMPING OUT IN THE COLISEUM CAN BE TREACHEROUS! AND do not forget to bring your kerosene stove, so you can boil eggs as you are waiting in line to enter the into the Sixteen Chapel! <BR> <BR>Do not forget that you must see a lot in a short period of time! The more cities and countries, the better, try to visit 15 cities and towns in 20 days! Come on you can do Europe for $3 dollars a day. Amazing! You do not have to sleep on a bed, a corner near the Trevi Fountain would do. And you can use the bathroom at MacDonald's. HEY IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TRAVEL CHEAPLY, YOU CAN WASH YOUR HAIR USING THE WATER FROM THE TREVI FOUNTAIN and take some soap or detergent from museums. <BR> <BR>And do not forget, you only need one pair of shoes and one piece of underwear if you are traveling for a year. And do not worry about food, at night you can go through the garbage restaurants and hotels put out on the street, that will be your meal for the day. Hey in London, you can use your kerosene stove to cook one of those pigeons that hang around Trafalgar Square! YUMMY! You will be helping the city of London reduce its ever-growing pigeon population. <BR>
Sep 6th, 2001, 07:50 PM
#46
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Harrod's only bars backpacks if they are worn on the back. If you carry them at your side like a briefcase or purse you are allowed into the store...It doesn't make any sense to say that backpacks are used by thieves to stuff merchandise into. It is just as easy to stuff stolen merchandise into a shopping bag from Harvey Nichols. John G.
Sep 7th, 2001, 04:00 AM
#49
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Backpacker - Traveller, meeting other nationalities, experiencing different cultures, value for money, responsible travelling <BR> <BR>Fodorite - Unsophisticated, American, three day vacation, well travelled but only knows the airline not the culture, overpays for everything, closed to new experiences,arrogant, opinionated and rude.
Sep 7th, 2001, 05:08 AM
#51
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More "caca-dodo-head" nonsense, Lizzi, Joan, and everyone else. And if you think "Fodorites" are such boobs, why are you bothering with us? Only explanation: you must be a caca-dodo-head, too. <BR> <BR>Knock it off. It was an inflammatory post to begin with. Why bother with the dumb game?
Sep 7th, 2001, 05:09 AM
#52
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I think it is interesting that someone posed a question about stereotypes and then some 50-odd posts proceeded to confirm the very conundrum to which the original question referred. <BR> <BR>Backpacks AND backpackers get the same "looks" from those travellers who are snobby and associate expensive overpriced luggage with knowledge and worldliness. Ironically, folks who travel with backpacks are JUST THAT: folks who travel with backpacks!! It could mean they are a student, it could mean they like their damn backpack. <BR> <BR>Of course, some folks have taken that a few steps further and plainly stated these folks are stinky and unkempt, etc. This part of the statement could hold true of someone who, for example, is taking night trains all over europe, staying in hostels, and having a grand ole time not caring abnout how they look day-to-day and instead caring about the museums, cities, or cultures they were able to enjoy or experience during their travel. <BR> <BR>However, referring to someone in this state of travel as creepy and to be avoided is as ignorant as saying you can tell if someone LOOKS like a child molester or someone who is mentally ill. <BR> <BR>Jeez- this is the same mentality which leads to racial profiling and other stereotypes related to criminals and mentally illness! All I can say is, my mind is free -- and my tolerance is high for people even like you. <BR> <BR>But, I still I don't get pulled over by a cop like you someday-- you might see my backpack in the back seat and arrest me on suspician! <BR> <BR>
Sep 7th, 2001, 05:17 AM
#54
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Backpackers. Upstanding pillars of the community. Always bosating how little money they need to survive on, especially in less well-off nations (especially India, Thailand etc..)Sort of takes the piss out of the culture they are supposed to embrace.
Sep 7th, 2001, 05:33 AM
#57
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I always carry a backpack.I once towed a samsonite from the bus station to my hotel 500m away. Boy, was it tough going thru the cobble streets of Paris. Backpacks are convenient for lugging your bag where there are no smooth tarred roads. As for social status, I have travelled the world, have an MBA and earn in excess of $150K. I'm in my late 20s. I wear t-shirt and jeans into a 5 star hotel with a backpack. I don't give a hoot what those $20K a year bellboys and receptionist think. When I give them my platinum card for registration they usually start calling me "sir". It is about how comfortable you feel with yourself not what you wear or carry. <BR> <BR>
Sep 7th, 2001, 05:34 AM
#58
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You do not need to spend a lot of money on luggage (I HAVE VERY CHEAP LUGGAGE, CHEAPER THAN A BACKPACK). However, talking about EXPENSIVE, BACKPACKS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE, MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JUST A REGULAR BAG. <BR> <BR>So people who choose to use a backpack to travel to Europe, just do not know how to travel. They are not just trying to cut on costs. They just think that looking like a geek and being a target for pickpockets is they way to travel.
Sep 8th, 2001, 01:09 PM
#60
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It may be that some of the more "sophisticated" travelers view the backpackers with disdain because they stay in cheap dives rather than the George V and do not dine at 3* restaurants and because their backpacks are full of what the "sophisticates" call crap. <BR> <BR>Actually, however the "sophisticates" are often full of crap--on this and other travel boards. <BR> <BR>I say this as one who is no stranger to a backpack, although I certainly don't use them anymore; I use a roll aboard. Many backpackers are just starting out in a lifetime of travels. Many trips--and many years--will cause them to evolve into roll aboard users and a bit nicer taste in hotels and restaurants. <BR> <BR>If someone wants to have a backpacking kind of trip, that's fine with me. I like a home exchanging kind of trip. Whatever your trip, it IS your trip, and no one should dictate what sort of trip you "have to" take.
