Peak Backpacking is for those tired of the beaten tourist trail, bored of the lonely planet experience, and anyone
looking for a little adventure. Whether you're a tourist or a traveller, or one who cares little about the distinction
at all, Peak Backpacking will inspire you to get out of your hostel and do something different.
"I'm catching the bus, just like the locals do!" scoffed one dreadlocked
backpacker at Manila airport as I got into my taxi. I had never met him before.
"I can't believe you're
going to that bar, it'll be full of foreigners. I'm going to hang out with the locals!" exclaimed one girl at
a hostel in New Zealand. She was Australian.
Ah yes, Travel Snobs and other assorted annoyances. They are in every
hostel in every country of the world. For them, the word local is imbued with some mystical quality that only they
can appreciate, and their travel experience is way more authentic than yours. Pity they can rarely speak any of the
local language (if it isn't English), and their idea of an authentic cultural experience is walking around with dreadlocks
and wearing beads, thinking they are on some deep journey of cultural insight.
They are, of course, generally
under the age of 25, and one often wonders if rather than save for their backpacking trip, they are instead funding it with a
trust fund provided by Mummy and Daddy back home.
It would be easy to pretend they didn't exist, but they
inconveniently seem to take up the common room in hostels in groups of their ilk (they rarely travel alone) and often talk
loudly and annoyingly about their deep travel experiences. Like the weed they just smoked.
So what to do? Ignore
them. Or vent in a blog post.
To get the most out of your traveling and have an experience
more meaningful than simply sightseeing, there are a few simple strategies that you should follow.
Studying
a language
If you want to travel to a country where you don't speak the language, why
not skip the sightseeing and do something to expand your mind - take a language course!
Studying a language, even
for a short time, will lead to many cultural experiences that you could not otherwise have. The relationships with your teachers
and the people you meet through studying alone make this one of the easiest ways to broaden the scope of your cultural understanding.
Volunteering
Another way to escape the tourist traps and have a more interesting in-country experience is to volunteer
for a social or humanitarian organisation. The options are endless - forest conservation, child orphanages, language
teaching, and more.
There are many volunteer programs advertised on the Net, but many of these are inflexible
and expensive. If this doesn't suit you, there are many more low-key volunteer opportunites available in many countries
that are easy to discover once you have arrived. More specific information is available on the individual country pages. To
chat to other volunteers or ask any questions you may have buzzing around your head, head on over to the Volunteer Forum at
www.volunteerforum.org
More ideas to leave the tourist trail and enhance your cultural experience
Sleeping in a dormitory with five beer swilling Aussies not your idea of a cultural experience?
Check
out CouchSurfing.com, a website where you can upload your profile and perhaps sleep on someone's spare couch or bed in your
chosen city. A great way to make new friends and gain a unique perspective on your destination!
For more country
or region specific information, please click on the navigational links at the top of this page.
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feedback, suggestions, or stories to webmaster(at)peakbackpacking.com.
