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There are hostels with curfews and rules that aim for the purists and people who just need a break from it all, and then there are hostels that are basically a bar with cots. They're usually grundgier and basic, but serve a purpose if you are trying to make friends or have some fun.
I am what you might call a ''retired backpacker''. I've been all over the place with my backpack. (OK, I don't have the pack anymore.)
I still travel quite a bit but now that I have kids we stay in hotels. Plus my wife was never fond of backpacking even when we did not have kids.
Anyway, it seems to me it might be slowly dying out. On my recent trips even in the more typical backpacker places (near train stations in city centres for example) there were a lot fewer of them than what I remembered. So much that I really notice them when I see them. They seemed much more ubiquitous before.
I do wonder how young people do budget travel these days if they don't backpack. Unless they are simply travelling less.
My backpacking years were some of the best years of my life.
There are hostels with curfews and rules that aim for the purists and people who just need a break from it all, and then there are hostels that are basically a bar with cots. They're usually grundgier and basic, but serve a purpose if you are trying to make friends or have some fun.
I agree. The official IYH or Hostelling International hostels tend to be the strictest with rules. Also those run by religious organizations.
The ones that are run as businesses (sometimes shady) tend to have fewer rules.
Also another thing that is kind of interesting is that 'backpacker' seems to be a slowly dying term that is beginning to become associated with an older generation of independent travellers who are reaching middle age. Lots of older people will reminisce on the 'good ol days' of when big draws were less commercialized and touristed, cheaper, and more 'authentic'. Can be kind of annoying although it's true to some extent. I think the new term is 'flashpacker', since everyone brings their laptops and smartphones and any dorm without WiFi is doomed.
I don't think it's dying out at all. On the contrary, backpacking seems more popular than ever.
Is there a lot of partying, drinking and smoking at hostels or do they keep pretty strict rules?
It varies. Some hostels have strict rules have drinking within the dorms, others not so much. Some hostels have high standards of behaviour, hygiene.etc, others (especially cheaper ones) are more anything goes. I've stayed in many hostels and been to hostels with cockroaches crawling around, and was once awoke in the middle of the night by my bunk shaking - the couple on the lower bunk were going at it like rabbits, with the full sound effects lol...
The US doesn't seem very backpacker friendly for some reason. A lack of hostels or other cheap accommodation, surprisingly poor transport links (expensive airfares, Amtrak is not as good as it should be) and cities that are generally not very walkable. Australia is better in this regard.
People are still travelling, it's that the dynamic of it is different.
What dynamic? Budget travel is bigger than it ever was, as travelling is cheaper and more accessible. I think more people are also aware of the term 'backpacker' than ever too.
I am not a big fan of the whole backpacker thing, it's not really my scene. I've found a lot of them to be a rather hypocritical bunch who oftentimes criticize anyone who stays in a hotel or who doesn't try to live off 3 dollars a day. They like to say they're more culturally aware than other people yet they only socialize with each other at bars and just walk around looking like hippies.
It's certainly an over-generalization but nonetheless I see it often.
When I travel I usually don't have complete itineraries but I wouldn't call it backpacking per se because I've rented cars before and will stay in hotels for 1 or 2 nights of the trip. But I've had great experiences couchsurfing or just meeting people to stay with during the day/night and staying at hostels as well as camping.
I've had a few couchsurfers/backpackers here at my home in Philly and it is always interesting. It's like being able to travel/meet other travelers without leaving your home.
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