Stuff Backpackers Like. 101 Things…

Updated November 30th, 2017.

After having travelled South East Asia extensively and now embarking upon an adventure in South America, to launch South America Backpacker Magazine, we find it very interesting that despite being on a completely different continent, there are surprising similarities between backpackers all over the world, regardless of age, nationality or experience.

You don’t even realize that you’re part of a distinct subculture until you start to look at all of the things you have in common with your fellow travellers, from mindset to clothing to food choices and lifestyle preferences. Put us all together in one place and we’re like whole new country by ourselves with our own rich culture intact! Aaahh…. Backpackersland – where beer is cheap, massage courses are mandatory, coffee is Fair Trade, happy hour lasts all year, yoga is free, beds are abolished in favour of hammocks and no one ever wears shoes. We decided to put together a list of 101 things backpackers like…

Can you recognize yourself amidst the list? Can you add any more stuff backpackers like?

1. Book swaps
2. Haviana flip flops
3. Textiled goods
4. Taking a Thai massage course
5. Paying to volunteer
6. Happy hours
7. Cross body hemp tote bags
8. Getting a bamboo tattoo in Sanskrit language
9. Hammocks
10. The Power of Now by Eckart Thole
11. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
12. Burma
13. Beer
14. Drinking alcohol out of buckets
15. Rooftop reggae bars
16. Wife beaters (as in the singlets)
17. Beards
18. Fast WIFI
19. Spinning poi
20. Cheap street food
21. Colourful markets
22. Travel photography courses
23. Showing locals photos you take of them
24. Journaling
25. Sarongs
26. Studying Buddhism
27. Free breakfast
28. String bracelets
29. Flag patches on your backpack
30. Stamps in your passport
31. Knowing everyone at home is getting up for work
32. Fruit shakes
33. Capturing five people and a dog on a motorbike
34. Fried rice
35. One night stands
36. Indigenous tribal villages
37. Silent meditation retreats
38. The juxtaposition between east and west
39. Monk chats
40. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
41. Teaching English with an NGO
42. Blogging
43. Bagels
44. Yoga
45. Spirulina
46. Playing the ukelele around a bonfire
47. Writing ‘World Traveller’ in the occupation space on forms
48. Documentary films
49. Wheatgrass
50. Fisherman pants
51. Headbands / bandanas
52. Scooters
53. Couchsurfing.com
54. Collecting beer labels and bottle caps
55. Fresh spring rolls
56. Reiki
57. Facebook likes on new travel pics
58. Learning to say ‘cheers’ in different languages
59. Bamboo huts
60. Waving at smiling children
61. Sticky rice
62. Local moonshine
63. GoPros
64. Comparing tan lines
65. Solid poos
66. Comparing mosquito bites and motorbike scars
67. Tribal prints
68. Feather earrings
69. Elephants
70. Discussing the effects of malaria tablets
71. Having photos taken with tigers
72. Organic, Fair Trade, vegan food
73. Skype
74. Criticizing the Lonely Planet
75. Free maps
76. South East Asia Backpacker Magazine (we couldn’t miss that out)
77. Movie nights at the hostel
78. Tofu
79. Local chicken buses
80. “It’s about the journey not the destination”
81. Authentic experiences
82. Happy hours
83. Home-stays
84. Being barefoot
85. Absorbing the culture
86. Going to South America next
87. Flyering / bar-work for accommodation
88. Asking fellow travelers “Where you’re from?” “How long have you been traveling?”
89. Jumping fire ropes
90. Helium balloons
91. Instagram
92. Local festivals
93. Paulo Coelho books
94. Having ‘local experiences and connections’
95. Triangle cushions
96. Competing about how strict your budget is
97. Talking about writing a novel
98. Bottled water
99. Giving something back
100. Going to places where they haven’t seen a foreigner before
101. Villages with no electricity