The Difference Between Tourist and Backpacker

Many people tend to equate between traveling and backpacking. Actually, there is one significant difference, namely customs or habits between the traveler and backpacker.

Today's traveler've identified with tourists. Here tourists can be interpreted, foreigners who come to a place, then spent the money for buying things. This is in contrast with the ancient traveler, like Marcopolo or Columbus. They called the traveler for a trip, or more precisely, adventure, finding new and exotic mysterious places. But over time, where the internet is not a new thing anymore, as Starbucks and McDonald's food has become mandatory, then the change is also purpose and meaning of traveling. People who used to be called a traveler looking for more select experience (buying experience), now its meaning is reduced to tourists, who prefer to buy goods (buying things). Beside that, tourist is moving form one place to another place without any settled purpose, business, or seeking work while backpacker is a tourist who travel from one place to another place with backpack. So, backpacker can be categorized as tourist but tourist is not definitely a backpacker.

Searching experience is now more synonymous with backpacking or adventurer. Backpacker here are carrying backpacks, traveling to where an entirely new, and tends to be more efficient compared with the tourists. They also prefer to buy experiences instead of goods. So do not be surprised, sulking or grumbling when he saw a home backpakcer not brought gifts but hundreds of photos. Not because they are cheap, but they prefer to buy the experience than buying souvenirs. And many people who think that the backpacker was identical to a miserable journey, homeless or not bathing for days, it can not say that opinion is completely wrong. Because of the backpaker, saving is one of the easiest ways to survive. But I think, if you think backpacker must make the journey with passion, it seems you have to change your perspective about backpacker. Travel opinion does not mean a miserable trip right?