Flashpacking

JUN

When roaming the world with a backpack on, it does not mean you have to leave behind technology, and that is the premise of a new type of backpacker: the flashpacker.

Flashpacking is backpacking, but you bring your tech gear along with you. Cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, they all help to provide a way of recording your experiences and enabling you to learn about the culture around you and communicate in places where you may feel a little cut off.

A survey completed earlier this year by 2,561 visitors to the Hostelworld.com website found that 21% of them travel with a laptop, 54% with an MP3 player, 83% with a mobile phone and 86% with a digital camera.
"We've just put in a brand new Internet cafe, we got Sky (satellite TV), we've got chip readers for photo cameras, we've got video cameras so you can watch a person on the other side of the world — these guys know how it all works and we've got to provide it," said Auckland Central Backpackers' manager Campbell Shepherd.

With hostels now offering more ways to connect through multiple electrical outlets and Internet access to accommodate gadgets, with the low rates of around $29 a night for a bed, a Manhattan hostel could be a template for many others the world over.

"Just because you can afford a cellphone and a laptop doesn't mean you can afford a $350-a-night room in Manhattan," he said.

'Flashpacking?' Don't forget you still need room for extra socks [USA Today]

TAGS: backpacking flashpacking gadgets travel