If you’re the kind of traveler who seeks new cultures, exotic locales, and long term travel, look for cheap hostels and transport, camp on that jungle trek but wants to plug the camera, check your e-mails, take a hot shower, and splash out on tours; then you belong to a new breed of people: flashpackers.It’s true, nowadays young generation of travelers which minds are in their 20’s to early 30’s, have one thing in common when it comes to traveling around the globe or even in the locality. The transition of traditional way of traveling into a flashpacking is way too different. Flashpacking is about travel with means. A flashpacker often have the ideas of backpacking ethos with a little more style and more on technology (quite tech savvy). But come to think it doesn’t mean that they don’t have comforts of their own…the answer is they do have. This is now the backpacking of the 21st century.
Flashpacker (def): Someone who travels like a backpacker but has more disposal income as well as electronics such as a camera, iPod, or laptop. Flashpackers also expect better accommodation and more amenities when they travel. They seek to explore the world but not give up many of its comforts.
Flashpacking is a new trend among “backpacking” travelers. Flashpackers want to experience the local diversity of culture and cuisines, meet locals and among others with style. You can easily spot them when they have all this characteristics.
And when they travel, flashpacker can be easily determined by the accessories (tech gadgets) they have during the travel period. And, if backpacking is about not carry stuff then flashpacking is about carrying lots of it.
Here are the essential items no flashpacker is without:
Camera- Everyone has a camera but a flashpacker has a nicer one. DSLR 
camera that can zoom in on a pore of a person 6 meters away is always a winning piece in photography.Camcorder- This will capture the essence and importance of the trip besides of a good still photos taken by a camera. And a flashpacker don’t mind if they carry extra load.
Laptop- This is the most essential in travelling it dose make communication easier and a lot faster rather than going to the internet cafes. This will handle your photos, videos, mp3s and DVD’s you brought, privately and secured.
Extra Hard Drive- This device will serve as your own back-up and makes all your precious moments stored safe and secured even when your laptop/computer is stolen.
MP3/Itouch- Often travel with my Zen mp3 tiny-winnie but holds millions of my favorites travel songs. Flashpackers want something with more pizazz to entertain us on those hours bus rides and the Itouch does that with one great feature- video. And the best part of it is: wi-fi potential.
Body Products- Flashpacker are type of traveler who travels with complete hygienic accessories.
Cellphone- Getting a phone allows you to call up hostels and arrange meetings with friends and your family back at home. Definitely can't leave a phone at home.
Flashpackers sleep in hostels, inns or cottages, use a backpack, and look for cheap transport but blow their money on meals, beer, tours, and parties. Flashpackers still have no fixed voyage and all the time to amble around but don’t pinch every penny. They are backpackers with a bit more money and want more creature comforts, and have a lot more gadgets.
Traveling is about expanding your horizons whether your carrying a little bit or much stuffs in your backpack. Let me sum it: flashbacking is simply backpacking + style or a flash. The term has also evolved to include travelers who still carry backpacks although they’re bringing along laptops, iPhones, iPods, Blackberries, digital cameras and other electronic gadgets.
After all, we are all flashpackers, whether you like it or not. Flashpackers may not be driving up to the hostel in a limo but we all expect a little “flash” nowadays. According to a Hostelworld study in 2006, 21% of people travel with a laptop, 54% with an MP3 player, 83% with a mobile phone and a whopping 86% travel with a digital camera.
Have you thought? Are you one of us?
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