It was a year ago more or less. I had just arrived in New Zealand as part of my big trip around the world. I met some friends and ex-colleagues there. A few months before me they decided to leave the place where we were working in Dublin, Ireland, and go exploring the world. And here we meet again: an Italian (me), an Irish fellow, a Czech guy and a Finnish girl; in Auckland, on the other side of the world we were living.

I was explaining them how although I was traveling the world on my own and on a limited budget, I didn’t really feel like spending my nights in hostel dorms overcrowded with drunk 19 years old backpackers, and then next morning having to queue for a cold, uncomfortable, military style shower. So I often ended up booking some en-suite single room, but to remain within my budget I would search online for some good deals in “special” hostels.

“Of course.” replied my backpacker friends, “You’re a Flashpacker! Look at you, you even bring a laptop with you!”. And being a geek one of the first things i did was to search online for that term: Flashpacking. The search didn’t show many results, however revealed how there was (and still is) a lot of people out there with my same needs: backpacking in some comfort or why not, some luxury.

It’s interesting to look back at just one year ago, when if you searched online for Flashpacking you would have only the Wikipedia definition only a few more results. Nowadays every week there’s a bunch of articles or blog posts on the topic (the best of them of course captured in the Flashpacking Blog Carnivals here).

As time passes hostels are indeed responding to the latest Flashpacking needs; a good few of them now even define themselves as Flashpackers Hostels. The progress in technology has made laptops, digital cameras, GPS navigators and mp3 players extremely cheaper and easier to carry; the latest fashion of netbooks is a clear example.

So it’s good news all around. Flashpacking might have sounded like something not for the Backpacker on a limited budget just one year ago. Now everyone can easily afford to be a Flashpacker: a decent accommodation in some hostel is not expensive, and the same applies to a netbook to check the latest special deals online.

So what are you waiting for?

As many new visitors are familiarising themselves with the concept of Flashpacking, and as the buzz keeps growing on the internet with more and more websites, stories and blogs, I’d like to provide a little list of the best Flashpackers blogs out there.

These are not blogs about Flashpacking, like the Tux In Backpack here, but rather the Flashpackers’ tales from around the world. They’ll save you time from searching online and separate the fresh and relevant stories from the wannabe Flashpackers, and most importantly they will give up a good idea of what it is like to be a Flashpacker around the world.

Here are then (in no particular order) 7 Great Flashpackers Blogs out there. Enjoy!

TheFlashpacker.com

Entertaining tales from various destinations, combined with excellent tips. Bennet The Flashpacker will observe what happens around him, investigate and study more about it, and finally share the learnings with the audience in excellent posts. The very last one about bedbugs is an example. Memorable the post on creating your own flash environment despite all kind of conditions around you, Luxe among the cockroaches, also reviewed here under Extreme Flashpacking Tips. Truly Flashpacking at its best: not simply money or gadgets, but style!

FlashpackingLife

If the Flashpacking phenomenon is getting so popular is also thanks to this excellent blog. Curtis was recently interviewed by CanadianPress, and the result was a huge attention to his travels and to the Flashpacking phenomenon. From that interview and original article sprung dozens of press articles, from Canadian press mainly. Curtis is also thinking of writing a book about Flashpacking. A true Flashpacking ambassador.

FlashpackingWife
Change a letter in FlashpackingLife and you have FlashpackingWife, from Lindsie, Curtis’ wife. Beautifully complements the stories in Flashpackinglife, adding of course the more feminine wife’s point of view. A pink approach to Flashpacking.

Passing Through India
Probably the blog that started the bigg buzz around Flashpacking as far as back in 2006. When Lee Gimpel was travelling independently through India he was carrying with him a whole load of tech gadgets and accessories. His travelling style was very similar to Backpacking though, so Flashpacking was the closest the huge press coverage found to define it. I believe style rather than tech gadgets is what defines Flashpacking; nevertheless Passing Through India is a pillar within Flashpackers blogs.

TheFlashpackers.com
The International Women of Mayhem don’t backpack. An hilarious blog about two girls flashpacking around the world. Particularly important to mention are the Mayhem rules. Like the “There are no calories at altitude” or “Tasting tours are not considered drinking – they are educational”. Highly entertaining.

FlashpackerBackpacker

The title already explains how the two ways of travelling are not that different after all, and that the one doesn’t exclude the other. You can be a Backpacker but every now and then choose to relax in a nice hotel for a change (and a treat), or go for a nice accommodation because is as cheap as a dorm in another country. Or on the other side you can be a Flashpacker deciding to stay in the cheapest hostel available to save some money for later on or because prices are particularly expensive in that place. Mattis does indeed that. His huge passion for travelling brought him to save and save while he was working. He’s now enjoying Flashpacking/Backpacking around Africa mainly for the moment; the rest is on his blog together with nice sections of resources used and travelling gear.

Backpacking Ninja
Despite the blog name the travel style is definitely Flashpacking. Just look at the pics and you’ll see some nice restaurants. And the Asus Eee PC, which is really becoming the Flashpacker laptop choice of excellence. Contributed to put Flashpacking in the spotlight in India thanks to a nice article on Mumbai’s Mid Day newspaper. Maybe too much enphasis on gadgets, but still helping the cause!

There are few other promising blogs out there, but it’s a bit too early to put them in the top list. We’ll keep an eye on these fresh Flashpackers and of course keep you posted. As the phenomenon keeps growing maybe we’ll have a top 50 blogs list in 6 months time?

Meanwhile any major omission here? Or you think your blog should be here too? Add your blog in the Comments sections below to be added to the list.

Are you a Flashpacker?

Although we wouldn’t take the test literally it’s very entertaining and will give you a good idea; plus it was posted in 2006!! Way before the whole Flashpacking phenomenon exploded. So here it is, and check out the original post here as well.

1 – The bus doesn’t turn up and you’re trapped in an unfamiliar town. Do you …

a) check your Lonely Planet guidebook to see if any local hostels will accept friendship bracelets as payment
b) rant at your travel operator, then draw up a list of people to sue
c) walk your Mastercard straight to the front desk of the nearest Hilton

2 – You’re thinking of doing some trekking on your trip, but that means getting the right footwear …

a) those army surplus boots you wore for the Duke of Edinbugh award will be fine
b) if you really do have to schlep from the hotel to the bar, your pink strappy sandals will take the strain
c) the new Extreme Arctic Trekking Sandals might be £115, but you can’t compromise on these things

3 – You’ve just arrived in town, which restaurant catches your eye?

a) the one playing Basement Jaxx and offering all-you-can-eat banana pancakes
b) anywhere the tour guide takes you. I’ll have the menu in English, please
c) it’s a 20-minute cab ride away, but they say it serves the best snake soup on earth.

4 – You bought it last holiday, it’s cluttering up the spare room …

a) a didgeridoo — would you like to hear me play it?
b) a straw donkey — somehow, the irony rubbed off on the flight home
c) the deed to your 20 acres of protected equatorial rainforest

5 – Most of your dinner-party travel stories start like this …

a) “We started on the local beers, then something with no label on the bottle …”
b) “We found it on the internet, 14 nights for the price of seven …”
c) “We were actually the first white people the tribe had ever met …”

Now check your answers …

Mostly As: see you at the full-moon party — you’re pure backpacker.
Mostly Bs: there’s no shame in taking it easy — you’re all suitcase.
Mostly Cs: welcome to the new club, you’re most definitely a Flashpacker.

So which one are you? Would you agree with the test? Let us know your thoughts..

In the maze of Flashpacking definitions found online is refreshing to read something that doesn’t define the Flashpacker simply as someone backpacking on a bigger budget or with tech gadgets. While exploring the relationship between Thailand and Flashpacking the Thailand Musing post throws more light on the figure of the Flashpacker.

New elements appear, like for example the “fair trade” one: “Another inheritance from the backpacker ethos is a sense of responsibility, especially ‘fair trade’. Flashpackers tend to favor community operators and independent hotels over corporate chains.”

Moreover the Flashpacker is not only someone a bit older than a Flashpacker, but “often a veteran backpacker and very experience with independent travel”. That would explain how it is possible to Flashpack even if you don’t have a huge budget; the know-how, allowing you to book comfortable flights over bus rides and comfortable accommodations over dorms without spending much more. And speaking of which low-cost-no-frills airlines are mentioned as well as one of the main Flashpackers’ transportation.

Definitely one of the most objectives and complete definition of a Flashpacker. Check it out, you never know, it might get you in the mood to Flashpack in Thailand!