Crowded 16-bed party hostel dorms in Cambodia, full moon parties in Thailand or working behind the bar at one of the many backpacker hostels along Australia’s East Coast? This is not what this blog is about! Most of us who have travelled and backpacked in our twenties remember the fun times back then. But now being an early thirty-something my priorities have changed when it comes to travel. My wanderlust hasn’t suddenly stopped however, far from it! It’s still in full swing, discovering new and beautiful places around the globe is what keeps me going – but nowadays as a flashpacker!
I want this blog to be the resource that someone like me, a 30-something solo traveller with a mid-seized wallet, looking for real transformation, cultural immersion, unique sustainable experiences and a positive impact on the destination, can use to plan and organise the next solo trip.
Yet another travel blog? There’s thousands of wonderful travel blogs out there already. Most of them give advice on how to travel on a budget. And I’d say a good few hundred of them are solo female traveller blogs. With 84% of solo travellers being women, this number is no surprise. Having travelled solo most of my life, I have often gladly browsed through useful female traveller blogs for advice and tips. What I found to be missing in the travel blog world is advice on backpacking in your 30s and beyond. There is very little content for flashpackers and digital nomads solo travelling in their 30s and 40s looking to enjoy all the benefits of backpacking but with a focus on transformation, comfort, immersion and “doing good” while travelling.
So what changes? You make Alpaca friends… Also… most people would have worked for quite some time already and if lucky may have got a slightly bigger wallet than they would have had as a recent high school or college graduate. The desire for a little more comfort is now prevalent plus the need for a good night’s sleep. Still hard to believe but for most of us gone are the days partying into the early hours three nights in a row somewhere on some distant Thai island. Getting to know the countries, the locals, the authentic way of living in a sustainable way is what becomes a central part of travelling.
Transformational travel or “travelling with a heart”, full immersion into the destination and its people, the need to give back and leave a positive impact becomes increasingly important.
What hasn’t changed though? Although it sounds cliché, for me it’s meeting new people from all over the world. The feeling of community, which is especially important when travelling alone. Sitting together around a camp fire sharing travel stories. The spontaneity of renting a car and going on a day trip with people you have just met the day before. Simply sharing the wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) experiences you make on your travels. It makes it easier, fun and worthwhile.
So what is this blog about? I want to find the best places to travel, boutique-style accommodation, transformative experiences and unique excursions for adventurers beyond their wild party hostel backpacking days or simply said, the best experiences for flashpackers.
Turning thirty a couple of years ago, I was wondering if I was too old then to go backpacking again. Although there seemed to be so many others wanting to travel the world beyond their twenties. So I came up with the idea of the Flashpack Journal, which gives advice on the best experiences, accommodation and destinations for solo travellers beyond their typically wild backpacking years!
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