You Know You’re a Backpacker When…

‘Oh don’t be silly, I’ll take the top bunk, I actually prefer it’. ‘This WiFi is soooo fast’. ‘I haven’t worn this outfit yet’. ‘I’ll carry that as my backpack is so light’. Things said by a backpacker… never. This gave me the idea for this blog: the clichés of being a backpacker.

⁃ Firstly the backpack. I have realised this is non-essential and have since bought a suitcase but, still, all the hardcore ‘gap yar’ backpackers carry theirs around with a smug pride.

⁃ Pasta. This will make up 90% of your diet. The other 10% will probably be made up of other beige carbs and the odd can of beans.

⁃ An anklet. This is compulsory or people will look at you in horror as if your whole foot is missing. The most popular style here in Oz seems to be the shell anklet, of which I proudly model just to prove I am backpacking the East Coast and have taken 1 surfing lesson.

⁃ Tote bag from Cotton On. Cotton On is like Primark, where I have stocked up on essentials like flip flops, vest tops and a beach shirt. For a $2 donation to the bush fires you get a cute tote bag, so it was a no brainer really.

⁃ You wear the same clothes even though you brought a whole bag full. They become like a second skin and you can always get ‘one more wear’ out of them before they need a wash (which can be done in the sink).

⁃ You pose with a kangaroo / koala / quokka. I have completed 1 out of 3 so far… there is still time.

⁃ Your daily outfit will be shorts, a vest and a pair of flip flops. Nothing screams backpacker more than a pair of ‘thongs’ teamed with your favourite oversized souvenir shirt and a pair of denim frayed shorts.

⁃ Wake up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise for the gram to show everyone back home what they are missing. *I tried to do this in Bondi but it was too cloudy so all I achieved was seeing the sky turn from dark to light and spent the rest of the day feeling tired because of the 5am start.*

⁃ You choose to take the overnight bus to save money on a hostel but then spend the next 3 days catching up sleep because the bus was too hot/ too cold/ too loud/ too uncomfortable.

⁃ Goon is your pre-drinks drink. This cheap, warm wine-in-a-box takes up most of the space in any hostel fridge and doesn’t taste any better the more you have. Why are G&Ts not a big thing over here?!

⁃ Guys have longer hair than you. After all, it’s proof that they have been travelling ageeees and when you’re in Australia there are obviously no hairdressers. Dreads, braids or beachy waves are the fashion for those surfer backpacker ‘dudes’.

⁃ You accept the fact that there are many things that could kill you. I no longer check under the bed/ covers/ toilet seat for snakes and spiders and have instead willingly signed up to do a sky dive.

– You get a deep and meaningful tattoo of a koala or a palm tree or something else that is a permanent reminder that you went travelling. (Sorry Mum but…)

⁃ Finding yourself. I am yet to complete this one. Just wondering but how long does it take? And where will I be most likely to find said self? I will keep you all updated on this one.

Annabel x