Today we’re going to talk about backpacking. Backpacking means to travel or hike, carrying your belongings in a backpack. It can be for a short trip or a long trip. I went backpacking for eight months in North and South America. I have friends who go backpacking for just a couple of weeks. It involves some kind of movement from place to place – just going for a city break (taking your backpack) is not backpacking.
We’re now going read about two people who have different opinions about backpacking:
I went backpacking around Central America when I was twenty and loved every minute of it. What I love about backpacking is that you feel so free when you have a bag on your back. Packing lightly means that you can move from place to place easily, take everything as hand luggage on the plane, and walk around town after you have been kicked out of your hotel. In reality you only need a few things when you go traveling as you can wear the same things over again. When I pack a big suitcase for a vacation I don’t even use half of the things I take.
Staying in different hostels in different countries is a great way to meet new people and experience new things. Taking a bus or train ride is a great way to think about where you are, what you are experiencing and to find out more about yourself. I find myself living in the moment when backpacking; I have no worries about my daily life – all the little problems that seem to take up so much time when you’re back home just disappear, leaving you with space to experience all the things around you.
I went backpacking two summers ago for two weeks. I know that people enjoy it but I didn’t like it at all. The hostels that I stayed in were really dirty, noisy and really unpleasant. Staying in a dorm means that you can’t sleep as there are ten to sixteen people in there at once, the snoring was unbearable. I won’t even talk about the toilets!
When I go on vacation I usually take lots of things with me to make the trip as comfortable as possible. Just having a backpack really limits what you can take and I hated not having all my things with me. The traveling was difficult as the buses were cramped and smelly and the buses set off really early. I was tired most of the time and the people at the hostels only wanted to party and get drunk. I don’t think I’ll ever backpack again!
Vocabulary
To go backpacking – This is used in the same way as any other “go + gerund” form, for example, to go fishing, to go shopping, to go cycling.
Pack lightly – To pack lightly means to only take a few things with you.
To get kicked out – In this case it is an expression meaning that you had to leave the hotel because of the check out time. In other cases it means that you were asked to leave or physically removed from somewhere. A teacher may kick out students who are misbehaving.
To live in the moment – to live in the moment means to have no worries, where you don’t think about the past or the future and just experience the present moment.
Dorm – When staying at a hostel it is common to share a dorm (a room) with other people. A dorm is a room with many beds.
Cramped – If a bus is cramped it means that it is really full and there isn’t any space to move around.
Discussion
Have you been backpacking before? What did you think about the experience? What tips do you have for those who are thinking about going backpacking?
If you could backpack around any country in the world, which country would you choose?