Life as a Backpacker

Back in 2002 I flew away from my old world in Edinburgh, Scotland and launched myself into a new one.

This new world was dominated by hot weather, foreign accents, living with strangers and drinking cheap German wine.

This was the world of the backpacker and It was quite possibly the best time of my life.

Billabong Gardens, Newtown, Sydney, Australia

Life as a backpacker for me here in Sydney basically consisted of 3 things.

Sharing a room with strangers in a hostel, discovering something new in a foreign land, then coming back to the hostel at night, sitting down, chatting with strangers who soon become friends and then drinking, talking and laughing into the "wee" hours.

For about 5 months during 2002 I had enough money to ensure that I could live without a job. I had enough money to eat, for rent, for travel around the city and just enough to purchase a "backpackers handbag" every few days.

"Backpackers Handbag"?

I first heard the name "backpackers handbag" was from my friend Helge. A Backpackers Handbag is a box of wine, or a cask of wine if you prefer, as long as it has a handle, otherwise it doesn't qualify.

For example, myself and a few other backpackers would sit around the outside hostel table each night and drink the 4 or 5 litre variety such as "Kaiser Stuhl" or "Stanley" which has a handle on top.

Only the posh backpackers would by the 2-3 litre versions with no handle.

Names such as "Kaiser Stuhl"and "Stanley" became synonymous with those of us who wanted as much alcohol per dollar as possible in our wine, whereas the slightly more affluent backpacker would choose "Yalumba" and "Lindemans" to satisfy their backpacker habit.

It would often be heard that "I had a good night with the 'Kaiser' last night"
or "I wonder if 'Stanley' is coming out tonight?"

Of course, many of use would drink beer too, but often this would be bought by those of us who had jobs or those who had just arrived in the country and had not yet discovered how much they had to value every Australian Cent to keep them going.

Although backpacking is about travel and many will criticise someone who stays in the same place, I do not regret for one moment the time I spend in Sydney, just talking, drinking and meeting new people.

Many of us would become really great friends, many romances would develop between others and of course people also hated each other. The thing about a small backpacker community is there is a regular intake and outflow and I am not just talking about Alcohol and Urine.

Every week new faces would arrive at the hostel, "fresh meat" as it were and some would join our group, others would not. Some would stay only a day, others would stay for months.

Then there is the goodbyes. Frequently as a backpacker you will meet the most amazing people, then they are gone and you never know if you will ever see them again and that is tough. Often they would come back after a trip round the country, but sometimes and all to often you never lay eyes on them again.

A backpackers life is a life of change and about realising just how much fun you can have in a day without the constraints of a work routine.

I loved being a backpacker in Sydney Australia, it was different from being a backpacker in New Zealand or Asia (I will write about that later) and given the money, I'd happily pick up the backpack, quit my job and spend the rest of my life doing the things I just described above. :-)

Long live the Backpacker!

Muzzerino