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[introducinlyric]

Another article by Ben Groundwater which i loved this too is an older one



my brother is known, among my family, as the "Hilton Hippy". This is due to his combined loves of far-flung destinations and luxury accommodation. He likes to rough it in style. He loved Mumbai in India - but then again, he was staying here

And Goa, he said, looked great from the balcony of the Marriott
I loved India too, but I was staying

The Hilton Hippy is a poshpacker. Poshpackers are just like your everyday backpacker, except they like things a little more comfortable, a little cleaner, a little easier to handle. Poshpackers would rather fly than catch a bus, would take the odd hotel to break up the run of hostels, would eat at a restaurant rather than the night markets, and would drink with the locals at night, then wake up between fresh sheets with a chocolate on their pillow. But it's a matter of perception. A Dutch friend of mine was recently branded a poshpacker by a group of Spanish guys, just because she had a credit card. That's it. If that's posh, then S*$#, I might as well be married to David Beckham.

Unfortunately, nobody likes a poshpacker. That's usually because the rest of us are either: a) genuinely of the belief that they're not travelling "properly" by bypassing the unsanitary aspects of places; or b ) jealous. Being called a poshpacker isn't complimentary. You're not going to get any hardcore traveller cred by staying anywhere that has stars next to its name. The Hilton Hippy and I once caught a night bus from Hat Yai in Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, and got chatting to some Swedish backpackers during the trip. When we got plonked at a bus station in the wee hours of the morning, the girls offered to share a cab with us to an area where they knew of a few hostels. Upon hearing us sheepishly explain that the Hilton Hippy had booked us into the Park Royal for the last few nights of our trip, they shook their heads and wandered off in the other direction.

Poshpackers are usually in their late 20s to late 30s, with no kids and more disposable income than they know what to do with. They used to be backpackers, eating two minute noodles every night and travelling with "shower thongs", but they've come to enjoy a bit more luxury - like a private bathroom they don't have to share with Dimitri the hygienically challenged Eastern European. Poshpackers have jobs to get back to at home, so they haven't got time to waste on buses - they'll fly. And they tend to travel in couples.

There's nothing wrong with being a poshpacker - except for your complete lack of credibility. Whenever you meet a fellow traveller on the street and tell them where you're staying, unless it's a hovel on par with the filthiness of their own current abode, they're not going to like you. Unless, of course, they happen to be of the opposite sex, then they might tag along in the hope of spending the night between sheets that have been acquainted with washing detergent in the last decade.

But even if you pride yourself on always staying at the cheapest, filthiest dwellings, only eating dollar-a-plate food that is cooked on the street in front of you, and travelling on the roof of beaten-up old buses with goats and chickens for companionship, you'll always meet someone more hardcore than you. There's always that dread-locked hippy in the hostel kitchen who lambasts you for taking a bed rather than throwing your swag on a mud-hut floor in Bangladesh - who bags you for going to "safe" African countries like Malawi, when you could have been feeling the continent's beating heart in Cameroon.

Personally, I wouldn't give up hostel and campsite life for the world - or even a first-class ticket around it. The people you meet in grungy hell-holes, whether they work there or are just passing through, are usually far more memorable than the half-arsed museum your guidebook recommends. So you get bitten by the odd bedbug. You also hook up with the hot Scandinavian, play hacky-sack with the crazy South Americans, and drink beers in the bar with the sunburnt Pom. That just ain't gonna happen at the Hilton.

There's a lot of competition for travel cred out there, and admitting to being a poshpacker is not going to help you. But we're not here to judge! Much. So if you have any niggling doubts about your status, take The Backpacker's fun quiz and let us know how you go.

Your backpack has:
a) Wheels and a retractable handle
b ) Big, comfy straps
c) Bullet holes

You've decided to do a Contiki tour:
a) You'll do the hotel tour, as you've heard European campsites can be a bit dodgy
b ) It's camping all the way! More money to spend on beer...
c) A Contiki tour? Are you insane?

Cleanliness is:
a) Fresh linen in a room with a view
b ) A shower you don't have to wear thongs into
c) A freshly swept mud hut

Your idea of roughing it is:
a) Taking a unisex dorm and spending the night separated from your partner
b ) Pitching your tent in a field because you can't find the campsite
c) A night under the stars

Your wallet contains:
a) Two credit cards, in case you max one out
b ) A phone number, but you can't remember whose, and cash in about five different currencies
c) A condom, a London tube map, two used train tickets and $5

Paris:
a) Has some of the most amazing art galleries on the planet
b ) Is too expensive to actually do anything, but is a joy to just wander around
c) Is a talent-less wannabe who should stop hanging out with Britney

Your selected mode of transport has to have:
a) Air-conditioning
b ) Wheels
c) Locals

You'd prefer to spend money on:
a) Upgrading to a hotel with an extra star
b ) A carton of two-Euro-a-bottle vin rouge
c) Spending an extra week in Thailand

You're approached by a tout:
a) You tell him to piss off, you're sick of getting hassled
b ) You ignore him and keep walking - it's the easiest way
c) You call him by name, and tell him you're not doing his tour two days in a row

You last washed your clothes:
a) Yesterday - it doesn't cost that much to have clean undies every day
b ) A few weeks ago - leave things in your backpack long enough, and they become clean again
c) W... w... wash? Please explain?

Now tally up your answers. Mostly As? Cancel the hostel booking, you're officially a poshpacker. Mostly Bs? You're a good old fashioned backpacker, but you'll enjoy a bit of luxury when you can afford it. Mostly Cs? Congratulations! You're the dread-locked hippy at the hostel.

So what's the verdict? Will you see the Hilton Hippy in the hotel foyer? Or will I see you at the bar? Every stayed somewhere that's made you wish you were a poshpacker?

[exploreamerica]

Great article and pictures.

I am definitely a backpacker, but my wife is a poshpacker. This is why I have to travel separate from her each year!

I have slept in some sketchy places and return from trips looking llike a caveman. No offesne to the Geico Cavemen