Travelling with Eees

Monday, September 15th, 2008

When I went backpacking around the world way back in the dark ages of, er, 2004, we did things properly. I packed a bag with the cheapest clothes I owned, a pair of hiking boots, plenty of Immodium and a Lonely Planet. I opened a few extra credit card accounts for good measure, said a not particularly teary goodbye to my loved ones and buggered off for the forseeable future. Just me and the world. (And, I was soon to discover, half the population of Ireland.)

I checked in with home maybe once every few weeks, just to assure my family I hadn’t been caught drug running/beheaded by rebels/drunk into an early grave by the Irish, but the internet was the last thing on my mind for 99% of the time.

However, over the course of the last couple of weeks in the hostels of Rio, I was amazed to discover that many of today’s backpackers have no intention of leaving the real world of home behind. (more…)