When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

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Anchor Moy
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When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by Anchor Moy »

Nice story about a guy who's 87 and getting ready to spend 3 months backpacking around SEA. I guess you're as old as you feel, so good for him. I hope he has decent insurance though.
Mellin, 87, estimates he’s spent 10 years traveling outside of the United States since then. He’s been to more than 60 countries, traveling cheap, with a backpack no bigger than a schoolboy’s, usually for months at a time. Sometimes those trips stretched on for years.

On Wednesday, Mellin is embarking on his next — and potentially last — trek, a three-month adventure in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, again with his burnt-orange backpack. He doesn’t care if anyone thinks he’s too old.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/uncle ... 70608.html
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juansweetpotato
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by juansweetpotato »

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:59 pm Nice story about a guy who's 87 and getting ready to spend 3 months backpacking around SEA. I guess you're as old as you feel, so good for him. I hope he has decent insurance though.
Mellin, 87, estimates he’s spent 10 years traveling outside of the United States since then. He’s been to more than 60 countries, traveling cheap, with a backpack no bigger than a schoolboy’s, usually for months at a time. Sometimes those trips stretched on for years.

On Wednesday, Mellin is embarking on his next — and potentially last — trek, a three-month adventure in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, again with his burnt-orange backpack. He doesn’t care if anyone thinks he’s too old.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/uncle ... 70608.html
I don't think ive ever met a genuine American backpacker on any of my journeys to India, Africa, Central America etc
Eveytime I met one, eventually they all said " I've just got to pop to the Post office to pick up my monthly check from my parents". They also always seemed to want to rent a private room, whilst everyone else was happy sleeping on the beach. :stir:
"Can you spare some cutter for an old man?"
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John Bingham
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by John Bingham »

It sounds like he's an interesting enough guy, but I'm disappointed to see he has a GoFundMe thing going.
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Cruisemonkey
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by Cruisemonkey »

John Bingham wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:42 pm ...I'm disappointed to see he has a GoFundMe thing going.
Yeah. Fuck begpackers no matter what their age!
You could be next.
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StroppyChops
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by StroppyChops »

John Bingham wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:42 pm It sounds like he's an interesting enough guy, but I'm disappointed to see he has a GoFundMe thing going.
Unrelated, you might not want to look at our Facebook pages for a while...
Bodge: This ain't Kansas, and the neighbours ate Toto!
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phuketrichard
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by phuketrichard »

juansweetpotato wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:12 pm
Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:59 pm Nice story about a guy who's 87 and getting ready to spend 3 months backpacking around SEA. I guess you're as old as you feel, so good for him. I hope he has decent insurance though.
Mellin, 87, estimates he’s spent 10 years traveling outside of the United States since then. He’s been to more than 60 countries, traveling cheap, with a backpack no bigger than a schoolboy’s, usually for months at a time. Sometimes those trips stretched on for years.

On Wednesday, Mellin is embarking on his next — and potentially last — trek, a three-month adventure in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, again with his burnt-orange backpack. He doesn’t care if anyone thinks he’s too old.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/uncle ... 70608.html
I don't think ive ever met a genuine American backpacker on any of my journeys to India, Africa, Central America etc
Eveytime I met one, eventually they all said " I've just got to pop to the Post office to pick up my monthly check from my parents". They also always seemed to want to rent a private room, whilst everyone else was happy sleeping on the beach. :stir:
Good on him!!! to travel is to stay young

I met plenty of them from the early 70's thru the late 80's, when i stopped backpacking as much.

Did 3 overland trips;( Amsterdam- Ktm-Amsterdam-Ktm), SF-Panama, various trips thru Europe, Down the nile, the middle east, north Africa, Tibet and all the way down to Australia

what makes a backpacker?, am sure this has been talked about before...
MY take; someone that travels to travel without a particular destination in mind and willing to sleep rough if need be

Its the going not the arriving :beer3:
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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tightenupvolume1
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by tightenupvolume1 »

Agree, I first went "travelling" in 1970, grape picking in france. I got the bug from that and then went on to hitckhike around the USA and Canada, ending up in Santa Cruz California where i would like to be now if i had the money. I then went on to hitchike from London to Goa, came back laid a few bricks and went again. Since then i have been all over OZ and fair bit of Europe. Now i just go to India every winter.
I don,t know when the term "backpacking" became poular, i always thought of myself as a traveller. You are never to old to travel/go on holiday/backpack/wander/take a trip
charlie
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General Mackevili
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by General Mackevili »

I spend about half the year being a backpacker, and the other half of the year laughing at backpackers. I'll be 40 very soon. 40's the new 20, right?
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Duncan
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by Duncan »

General Mackevili wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:56 pm I spend about half the year being a backpacker, and the other half of the year laughing at backpackers. I'll be 40 very soon. 40's the new 20, right? Image




Wow, 40 , that's old to be a backpacker.,,,, Why not upgrade and become a flash-packer ?


https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/topic68 ... ackpacking
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Fourkinnel
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Re: When are you too old to be a backpacker ?

Post by Fourkinnel »

At 87 I would imagine my backpack would contain mostly incontinence pants!
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