So after riding through 15 countries and 2 continents I find myself wanting to travel again.

I'm ready to start planning another very long trip and my first intent is to do another motorcycle trip. This leads me to my question:

Have you ever gone back to backpacking after making a big motorcycle trip?

I started thinking of the carnets, the major logistics involved in shipping the bike, security, and all additional costs of motorcycle travel... and wonder what it'd be like to backpack. So if you've done it, what did you think? Did you miss your moto? Were you able to feel like you were traveling independently? For your next trip, you going back to moto?

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http://davegtravels.com - RTW on a DRZ
All the way south - Texas to Tierra del Fuego in '08-'09

I had to 'backback' for a couple of weeks in Malaysia while I waited for my bike to turn up from Australia at the port.

After waiting 5 hours for a bus to KL (the first one was full), I couldn't wait for it to arrive!

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

I mix it up a lot. Each has advantages, but there´s no doubt that once I´ve planned a bike trip I´m frustrated at having to shoulder a backpack while waiting for parts, repairs, shipments or etc. ç

Traveling alone, as I generally do, is isolating--think long hours inside my helmet listening mainly to my own thoughts. On the other hand, backpacking tends to land you where all the backpackers go, which might be a good thing were I still 22, innocent, full of hubris and incapable of imagining long, drawn-out futures. Oh, and also if I craved drunkenness and the company of drunks more than I apparently do: at this stage in my life, once a week or so seems to suffice.

Mileage varies.

Mark

All my long travels have been on a bike but i've considered backpacking as it's always seemed so much simpler and cheaper..

Then I think back to those buses full of 18 year old kids on "study breaks", 10 hour coach journeys to another tourist rip off destination, being stuck in overcrowded hostels near the bus stations...

Coming to think of it, it sounds like much MORE hasel without a bike.

I reckon having the freedom of your own transport is well worth the cost of shipping, carnets etc.

Anyway, how much can you experience a country with your face up against a bus or train window ?

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

oooh, interesting question... i only sit on the back, so its different for me, but i would hate having to lug a backpack after motorbike trip experience. i caught a bus recently when we left our bike behind for some stupid reason, and it was horrible, everyone sat on top of each other and earpiercinglyu loud music. the bike faffing still seems worth it, even with all the bureaucracy crud. even if it was just me on my own i'd get a scooter i think. (and then probably fall off and die). interesting to see what other people think tho? can you go back to normal wandering about??

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Far From Home, U.K - Oz and beyond.
http://www.globegallivanting.blogspot.com/

Don't sell yourself low !!

I think it's harder and braver to ride pillion than up front !

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Me and the Girlfriend are going on a little backpacking tour this winter, so I spend a bit of thought on this very same issue. Sure enough the term 'Backpacking' brings images of gap year tipes, drunks and boring tales of youth hostels to mind.

But then again, thinking about motorbiking one might as well think about mid 40ish Lawyers and Accountants riding to their coffee break on underridden and overpayed harleys. Image is just not important, what you do with your spare times and ressources is!

So when we (seasoned, experienced and weathered travelleres, that we are) say backpacking we just mean travelling without much of anything and especially without our own means of transportation and relying on local infrastructure instead. So:

This has nothing at all to do with how you travel and all with what type of trip you are doing. Never met the guy on a shiny new motorbike traveling between overpriced hotels and hanging out with foreigners?

So wether your trip is just an exercise of endurance and socializing with other westerners or a remarkable experience does not depend on the means you do it with, but on how you do it.

Backpacking, Motorbiking, Kajaking, Walking, Sailing, Pogo-Sticking, whatever floats your boat!


Edit: Fixed a broken quote tag.

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Projekt Balkan
www.buebo.de - Der tägliche Wahnsinn

[quote=buebo;264046]Me and the Girlfriend are going on a little backpacking tour this winter, so I spend a bit of thought on this very same issue. Sure enough the term 'Backpacking' brings images of gap year tipes, drunks and boring tales of youth hostels to mind.

But then again, thinking about motorbiking one might as well think about mid 40ish Lawyers and Accountants riding to their coffee break on underridden and overpayed harleys. Image is just not important, what you do with your spare times and ressources is!

So when we (seasoned, experienced and weathered travelleres, that we are) say backpacking we just mean travelling without much of anything and especially without our own means of transportation and relying on local infrastructure instead. So:

Well said !!

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I´ve been on backpacking trips where no 18 year old has the imagination to even dream of going. You´re as limited as you allow yourself to be, with bike or backpack.

Personally, I find it frustrating that I spend most of my days now listening to my own thoughts, rather than interacting with local people the way I used to on local transport (which means cars, trucks, buses, donkey carts, camels, freight and passenger trains, and foot). You don´t get that with a bike.

What I don´t miss is waiting around in the hot sun in the center of little villages for the truck that might show up later today....or maybe tomorrow....or maybe not, who knows? But I take my impatience as a sign I´m getting old and soft. If I was still young and tough, I´d still be hopping freight trains and rampaging around the way I used to. I´d have a lot less baggage to worry about, too.

The takeaway lesson here is: don´t confuse the means of travel with the validity, authenticity or difficulty.

Mark

(From Nicaragua, where I´m paying twice as much for my hotel as I might otherwise, solely to insure safe parking for my bike)

Safe journeys!

Thats more what I'm wondering. I guess what I need to think about as you're pointing out is if I have to tolerance/patience to use public transit/hitch/horseback.

I've just never backpacked since my "eurorail" trip 10 years ago (!!??!!). I think I'd be bored of a trip like that after a week, but you bring up a good point that just because I'm 'backpackin' it, doesn't mean I have to go from tourist bus to hostel to landmark. I can still mosey around like I do on a motorcycle.

It is just neat to hear what others have experienced with such transitions.. so lets hear your return to backpacking stories



(From Nicaragua, where I´m paying twice as much for my hotel as I might otherwise, solely to insure safe parking for my bike)

Safe journeys![/quote]

__________________
http://davegtravels.com - RTW on a DRZ
All the way south - Texas to Tierra del Fuego in '08-'09

So I laughed, I apologize! I'm way too old and too dang lazy to carry all the good stuff I "need" these days! If I can't ride to the top of the mountain, I am happy to take a picture from down below! I'm too impatient to wait for buses, boats, trains or planes, When I want to go, I love to crank and roll! When I want to stop, it is time to stop, for whatever reason! If you gotta hike someplace, why not stow a day pack on your bike and take a wander out thru the trees or along the coast? Hiking and backpacking are fun, just different...

I've backpacked Australia, South East Asia, Nepal, China, India for a year and a half, Mediterranean Europe and Mexico (P.S. I must plug Mexico for being an awesome country and wonderful people, Estoy lleno de amor por México!!! Hasta Pronto!). It wasn't until India when I accidentally mixed backpacking and motorcycling together. I wouldn't go back and change anything, and I had a really good time -especially in India, but my next big trip to South America is going to be a mix of volunteering and touring by motorcycle. The plus side of this is that it gives me a good excuse to return to SE-Asia, Australia to see it again on two-wheels!!

As other people said, being stuck in tourists bus with a bunch of gap yah's and getting shuttled to one overpriced hostel, to the next attraction, and eating pizzas in expensive, restaurants aimed solely at tourists, is absolutely no ones fault but your own. Though I admit, sometimes, especially in parts of S-E Asia, Eastern Australia, and parts of central America, the tourist trail is well established and in your face, but use some imagination, and it is not difficult to avoid.

If anyone ever said backpacking is boring, I would suggest they go to India, Nepal and Bangladesh for six months! I've hired and bought Enfields in India and it's a great way to travel and get yourself in the thick of it, but that said, not exposing yourself to local buses, trains, rickshaws or walking, would be missing a very essential part of that country, especially the trains! An overnight train journey in India in sleeper class will be unforgettable, and Indian train stations are absolutely fascinating in themselves.

It was similar in Central America, although I spent a fair amount of time wishing I had a bike, getting chicken buses from Panama to Mexico, and then coaches throughout Mexico to Austin Texas, was a fantastic experience. Although they are uncomfortable, you really see a lot life whilst riding in those Chicken Buses, they are a great experience. Only once did I take a tourist shuttle, from Antigua to the big lake in Guatemala, and it was just me and five super sexy Canadian girls fromQuebec who invited me to party with them

The best travellers I met were the ones who could go trekking in remote pats of the Himalayas, and then next week go crazy in some cheesy surf swimming pool hostel and have fun. The latter isn't for me, and getting drunk to cheesy music trying to shout pickup lines down girls ears never really has been, but when I look back and see myself sitting at the bar, chain smoking, being a bit aloof and miserable, whilst everyone around me was partying and having fun, I think I finally learnt that sometimes you ought to just let go of yourself and your prejudice. After all, isn't that what dedicated travelling is about?

I did a lot of backpacking for years, Ireland (when I was 18) , lots around France, Vietnam, several countries in South and central America, Sri Lanka…. But we became very quickly frustrated with it. You cannot stop on the way, go where you want, you depend on the train/bus. You go from one very touristic centre to another very touristic centre. The restrictions were very annoying. If you want to visit some places you need to hire a car with driver …

Then a few times we went on holiday and rented a car locally (Jordan, Turkey) it was better but…. Once I started biking it was just another world. I wanted to travel with my bike.

I like the challenge of the roads, the feeling of being out there, and the connection it gives you with the country and the locals. Also the fact you can go pretty much where ever you want, stop whenever you want, go to places where backpackers cannot go (unless hiring a car or taxi…) not relying on a stupid time tables etc….

The feeling of freedom is fantastic. Every time I go somewhere without my bike (my family lives in France and my mum is in Spain, so I usually fly over for a quick visit) , I just stare at bikes and bikers and wish I had my bike with me…..

So for us, unless we go visit family for a quick weekend trip, I don’t think I would go to backpacking again. It’s on a bike all the way!

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I'm gonna say like Maria. For me traveling by motorbike has opened a totally different way to relate to the territory I'm traveling to. It's the difference between visiting a place and exploring a place. When I travelled as a backpacker I felt like a tourist, but when I travel by motorbike I feel like an explorer. There is something about making my own way, moving by my own means, me versus the world.

I have great memories of backpacking, totally awesome experiences that are not in any ways less precious then my motorcycle adventure memories, but I can't imagine myself going back to the buses, trains and boats of a backpacking trip. I'm totally open to the idea that this is a highly personnal preference, but for me a motorcycle (or any travel by my own mean wether walking or pushbike) is synonym of liberty and I need that liberty, I need that fix of total independance from the system when I'm lucky enough to escape from my working camp.

That being said, the last thing I would like to do is to project the idea that traveling by motorcycle is "better" then backpacking or that somehow motorcycle travelers are "more badass" then backpackers. Wether you travel by motorbike or backpacking or going from hotel boutique to hotel boutique with your rolling suitcases for the bellboy, if your attitude is good, you're nice to people, you are ethical and you try to bring something good to the places you visit, then you are the best traveler and deserves respect and admiration. Period.

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http://solomonde.blogspot.com
http://euromoto2015.blogspot.com

Backpacking is quite a bit different than motorcycle tourism. I rode to Alaska and the rest of the states except Hawaii but also thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and kayaked the length of the Mississippi. Variety is the spice of life. Oh yeah, I leave for Ushuaia on a KLR in a week.