67
TRAVEL CULTURE
So popular was Khao San Road among
farangs
(foreigners) that the rest of Bangkok
considered it alien territory
To members of the backpacker
community, it was apparently
desirable — even fashionable — to
live in such squalid conditions, the
spartan surroundings reinforcing the
notion of “going native”. News of these
dingy guesthouses spread by word-of-
mouth, eventually earning mention
in the pages of the then nascent
Lonely Planet
guidebook series. And
so the tourists came and conquered,
their dollars feeding a fast-growing
cottage industry. So popular was Khao
San among farangs that the rest of
Bangkok considered it alien territory.
At the height of its hippie-backpacker
heyday, many Thais would drive slowly
along the street with their windows
rolled down, gawking at the strange
foreigners with their beads, dreadlocks
and shabby clothes.
But as backpackers themselves
often lament, the presence of tourists
invariably alters the landscape. The
’80s saw a dramatic decrease in the
cost of international flights. Suddenly,
world travel became more affordable to
the general public. A growing number
of visitors poured into Southeast Asia,
many of them choosing Khao San Road
as the starting point for their journeys.
Like bees to honey, enterprising Thais
(and some ex-backpackers who had
settled in) opened a slew of new cafés,
inns and hotels. The development
boom extended to neighboring streets,
IN THE BAG
50L
is the ideal size for a rucksack
if you’re legging it from one city to
another.
70–80%
of your rucksack’s total
weight should rest on your hips.
With the right positioning of the
pack, the burden of the weight
will fall on your legs, not on your
shoulders. Save yourself a trip to the
chiropractor.
30L and 7kg.
Stuff important
items into a 30L daypack — it won’t
weigh more than 7kg, the maximum
carry-on weight for nearly every
low-cost airline — and it will fit
nicely into any one of the aircraft’s
overhead bins.
0
Keep absolutely no Swiss Army
knives on your person or scissors in
your carry-on bag. Anything that’s
sharp and could be mistaken for a
weapon should be placed in your
check-in luggage.
— Roy Macaraig
Backpacking? Crunch these
numbers into your cranium
before you jet off
Clockwise from left: braided hair, the wandering
hippie’s signature look, can be had for less than
THB100 on Khao San Road; cheap guesthouses
have given way to bars, massage parlors and proper
hotels; another backpacker arrives in Bangkok
