Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Why People Hate Backpackers

When I lived in Bali, my life was all about Couchsurfing. I hosted some travelers at my apartment. I traveled to all parts of the island with fellow members and spent a night at a brewery because my host happened to be the general manager of a famous beer brand. I also participated in their weekly gathering in Kuta.
            
One evening I chitchatted with a host in the community about backpackers. Say his name was Bob. He had been a member much longer than me, so he had more experience. The interesting part was when he told me why he didn’t host backpackers any more.
            

“They’re problems,” he said. “They’re freeloaders, dependent, taking without giving, wanting everything for free. Every time I hosted a backpacker, he finished my monthly stock of instant noodle, snacks, and everything. Did they buy anything for me? No. They didn’t even buy anything for themselves. Did they ever buy me a beer to thank me after providing them a place to stay? No. They just left.”
            
“That’s just what backpackers do, isn’t it?” I said. “They try to be very efficient with their money because they want to visit as many countries as possible. Maybe they hitchhike through southeast Asia. Maybe some of them bring tents and just set them up at city parks when they’re tired.”
            
“Shouldn’t be that extreme. Normal travelers are not like that. You don’t feel like they’re taking advantage of you. They’re more interested in you and more concerned about you and your needs. Of course they sleep at your place to keep their expenses low, but when they’re there, they care about you. They could be friends with you. They don’t see you merely as somebody that could help their personal travel plan succeed.”
            
I understood what he was trying to say. I’d once had a similar experience. It just doesn’t feel good to have somebody that needs you around, but actually doesn’t give a shit about you.
            
Until now I’m still friends with all my travel partners, the ones I consider as normal travelers, not dependent backpackers. Most of them are already back in their countries, but we still talk on Skype, chat, and leave comments on Facebook. It happens because we’re friends. We are interested in each other.
            
What about with backpackers?
            
I once hosted a backpacker in Jakarta. A 24 year old girl. Everything that Bob said happened. I drove her around to show what my hometown was like. After a while, I took her to a cafe, but she didn’t want to buy anything because she thought everything was too expensive. Let me be clear: one glass of iced cappucinno costs thirty thousand rupiahs—less than two euros for her. It should’ve been me, not her, that thought everything was too expensive.
            
Because I didn’t feel like drinking alone, I asked her where she wanted to go. She took me on a very long, uncertain walk because she wanted a cup or glass of coffee that only cost five thousand rupiahs. I found that behavior a little bit too much and really unnecessary, especially coming from somebody with euros on her bank account.
            
Then it started to rain and we sat in the lobby of a building. Waiting and having nothing to do, she stood up and bought a takoyaki that cost fifteen thousand rupiahs. Apparently, I said to myself, it just dawned on her that she had money in her wallet.
            
The next day, she tried to trick a bar. So we ordered a pitcher of beer and the waiter made a mistake: he gave us two menus—the normal one and the promotional one that was already outdated. On the outdated promotional menu, the price of a pitcher of beer was cheaper. Twenty thousand rupiahs cheaper.
            
She said to me, “Elia, later when we’re gonna pay, just say we ordered a pitcher of beer because we thought the price would be according to the promotional menu. If they say it is not valid any more, say we didn’t notice. They gave it to us so it’s their mistake and they can’t blame us for not noticing.”
            
I didn’t think for a second to reject the idea. For me, the waiter’s mistake is one thing, and trying to trick the bar by taking advantage of his mistake is just uncool. Besides, it was only twenty thousand rupiahs (if it was a million, I would’ve been the one coming up with the idea). In the end, she insisted doing it her way and gave me money based on her own calculation and I even had to pay for her meal as well.
            
How is my relationship with her now?
            
We don’t talk to each other any more. Like we never met.
            
And like Bob, now I always think twice about hosting a backpacker again. 

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