Budget Backpacking for Boomers

This book makes me want to travel. I’m inspired to go where the wind blows me, and not worry about reservations or itineraries. I want to head off to the airport and take the next flight to wherever and just enjoy the journey. I’ve never felt this way. We’re taught to be so very controlled and to take solace in knowing all the details of our vacations. What if we just journeyed, with only the love of the journey in mind?

I had so much fun reading this book! I felt like I was traveling with these two authors, and loved the descriptions of the towns, beaches, and people they interacted with. I especially enjoyed reading about the monkeys sneaking things out of tourist’s bags while they swam! There were so many heartwarming stories and lovely tales of delicious food, gorgeous scenery, and interesting wildlife.

Something that impacted me was the author’s implementation of their Buddhist practice in their interaction with locals as they traveled. Their peaceful nature came through in the writing, and I appreciated the story of the irate hotel owner and his reaction to the author’s stoic patience as he ranted. My heart ached for the hours spent during that situation, but I was impressed and inspired by the reaction the author had to the innkeeper’s unreasonable threats and anger.

What if you simply loved every moment, every person, every location you encountered, and the joy of that present moment was all there was? What a beautiful, peaceful gift! That is what this book gave me – the story of a truly free journey through foreign countries. The most open, honest account of letting go of expectations and simply experiencing a natural flow that came from this couple’s open-ended travel adventure.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves travel, and most especially for those who desire more than the tight, stressful need to have their journey controlled. Peaceful freedom and the love of the journey are all that’s needed, my friends.

Budget Backpacking for Boomers, by Alastair Henry and Candas Whitlock is a recounting of a retired couple’s two months-long treks through parts of Central America and Southeast Asia. While the book reads like a diary of their adventures, who they met, what they ate, and where they stayed, there are many useful tidbits of information on how to get the most for your money.

The authors, both retired and looking for adventure at an affordable price, decided to do something not many people I know would have the courage to do: they loaded up their backpacks with only what they could comfortably carry, allotted themselves around $40 per day to cover all food, lodging, and local travel expenses, and set off for the experience of a lifetime. Consciously choosing to avoid most tourist traps and over-crowded city areas, the couple submersed themselves in local culture, cuisine, and ways of life. Without a set schedule and only the vaguest bit of information from one guidebook, they gave themselves the flexibility to stay longer if they enjoyed a location, or to leave sooner if it didn’t appeal to them. I found their tips on how to eat and lodge for less money interesting. Henry and Whitlock learned that hotel proprietors were often willing to reduce their prices if a room was booked for several days at a time, and they found that by ordering one meal and asking for two plates (since the portions were usually large and they were making an effort to eat less anyway) they typically received heartier portions and never went hungry, but only paid for one meal.

Throughout the book, restaurants are mentioned by name along with the meal eaten and the price paid. The same goes for hotels (or hostels, guest houses, etc.) where a detailed description of the room is included with the asking price, and often, what they actually paid. Also priced in detail is the cost of local travel whether it be by bus, taxi, boat or some other mode of transport. While at times it seemed a bit tedious to read account after account of meals and bus rides and what they cost, the information would be valuable to someone travelling to the same locations. Very useful is the table at the end of the book listing all the places the couple stayed, broken down by country and city with a chart showing included amenities.

Surprising to me was how seldom they found themselves in frightening or uncomfortable situations. Given the fact that, for the most part, they went wherever their whims took them, they managed quite well and almost always ended up with incredible experiences that, even if they appeared less than desirable at first, had a way of working out. The lesson to be learned? Go with the flow!

It’s a little tough to objectively assign a rating to “Budget Backpacking.” If you have the travel bug, and you’re wondering if you can tour exotic locales like Asia and Central America for very little money, then it’s pure gold. It is very detailed, and walks you through each travel experience, right down to the airfare, taxis, sleeping accommodations, and what kind of drapes they had in the local restaurants. It’s almost a must-have for someone planning an exotic vacation on the cheap. 5 stars!

It’s also very easy to admire Alastair Henry. When you read his bio, he is not a retiree spending his days watching Fox News and going to the Golden Corral. He is traveling, volunteering, learning, and enriching himself in exotic locales at every opportunity, and my hat is off to him.

Bottom line, if you have the travel bug, but you’re convinced you can’t afford anything more adventurous than your local state park, you need to read this book. You will be amazed.

Budget Backpacking for Boomers, the title describes the purpose of this book. It represents a daily diary of the trials and tribulations of backpacking through several countries in Central America and South – East Asia. It chronicles the authors’ experiences, accommodation, tours, contact with fellow tourist and locals all done on a shoestring budget. The book is crammed full of hints for anyone contemplating a similar eye-opening travel experience to the mentioned countries. Traveling in the off-season and mainly avoiding the usual sanitized venues that an organized tour party might frequent, a different and more genuine snapshot of life in these countries can be experienced.

This is a must read for anyone considering travel to these countries no matter your age or whether you wish to exactly copy the authors’ choices. It definitely will inspire some deeper thinking when formulating your travel plans.

I kind of studied this book as we’ve been in six of these countries, often same cities. It’s quite the travelogue. The Authors have great before retirement stories and a grand plan they share to travel, learn, experience the lands they walk through. And currently share their lessons learned and journeys traversed. We’re older with longer time available out, but for four or six months adventures Alistair and Candas have spot on attitudes to be flexible and go with the flow. I love their curiosity, we share that. I’ll check out their other stories now. Thanks for sharing.

Most backpackers seem to be youthful, but sometimes it’s youthful by attitude. Retirees Alastair and Candas spend four months at a time traveling through Central America and South East Asia. I was worried that this was just going to be “stay here/pay $X”, but this is so much more. I loved reading about their adventures on the road, their positive attitude to the situations they found themselves in, and their interactions with the people they met. Definitely a useful read if you’re thinking of going on your travels, but also an enjoyable read if you’re just an armchair traveler like me.

I know you can still find inexpensive nice places these days as I have a friend that does it. There were two parts to the book—Central America Southeast Asia. I enjoyed the SA part of the book as I found it to be more about visiting interesting places, the cost of places and the joy of watching the children enjoy themselves no matter how poor and working at such a young age. I especially liked the end of the book where they included where they stayed and the cost of each place in case anyone is thinking of going to any of those places.

This memoir is a literary GPS for anyone visiting Central America or Southeast Asia. Alastair and Candas take you step by step on their travels with both humor and insight. Like-minded boomers will find a treasure trove full of valuable tips from where to find the coldest beer to local bus schedules. Budget Backpacking for Boomers is a must-read if taking the road less traveled or if saving money is your objective.