Flashpacking - upmarket backpackers

The days of backpackers struggling to get by seems to have past, I first noticed this about 10 to 12 years ago when scores of Swiss backers toured Perth sporting laptop computers, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. The Swiss are an affluent bunch, leading the way in flashpacking and poshpacking, they can even access their Swiss bank accounts online these days. I recall, most Swiss kept their Swiss phones whilst also purchasing a local Australian phone and number - a backpacker with two phones wasn't just a novelty back then, it was standard fare.

Since then, mini-laptops, tablets and smartphones are not only holding sway, they are replacing the laptop as the tool of choice, who goes backpacking with a laptop computer anymore? The computing power of most tablets exceeds most people's requirements for functionality, the 7" Samsung Galaxy or iPad mini provide more than sufficient features with instant free WiFi connectivity in so many places.

Music, camera, video, photo editing, word processing, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations are available to even the poorest of backpackers - these are just the basic features.

Then there are, of course, apps for everything so you have up-to-date currency converters, news feeds, destination information and schedules such as bus, train and ferry timetables - they can even be translated into your language of choice now.

Even the traditional SLR camera is being replaced with high definition digital compacts, with the high quality cameras now embedded into tablets and smartphones - would I lug around my digital SLR these days for backpacking jaunts? Not a chance with today's options, why carry that extra weight and bulk?

Backpacking is certainly changing, these days you download Skype to your device and you have telephone connections with images for instant communications. Social media with networks in Facebook, Google+, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Messenger, Skype and Flickr keeping people connected. No longer do you have to pre-arrange meet a person at a given place at a specific time, no more notes left on hostel noticeboards - if they weren't there, that was it, you missed your chance to catch up with them.

From my old backpacking jaunts in the 90s - I don't even have photographs. There were no digital cameras back then, you had to carry rolls of film all safely tucked into your backpack, they had a usable date of about six months before they needed to be developed - I just never bothered. The only photographs I have are from other people taking snaps and mailing via standard postage to my home address - even then, I have just a couple of these.

I did go backpacking in the early 2000s, it wasn't just the early to mid 90s. I did take my mobile phone and camera from then onwards so I do have albums of photographs from that point.

I have had budget holidays since then, but since I have maintained full time employment since the mid 2000s, they have generally been no longer than two weeks, I get the feeling my upcoming trip will be totally different to what I am used to.