Some people work really hard to afford their globetrotting exploits, and others have parents willing to pay their children’s way.

Then there’s what is being called ‘begpacking’, which is proving pretty popular in places like Bangkok’s famous Khao San Road and full moon revelrie hangout Kho Phangan.

A few pictures found their way onto Twitter, and as per usual everyone reacted with a suitable amount of outrage.

The Telegraph reports:

Their attempts to fund their trips via begging, busking and occasionally selling their holiday photos have been snapped and shared on social media by more socially aware travellers – and disgusted locals.

Most of the begpackers have been spotted in South East Asia, along the well-trodden traveller’s trail of Thailand-Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam and across into Malaysia. One woman from Singapore, Maisarah Abu Samah, was shocked to see two white couples selling postcards and playing music for money.

So at this point you’re probably thinking ‘hey, they’re earning their keep by busking or selling postcards, what’s the fuss?’

The Telegraph again:

You cannot spend time in some of the world’s most deprived areas and fail to see that there is a difference in having your smartphone stolen and not being able to eat. Even if you’re travelling purely so you can use the #wanderlust hashtag and go to a Full Moon party, it’s impossible to ignore the reality of poverty.

Backpackers cannot – and should not – ever feel entitled to people’s spare change when they’re busking next to someone who has not eaten a proper meal in days.

People who fail to recognise this are the epitome of white privilege. They think that selling postcards for a few pounds is ‘hilarious’ and a great travelling story, when they’re potentially taking away customers from a local who needs those pounds more than they can ever imagine…

There are numerous alternatives for backpackers who run out of cash, from working in hostels, or taking part in programmes where they can work in exchange for free accommodation. There is really no need for them to sit in their Birkenstocks and yoga pants with cardboard placards reading: “I am travelling around Asia without money. Please support my trip” – an actual sign one man has been photographed with…

It’s bad enough when tourists go on ‘slum tours’ in underdeveloped countries and take photos of beggars, but when they join them so they can pay for white-water rafting, they’re taking their entitlement one step too far.

Happy gap year (years), just don’t blow all your dosh on frivolities and end up strumming Wonderwall to pay for your next stop.

[source:telegraph]