When Did I Become a Backpacker?

Me on China's Great Wall

When did I become a "backpacker"? It's hard to say. It could have been when I, at age two and much to the chagrin of my parents, took off on a solo stroll with my doll carriage.  It seemed like a good idea at the time and I remember the glorious feeling of freedom to this day.

 There is something about travel spontaneity that is hard to match, especially when rewards are reaped.  Like the day in London over 20 years ago, when noticing a gathering crowd, I hopped out of the cab I was riding in with my two teen-aged sons and husband to explore. Thanks to a London bobby who had a single ticket to give away, I ended up in a reviewing stand watching Her Majesty the Queen's annual review of her troops. Sure, my jeans skirt  was no match for the morning coats and fascinators of the British royalty seated around me, but it was an unforgettable experience. 

The wonderful thing about the loosely-structured, independent travel that I call backpacking is the room it leaves room for serendipity and chance.  When your days are planned and structured by someone else there is very little room for these mysterious entities to have a chance. To me they are a big part of what makes up the experience of travel and the personal growth that, hopefully, comes with it.

My travel portfolio is filled with stories of the wonderful serendipity of solo, loosely structured travel, but my husband gets some credit as my travel muse.  It was his outlandish suggestion in summer 2016 that we go to China, all on our own, that really started the wheels rolling.

Me with my "Travel Muse" on China's "Great Wall"

At first I said no, but after perusing a few travel books, the incredible sights of China quickly changed my answer to yes.   It never occurred to me that I couldn't do it. I started pulling up online China itineraries, picking out the essentials and adding to them from my own research.  At first I was irritated that my husband had left most of the planning to me, but that quickly changed to the challenge and exhilaration of having five weeks in China to fill. 

 In my next few blog posts, I will share how I put this trip together and did it for a fraction of what  a five-week tour of China would have cost.  You can do the same thing for a trip to anywhere you'd like to go.