Indian Backpackers !

Nither have I.The ones I've met dont mind shelling out U$D100+ for stay.Wine & dine in the best of restaurants.Splurg on brands.they are more on a short,' fat' holiday.These are certainly way beyond backpacker category.Presumably, the Indians who travel overseas normally seem to have the bucks.A young couple(early 30's) I met, a couple of years ago in Venice had a budget of U$D300-500/d on their 25 day trans-continental travel.That sums it up.

well, I am a backpacker....i love to creep through the wilderness....however, since i have just started with my professional career...its hard for me to save....but as soon as i get a chance, i would surely pursue this hobby

Well I am Indian and was born there but grew up in New Zealand and call both countries home. I am a confirmed backpacker and have travelled through parts of Latin America, Europe and Africa in this way. Can't say it was on desi money though though the New Zealand dollar sometimes wasn't that different!

I have also hardly ever come across any other Indian backpackers. Interestingly, depending on where I am when people ask me, I say that I am either Indian or a NZer- explaining both is sometimes too complicated, especially when you are trying to do it in another language.

I have met some hard-core Indian backpackers in places like the Himalayas though. I bet if they had the cash they would be doing the same thing in other parts of the world.

The economics of an Indian backpacker does not exist, simply because the purchasing power of the rupee is far less than that of the dollar/euro/yen. You just cannot save in INR enough for backpacking across the globe, while doing odd jobs in India. Apart getting a visa to many countries would next to impossible based on the odd jobs.

Those Indians who can afford to travel abroad as pointed out by #1, do not backpack.

Again you have, Indian students living all over the western world attending uni, surviving on part time jobs and paying for their uni. The students dont travel much but the closest to Indian tourists. Not sure if I can call them Indian backpackers.

It is both a cultural as well as a financial thing. Culturally, we like taking short holidays to see the sights, instead of a longer trip to experience a place and its culture. And even within India, the people who travel usually do not believe in roughing it out. This is even more true of travels abroad. First, very few Indians, as a practice, take 6 or 8 weeks off to travel abroad. As #4 said, most Indians do not have the resources to travel abroad, forget about travelling abroad for 2 months. And then, as other posters have pointed out, those who do, have a lot of money and so travel and stay in style.

Speaking for myself, from age 5 - 17, I had to slog it out in school except for a summer break of 2 months. But I wasn't an adult to be allowed to travel alone, nor would my parents (even if they could afford, which they couldn't) give me money to 'throw away'. From 17-21 I had to slog in college and there were no holidays longer than 1 week - except for 1 month study holidays before exams. Also, there was no money, even for cigarettes and rum at times, let alone travel. After that I got a job where as the junior most employee you are expected to slog it out even on weekends. If you get fired, getting another job was difficult When you finally got your annual leave for a week or two, you have to go home to meet family (as I was in a different state) - and in any case there was no money to travel anywhere outside india. By the time I had money, I was not a youngster anymore, had family including a small child and gotten used to a comfortable lifestyle. This is probably the story of a vast majority of middle class indians.

Things are changing now with today's 20-somethings having more disposable incomes and more job opportunities. Even companies are becoming less anal about employees taking a break from work. May be you will see more backpackers in the future. Also, getting a visa without a good hotel booking and full itinerary is a hassle for indians and chinese to most countries - i guess because of the sheer numbers.

Totally agree with Dovin4. It's also perhaps our attitude to saving. In the early 20s, when you start working, people drill into you the importance of saving. That doesn't mean you can't travel, but mostly, it would be for say 2 or 3 weeks - that's as much as the INR will stretch to, esp in Europe or the US. So, when you say "backpacker", if you mean people moving from place to place for over 2 months etc, it would be difficult. By the time I took my first international trip for fun and not work, I was in my late 20s and married (my family would also prolly not have allowed me to travel abroad alone except on work, as a single woman). As a married woman, I certainly didn't want to stay in hostels, which I assume is also part of the backpacker lifestyle...by now, we wanted some privacy for ourselves etc. So, in short, these may be the reasons why you don't see many Indian "backpackers" though Indian travellers are no longer rare.

the cost factor plays a major part...earning a weaker currency and saving for a trip whose currency is exponentially higher is a big deal!!!

however, if we think keeping the strength of INR w.r.t naira or taka, it really isn't impossible

Apart from the INR economics, the visa issue is a big thing too for Indians to travel backpack. Wonder how many countries, if any at all, issue Working Holiday visas to Indian passport holders, similar to the working holiday visa enjoyed by UK citizens (also called pommies) in Australia and vice-versa.