Welcome to the second installment of “Flashpacker or Backpacker?” Did you miss the first issue?
Try to guess if the protagonist in the story below is a Flashpacker or Backpacker. Since we want to allow all readers to feel like they are in the story, the parts in parentheses are adjustments for the female reader.
You are in Barcelona, Spain, and you decide to go out for a Friday night. You throw on your best
jeans (or skirt), a slightly rumpled button up (or blouse), and switch into some dressy shoes (or heels). You walk down La Rambla, past the statue of Christopher Columbus to the clubs down by the water. After a few drinks you begin talking to a friendly (mysterious) and striking Spanish girl (conquistador/bull fighter). You talk and dance and everything seems to be going well. She (or he) asks you to go with her to a nearby bar as the night drags on. She brings a friend, and they speak to each other in a fast Spanish you can’t understand. It’s kind of annoying. (He doesn’t bring any friends, and whispers to you in Spanish that you don’t understand. It’s kind of amazing).
Soon you get to the bar. They apparently know the bartender. (Soon you get to the bar. It is dimly lit and smells like a mix of incense and axe. ) He speaks to them in Spanish. You joke around with the girls, and they laugh at your inability to roll your R’s, while the bartender makes friendly comments in English, and ones you distrust in Spanish. (He tells you about the trials of his life. He tells you what he thinks of American girls. You aren’t sure how to respond.) Eventually it’s time to close this bar as well. The bartender pulls you aside and tells you that there is another bar next door, but it’s hidden. He has to clean up, but you should bring the girls there and he will meet you after. Here, he says, I’ll show you.
He brings you out into the night.SQL Server 2008 R2 プロダクトキー
Next door is what looks like an abandoned factory, with a corrugated metal garage door. Inside the garage door is another metal door. Just knock on that, he says. They will let you in. (He says he has drinks at his house. He will let you in.)
You knock on the door. The door opens and it’s filled with old men smoking and gambling. You look at the girls, and they look at you. What was the bartender thinking?
You ask the girls if they want to go in. They say they know another bar, but it’s far from here. (He says it’s very close to here. “It’s…no problem. Very close. Yes?”)
It’s now 4 a.m. You aren’t sure where exactly you are, but you are somewhere near Las Ramblas. You’re a little drunk and you’re not sure about these girls, you think you’ve heard them mention cocaine to each other. Also, neither one seems into you, and somethings going on with the bartender. (This guy is kinda sketchy).
Does a Flashpacker or Backpacker end up in this situation?
Answer: You’re obviously a Flashpacker. Backpackers don’t have nice clothes for going out. They are at the hostel bar in cut offs and flip flops playing Kings Cup with a group of travelers that includes someone who grew up only a few hours from them.