I spent a couple of weeks backpacking round Japan with my son back in July. The first thing I realised was that I'd forgotten was just how heavy and unwieldy the d*m rucksacks were. You were not welcome getting on a crowded train or a bus with them and the thought of walking any distance with them in Japanese summer heat and humidity soon went out the window. Loading it all onto a bike when you come out of a hotel in the morning seems a much better idea.

Getting to Japan was easy though - buy a ticket and turn up at the airport. Find somewhere to stay on Hostels.com. Going there by bike would have taken a bit more than the time we had to say the least. Same thing for our previous trip to China. Without Charlie Boormans contacts there wasn't much chance of getting hold of a bike either (even though he arrived in Tokyo two days before we left- you'd have thought he could have passed on his cast-offs. Thanks Charlie!).

For me traveling by bike is a much better idea when it's practical. Yes you have the hassle of security, extra paperwork, worry about accidents / injuries /breakdowns etc but all of these are outweighed by the convenience of being able to go where you want at your pace. I've both backpacked and biked round West Africa and of the two the bike trips were more enjoyable but the backpacking did have its moments - the very pleasant afternoon I spent at the side of the road taking tea and talking to the locals and fellow passengers while the bus driver went 30 miles on a donkey to get a spare part for the bus wouldn't have happened if I'd been on the bike. Neither would my masterclass in how to pick peanuts without getting stung by scorpions have happened without another bus breaking down.

On the other hand spending 24 hrs on (yet another) bus watching a crack in the roof slowly open because too many goats have been loaded onto the roof whilst wondering if it's the gradually worsening intestinal problem or the roof collapse that's going to get me first made me appreciate the bike.

Backpacking - that is moving around a country by public transport carrying all your possessions with you - is harder than it appears - and it gets harder as you get older. Not only physically but also in the way people relate to you. I'm well into my 50's and I was getting some very strange looks from the locals in Japan, looks that my 19yr old son didn't get - a sort of "you're old enough to know better"

Hahahah. Bouncing along a dirt track in the back of a crowded West African bache while everyone tries to evade the streams of goat urine coming from the terrified animals on the roof....that´s life at its finest, fer sure!

My personal theoretical overview says that the more I am in control, the fewer real adventures I tend to have. ¨In control¨in this context means carrying credit and ATM cards, bringing my own vehicle, knowing where I´m going, speaking the language, and in general having backup systems in place in order to deal with whatever might transpire. You might think that your ability to turn your bike around and investigate that little town represents adventure, but my view is that this is precisely the absence of true adventure, because it remains under your control. The fact that I´m increasingly old and lazy doesn´t alter the cause and effect relationship between safety, predictability and sticking with what I can control....and boredom.

OTOH, adventure is where you find it--and it´s primarily internal anyway. I don´t mean to present a one-sided picture; it´s just that sometimes I think we need to face up to the fact that we´re all busy trying to control everything in our lives, then wondering why none of it seems to fulfill us anymore.

Or maybe that´s just me.

I´ll repeat, though, that you can easily do wild and exciting stuff as a backpacker. To those archetypal 18 year old gap year backpackers, this might mean drinking to the point of insensibility, then trying to pick up local women in between vomiting in the gutters in Riga or Prague (to pick a few places, not at random). To me, that´s not reall where it´s at.

enjoy,

Mark

(old and lazy and motorbiking towards TDF in an entirely predictable, controllable manner....more or less)

i went backpacing in asia when i was shiping my bike from russia to the usa i was having some of the thoughs of the paper work cost type thing but when i opened the container door and seen my bike waiting there for me it was one of the best days and i then new it was $1200 well spent. all those miles of freedom are well worth it and i dont think i could go without a bike of some sort now

I rode my bike for over 5 months,from the US down to Ushuaia,put bike on a ship to Canada,had 3 weeks to fill in so went back packing around Argentina and Chile. Bloody hell never again,suffered acute withdrawals systems from riding.Some times waiting up to 4-5 hours on the side of the road for buses. Should have spent money hiring another bike..I would walk along the streets of towns and cities,drooling over all the bikes,from 125s and up.
Ben

I'm also having this problem at the moment. Having done a couple of big overlands now, even being without a bicycle seems impossible.

I want to do West Africa this summer (rain ) and the cost of getting a bike there, disposing of a bike there etc. etc. (it's only for a month) is almost too much to bear. Want to end up in Ghana and at the moment it's looking like the backpack option is the simplest....but i just cna't bear the thought ot it!

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Thanks
Joe

wow, the thread that haunts me, seriously. Some great comments here.
after years of backpacking I discovered the delights of motorcycle adventure four or five years ago and have never looked back.
as much as i used to love staring out of long distance bus windows daydreaming endlessly and having strange unexpected conversations with strangers, those memories pale into insignificance when I look back on the constant buzz, riding challenges, decision making and pure independence of adventure biking that still give me goosebumps.
backpacking, sadly, has become an unwanted compromise, when logistics, availablitiy or costs conspire to force you to the bus terminal at ungodly hours and submit to the over-subscribed tourist trails with the lumpen sightseeing masses. Each new adventure without a bike fills me with a frustrated disappointment in myself and a renewed need to reform and redeem myself with another unforgettable bike misadventure.
Backpacking, it's a rite of passage, without question, but I wish i could confine it solely to rose-tinted glasses nostalgia of youthful pursuit.
Paperwork, parking, security, accidents and break downs are the necessary evils we must endure to experience the ultimate adventures available to us on our iron horses. Tourist attractions are just dots on maps we aim our bikes towards.

Somewhat off topic, I'm sort of playing with an idea of combining the two. I like low powered, simple bikes (MZ's). I figure that if I can pare down the dreaded "stuff" to the point where I can carry it on my back, I'll have a grab and go system that will work equally well with engine, pedals or even the dreaded peasant wagons. I've got it into my head that days when the prospect of another puncture (or conversation about either how MZ are not CZ, or the fact I did see the thing with the actor and his mate) fills me with dread, are exactly the days I'll fancy a walk and there is nothing like spending 3 1/2 hours on a train talking about Martians to a bloke drinking your stove fuel (I kid you not) to cure you of any notion that bikes are a bad idea.

I'm playing with ex-army webbing which might not be a great idea in the rougher-tougher parts of the worlds, but we'll see, maybe it can be dyed. At least next time something that can't be fixed with duct tape, cable ties and a can of coke goes pop I'll be ready for the walk.

Andy

I did three weeks backpacking in Burma simply because there is no other way of travelling there and would not like to make a habit of it, compared to the freedom of motorcycling or cycling it felt very restrictive and I did not enjoy sitting on a bus travelling at somebody else's pace. Not something I would do unless there is no other choice.

Heh, forgot about this thread!

I'm currently on another big trip ... but since I can't take a big bike into Vietnam I'm backpacking it right now.

Today I took a tour of Cu Chi tunnels outside of Saigon on a bus that first stopped at a POS "Handicraft goods from handicaps" mandatory shopping trip. Then spent all day touring around with the masses.

I miss independent travel.. REAL indepenant travel, not lonely planet "independent travel".

Can't wait to rejoin my bike tomorrow in Bangkok!!!

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http://davegtravels.com - RTW on a DRZ
All the way south - Texas to Tierra del Fuego in '08-'09