A bed's a bed, the magic is outside

Brian Thacker is a backpacker with a yen for adventure. He went backpacking across Southeast Asia, using as his only reference, a 1975 Lonely Planet book ‘South-East Asia on a Shoestring’. It was an adventure to find out what changes had happened in the last 36 years and boy did he have loads to share. 

Because Thacker was following a book that was 35 years old, many of the guesthouses that were still standing were decrepit, however he wasn't deterred, no matter how seedy they were.

"I'm sort of a backpacker traveller anyway," he says. "I remember I read this great quote once: 'A bed's a bed, the magic is outside'.  "I'd rather spend the money on a great meal or doing some great experience." Even so, Thacker admits some of the hotels were dodgy and he'd spend the least amount of time in the rooms as possible.

Read more at this article ‘South-East Asia on a 1975 guide book’ by Jennifer Chapman.  The full details are in his latest book ‘Tell Them to Get Lost’.  

While on backpacking, this is an awesome video by xTsyx sharing their backpacking adventures in Southeast Asia.