A backpacker is someone travelling independently and on a budget. They avoid organised tours and typically choose simple accommodation and take local transportation.
"Flashpacking" is term that has arisen in recent years to describe a subclass of backpackers. The main distinction is that flashpackers are not so limited by budget constraints. High-end digital cameras and iPods are common equipment. Increasingly a laptop will also be crammed into the backpack between the sarong and the Lonely Planet guidebook.
I don't necessarily think there is anything noble about travelling on a shoestring. Some travellers take pride in how little they spend on a trip - the mock travel guide "Phaic Than" parodies this by boasting that one of its authors travelled on such a low budget that he actually made a profit on his last trip to Asia.
For me, independent travel is about the lifestyle. You are more open to meet people - both locals and travellers - when when avoiding organised tours and high-end accommodation. A backpack is a practicality and allows you to hop on the back of a motorcycle taxi which is often the best, if not the only, travel option to get to a budget hotel.
Having a tight budget for food might mean missing out on some local food. It will typically exclude the tourist-priced western dishes. I much prefer to eat local food while travelling, but after a few breakfasts of Pho (noodle soup), I feel no guilt about tucking into a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs with local coffee and fresh tropical fruits.
For me, independent travel is also about the experience. The broader the experience, the better. This goes for accommodation as well as food. Staying at a high-end resort is also an experience, but for my tastes is too generic and not as much of an adventure as staying in lower end budget options. At the other extreme, very low-end, dingy, flea-filled hotels aren't generally the sort of adventure one deliberately seeks out.
I'm on the "gadget-freak" sub-sub-category of flashpacker backpackers and I think I started early. I backpacked in 1999 with a CD player and a digital camera. This was in the dark days before MP3 players and when digital cameras were large, clunky, expensive battery eating machines. Laptops were impractical for travel and were without wifi. GPS devices wouldn't become popular until the US Defence Department turned off the accuracy reducing "selective availability". (oh dear, I think I've written a "kids of today don't know how good they've got it!" paragraph)
For my 2009 trip, I took both my digital cameras: a mid-range one with a good zoom lens and my pocket size waterproof one. I also brought my iPhone which has been invaluable. I think I got my full flashpacker stripes when I bought myself a MacBook Air duty free at the Hong Kong Airport. With free WiFi being pretty much ubiquitous, a laptop is usually the best method for internet access. It also allows me to write, write, write. Bus journeys are a good chance to sort photos, write emails and do blog posts.
I'm writing this on the bus from Dalat heading towards Saigon. I'm going to be dropped off on the way to visit Cat Tien national park. This is not the typical stop, so I'm hoping the driver remembers. I'm a bit reassured as I found the GPS coordinates on the parks official website. By entering them into the GPS app of my iPhone I know that we're now 54km and 1 hour 20 mins away from the park. Good thing too: I'd like a toilet stop for my bowels which are on an Immodium induced "pause".
