The Backpacker Lifecycle

by Brendyn Zachary

From hostels to hotels.
Backpacks to suitcases.
Hitchhiking to guided tours.
Unwashed underwear to a box of wet wipes.

The journey a backpacker takes through 20 years and 45 countries is as much about the person as it is about the places. In The Backpacker Lifecycle, Brendyn Zachary shares his hilarious (and sometimes highly personal) experiences of travelling through different countries and different states of mind as the years go by.

Genres: Travel

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2022

Reviews

[Davis Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and original read

A really enjoyable read.

The layout of the book was original for this genre, but it worked well.

Unfortunately, though, I do feel the urge to go & see more of our world while it's still doable.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having spent a good chunk of my early life as a backpacker and expat, I expected that the writing would be easy to relate to & enjoyable. But I did not connect with the narrator, who doesn’t come across as particularly likable. He is a self-proclaimed ‘travel-snob’ reluctant to join the work force with the rest of us suckers. Reading about the young and naïve version of the author and his smelly socks in sleepless nights in hostel dorm rooms with international snorers became tiresome. We also hear of his frustrations of having to suffer through briefly having a standard office job or feeling alienated when back home in Canada or vulnerable when living in a foreign country and not knowing the language. There is no winning here. He does venture to some “exotic” locations, with the highlight of the book for me being his trip to North Korea, though there are few details provided. Interspersed amongst his travel experiences, he describes his (heterosexual) love life (or lack thereof). I didn’t care for the jumping back and forth of the timeline, notably because I think it would have helped us understand his ‘journey’ better if his experiences were in sequence.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.

[Sachiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting take on a travel book. Not many descriptions on the destinations themselves, but more a look on who he was (and becoming) at that point in his life when he was backpacking at a particular destination. More about a traveller than a place really. Recommended for a nice easy read. Loved the Dead Sea fiasco.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really could relate to the experiences the author had as a young backpacker. Brought back a lot of my own memories of travelling after college.