You don't need a tour—just go!

> Backpacking is a commercialized form of traveling, but that’s okay

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor

 

ecently, there have been
lot of critics against

the popular youthful form of
travelling known as backpacking.
What people are saying is
that backpacking no longer
represents what it once did, when
it came into prominence in the
1970s during the “hippy trail,”
when hippies traveled across
Asia and Europe in search of...
themselves. Backpacking is now
as much a part of conventional
tourism as all-inclusive resorts
and walking tours. It’s not an
independent experience, but
rather an experience composed
by those who run businesses
around tourism. Nevertheless,
you should still try it.

Let’s be honest: no matter
what we do, we cannot get
the same experience as those
hippies in the 70s. We cannot
have Woodstock, no matter how
many music festivals we go to.
We cannot experience the thrill
of special effects, no matter how
many Star Wars movies we make.

And we cannot expect the world
to revert to a time when tourism
was as new as virtual reality is
today. All we can do is set off
and have our own experiences,
even if they are tailored for us.
The tourism industry is huge
in countries where the hippy trail
originated. Today, it supports
the livelihood of millions of
people in regions where earning
a living is not always easy. Even
though backpackers are known
for their thrifty form of traveling,
the locals recognize that an
American dollar can goa long
way ina place like Cambodia or
Myanmar. So they want you to
spend as much as possible. They
don’t care about the genuine
backpacking experience. They
want you to buy. The genuine
backpacking experience, to
them, must sounds like the most
pretentious piece of bullshit. Just
go to their country and have fun.
Travelling is a great
way to gain a perspective in
the world. It’s a good way
to learn independence and
communication skills. However,
I don't believe going on a trip will

change a person significantly.
The old cliché of finding
yourself in India or having
an Eat, Pray, Love moment is
something that doesn’t change
who you are when you return
home, even if you want it so
much that it seems to exist in
your mind. So to say that your
backpacking experience is less
because you planned everything
on Expedia is a terrible way to
look at travelling in general.
Backpacking sounds like a
lot of fun, but it is also a rigorous
and sometimes frustrating
experience. There are brief
moments of spirituality now and
then, but those moments can
occur in your apartment condo
as well. So go backpacking,
and don’t think about all the
baggage that the travelling style
carries with it. Go with the flow
of the journey. If that means
taking a flight instead of a bus,
do it. If that means going ona
tour instead of venturing alone,
do it. If that means staying in
a hotel for a few days instead
of a hostel, do it. It’s your trip;
there doesn’t have to be rules.

 

The speech tells us that ‘better 1s possible

> Thoughts on the federal budget

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

Si Justin Trudeau became
the prime minister of
Canada, the Liberal Party
fulfilled some of the promises
that they made during the
federal election last year. Now,
the rest of those promises are

a reality in a highly anticipated
federal budget speech that a
lot of people have been waiting
to hear. The federal budget
speech this year is Minister of
Finance Bill Morneau’s first.

The speech began with
Morneau introducing the
Canada Child Benefit, which will
help parents pay for anything
that will help their child.
Depending on income and the
age of the children, parents will
receive up to $6,400 tax-free
per child every year beginning
in July. Morneau said that the
benefit “will lift hundreds
of thousands of children up
from poverty.” The benefit is
great because it will give more
money to parents to help
them pay for the essentials.

Next, Morneau announced
that they will fund $120 billion in
infrastructure projects, including
providing affordable housing,
building green infrastructure
systems, and improving public
transit. This means that there
will be more funding for the

  

transit system in the Lower
Mainland, and there will be
more bus services in the future.
Also, Canada Student Grants is
being increased by 50 per cent
to help students prepare for
the future, and 35,000 summer
jobs are being given to youth.
The biggest announcement
in the speech is that they will
fund $1.9 billion into the arts,
including more funding for CBC,
which is important in Canadian
arts. With more funding for
CBC, hopefully, they will bring
back Royal Canadian Air Farce

and Hockey Night in Canada.
Also, Morneau announced
that there will be more funding
in the health care system. They
also reversed the changes that
were made to veteran services
by the previous Conservative
government led by Stephen
Harper, including the reopening
of various veteran services
offices, which will allow veterans
to get help when they need it.
Finally, Morneau announced
that they will invest $8.4
billion to improve the lives of
indigenous people and end the

boil water advisories in some
cities. This will improve their
neighbourhoods and help them
be part of the rest of the country.

Throughout the speech,
Morneau was very positive when
he announced the things they
will do. The phrases “middle
class” and “real change” were
used, because Trudeau’s
government is focused on
helping the middle class.

After the speech, the
opposition parties reacted.
Lisa Rait, a Conservative MP,
said that the budget will not

Image via thinkstoc

Image via www.macleans.ca

help the middle class. This is
not true, because it will give
more money to the middle
class. The NDP said that the
funding of the budget is not
the same as the funding in

the Liberal Party’s election
platform, which was likely to
happen because Morneau did
pre-budget consultations before
the speech, and the amount of
money that will be funded in
the budget will likely change.
The federal budget speech has
a lot of great things that prove
that: “better is always possible.”