Backpacking as a contemporary rite of passage : Victor Turner and youth travel practices

After spending twenty-four hours on a flight from Sydney to London, in November 2001 I touched down in England! I was twenty and it was my first real flight, my first overseas experience, and my first time travelling alone. It was 5:30AM when I arrived at Heathrow, and yet despite the cold, despite the jet lag, all that I was aware of as I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders was a pervading sense of freedom, of liberation, of a "world-is-your-oyster" kind of optimism. As I traipsed my way around the United Kingdom and continental Europe, I was struck by the uncanny resemblance between my own travel experiences and the tales told by other backpackers I met along the way. Many were, like me, taking a break from study or work. Alternatively, some were using their time overseas to complete internships and to bolster their resumes, a few were using their working holiday visas in an attempt to save a deposit for a house in their home countries, and others were simply after some kind of seachange.