Backpackerz BUZZ: Issue 64

Backpacker Film Review: A Map for Saturday

In late 2004, 25-year-old Emmy-winning TV producer Brook Silva-Braga told his boss at HBO that he was quitting his job. Three months later, Brook packed up his bags and 30 pounds of video equipment and left for a one-year, 26-country, four-continent career break. Why? He just had to.

The result unfolds in Brook’s self-filmed, self-produced and self-directed documentary—A Map for Saturday. The 90-minute film covers everything from telling his co-workers about his plans—he was met with confusion and skepticism—to his first stop in Sydney, Australia, and the 11 months that followed through Southeast Asia, India, Nepal, Europe, South America and back home to New York. Though largely a solo journey, the movie is filled with the people Brook met along the way and each of them opens up in interviews about what it means to be on the road for more than a two-week paid vacation.

At the same time, it doesn’t lay on the romanticism too thick—a tough feat, you’d understand, if you’ve ever heard anyone wax poetic upon their return from a backpacking trip that surely was the most incredible backpacking trip any backpacker has ever backpacked. Brook and those he meets acknowledge the risk involved in taking the unconventional approach to holiday time. Sometimes you’re alone. Sometimes it’s hard to make friends, or to communicate in a foreign land, or to carry your life on your back, or to constantly meet people who become your close friends in one day and then take off in a completely different direction the next. Sometimes it can just truly suck. But mostly it doesn’t.  Mostly you’re wrapped up in this fluid and wandering subculture of people just like you—who question the logic behind jumping too quickly or too deeply into the nine-to-five tradition.

The camera work, the candidness of the co-stars and the honesty Brook puts into his film make for a genuinely compelling travel tale that goes well beyond a slide show. If you’ve got any shred of a travel bug in you, A Map for Saturday will surely incite a flare-up.

Check out the trailer or buy the DVD at www.amapforsaturday.com

“It feels more like a weekend. You didn’t have to go to work today and you don’t have to go tomorrow. So you stay out late again, sleep in the next morning and realize when you finally do wake up, as far as you’re concerned, it’s still Saturday.” 
—Brook Silva-Braga

Vancouver Screening of A Map for Saturday!

Catch A Map for Saturday on the big screen and save your burning questions for the man himself—Brook Silva-Braga will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

When: August 28, 2008
Where: Vancity Theatre

Stay up to date on all the details and get a chance to win tickets to the screening with Backpacker Buzz, HI’s monthly e-newsletter. Visit www.backpackerbuzz.ca to sign up. Get more information by calling 1-800-661-0020.

Top 5 Summer Hostels in Western Canada

HI-Vancouver Jericho Beach

HI-Vancouver Jericho Beach has been holding its own as Canada’s biggest hostel—it’s tough to beat the location on Jericho Beach, west of downtown Vancouver, in between two sandy beaches.

HI-Penticton

No one does summer better than Penticton, and HI-Penticton is downtown, close to all the summery action you can get your hands on. Lake Okanagan sloshes about the town’s shores while visitors slosh about the local wineries.

HI-Banff Alpine Centre

Summer was built for patios and HI-Banff Alpine Centre was built for patios. Well, it was built with a spacious one with mountain views and an attached restaurant. Bask in the sunlight or take in some shade, and make sure to take advantage of the hostel BBQs.

HI-Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel

HI-Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel is rustic with no electricity and no running water but when you’ve got a stunning view of Beauty Creek and the Rockies in your backyard, those little things don’t matter. Get in on the $5 pancake breakfast every morning and then follow the creek as it flows through eight sets of waterfalls to the foot of Stanley Falls.

HI-Whistler

Lakeside living is best done in the mountains. HI-Whistler is on the shore of Alta Lake and from the hostel you can borrow a canoe and go for a paddle or just go for a dip. Relax on the deck, hike around the lake or rent a bike and cruise into the village.

HI Membership Discounts

An HI membership card gets you more than discounted rates at 4,000 hostels in 80 countries. Most of these countries have arranged discounts for HI members through local transportation and service providers, attractions and restaurants. Here are just a few of these discounts. Check www.hihostels.com and click ‘Membership’ for more details on these discounts and others around the world.

North America

Canada
Greyhound—25% off
VIA Rail—5% off

USA
Trek America—10% off

Australasia

Australia
Greyhound Australia—10% off
Great Southern Railway—30% off
Adventure Tours Australia—10% off

New Zealand
InterCity Coachlines—10% off
Magic Travellers’ Network—10% off National Passes

India
Appu Ghar Amusement Park—50% discount
STIC Travel Counters—5% off domestic flights, 2% off international flights

Europe

England & Wales
Seafrance—15% off
DFDS Seaways—10% off
Shakespeare’s Globe—2 for 1

France
Centre Des Monuments Nationaux—preferred rates
Futuroscope Amusement Park—20% off

Finland
Europcar—10% off
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat—30% off bus tickets

Norway
Budget Rent-a-Car—10% off

Ireland
Over the Top Tours—15% off
Adopt-a-Sheep—25% off entrance

South & Central America

Chile
Yak Expediciones—10% off
Windsurfing Chile—10% off
National Econorent—10-15% off rental cars

Brazil
Ecological Expeditions—10% off
Abismo Anhumas—10% off

Mexico
Tourismo Cultural Inah—10% off
Mexico Magic Amusement Park—10% off
AllTourNative Off Track Adventures—20% off

Get a membership at 
www.hihostels.ca 
or call 
1-800-661-0020

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 9:15 pm and is filed under Hostelling International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.