Banana Pancake Trail
Encyclopedia
The Banana Pancake Trail is the name given to the well-trodden and constantly growing routes around South East Asia travelled by backpackers
and other tourists. The Trail has no clear definition but is used as a metaphor for places that are well-visited by mostly Western tourists who have left their marks on the local tourist industry, which has created restaurants, hotels and entertainment catering to these travellers' needs.
as an affectionate nickname and in reference to the many guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers
that serve banana
pancakes as a form of sweet breakfast.
The Banana Pancake Trail is sometimes associated with travellers who use Lonely Planet
travel guides, due to the fact that this publisher's books were the first to provide information about the region and were therefore used by many backpackers. The influx of Western travellers led to the rise of many restaurants serving food adapted to their needs, including banana pancakes and other comfort foods like yogurt with muesli
and honey.
There is no firm definition of the Banana Pancake Trail, as it is a metaphor
to describe the ever-developing travellers' trail going through many different places in Southeast Asia rather than an actual route or road (much like the Silk Road
). However, the term is used to describe, amongst others, Goa
, Pushkar
and Varanasi
in India
, Halong Bay
, Hoi An
, and Hanoi
in Vietnam
, Vang Vieng
in Laos
(with its rites-of-passage river tubing), Sihanoukville
and Siem Reap
(Angkor Wat
) in Cambodia
, Bangkok
(with its famous Khao San Road), Pai
, the islands of Ko Pha Ngan
(with its world-infamous Full Moon Party
) and Ko Phi Phi in Thailand
, and Penang
, the Perhentian Islands
and Melaka in Malaysia. In Indonesia Lake Toba
, Yogyakarta, Mount Bromo
and the islands of Bali
, Lombok
and Gili Trawangan
are considered to be on the Banana Pancake Trail.
As the tourism expands, the Philippines
has become part of it as well, and the Trail's stops in the Philippines are thought to include the island of Boracay
, Siargao Island, the dive centers of Puerto Galera in Mindoro
island, the islands of Palawan
, the surf spots of San Juan La Union
, plus the Cordillera mountain regions that include the spectacular Batad and Banaue rice terraces, and Sagada.
The Banana Pancake Trail also seems to have a northern extension in to China
with Dali, Lijiang
, and Yangshuo as the major centres.
. Some of them were gap year
students, taking time off to travel. As the stops on the Trail have become well known, and as long distance flights have become more accessible, combined with the increased purchasing power of Asian tourists, an increasingly diverse variety of travellers can be found on the trail, sometimes for just a short time rather than the months' long trips of the original backpackers.
" in South America
and the "Hippie Trail
" in Asia
in the 1960s-70s.
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
and other tourists. The Trail has no clear definition but is used as a metaphor for places that are well-visited by mostly Western tourists who have left their marks on the local tourist industry, which has created restaurants, hotels and entertainment catering to these travellers' needs.
Origin of the term
The term '"Banana Pancake Trail" is usually used tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
as an affectionate nickname and in reference to the many guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
that serve banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
pancakes as a form of sweet breakfast.
The Banana Pancake Trail is sometimes associated with travellers who use Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
travel guides, due to the fact that this publisher's books were the first to provide information about the region and were therefore used by many backpackers. The influx of Western travellers led to the rise of many restaurants serving food adapted to their needs, including banana pancakes and other comfort foods like yogurt with muesli
Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
and honey.
Geographical reach
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
to describe the ever-developing travellers' trail going through many different places in Southeast Asia rather than an actual route or road (much like the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
). However, the term is used to describe, amongst others, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, Pushkar
Pushkar
Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated at 14 km North West from Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 metres , and is one of the five sacred dhams...
and Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Halong Bay
Halong Bay
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes...
, Hoi An
Hoi An
Hội An , or rarely Faifo, is a city of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is located in Quang Nam province and is home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants...
, and Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is a tourism-oriented town in Laos, located in Vientiane Province about four hours bus ride north of the capital. The town lies on the Nam Song river. The most notable feature of the area is the karst hill landscape surrounding the town.-History:...
in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
(with its rites-of-passage river tubing), Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville , also known as Kampong Saom, is a province in southern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. This port city is a growing Cambodian urban center, located southwest of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The province is named after King Father Norodom Sihanouk and grew up around the...
and Siem Reap
Siem Reap
Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor region.Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market...
(Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
) in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
(with its famous Khao San Road), Pai
Pai, Thailand
Pai is a small town in northern Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, near the Myanmar border, about 50 miles/80 km north of Chiang Mai on the northern route to Mae Hong Son. It lies along the Pai River. The town has thesaban tambon status and covers parts of the tambon Wiang Tai of Pai district...
, the islands of Ko Pha Ngan
Ko Pha Ngan
Ko Pha Ngan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in South East Thailand. It is famous for its full moon party at Haad Rin Beach and as a backpackers destination. Ko Pha Ngan has two sister islands: the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north.* Area: about 168 km²*...
(with its world-infamous Full Moon Party
Full Moon Party
The Full Moon Party is an all-night beach party that originated in Haad Rin on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand on the night before or after every full moon....
) and Ko Phi Phi in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, the Perhentian Islands
Perhentian Islands
The Perhentian Islands lie approximately 10 nautical miles off the coast of northeastern Malaysia inthe state of Terengganu, approximately 40 miles south of the Thai border....
and Melaka in Malaysia. In Indonesia Lake Toba
Lake Toba
Lake Toba is a lake and supervolcano. The lake is 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about , the lake stretches from to...
, Yogyakarta, Mount Bromo
Mount Bromo
Mount Bromo , is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia. At it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is the most well known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger...
and the islands of Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
and Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan is the largest of Lombok's Gili Islands and the only one to rise significantly above sea level. Measuring 3 km long and 2 km wide, it has a population of around 700. Trawangan means Terowongan due to there is a cave tunnel built in Japanese occupation...
are considered to be on the Banana Pancake Trail.
As the tourism expands, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
has become part of it as well, and the Trail's stops in the Philippines are thought to include the island of Boracay
Boracay
Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island and its beaches have received awards numerous times. Boracay was awarded in the "Travelers' Choice...
, Siargao Island, the dive centers of Puerto Galera in Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
island, the islands of Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, the surf spots of San Juan La Union
La Unión
La Union or La Unión may refer to:-Colombia:*La Unión, Antioquia*La Unión, Nariño*La Unión, Sucre*La Unión, Valle del Cauca-Peru:*La Unión Province, Peru...
, plus the Cordillera mountain regions that include the spectacular Batad and Banaue rice terraces, and Sagada.
The Banana Pancake Trail also seems to have a northern extension in to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with Dali, Lijiang
Lijiang
Lijiang may refer to:*Lijiang, Yunnan , prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province, China*Old Town of Lijiang, World Heritage Site, in Lijiang City*Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, formerly a county in Lijiang, Yunnan, China before 2002...
, and Yangshuo as the major centres.
Travellers
The original travellers in the regions were mostly young European, Australian and American travellers on trips that could last several months, and who travelled cheaply using guides like Lonely PlanetLonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
. Some of them were gap year
Gap year
An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...
students, taking time off to travel. As the stops on the Trail have become well known, and as long distance flights have become more accessible, combined with the increased purchasing power of Asian tourists, an increasingly diverse variety of travellers can be found on the trail, sometimes for just a short time rather than the months' long trips of the original backpackers.
Similar trails
The Banana Pancake Trail is similar in idea to the "Gringo TrailGringo Trail
The Gringo Trail refers to a string of the most frequently visited places, by "Gringos", US-Americans and other foreigners in Latin America.Highlights of the Gringo Trail:* Antigua, Guatemala* Bay Islands, Honduras* Bocas Del Toro, Panama...
" in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the "Hippie Trail
Hippie trail
The hippie trail is a term used to describe the journeys taken by hippies and others in the 1960s and 1970s from Europe overland to and from southern Asia, mainly India, Pakistan and Nepal...
" in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
in the 1960s-70s.