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Similar Abraham Path, Hippie trail, Silk Road | ||
The "Banana Pancake Trail" or "Banana Pancake Circuit" is the name given to growing routes around Southeast Asia travelled by backpackers and other tourists. The Trail has no clear geographical definition, but is used as a metaphor for places that are popular among Western tourists.
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Etymology
The phrase '"Banana Pancake Trail" is usually used tongue-in-cheek as an affectionate nickname for various routes in Southeast Asia, and may reference guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers and serving banana pancakes as a form of sweet breakfast or snack.
The Banana Pancake Trail is sometimes associated with backpackers who use Lonely Planet travel guides, with these books often being the most used by backpackers on these routes. Banana Pancake trails materialise when an influx of Western backpackers to an area leads to a rise in the number of restaurants serving food adapted to Western desires which includes banana pancakes and other Western comfort foods such as yogurt with muesli and honey.
Geographical reach
There is no firm geographical definition of the Banana Pancake Trail, as it is a metaphor to describe the ever-developing travellers' trails in South and Southeast Asia, rather than an actual route or road (much like the Silk Road is not a single road). However, the phrase is used to describe, amongst others, the locations below:
Nepal: Pokhara, Thamel in Kathmandu, Everest Base Camp
India: Goa, Pushkar, Varanasi, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Kerala, Dharamkot / Upper Bhagsu, Old Manali / Vashisht
Myanmar: Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake, Hpa-An
Thailand: Bangkok (with its famous Khao San Road), Chiang Mai, Pai, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, and many of the islands, including Phuket, Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan (with its world-infamous Full Moon Party), Ko Phi Phi, Koh Lipe, and Koh Chang
Laos: Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw, Bolaven Plateau, Si Phan Don (The 4000 Islands)
Cambodia: Siem Reap (home to Angkor Wat), Sihanoukville and its offshore islands, Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kampot
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Dalat, Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa
Indonesia: Lake Toba, Yogyakarta, Mount Bromo and the islands of Bali, Lombok, and Gili Trawangan
Philippines: Boracay, Banaue, Sagada, El Nido, Siargao
The Banana Pancake Trail also seems to have a northern extension into Yunnan, China with Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, and Yangshuo as the major centres.
The most common route passes through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City via Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, as well as Phnom Penh and the Mekong Delta. Also people go north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and hill-tribe villages, continuing to Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng in Laos. Also many head from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, via popular stops being Hoi An and Huế.
Similar trails
The Banana Pancake Trail is similar in idea to the "Gringo Trail" in South America and the "Hippie Trail" in Asia in the 1960s–70s.