(Roommates in Pushkar, India 2008)
(Barossa Wine Valley tours, South Australia Sept.2010)
(Adelaide YHA hostel, South Australia Sept.2010) I am 25 years old. I have been out of Uni (or college for you American un-savants) for a few years now, and more importantly I haven’t set foot in a college dorm since freshman year. I’ll never forget that dorm, the first week of school we had windows shot out by a gang related drive-by shooting and 6 weeks later a strange fungus took over the girls’ bathroom floor and we suffered itchy feet for an entire semester before anything was done about it.
I was pretty traumatized after that year and I swore those days were behind me, and yet here I am, living Uni dorm life all over again! Except now there’s a new word for it- HOSTEL LIFE.
Hostel life and dorm life are pretty much one and the same. It’s all the good, the bad, and definitely the ugly. What hostel life does not guarantee, however, is that everyone in your room will be in your age group. For the most part you’ll get your 20 something year old backpackers, but every now and again a surprise high school group or senior citizens club!
The other night in St Kilda (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) I said goodnight (and goodbye) to a 19 year old rugby player from England the next bunk over, only to find a 65 year old Aussie woman in his place the next morning! She didn’t last long at St Kilda, for many reasons, which will surely come out a bit later. I have a bone to pick with that particular BASE hostel…
So why do it?! Well, obviously if I had a ton of money at my disposal I'd choose to stay in the Royal Hotels and the 4 star resorts...but sadly I'm poor. (Or, according to the US government I'm just hovering over the poverty line which still requires tax payments every year!) So, bang for my buck please! Hostels give you rates per person, so it's pretty safe to say you'll pay anywhere between $20-30 a night (depending on where you're traveling and what time of year--high tourist season, low season, etc.)
Countries like New Zealand and Australia have been absolutely perfect for exploring and traveling, but the costs of living and eating each day are draining! Coffee: $4, Sandwich: $10, Laundry: $8, Accommodation: $25, Local Transport: $5-7, Dinner: $18, Beer: $7...Here in Australia alone my daily budget has gone from nil to $50/day! (..that's not including museum entrance fees, park entrance fees, activities or sightseeing, and trust me, I'm skipping meals where I can!)
So, if you want to save money while you travel, your best shot will be backpacking through hostels.
Let’s talk about expectations. For those of you who are new to the idea of hostel traveling there are some 'inconveniences' you should be prepared for:
1.) Constant roommate turn over: usually daily, people check in and out of your rooms at all hours of the night and day (depending on whether you go for 4 bed, 6 bed, 8 bed or 10 bed dorms…higher number of beds in the room, less you pay for the night)
2.) Shared facilities: toilets, showers, kitchen, lounge, tv area, wash and drying machines (tip: always wear shower shoes in the bathroom!)
3.) Noise: people who travel through hostels are usually on holiday, so expect loud noises, lots of drunken screaming and roommates turning on the lights and climbing into bed at all hours of the night
4.) Privacy: forget about it, doesn’t exist. The only time I find any privacy in a hostel is when I’m outside of it.
5.) Security: since your roommates are strangers you’ll have to be sure to lock up your valuables (tip: always travel with at least 2 travel locks for your bag and luggage)
Tips to manage these inconveniences:
1.) Find friends along the road and ask to share dorms with them. That way I have a better idea of who I’ll be rooming with when I can fill an 8 bed dorm with 4 people I’ve already known for a couple of days.
2.) Some hostels offer female ‘sanctuaries’: if you’re not comfortable sharing a room with boys, most hostels offer a “Females Only Floor”, with locked access for maximum security 24/7.
3.) Never book for more than 2 nights in advance at a hostel. Hostels may drive you insane after 48 hours depending on the crowds it draws—always give yourself an out!
4.) Shared kitchens make food snatching tempting! Always label your food with your name and date so someone doesn't ‘accidentally’ take your stock of parmesan cheese! (tip: to save money on the road buy your groceries and cook your own food along the way, most hostels will have kitchen facilities available)
5.) Having shared facilities isn’t always a bad thing. The lounge area and the cinema rooms are usually where I meet new friends. Another great spot is the travel desk, here’s where you can find people trying to head in the same direction you are! Facilities usually include: pools, pool tables, cyber cafes, and bars with game nights and prize nights every day to keep things interesting.
6.) Noise will always be a problem. But if you’re interested in getting some sleep at night I recommend searching out ‘Dry Hostels’ where alcohol is banned on the premises. (YHA hostels are usually alcohol-free and one of my personal favorite hostel names.)
7.) Keep a sleep kit in your bed—ear plugs, eye mask, I-pod to help block out the roommates’ noise.
8.) For security, hostels usually provide lockers in the rooms to help keep valuables safe. Make sure there’s one for each roommate, and security throughout the hostel floors (i.e. key card access to your floor as well as your room.) Lock your bags when you’re not in the room (even if it’s just for a quick 10 minute shower.)
9.) To find the best deals and best recommended hostels ask people around you where they're coming from and where they've stayed. I also like to check Hostel World for unbiased reviews:
I’ve had some real nightmare experiences over the years backpacking through hostels. The worst of which include 18 year old girls not holding their liquor all over the dorm floor, guys peeing in the bunk above me, sleep walkers and snorers attacking the innocent, and couples having sex in the middle of the night thinking I wouldn’t wake up…ugh makes me tired thinking of this list...now I can laugh, but at the time I sure as hell didn't!
And yet, I am still an avid supporter of HOSTEL LIFE. Despite the horrors, I have met the most fascinating people while backpacking through hostels and I have managed to make some incredible friendships around the world, from strangers I’ve met in the dorms. Also, if you're traveling solo you'll be happy to have the company around you (especially if you're ever feeling lonely.) ...My most recent hostel experience took me to the Adelaide YHA in South Australia...
(http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/sa/adelaide/adelaide-central/)
(YHA Adelaide, supreme comfort and atmosphere; Frenchie cooks up a storm in hostel kitchen)
(Hiking, climbing in the Grampians Mts with new friends)
...where a couple from the UK, a Canadian and a Frenchie gave me excellent company the past week. Wine tours, central markets, hiking trips in Victoria, camping, and excellent dinners. (Note to reader: EVERYONE should make friends with a professional French chef; I’ve never eaten so well!)
We have parted ways now, the UK couple stayed behind in Adelaide and Frenchie and the Canadian decided to head north to Uluru (the barren outback desert.) I'm in Western Australia, Perth to be exact visiting some old and getting to know some new friends :)
Ta for now!
PS: Stay away from BASE backpackers at St. Kilda- Melbourne, Victoria!!! It’s dirty, loud, your roommates will all be under 20 years old, and for some reason everyone there’s an idiot for drunken fighting and banging on the doors in the middle of the night. I spent 4 nights there for $24, and now I know exactly why the rooms were dirt cheap, and the deal was ‘too good to be true.’
I'd like my $24 back in exchange for some of the emotional scarring i'll have to repress for the rest of my life (sex in shared dorms is NEVER OK people!)
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