Monthly Archives: January 2012

For those of you who have already had the adventure of staying in a hostel, you’ll be able to follow right along. To those who have not yet experienced the wide range of rooming in these unique accommodations, here we go!

Definition of hostel: A hostel is a budget-oriented, shared-room (“dormitory”) accommodation that accepts individual travelers (typically backpackers) or groups for short-term stays, and that provides common areas and communal facilities.

Just like hotels, the quality and price can vary a bit depending on a several different options. Location, is it walking to main shops and attractions? How easy is it to get to and from public transportation? Safe area? Does it come with a locker or do you need your own bolts? Linens… Yup, sometimes they don’t provide sheets so it’s either a towel that you brought or every sweatshirt, pants, jacket and pair of socks all tied together to create some make shift covering. Pillow? You guessed it, your back pack or a rolled up shirt that you didn’t use when making your blanket.

At “The Big Hostel” I’m sleeping in a femroom dorm with 4 sets of bunk beds. Basic math says that’s 8 girls in my room!

I lucked out with some super sweet girls. Two from France, Marine and Fleur and the girls in the first picture are from Canada. They have a goal to get rid of this entire bag of Canadian pins before they end their holiday. I was glad to accept one and enjoyed the vibrant energy these two spread. (Ironically we met in the bathroom with great conversation, said good bye and good luck then followed each other to the same room!) Good times and high fives to you ladies!

Some amazing hostels provide a complimentary brunch and/or a kitchen for personal use.  Breakfast options usually range from fruit to an arrangement of pastries, bread, oats, spreads, eggs and yogurt. If you’ve ever traveled with me you’ve seen the simple and creative  (if i don’t say so myself) ways I stretch this into many meals.

The kitchen here is massive with tons of space for personal food and home cooking. The breakfast was bread, butter, Vegemite, Jam, oats and puffed rice. Oh dear, time for the market! 

These two spreads are everywhere!

Other things they may or may not have:  wi-fi, people your age, coffee machine, small creatures, funky smell, door on the shower, free water and/or never forget the selection of VHS tapes that usually include one or all of the following: Back to the future,  Dirty dancing, Benny and Joon, The breakfast club and good ‘ol Top gun.

I like the social vibe created here by the kitchen connecting to the common area. It includes a flat screen, several couches,  2 large tables and what do ya know, a collection of video tapes. They're watching "Thelma and Louise" right now… Classic!

Being out of your familiar space forces personal growth…