"I've had the same jeans on for 4 days now..."
It's 3am and the hostel is still, silent. After an exhausting day of battling foreign public transport in Rome, we were finally sound asleep. But not for long. Chattering voices rise from the stairwell & wake us out of nowhere, drawing closer, and annoyingly, LOUDER. All of a sudden our door is flung open with a bang! Light floods the room as 4 German girls charge in and swing their backpacks onto the ground with a thud, all the while chattering away non-stop. I look at my watch. 3.05am. Are they SERIOUS? After a restless few hours of interrupted sleep, its dawn, and I trudge slowly to the shower, looking forward to the hot steam instantly soothing my nerves...only to find out there isn't any hot water...in fact, the shower doesn't even turn on at all....
* * *
Don't be put off by the above story, it's all part of the fun (believe it or not) of staying in hostels around the world. People have weird and wonderful notions on what to expect from staying in a backpackers, with stories and opinions a mile wide. But most of the time, all you need is a bit of patience and a smile to get you through your travels on a budget! Of course you will be sharing with other people at times; you need to expect this sort of thing. And of course not everything will always work properly or go according to plan. And thank goodness it doesn't! Otherwise what a god-awful, boring, predictable world we would live in! I guarantee you, at the time, although I did want to cheerfully MURDER those inconsiderate German girls, I can now laugh at the memory. Backpacking is all about venturing outside the norm, travelling outside your comfort zone, and trying new things. True, it's not for everyone, but the following "myths" commonly thought to be true should not discourage aspiring young travellers from venturing out into the world. (On the cheap!)
"The newest, most expensive gear will make for a more comfortable trip"
You don't need your sleeping bag, extra doona, oh and that special contour foam pillow mum bought for you last year.....this is TRAVELLING not living at home in the lap of luxury! The whole point is to experience the unusual, the different and yes sometimes the strange. Most will be surprised to find how well equipped hostels are with often extra sheets provided, warm blankets and always a pillow. Some hostels in America I found will even have housekeeping staff come and change the bedding each day for new and fresh linen! And if there is something you need, just try asking the friendly staff - you would probably be surprised at how many items of use they keep behind the counter that you may borrow and purchase for a small charge; Phone chargers, international calling cards, spare batteries, sunscreen etc.
You also do not need the latest $400 backpack -remember, just because its new and slightly improved in some ways, does not make it any less heavy to carry!! Most middle of the range ones, like ‘Cuba' from Black Wolf, retail for around $140-$180, and are more than suitable with easy to adjust straps. They don't look half bad either. The point to remember is, no one cares about the brand on your back, only about the funny jokes and stories you tell at the end of a long day in the pub!
"Hostels aren't safe!"
Some people have this image in their heads that hostels are cheap and nasty alternatives to REAL hotels. Well the first part is true enough, they ARE cheaper, which is a good thing, but the scary/nasty part? Not so true. I'm not going to sit here and say every single one I have ever stayed a night in was tops, but on the whole, they are more than acceptable. And if you do your homework before you go, you will find that the cities you are visiting will often have a top rated hostel voted the best in the business by fellow travellers - these are the ones you need to be checking out, and booking into. One I recently stayed at in Manhattan, New York actually had its own night security guard at the door! How's that for added safety? Its usually not just a case of having he best location, cleanest rooms and top security, but also kick-ass hostel pubs & awesome staff to help you out with city maps, extra pillows, which nights they play trivia on and run the local pub crawl! Not sounding too scary is it? There is a great chance at these kinds of places to meet new people and make life long friends.
