The Write Way Around: Traveling Tales

I’ve slept in a lot of weird, weird situations throughout the past eight years of traveling: on the side of a road in Cambodia, on a mattress in a maid’s closet in Malaysia, in a homeless shelter (I thought it was a really crappy hostel until old men started showing up and unfolding lounge chairs all around this big room) also in Malaysia. I’ve also stayed in some of the world’s best and swankiest hotels in Indonesia and Mexico, but I find that hostels have always been my favorite places to stay.

I know, who would have though I’d like a hostel more than staying somewhere luxurious like in a maid’s closet? Seriously, though. Hostels are good for so many reasons, and as a solo female traveler, there is no other way I’d consider traveling; they are just more inviting, more fun, and more social.

There is a more hands on aspect to a hostel that doesn’t exist in luxury hotels. A hostel could very easily change the course of your trip.

When I was backpacking Europe in 2007, I met a group of people in a hostel in Budapest that my friend and I really got on with (translation: We met some cool people). There were a couple of kids from the UK and an American guy, and they decided they’d leave Budapest and head to Croatia together. They invited me and my friend, but we had to decline; we had our flights booked and our trip mapped out for the next six weeks. We’d risk losing too much money to join them on a random trip to Croatia, but from that moment on I always approached my travels with one idea in mind: Do not have it planned out, because you never know what can happen.

Back to my point: I do like hostels. A lot. And here are just some of the reasons I recommend staying in them, especially for first time travelers.

They’re cheap.

It goes without saying that one of the biggest advantages to hostel life is that allows you to stretch your buck that much further by offering cheap accommodation . Some hostels may go for a dollar a night, some may be around five bucks, and some – if you are in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand – can be anywhere from $20 to $30 per night (cheap is always relative to the country you’re traveling through).

It’s easy to make friends.

Talk about a contagious environment. Hostel life is buzzing with travelers who may have different backstories (but chances are they’ve traced a very similar beaten path you have), but they are all in the same boat you are. They are backpacking the world, looking to meet new people, and have new experiences.

Those friends become travel buddies.

The amount of travel friends I’ve made in hostels is amazing. One of my closest friends, a girl from LA, I met in my dorm room in Chang Mai on my trip on 2011. That was how I met Marika and Kat and Gina and Jason and Marty and Dan, whom I was with in the Thai Islands with and traveled to Indonesia with on my first time around. That was how I met Roberto and Jared and Taylor. I’ve met so many friends in my hostels, most of whom I wound up heading to the next destination with when I was traveling on my own.

You also get to know the locals

In many hostels that I’ve stayed in, especially in Asia, there are always locals who work at the hostels. They might take you to explore a market with them one day, or teach you how to cook a local dish as they prepare dinner. They might teach you how to speak the language, or at least a few works. They might take you out with them or they might take you back to their family’s house. There is an opportunity to learn about the local culture by befriending those who work in the hostel.

They’re safe.

For the most part, hostels really are safe. Some, like Lub*d Silom in Bangkok, can be a bit more high-tech and fancy, which means you need key cards to go beyond the common room to where the dorms are located. There is almost always someone working at the reception desk (yes, hostels of all kind have some sort of reception desk), so you’ll feel that much safer. And they do watch out for you. On nights I stayed out past sunrise, the person working at reception would say, “Oh! Good! You’re home!” and after add in a “cheeky! cheeky!” or “naughty! naughty!” comment.

They organise activities.

Whether it’s a pub crawl, a free walking tour, day trips, or “family dinners”, hostels organize a host of activities to make the atmosphere all the more social. It’s helpful, too, for those who might be a little bit more shy or maybe new to the hostel scene that much more a part of the mix.

You can always find a hostel that suits you.

Not every hostel is a massive party or a giant orgy. Sure, you’ll come across them, and if they aren’t what you are looking for, then chances are you won’t be sticking around for too long. There are loads of hostels that can definitely suit whatever type of holiday you might be looking for – be it calm and relaxing and chilled; a design-focused hostel that has quirky and funky architecture and paintings; a party that keeps you raging until the early hours of the morning; flash backer hostels that give you a little more comfort for a couple of more bucks. Not every hostel was made equal, and you’ll find you have a fair amount (depending of course on how remote you travel) to choose from to suit both your style and your budget.

They can, and they do, feel like home.

There are a few places in particular that come to mind when I say that, especially Gili Hostel in Indonesia. A hostel is the closest thing you have to home when you are on the road and traveling. You won’t find this with everywhere you stay, but you will find it. And you’ll get comfortable there. And you’ll never want to leave. And  you’ll make friends there who become family. And they never want to leave. And you always know where to find one another. And when the time comes to leave, you’ll truly feel like you left a part of yourself behind.