This was published 1 year ago
The seven things you may have forgotten about hostels
By Michael Fowler
Not much has changed in backpacker hostels over the last few years.Credit: Getty Images
International flight prices out of Australia are booming, COVID-testing lines have been replaced by passport waiting lists and restrictions in most countries now extend to the occasional mask.
Australians have descended upon Europe and beyond, and for the first time time in several years, younger travellers in particular are preparing to venture into dormitories and communal bathrooms - enough to give a chief health officer fever dreams.
But from the hostels of Europe, here's a secret: aside from some COVID information posters, not a lot has changed. Here are seven of the heartwarming highs and nose-crinkling lows you may have forgotten.
Sleeping in a room full of strangers requires a sturdy degree of trust.Credit: Getty Images
The race for the bottom bunk
Insert key, open door, scan room, assess if a bottom bunk is free. If this instinct has waned, prepare to hone it again. The easier to access, less hot, generally more pleasant bed is always in demand. Especially if the room has the dreaded triple bunks.
If you're among the later arrivals, chances are you're stuck with the top. If any bottoms are still available, it could mean a game of scissors paper rock with your friends, a promise to buy the first drink that night or mortal combat.
Not that it's a carefree acquisition. Beware the top bunk sleeper who crash-tackles the ladder at 2am after a night out.
The revolving door of toiletries
We all start our trip with the inspector gadget of toiletry bags, exquisitely stocked.
Unfortunately, we also all lose an item at some point. Perhaps it's your favourite shampoo from home.
One day, as you frantically dig through your bag, an image flares in your mind of the three-quarters full bottle you left abandoned on the ledge of your last hostel's shower.
As ever while backpacking, however, an opportunity is nigh. In your new shower cubicle sits another shampoo bottle, even fuller than your lost one. What's that? Also includes 28 organic Scandinavian ingredients?
Do you resist or do you replenish your stocks? I know one thing: only one of those options continues the hostel toiletries circle of life.
The speed-dater and the familiar face: meeting other Australians
There are two types of Australians you meet in hostels.
The first approaches it like an all-Australian speed dating affair. What school did you go to? Which footy team do you barrack for? What city do you live in? What suburb? What street? Me too!
The other brings a more mellow energy. They're someone you can share local frustrations with (Greek timekeeping, anyone?) and speak to without starting the conversation by explaining that yes, we do ride kangaroos to school in Australia.
Will you avoid or embrace each species? While most of us don't fly overseas to co-habit with our country folk, it can provide a welcome relief at times - whichever type you prefer.
The pub crawl
Ah, the inimitable hostel pub crawl. An introductory drinking game that feels like your slightly tipsy first day at school, a majority male group, "free shots" of a suspiciously viscous pink liquid and entry to a half-empty club spinning the best tracks from 2007.
The initial chat can feel like deja vu on loop. How long are you travelling for? Where next? I know I asked you precisely 38 seconds ago, but what was your name again?
Yet pub crawls are often the best gateway to befriending hostel staff, with their local tips and tricks, and fellow backpackers, who could become your new travel companion. Especially if they prefer the top bunk.
The extra costs: to pay or not to pay
Balancing your budget in hostels can require Warren Buffett-esque finesse, especially among the ever-expanding list of opt-in fees.
Borrowing a towel can set you back a few dollars, as can a lock, earplugs, extra key, soap and shampoo (unless, of course, you choose to keep the revolving door spinning).
The more ungodly charges include bag storage after check-out and use of the air conditioning.
Choose wisely: that late-night kebab is non-negotiable.
Light and door etiquette
What are reflex decisions to switch on your lights at home become a crucial social play in dormitories.
Of course, a late night arrival should necessitate a silent entry and use of your phone torch at best (not that all adhere).
What about the borderline decisions, like when you enter the room at the sane hour of 10.30pm but three roommates are sound asleep?
Whether you turn on the lights to search through your bag may depend on questions such as whether they exhibited you to a form of white torture by smashing the lights on last night.
Faith in the goodwill of strangers
Sleeping in a room full of strangers requires a sturdy degree of trust. It's that trust that immediately transforms those strangers into friends. Backpackers from foreign lands invariably share travel tips, expand your horizons about their home country and language, entertain you with tales and help out without a second thought.
Especially after we've endured the opposite during the pandemic, reconnecting has never felt sweeter.
See also: The 10 people you'll meet in every backpackers
See also: Twenty-one things you'll only understand if you travelled before 2005
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