Irish Echo Sport

Living in a hostel is not for everyone. If the idea of sharing a bedroom doesn’t put you off, perhaps sharing your bed with creatures with more legs than you will. But, as GILLIAN TSOI reports, a good hostel can also become a home from home…

Earplugs are to a backpacker what fake boobs are to a drag queen: an absolute necessity.

Before I set off on my adventure Down Under, one of my main concerns was having to share a dorm room with multiple random strangers.

I knew life would take on some drastic changes during my year away, but sacrificing my privacy was one that I approached with particular trepidation.

Before leaving home, most backpackers enjoy the comforts of a spacious double bed, or at least the luxury of having their own room.

So, being kept awake all night by the deafening snores of Sven from Sweden in the bunk above you is not the ideal situation.

The majority of globetrotters realise early on that investing in a good pair of earplugs is vital.

Adjusting to hostel life can be very difficult for some… for others, it’s a walk in the park.

Jono, a receptionist from a popular Sydney backpackers’ hostel, told the Irish Echo: “I think that heaps of people love the social aspect of travelling and the dormitory is one of the best places to socialise and make new friends.

“I hear a lot of the girls complaining about not having their own bathroom, but most people don’t seem to mind.”

“To be honest, I don’t find life in hostels hard at all,” said Dubliner Mark Sheridan (pictured), who is currently living in a hostel in Bondi. “I suppose for some people – ie girls – the lack of your own space and big mirrors might be a problem!”

“If you need some time alone, go for a walk, climb a mountain, jump in lake – whatever you feel like doing to get some privacy.”

Fellow Dubliner, Jillian Byrne, confirmed that waiting for the shower when she first started living in hostels was a difficult concept to grasp.

“By the time it was my turn, I had to have a cold shower,” she said. “[Adapting to hostel life] was strange, mainly because my first experience was sharing a room with lads, so getting changed with a towel around you, and basically doing girlie stuff was difficult.”

For the female backpacker, settling into hostel life can be slightly more… unsettling.

But once you’ve mastered the art of getting dressed with one hand, dorm rooms are a great place to meet new people.

“It can be quite hard to make new friends when you first arrive,” said Jono. “This doesn’t mean to say that people in hostels aren’t friendly, but things like language barriers and ‘cliquey’ long term groups can make it challenging when you are new to the hostel.

“Meeting random crazy people from all over the world is one of the best things about travelling; don’t miss out on it!” he advised.

On touching down in Sydney, I checked into a hostel in Kings Cross and, with the intention of easing myself gently into hostel life, booked myself into a four-bed girls-only dorm.

My first night there went smoothly: exhausted and jetlagged, I slipped into a blissful, coma-like sleep.

The second night, however, was a different story: at four in the morning I was rudely awakened by the noise of my roommate getting down and dirty with a guy she had picked up that night.

In hostels, sleeping, cooking and washing in such close proximity to so many unknown faces can feel mildly claustrophobic… listening to your roommates’ sex-antics just metres away can be slightly uncomfortable too.

Generally speaking, sex in dorms has become almost acceptable in hostels Australia-wide.

“People will pretty much shag anywhere that we don’t lock in the hostel now,” said Jono. “My room is on the third floor in our hostel… and the other week I got woken up with the sound of what I thought to be the window in the laundry room on the roof banging (which often happens when its windy).

“When I went upstairs to close it, I found two people had somehow jemmied the padlock off the door to the rooftop and were having sex on top of the washing machine in the laundry. The banging sound was caused by the girl’s foot hitting the front of the machine sporadically during the act.”

Jillian said: “It’s a good idea to bring your iPod. It saved me some nights – you can block out the sound of others having sex.”

Like bedbugs and food thievery, sex is a common occurrence of hostel life… it’s not nice, but you are forced to deal with it.

Having to constantly ensure that your personal belongings are secure, and worrying if your steak is safe in the communal kitchen can also become tiresome when living in a hostel.

“I mainly get a bit pissed off with security,” said Jono. “Not so much the lack of it, but more just having to be aware of all my stuff all the time and being careful not leaving things lying about for the opportunist.”

“A fridge’s worst enemy is a drunk man. I’ve seen blocks of cheese with huge chunks bitten out of them.”

“Food was taken from my bag, clearly marked with my name, all the time,” said Jillian. “People are just desperate!”

But backpackers are willing to tolerate the downsides of hostel life, because communal living can be so much fun.

Sharing crazy nights out, lazy days in front of the TV or excursions to nearby tourist attractions are all great aspects of living in a hostel.

Mark said: “There’s always something going on, somebody to chat to and plenty happening if you are willing to get involved.

“Even when you are bored, there are other people who are bored too that you can just hang with. I love it,” added Jono.

Once you have gotten to know your fellow hostel dwellers, they become almost like a second family. The place vcan become like the family home – a sanctuary, which makes adjusting to life in a strange new country easier. But after the adjustment is made, most travellers opt to leave the nest to find their own space.

“The hostel life is great for when you are travelling from place to place for a few days at a time, but when in a place for a longer time, I would go with shared accommodation,” said Jillian (pictured). “It’s cleaner, you’ve more freedom and your stuff is safe.”

Mark agreed: “I would prefer to live in shared accommodation because it’s more homely and just easier all round when showering making dinner, just general day-to-day living.”

In spite of my initial fears of communal living, some of my best memories of Oz took place inside the walls of a hostel with the lifelong friends I met there.

As time passes, backpackers find that sharing a dorm becomes not a hardship, but an opportunity to share their Australian adventure.

Once you get past the tight space, living so closely to such good friends can be quite cosy… just don’t forget the earplugs! 

Give us your hostel stories, tips and recommendations? Post a comment below.