Tips on Backpacking and Staying in Hostels

If you've never stayed in a hostel before, it can be an intimidating experience. It's really not much different that sharing a dorm room at college with someone, except that sometimes you're sharing a room with many other people. If you want peace and quiet, but can't afford a private room, booking a dorm with fewer beds is a good idea. I tend to try to book four bed dorms. Six at the most. When I was younger, I once stayed in a 22 bed dorm. Talk about an experience! I don't suggest doing something like that, except for maybe a single night.

Make sure you bring all the toiletries you need. Some hostels will have soap dispensers in the bathroom and in the showers, but not all of them. Also, make sure you bring a towel, as they are usually not provided. Some hostels will rent you a towel for the duration of your stay, but not all of them.

Don't bring a sleeping bag. Most hostels don't allow them for health reasons.

In order to keep your pack smelling as good as possible (and let me tell you, it won't smell that great even so), you'll want to wash your underwear and socks every day. Taking time to wash them in the sink is a pain in the ass, so I suggest doing what my sister taught me, and that is washing them while you're in the shower. I bring a little vial (or two) of actual laundry soap to do this. Regular soap or shampoo or body wash, does not work very well. I will put a little drop of laundry soap on my socks and underwear and scrub them while I'm in the shower. You can hang them to dry over night. Most of the time, they will be dry before you have to leave, even if it's the next morning. Most bunks will have bars on them, and this is a great place to hang wet stuff, like your towel.

Beware of damp rooms though. Even the thinnest of wet laundry won't dry in a damp room, even if allowed days to do so. Sometimes you can alleviate the dampness by opening a window if possible. Be sure to close the windows by evening though, to avoid mosquitoes.

Try not to rush to too many places too quickly. After a while, you won't care about another Roman ruin, or another classical painting, no matter how cool it is. Bring moleskin and band-aids. You're going to need them. And aspirin and glass wipes (if you wear glasses). Your feet and legs are going to hurt like a son of a bitch, even if you have been walking a lot at home. You're going to wind up walking more than you have been, no matter how much you were doing before you left. I had worked myself up to walking five miles before most of my trips, and I think on average I walked 12-15 miles per day during these last two trips.

You will want to get a small pad lock, so you can lock up your pack or other valuables if there are lockers. Most hostels do have lockers, some big enough to fit your pack. Others only have small lockers. Don't leave valuables lying around. In hostels without lockers, keep your stuff zipped up and under the bed or something, out of sight. Better yet, don't travel with anything of value. Leave your iPhone and tablet at home. The first time I went backpacking, I didn't even have a cell phone. Nowadays, you can purchase Sim cards that will fit in an old unlocked phone in order to be able to call home. The great thing about buying a European Sim card is that you can accept incoming calls for free. Your family can get a cheap calling card and call you for much less than using your American cell phone there. In '09, I spent $400 on phone calls with AT&T. Don't give the evil empire your money!

Look for hostels that have 24-hour reception. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you ever have a problem in the middle of the night, it's nice to have someone to turn to.

Some hostels have laundry facilities. You can travel with less clothing if you plan when you will be able to do a whole load of laundry. Having to lug a heavy pack of clothing around will put a damper on your day. Don't bring enough clothes for six months, even if you're traveling for that long. Besides what you are wearing, two pairs of pants, two shirts, and five days worth of underwear is plenty. When you change out of clothes, be sure to hang them up in order to air them out, so they will not smell when you wear them again. I usually wear clothes for three days, and I hang them up in between (or throw them over a rail or bed if there isn't a wardrobe with hangers). If you have to change hostels, hang up your clothes as soon as you can after arriving. I usually try to wash right after my initial arrival at the first hostel. I refuse to wear airplane clothes two days in a row, they always smell terrible. When you get ready to do laundry, don't forget to wash your towel and pajamas. It will feel refreshing to have clean stuff.

Wear 8" boots. Yeah, it sucks having to get them off and back on in the security line at the airport, but they can save your ankles (and your trip) if you turn your foot on a cobblestone. My sister brings flip-flops to wear to the shower. I don't. I still have my feet and to my knowledge, haven't caught any diseases.

Despite your attempt at cleanliness, you will smell. You won't notice it however while you're traveling. If you're concerned about smelling like the road and the hostel, bring something to counteract it, like good smelling perfume or febreeze. I had no idea how horrid my pack smelled until I had been home a couple of days. It would knock your nose off. And I'd tried to keep everything clean and washed up.

Take the reviews on Hostelworld with a grain of salt. If you're on a budget, know that you get what you pay for. It ain't going to be the Hilton if it's €15 a night. Most hostels are clean enough for most people. If you're really picky about everything being perfect, maybe backpacking isn't for you. Save your money longer and pay for better accommodation. However, you will never meet anyone in a private room. I've met some really cool people while backpacking. 

While I think it's safe to associate with other backpackers, as a general rule, do not engage random strangers. There are all kinds of scammers and criminal-types attempting to sell you fake goods or pick your pocket. Don't look at them. Don't talk to them. Keep walking. Don't be afraid to offend. For the most part, traveling alone as a woman is safe, but you need to use your head. Don't go out drinking with people you don't know at three o'clock in the morning. Don't meet someone you met online in a secluded location. These are not good ideas. When I travel alone, I am back at the hostel at dark and I get up early because I'm interested in the historical and archaeological stuff. If you're wanting to party and pub-hop, I suggest getting some friends that you trust together to go with you so you can watch out for each other. 

Good luck and have fun backpacking!

Backpacking 2009 Journal Complete

I have finally completely finished posting the entire journal from 2009. I will start on the 2012 one tomorrow (I swear!). I've typed it all up, but would like to put pictures and such with the posts. I realize, looking back on my posts that my food allergies (dairy and soy) were affecting me in a bad way. I wonder if my knees will hurt next time I go backpacking. It will definitely be harder to eat, because they put dairy and soy in almost everything that is processed, which is a huge part of a hostel-backpacking diet. Cheap processed crap.

My food allergies were not only causing me gastrointestinal distress, they were also causing me severe mood swings, and irritability. Ask the hubby about the irritability. And the pain. The joint pain was horrendous. And it's all gone now. I had been hurting for so long, that I didn't even realize how bad I hurt. Until I got all of the dairy and soy completely out of my diet last year, and then it was like night and day.

I wonder if there's anyone else out there with food allergies who has gone backpacking?