The Cologne Cathedral
I'm writing this post from a rather fancy hostel in Maastricht (south of the Netherlands, right at the border with Belgium)! From March 2022 till now, I've been fortunate enough to travel to 13 different towns/cities in Europe: Peak District (UK), Lisboa (Portugal), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Marseille (France), Edinburgh (Scotland), Iceland, Riga (Latvia), Mallorca (Spain), Dublin (Ireland), Brussels, Liรจge (Belgium), Cologne (Germany) and now Maastricht! In all of them except Mallorca (which was a field trip paid by my university) and Marseille, I stayed in hostels and got to meet people from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds! I thought it would be nice to share some of my experiences for any of you guys who are considering backpacking: first, basic hostel tips and second, what I have learnt from these experiences. Let's start with the basic hostel tips:
1) Choose a highly rated hostel (HostelWorld is your best friend)
Hostels aren't that creepy. Most hostels have quite strict policies on the people they allow to stay, so the chances are low for you to meet shady people. In all of my trips, I've only met a weird person once and had another guy keep smoking weed in the bathroom (the hostel was pretty shit anyway and didn't have smoke detectors in the toilet). But as long as you choose a highly rated one on HostelWorld you should be okay. And these tend to be located pretty close to the central areas too which is where you're likely to be spending more time.
2) Pack light
You're likely to be taking Ryanair or some other budget airline anyway. So just learn how to squeeze all your clothes into 1 bag! And you don't have to change all your clothes everyday (pants especially). Towels can be rented from hostels usually at the price of 1 euro, or bring a small one. Choose functional clothes over fancy clothes. This way you don't stand out too much and announce yourself to potential pickpockets as an 'easy target'. Also travelling with just a backpack makes it much easier to travel to and fro the airport/train station/walking around in general.
3) Must brings
Eye masks and ear plugs are absolute life savers if you have issues sleeping in a new environment. Can't say how much this has helped me. Also most hostels do not provide padlocks so you SHOULD bring a padlock especially if you get a shady hostel. In the event that you forget it, you probably can pay 5-10 euros for a lock from the hostel. Don't forget your EU adaptor (2 pin) too.
The common area of the hostel in Maastricht
Okay, now for things which I've learnt:
1) Be considerate
Anyone who went through NS should understand what I'm talking about. When you're sleeping with a bunch of other people, you don't want to be too noisy especially because a lot of people turn in to bed at vastly different times (some of them have to catch super early flights whereas others come back from clubs). The strangest (albeit funny and kind of sad too) experience I've had was when I was staying in a 6-person dorm. There was a middle-aged man who kept talking on his phone the previous night, and then at 6am another guy's alarm went off and this guy intentionally chose not to turn it off even though everyone else woke up. My guess is that he just wanted to spite the middle-aged guy who kept talking, and both of them ended up scolding each other. Weird.
2) Be open to making new friends
Chances are, most people who stay in hostels want to make new friends and learn about different cultures. So even if you're very introverted, put yourself out there and just try to talk more to your bunk mates or other people chilling around the common area. Better hostels would have games/events every night and these are usually a great occasion for you to get to know others. Of course, sometimes when I'm only staying for one night it feels a little redundant to talk to others. Just try your best :)
3) Be adaptable
This applies to the trips in general. I found that I enjoyed the trips most when I was alone or with just one other friend because I could change my plans as and when depending on how I feel each day. Iceland was my craziest trip by far (18 days camping and self-driving trip) but it was also my favourite because I changed my plans based on the weather or if I got along well with others. I might write more about my Iceland trip in the future (it deserves one whole article!) Travelling shouldn't be too fixed and that's the joy (at least to me) in backpacking. Just have a few 'must sees' and leave the rest up to spontaneity!
Iceland!
4) (Try to) Find out your priorities in life
I actually spent Lunar New Year eve and the first day of CNY in Dublin, because when I booked the trip I didn't know it was on CNY. But it was quite an experience because I was chilling alone in a super local pub until 12am. Sadly there were no fireworks but it was still great vibes :) Although it made me miss home, and I did feel lonely for a little bit, which I hadn't felt for quite some time. I guess that act of being alone and distanced from friends and family in space and time manifested itself as loneliness. I really enjoy travelling and meeting locals, experiencing their lifestyles, but sometimes it would be nice to return home. Another reason could be because I felt older and more distanced from many of my Singaporean friends (I know you guys feel the same too, if you're reading it) who celebrate CNY. The cultural differences definitely did play a big role too. That being said, the whole experience of backpacking rather than a consumer-based tourist trip definitely clarified my own goals/direction in life, which brings me to my last point.
5) Enjoy your own personal time
I found travelling really good for my mental health because I tend to make the effort to be more mindful and open up my 5 senses (I still use sight more than the others but I'm trying). And I love taking walks (in fact, I rarely take public transport unless I really need to) around the city or in nature reserves. Just focus on yourself and how you feel and that will enable you to be much more mindful, which you can definitely apply back in your life after the trip. Some people just have super stressful trips with too much on the itinerary; I find that letting myself go with the flow and how I feel on the day itself is so much less stressful and much more enjoyable. I'm saying it again: enjoy the spontaneity!
And that's about all I can think of right now, more posts coming soon!
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