Hostels > Hotels

I am probably one of the few to discover the perks of hostels while traveling in North America. Not so long ago i took a week long trip to Montreal. As a rule, hostels are used for a place to sleep and little more. The reality of sharing the room with 2, 3, or 6 other fellow travelers runs counter to the Canadian preference for privacy while on the road. Its not our fault we came of age in a Route 66 type culture saturated with hotel chains and continental breakfast; but as our highly nomadic generation has discovered, hotels of Europe and Australia will shatter any realistic budget.

Planning is essential when it comes to choosing hostels. There are probably over 100 within Paris alone. I suggest hostels.com or hostelworld.com to research reviews and the amenities provided within a particular hostel. Hostels are aimed towards a younger crowd; although hotels have become expensive to the point whereby entire families rent dorms for accommodation. Aside from this trend, I took full advantage of the activities, day-trips, bars and pub-crawls these places have to offer. There is often a small fee for these activities, however you meet those in the building that you may not have otherwise. Besides price, frequent social opportunities place hostels in strong contrast to hotel culture. I have never spent 3 hours in another city without meeting fellow vagabonds who are willing to share the sites. Any good hostel will have a common room, internet access, laundry facilities, a kitchen, and if you are lucky, a bar. The importance of location cannot be underestimated. Try to be near a bus station or major rail station as lugging baggage through long and unfamiliar streets should be kept to a minimum.    

Yes there are drawbacks. Most notable of these are nocturnal vomiting from a height of 6 feet on a bunk-bed, people who just don't seem to realize that a sheet does not muffle the sounds of intimate interactions continued from the pubcrawl (try the roof, laundry room or a private room) , and the most awful of all; snoring! Trust me, it takes allot for a guy such as myself to kick the mattress of an exhausted man who flew nonstop from Mumbai in order to disrupt his snoring pattern. This brings me to essential items needed to survive. First, a lock for your locker. Second, earplugs. Third, alarm clock. Fourth, soap and shampoo. There are no minisoaps or towels with the hostel's initials on them. You are often provided with pillows and linens upon arrival. Try to know the check-in time. This will lesson frustration if you arrive only to discover you must wait three hours to enter your room.

If people are determined to travel, they will cope with less luxury. Hostels show our wallets mercy and facilitate interactions with travelers much like us. I didn't know what to expect on the trip to Montreal. However I have since insisted on hostel accommodation on my recent trip to Europe and even Toronto; which has the highest rated hostel on the planet oddly enough (Canadiana Backpackers Inn). My next stop: Quebec City.

  HI Montreal - Hostel events

Home

I've been home three days. I have traveled solo in Europe for the first time and still feel as if I should be overseas. However, I have returned with a pocket full of change, 250+ pictures and memories I'll likely never forget. An irony of traveling solo is that I remember the people I meet even more than the places I've seen. Whether it was the first night pub crawl in Camden Town or the final hours in Toronto, it is the people that made my trip nothing short of great.
Now as I mesh into my daily routine and deal with my oncoming semesters abroad, I find myself looking at airfare, train-fare and dates on a calendar. Is it restlessness? Is it interest? Is it the people? Is it the simple desire for something new? Maybe its one of these, or all of them. Maybe I'm confusing a lifestyle with a hobby, or maybe reading the news and listening to friends never fail to remind me how much there is in the world. I felt I have seen allot by age 25, but as I discovered only two short years ago, one plane ticket costs too much and the 10 since then is not enough. I travel fast, sometimes to the point of fatigue. If this is my only mistake than I have little to change. I'm still learning. Traveling is an art; you try packing only one medium sized suitcase for a couple weeks.

Whether its catching the next ride out, missing that subway stop, sharing the latest landmark with a fellow vagabond or squeezing that last little bit of shampoo out of its tiny bottle in a hostel bathroom, it is all worth it. Perhaps the saddest realization is that it all appears this clear only after you return home. At home you are distant from the long lines, language barriers, fatigue and hangovers that dilute some hours of travel. You are completely comfortable here but wish you were there. This feeling never goes away. I'm sure there are others that feel the same. If so, write a comment.   

Great Travel Films

Here is my own list of movies that would turn a hermit into Marco Polo.
For more content check out my blog at http://mentallyabroad.blogspot.com/

In Bruges
This is the first of a few hidden gems. This film plays out as a dark comedy of errors as two hit-men are sent to Bruges, Belgium for vacation. This movie is hilarious, brutal, unpredictable and managed to show Collin Farrell as a solid actor. You find out why he asks "who would ever come to *(%%#@ Bruges? I didn't even know where Bruges @*% was!" and shortly after add the city to a vacation checklist.

Lost in Translation

I hated this movie upon release. I don't know why; maybe it was my overexposure to Hollywood blockbusters or i simply didn't "get it". This movie follows two very different American visitors to Tokyo. Bob (Bill Murray) meets Charlotte (Scarlette Johansson) in a hotel bar where they bond through exploring a vastly different Japanese culture. There is little dialogue, but this movie shows that those with whom you share the strongest connection is often expressed in the unsaid. I feel like booking a ticket to Tokyo.

Eurotrip
Readers may wonder why such a brain dead movie appears on my list? The truth is that its sole purpose is to make us laugh at immature humor and boobs; and it it succeeds admirably. The focus is on a pair a siblings and their two friends who help the central character track down his ultra-hot German pen-pal.  With stereotypes plentiful, this movie is the nightmare and the fantasy of what we would want a Eurotrip to be. 

Everything is Illuminated
This film is criminally underrated. It is based on a book about a young American Jew (Elijah Wood) who travels to modern Ukraine to collect family artifacts. He's led to the elusive village of his not so distant ancestors by a young man and his grandfather who run a tour company. The movie shows that no matter how little we know of each-other, or how large the culture gap appears, we can find others to relate with and rely upon in the most happy or painful places.

Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade
 This is a true adventure classic. Indiana and his father (Sean Connery) reunite to track down the holy chalice before the Nazis do. This movie takes us to America, Italy, Germany, Syria, Austria and uses anything with an engine in between. The action scenes are epic, the humor is top notch and there is an amazing character arc with Indiana Jones and his father. This movie is everything an action-adventure should be. 

Paris, J' taime
This is a semi-experimental film composed of about fifteen five minute shorts. The only tangible connection all stories share is their unique settings within Paris. As seen from the title, the theme is often based on love. But don't fear, the movie is far from a chic-flick. Some segments are obviously stronger than others, but the movie shows the real, the bizarre and the mundane features of one of the world's favorite cities.
    

Dumb and Dumber
This movie is one of my all time favorite comedies. It follows a buddy roadtrip storyline that makes Jim Carry and Jeff Daniels one of the best comedy duos of the last 20 years. These two dorks are trying to get a briefcase back to a woman one of them drove to the airport. The title is ironic as this film has such clever insertions of humor you never see coming. Only a film like this will make you want to travel across America in a van dressed like a dog.   

Before Sunset
This movie is a sequel to Before Sunrise. There is no need to worry because you figure out the backstory within minutes. Ethan Hawke and Julia Deply play two people who reunite for an afternoon in Paris after sharing a perfect night in Vienna a decade earlier. Both wrestle with the question of "what might have been?" as they now live moderately successful, but often unfulfilled lives. The two contemplate the consequences of parting from each other and the impact it had on their future relationships. This movie is so naturally acted and smoothly composed that you feel as if you're people watching for 88 minutes. I cannot recommend this movie enough.

Up in the Air
This is certainly a film for its time. It is centered around a man (George Clooney) who lays off employees for a living. As he says, since the people have employers who don't have the guts to do the dirty work, he his flown in to do it for them. This movie shows the ups and downs of constant travel and the hell it can reek on relationships. The movie is both sad and funny and easily relatable as we all find it difficult to settle in a transient world.  

The Darjeeling Ltd
This movie only reaffirms my belief that trains should be used more in modern film. This little masterpiece focuses on the reunion between three brothers as they travel across India on train, bus, vespa and four-legged animals. The difficulties posed show the strain and meshing experienced between family or friends while traveling. The bipolar struggle between dependency and independence make for hilarious, as well as sad revelations about the brothers' relationships. This constant culture barrier, much like Lost in Translation, almost co-stars with the actual actors as a catalyst to the charactors' fortune and misfortune.

 

Vicky Christina Barcelona
I'll be honest, I'm one of the few who never had a desire to see Spain. However, this film has made me reconsider. Yes i take kindly to Scarlette Johansson... and Penelope Cruise, but Woody Allan wrote a fine story. The movie is light and colourful despite this issue in focus. Two friends travel to southern Spain for a cultural vacation where both fall for the same man. One is married, and one is not. As you can tell, its easy to see the conflict. This movie also highlights the conflict between desire and expectation that is often submerged in present day relationship dynamics. Shot entirely on location, I can see why Spain tops a travel checklist.

Lord of the Rings (triology)
Ok who hasn't seen at least one of these films? Director Peter Jackson put New Zealand on the big screen which looks more like a moving postcard. We are more familiar with the nation's bigger brother: Australia, and its various landscapes, but Frodo, elves, monsters and humans made the small island nation of New Zealand a world unto itself. The scale of these movies is unparalleled as a hobbit travels and epic journey through war to destroy a ring that controls all.

Why I Travel

I've recently come to ask myself why I travel. Having procured all requirements for my next trip including tickets, hostel reservations and good health, I've come to desire a travel philosophy.
Do I travel for escape? For experience? As a hobby? To rejuvenate? Yes, yes, yes and yes. The truth is, there is never a single reason for most anything. On a slow day I may want to travel in order to escape; whereas seeing a documentary will encourage me to experience a different culture or location. On any given day it can change but the desire remains.
I prefer solo travel. Why you might ask? I like moving on my own clock. Many friends spoke of their fear of traveling alone. I have never totally understood this fear. I see how new places can be intimidating, but do they fear this unfamiliarity or do they simply fear being alone? Either way, I meet more people and experience locations most profoundly when I'm solo.
While traveling may serve as a vacation, it can also serve to test your ability to think independently, think on your feet and increase confidence in decision making. In conclusion, I travel for freedom. Rather than have the world come to me through television screens, newsprint and photography, I want to see the world in person. Many people say they wish to do the same; but often spend money on the technology needed to import the world onto their screens, rather than using their resources to see the world with their own eyes.
I have heard people say that everything they need is here, in their hometown or country. I agree that the Western world is often self-sustaining. But what is wrong with a slight detour here and there? Why must everything be tangible, pragmatic and rely on a straight path between point A and point B? I suppose there is no simple philosophy to travel for most anyone. As more me, well... my philosophy will always remain under construction.