Recently, Justin and I received an email from Gillian, a long term subscriber (3 months or so, wink wink!) inquiring about what we have learned. Her and her husband are currently selling their house and making plans for their own life style change of long term travel.
Gillian wrote:
Hey guys, now that you have been on the road for 1 month and 14 days, I
wonder if you can comment on some of your newly gained knowledge and what you
would have done differently before you left. For example, what do you
think now of your packing list after lugging it around for 6 weeks? Are you
traveling according to plan or was all that planning just an exercise in
building excitement? Any tips or tricks so far?
Cheers,
Gillian
My response:
Our new lifestyle has certainly led to some humbling experiences. Justin and I have made mistakes. Learning to live with undesirable situations one at a time.
One recent example occurred at a hostel in Auckland. Don’t stay at Queens Street Backpackers! Everything seemed great until we went to make dinner. The kitchen had no community food like olive oil, salt, pepper, nothing! Cooking suddenly became rather challenging with our limited materials. However, saying that the kitchen was under stocked is an understatement, as the kitchen had no dish soap, or any soap, as well as no towels or any means of drying dishes. We asked around and the staff informed us that they had ran out of dish soap yesterday. What!?!
Our second problem was that we were returning to our room to sleep before having to wake up at 5 am to catch the freight ferry to Great Barrier Island, and we discovered that the hostel was directly above a popular Auckland club on Guy Faux Day (popular British holiday also celebrated by the Kiwi’s)!
Through the horror that we have faced at this hostel, we decided it would be beneficial to format a loose checklist to run through at the reception before checking in for a night. In truth, we should have been doing this from the start be we simply got lazy.
The Boyd Family Hostel Check List:
- Location (Club/Bar nearby, etc)
- Prices (per person, specials, etc)
- Is their a lock out?
- Does the kitchen close? What time?
- Wi fi? If not, what will you charge me for internet (if available)?
- Kitchen (clean, FREE food zone, available utensils, sharp knives, etc)
- Let me see the room…lighting, carpet, test bed (ask locals about bed bugs), hangers, places to hang stuff, etc
- If dorm…can I secure my pack?
- Is their a bar inside the hostel (this can be a negative and attractive youth binge drinkers)
- Is their a common room without a television? We like to meet new people and T.V. often distracts discussions.
- any FREE meals (we have seen both breakfast and dinner offered FREE)
- Tradable book library?
- Extra’s to pay (not just leave a deposit on, but pay for): towels, sheets, secure luggage room or storage
It might sound like overload, but it should prove to be beneficial in avoiding extreme problems in the future. Staying in a hostel is an adventure. It can be extremely rewarding to share life with others and discuss cultural differences or similarities (like the Simpsons). Also while engaging in discussions that occur in hostel communities it’s a great resource to learn about where other people have been and the experiences (including mistakes) that they have learned from. We have even met entire families (mom, dad and the kids) from countries all around the world. It is not only 20-something’s that stay at hostels but they can be rather intergenerational. Overall, the hostel experience is one I would recommend to anyone. Read about our first stay at a hostel.
Now as for what we brought with us…as we left we felt as though we were bringing very little. But beware! It’s easy to accumulate things as you go. Just now (not exaggerating), Louise walked up to me and gave me Guinness dice. We are at the Irish Pub on Great Barrier Island, in New Zealand, not to be confused with our time in Ireland, although Louise is from Ireland. She wants me to have the 2 dice, as a gift. “It’s so small.” Should I accept this gift from her? Even little things add up quickly in a backpack. That’s it! I will have to give them to a local before leaving the Barrier.”
We have lost our cork screw, pocket knife, laundry rope, some of our plastic zip ties, a medal butter knife , and a few other things as a result of airport security. So, that’s a quick and easy way to lighten your pack too.
To finish answering Gillian’s questions, overall we feel as though we prepared as best as we could. Our plans of getting 12 month work holiday visas in New Zealand worked. After having many Kiwi’s tell us that it is really hard for American’s to get them, and others tell us that once you are 25, they basically don’t give them out, we felt all the more blessed to each receive the long term visa.
Justin’s 26, I am going to be 25 in less than 3 months, and we are not going to get any less American. But it worked! So, plan, dream and plans are sometimes dependent upon which countries will give you visas, and how long you can stay.
Bringing less is the trick, basically everyone will start off with too much. Although, I just give stuff to the poor or leave stuff in the room.
Every hostel is different, asking if they have hot water is a good question, although it does depend what country you’re traveling. The western countries will most likely have hot water.
In the Middle East I never had to stay in a hostel until Istanbul, the whole year I could stay in my own room because of the cheap price.
Hey Boyd Family!
You forgot about an item in your check list : “Smiling people”
Don’t forget to take a picture of you and your backpack somewhere cool on the planet. You can submit it here http://www.mytravelbackpack.com/submit-your-backpack/ so I can post it online!
Cheers!
That’s a great point Shawn! We will have to ask about hot water in certain countries. As for hostels, I think you will enjoy them. They can be a great place to meet other travelers and share stories. After all of your travels in the middle east, sounds like you have lots of stories to share.
And you are right Mathieu, it is good to see if you are welcomed with a smile and enthusiasm. Why spend money to stay with unfriendly people?
I will be on the look out for a fun place to take a photo with us and our backpacks.
Hurray for all your good advice Natalie! I’m (semi)seriously conisdering following in your footsteps within a year or so, so posts like this are very helpful