It’s one of the most common accommodations for backpackers: the hostel dorm room. It can save you a lot of money but has the potential to drive you mad. This week on The Friday Five, I’ve got 5 tips to help you survive the dorm room experience and prevent creating enemies in your room.
Leave you own tips in the comments below!
LOL!!! You had me crying / laughing just at #5 with my memory of this problem.
I think you hit every thing that I complained about when I was travelling!!!
You know my personality…New Zealand…3:30am…someone packing their bag to leave and then decided it would be easier to do if they TURNED ON THE LIGHT!!!!!!
No one else said or did anything so I got up…Walked over to the light switch that was beside the door…opened the door looked the girl in the eyes and said you have 10 seconds to move all your stuff in to the hall so you can pack. I counted out loud and held the door for her as she threw her stuff into the hall I got to ten closed the door behind her and shut off the light.
I laid back down and the other 5 girls started to clap!!!
I think the last few weeks in China I thought I might go mad from lack of sleep from snoring people. Shanghai was the worse. stuck between two large set gentlemens bunk beds. It seemed their snores were some sort of language. One seemed to set the other off. The worst of the two would not stop. And could be heard through earplugs 🙁
Even when one guy got up to shut him up he managed to sleep through AND continue to snore while the guy shook him.
Which proves. There is no helping some people!
Leigh-Ann
You made my night!!! You most definitly got your mom and dads traits in ya. You go Girl!!
GREAT Friday 5! I think every backpacker staying at a hostel should have to watch this before they check in!
Another tip about checking-in/leaving in the middle of the night is to have a head-lamp (as I know you do!) so you can wear the headlamp to see what you’re doing and you DON’T need to turn on the room light while everyone else is sleeping.
GREAT tip about having Ear Plugs! There WILL be snorers in some of your dorm rooms so ear plugs will help with that!
And I love the no food tip. No food EVER will keep those bugs out!
Hey Mal……….what do you mean by Leigh-Ann being like her dad and me????? You mean she is very special! and loving and and….I could go on and on.
Brock….I was really expecting something far worse than what you told us…..and I won’t go into it right now but all I can say is your Uncle Earl and I won’t be staying with you anytime soon because between the two of us we snore so loud we wake the dead and that my friend is loud.
@Leigh-Ann: And that, is a golden story. Thank you for sharing it with us. I would have loved to be there to see it myself. Some people…sheesh!
@Aunt Marg – Thanks for the comment! I will take your word for it regarding the snoring. Sweet Dreams!
Packing your bag early is the best idea… Or if you are getting into your hostel late at night be mindful of people sleeping! I was in a hostel in Belfast, Ireland and these two girls got in pretty late. They were laughing, talking in normal outdoor voices and throwing their bags on the beds. RUDE!!!! Needless to say, My friend and I were woken up and kept up.
LOL man. Sweet tips. A couple more would be to carry a small flashlight (or headlamp) so if you do have pack in the morning you don’t have to turn on the light. And if you do snore. Hand out ear plugs. Seriously, some guy in Chile knew he snored, so he just gave everyone disposable ear plugs. And it worked! Anyway, he’s a slightly different take on Surviving Hostel Dorm Rooms that I wrote for Backpackers Post. Hope you enjoy it – http://backpackerspost.blogspot.com/2011/04/hostel-dorms-what-to-expect-and-how-to.html.
@Michael – Awesome tip! I encountered a few travellers that should have considered handing out earplugs.