In 2023, I took a month-long Big International Trip (BIT) with Thing One (The Elder). I’d neither travelled internationally, nor anywhere for that long, for many years.
My prior long, international trips were all sorts of funsies. I expected no less for the 2023 trip.
And, that trip didn’t disappoint. But I learned things about myself over the course of it. I wrote about some of them at the time. Tl;dr: my standards had increased biglyish since the last big trip, and that saddened me a bit.
Travel rewards
I recently returned from a similar BIT with Thing Two (The Younger). That trip generally was great. But I learned even more about myself. And/or, I realized that my standards have risen changed even more.
Thing One and I stayed entirely in hostels in 2023. Bar a few nights, Thing Two and I did the same. Having discovered in 2023 that I’d grown far less tolerant of sleeping in rooms with multiple strangers, I booked mostly private hostel rooms for the BIT with Thing Two. That jacked up the out-of-pocket cost of the trip. But I’d hoped it’d turn out to be a good decision.
It was.
In fact, in the few places where we stayed in rooms with others, I found myself regretting my decision to not book a private room. I’ll likely never again book a non-private room.
That’s a new discovery/development for me. One that makes me kinda sad. I have so many good memories of meeting interesting and cool people in my room in hostels. Interesting and cool people I’d otherwise maybe not have met but for sharing a room with them.
Hostel work environment
But there’s more. I’m now even entertaining not staying in hostels at all. That makes me even sadder.
There are plenty of annoying things about many hostels. Occasionally you’re required to put on and/or strip your bed of linens. Sometimes the rooms lack adequate air conditioning or heating. Sometimes your room has no private sink/shower/toilet. And sometimes the hostel is, shall we say, a tad worse for wear.
To be sure, tho, at plenty of hostels none of those things are an issue, tho. But it can be hard to tell what you’re getting when booking.
As mentioned above tho, what’s always drawn me to hostels is that they’re often great places to meet really interesting fellow travelers. Sure, you can meet people at a hotel or other accommodation. But it’s at best much harder.
So why give up staying at hostels? Well, cuz of that uncertainty of knowing what you’re gonna get, and the annoyances I mentioned above when they occur. Also, I think people at hostels may have become less social than in the past. That might just be my imagination. But it seems true.
I’m likely to give hostels one more go because all future trips will be materially different. For one thing, as mentioned, I’ll only ever stay in private rooms with a private sink/shower/toilet. A “deglorified” hotel room if you will.
For another, I now have even more skill as to how to pick a good hostel. That’ll hopefully allow me to filter out places that come with annoyances that I mentioned.
And, finally, I anticipate that all future BITs I take will be just me and The Missus, slow travelling. Not me and one or both kids constantly on the move. My BITs with Things One and Two have been tons o’ fun. Memory dividends have come in abundance. But relaxing? Not so much. And stressful? Not just a little.
I admit, too, that finances play a part in this decision to give hostels one more go. These places usually are a pretty economical way to travel. Shared rooms making the savings greater.
Terms of endearment
I’ve come to terms with much of my changed mentality. I’m sure I’ll do the same as to further refinements I’m contemplating . . . if begrudgingly and/or reluctantly.
Whereas in 2023 I was a bit saddened by my changed standards, this year I’m saddened, but less so. Maybe cuz I’m looking at things from a slightly different perspective. In 2023, I lamented the changing of my past self. This year, I’m considering the new knowledge and insights I’ve gained about myself as being data points enabling me to execute better travel experiences, my past self and higher expenses be damned.
I suspect most people (maybe even you, too, Dear Reader) may be shaking their head and thinking me a dolt for all my hand wringing and reluctance to simply admit that I’ve changed, and my travel requirements should change accordingly. I wouldn’t blame them/you.
But the brain is a stubborn, goofy thing. Well, mine is at least. I’m grappling with it and bending into submission as best I can.
I’m trying to do the same as to my general hardcore scarcity mentality. I’m nowhere near complete success in that regard. Mebbe not even significant success. But I’ve made strides. The pursestrings have loosened. Even if not as much or as fast as I’d like.
There’s lotsa work to be done. But given my conclusions and new thinking after this year’s BIT and the ongoing looser finances, I think I’m headed in the right direction.
And in the end . . .
One night on this year’s BIT we stayed in a room that accommodated 18 people. Yes, 18. That definitely was not my preference, but we kinda sorta were forced into it. The experience was bad (as I’d suspected it would be) cuz our roommates made lotsa noise and woke me and Thing Two up when they’d returned to the room in the middle of the night. In the past, I’d grumble and bear this sort of thing. This year, however, when Thing Two and I were ready to leave the room bright and early in the morning, I stayed back in the room and played (at full volume on my phone) the soothing sounds of this lullaby. Then I slammed the door shut. Hard. I hope I provided them with a great memory dividend!
