12 of 36

Write now Article Tools

As a veteran backpacker of both hemispheres currently traveling extensively throughout all 32 provinces of the People's Republic of China, this writer has come to depend heavily on hostels. Without them I could not financially (or emotionally) last the 10 months I'm expected to be on the road. As such, I've brooded on the etymology of the word.

Hostel: a term that has become synonymous with world travel. From the Medieval Latin hospitium, it has been co-opted by over 80 different countries, beginning in 1912 Germany whence originated the idea of the modern youth hostel. Yet in spite of its global popularity, hostelling has continued to remain a relatively underground experience.

Budget backpackers, considered at once hipsters and hobos, rely on hostels for their comparatively affordable accommodations. But youth hostels are also a retreat from the road; a refugee camp for foreigners journeying abroad.
China might have opened its doors to westerners, but we are still strongly urged by the national tourism bureau to check in to pricey hotels while economical boardinghouses, luguan, are for locals only.

Hot destinations, however, like Beijing, Yangshuo and Dali are renowned for their selection of lively hostels. I've been to them all, and I've seen it all (there ought to be a reality TV series called Backpackers Behaving Badly). There is one hostel I shall especially never forget, where the vibe was so deliciously laid back that my intended two-day stopover turned into seven.

DAY 1: Arrive 8pm in Chengdu, Sichuan's sweltering capital city, and check into the Stir-Fry' hostel. The attractive Chinese front-desk staff in short shorts confirms what I've heard about Sichuan girls. Get a bed in a 6-bunk dorm and immediately crash out. Woken at 2am by five inebriated Australians returning from a disco vociferously complaining that Chinese girls spend all day playing online dancing games at internet cafs, but at a nightclub they just stand against the wall.

DAY 2: Browse the three-story hostel premises, drying laundry whipping in the wind like the flag of the backpacker. Take a stroll around Chengdu then return to find my previous bunkmates replaced by a guy named Pickle from Hawaii who road a motorbike across Sichuan. Pickle's first words to me are "Mind if I smoke a bowl?" At 5am a drunk Dutch girl falls into her bunk and passes out in nothing but her g-string. The next morning she tells us "I dreenk haalf day un sleep other haalf. I need to sleep less so I caan dreenk more."

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Travel experiences: Asian adventures?
We want to hear your view. Write now!