Hostel

Our very first youth hostel! The Original Backpackers Hostel.

We have decided to go for the six-person dorm style room. An upgrade from the twenty and ten-person dorms available, but not quite the private room we are used to, accompanied with shared bathrooms, definitely several steps up from Ekuk but, again something new. The Original as it is referred, is an old Victorian looking place on a tree lined street in the district of Kings Cross, a short walk from Sydney’s city center. Upon arriving, we were issued two sets of sheets and two blankets and shown our top bunk beds on opposite sides of the room. It was early and the rooms other occupants were still sleeping, so we dropped our bags, which we were told would be safe in the room, and left to explore Sydney. Later that night we met our dorm “mates” consisting of two single guys, one from Scotland, who had been traveling in Australia since last November and the other, from France, a photographer. Then there was a couple also from Scotland. Everyone seemed nice and friendly. It was interesting to see, learn how other people partook in the hostel experience. We were a little nervous leaving our things just sitting in our room but our other mates definitely were not, their clothes, towels, cameras, laptops, high-healed designer shoes, hairdryers, straighteners, etc. were strewn everywhere. As I looked at it all this morning after being in the hostel for four days now I wondered if Jimmy and I would every be so relaxed and cavalier – probably not, but maybe.

The whole event thus far has been a little out of the ordinary. When in Morocco a couple years ago we were confronted with the uneasiness, difference of the outside world but were able to escape to a private place, the hotel, and try to create a sense of normalcy. Here when returning from the outside world to the hostel the world remains foreign. The same experience happens in college dorm rooms across the world, however Jimmy and I did not have the privilege, until now, to experience such a strange but totally normal custom. A custom that must be appreciated for what it is, but not maintained for too long.

Which leads us into another element present among the backpackers we have met so far, lost. Everyone should loose themselves at one time or another, Jimmy and I certainly are, we are taking a detour from our normal life, from work, graduate school, gym memberships, favorite restaurants, etc. and we are not even completely off the grid we still have the computer, internet, cell phone, but some people seem to be loosing themselves in the world of travelers not wishing to ever go back to “normal”. Again this is a feeling that I could see as being really easy to get into, but at the same time I don’t want to be lost, I like knowing where, when and how I’m going.

For me these two aspects have been really interesting to think about. Why do I want/need privacy? And the larger, almost unanswerable question, what is ‘normal,’ for me? All in all people should be true to themselves and live their life by that truth, right mom J. But it’s always good to explore and push your limits too.