The unexpected guests you’ll meet in a Hostel…
When you are travelling, a Hostel is a great efficient and affordable form of accommodation. However, once you’re there, no matter where you are, there are a few guaranteed people you will encounter. Here are the seven types of people you’re sure to meet…
1. Early Sleepers
It’s 6pm, the lights are off and there’s a lump in one of the bunks and a tussle of hair poking out from the top of the duvet. They know they’re going to be woken but they’re prepared with an eye mask and have fitted their complimentary ear plugs, however, do not take this as an excuse to talk, anything more than a whisper will penetrate the foam and the sleeper will bare fangs. This is all you’ll see of this breed of hostel goer though, early check in, early check out.
2. ‘Lights on’ guy
Quite the opposite to early sleepers and matters can become tense when the two species clash but truth be told, lights on guy is rather a nuisance. Often confused with the party goer, this character tends to arrive in the middle of the night but unlike the previous subjects they will continuously return to the hostel dorm throughout the night, collecting this and that, flicking on the light as he does and leaving it on as he leaves.
3. Sleep talkers
My personal favourite, the sleep talkers. A rare breed in hostel dorms but they make for great conversation. Varying from a distant moan all the way to a heated confrontation the sleep talker will wake a few people up, you will all look at each other, exchange a snigger and then someone will shake their foot and end the comedy.
4. Sleep walkers
A one up on sleep talkers, sleep walkers can be terrifying. I remember back to one night in Lake Como, one of the girls in the top bunk in my dorm slid off of her bunk, stood above a sleeping guest and then proceeded to sit on the end of her bed in full grudge-like-fashion. She then stood back up and climbed back into her own bed and fell back asleep… There’s always a risk when sharing a room with strangers that there could be a psychopath in the midst but then again, they could just be sleep walkers.
5. Silent boinkers
The increasingly popular not-so-silent boinkers are seen only once in a blue moon. A rustle of bed sheets, a fish puckering up, the sound of a 20 year old bunk bed creaking back and forth are the distinctive sounds of a pair of silent boinkers attempting to do the horizontal bop in a 12 man dorm whilst radiating shame across the room.
6. The snorer
Speak to anybody that has ever slept in a hostel dorm before and they’ll agree that there should be a non-snoring dorm as well as a female only option. Quite possibly the most frustrating habit that could come out of a sleeping person, after a hard days trek is to be kept awake by the man-mountain snorer who has just spent the entire night guzzling 99p pints. By day he’s a friend, by night an enemy.
7. Party Goers
Every hostel dorm will have at least two party goers as the main demographic are young, wilful travellers looking for a cheap night and a good time. Now, most of the party goers are very respectful people, they will be out when you arrive and then will sneak back into the dorm in the middle of the night unnoticed. However occasionally you will hear them continuing the night by regurgitating the nights antics and waking the entire dorm.
