The World of Hostels: Of Friendships and Beyond

“You never really travel alone. The world is full of friends waiting to get to know you”

Continuing from the first part of my travel blog, where I spoke about volunteering as an experience, I am excited to share my experiences around how hostel friendships go beyond hostels and unimaginable animation around it. 😄

But before we actually move forward into the narration, let me walk you through a transit hostel. All hostels are dormitory style setup, with sleeping bunks and 6 - 8 backpackers in each room. When one checks in, its customary for one to say a  hello to all the roommates and in return they greet you back. At this point, you may generally strike a conversation with someone or other in the room and a journey would thus begin.

The question is, how and when do you know that the stay and the trip would be amazing? When I checked into Lybeer Travellers hostel in Brugge (Belgium), a simple hello to Albert (from Germany).and Emilio (from Mexico) turned into a chat, which in turn became a conversation, and finally a dinner plan.

The answer is, you will know.

"One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever" Linda Lambert

The plot twist came during dinner, when we started discussing our next day’s plan. Generally, all backpackers are flexible with their travel plans as none follow the checklist based fixed itinerary. 

I was planning to go to Lille (in France) the next day. Emilio was planning to stay back in Brugge for a day more and Albert was on his way to Ostend. He was joining his sailing team there, which was about to set sail to London and back as a part of his holidays.That’s when Albert offered us a trip to Ostend in his car, and we could continue with our trips there on. Let me ask you here, who would say no to an opportunity for a road trip to an unknown town with new friends!!

"The true essence of travel is not in reaching the destination, but the journey itself"

Overnight, we changed our plans and set our sail together towards Ostend the next day.

The road trip was full of conversations and lots of music!!

Albert had to leave for Newport as his sail was waiting there. But considering that Emilio and I were planning to spend the day in the same city, we decided to first catch up with Salah who was a friend of Albert. He was originally from Libya, and now a resident of Belgium. Actually, he had found him on couchsurfing.

Take a moment here to appreciate this insane ensemble of cultural exchange which includes a German, a Mexican, a Libyan who is now a Belgian and an Indian! ✌

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot" Michael Altshuler

Following some more exciting conversations about our lives, some tea at Salah's place and another road trip to Newport, it was time to bid adieu to Albert for his sailing trip. I don't want to miss out on saying here that it was truly Albert's energy that had kept us all engrossed in the conversations. 

On our way back to Ostend, Salah's stories and experiences of his travels around the world kept us captivated till late evening, we finally ended up having Iftar (Ramadan breakfast) cooked by Salah and camped at Salahs place for the night.

Emilio and I left for Koln the next day, leaving behind the town of new friends and enriching experiences.

Special mention of Emilio here, we grouped together for a couple of more days of thrilling backpack travel. He always stood by as a great support, even during one of the times when there was a hurdle in my trip. 

And to think of it, all such exhilarating journeys start with a simple hello at the hostel room.... 😊

In Majrooh sultanpuri's words, it would be apt for me to summarize "मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर , लोग साथ आते गए और कारवाँ बनता गया".😄

Happy travel Guys! And do remember “If you never go, you will never know!” 😊👍

Follow @PureWaste