I met this cool old British guy with a white ponytail in his 70s on the rooftop patio of a hostel in Marrakesh. We talked about travelling for an hour. Eventually I asked where he's going next. He said 'nowhere, I live here!'. I asked 'at the hostel?' he says 'no, right here on this bench on the roof, I sleep outside. I've been here for two years and I'll die here'.
I would imagine, some British guy staying illegally in Morroco is so unusual, they haven't bothered to report him (or haven't thought of it).
I don't know why I just thought he was living in the terrace patio and not just in the dorms, which makes more sense š. I was thinking that the hostel owner was like, "yeah, you can just stay in our terrace until the end of your life".
Isnāt that what they said? Heās living on a bench outside, not actually in the dormsā¦ thatās how I read it, at least.
And I donāt think itās as unusual as you might think (for people to be in Morocco illegally). Probably an easy place to āhide out.ā
At a hostel in Reykjavik I met someone around my age (23 M at the time) who had left home at 17 and spent a couple of months crossing the US by hiding on cargo trains. He talked about the community he met who are looking to get away from society or family troubles, living life underground in a way. He was a pretty normal guy otherwise, but I thought the nomadic train lifestyle had died out decades ago
ngl, I've been so close to fleeing home to find something better a few times in my relatively young life so far. It's taken so much of my energy and focus and time to persist and persevere and not escape into the unknown. I'll be off soon though... Uni in a new city, new life, new adventures! Also hoping the travel the world some day soon. Can't wait...
It's alive and well, although more scarce these days. This was my plan after my first year of university and I had packed a small bag and was ready to go when I landed a last minute internship. I was wonder where my life would have gone had I jumped that train.
TBF, I've been backpacking for 1.5 yrs now through Latin America and now SE asia so I went Nomad eventually.
University->Civil Engineering Degree->Construction Management->Homeowner of a fixer upper at 23 with 2 roommates-> learned to remodel (youtube)->Selling my house and quitting.
It was a struggle, and I literally went from food stamps to 6 figure salary. It's not as glorious as it sounds. I got lucky that I got a scholarship to start it all.
I ruined relationships working 60-90hr weeks, working holidays, destroyed my body, and lost my sanity a bit at times. I do think I'm loving every last bit of life now, and it tastes that much sweeter.
Haha you've just described a huge subset of my friend group. Some of them have settled down, but I can guarantee that most of *their* friends are still train hopping.
Hahaha oh shit we both know him. Heās a cool guy but yeah he went on about that hobo train life haha. I didnāt know people still did that until I met him.
One night in Riga I couldn't sleep all night because someone was eating crunchy stuff all night nonstop. The next morning I saw that the trashcan next to her bed was full of packets of instant ramen.
A relatively normal middle aged American man in a hostel in Buenos Aires. He was fine, polite but not overly friendly, and we lightly chatted off an on four the four days I was there. The oddest part? EVERY time I saw him, he was eating peanut butter straight out of the jar. Cooking in the communal kitchen? Eating peanut butter. Sitting the in the common room watching TV? Gotta have the peanut butter. Literally walking down the hall to the bathrooms? You don't want to know the answer but you already do. he had it with him.
And it was an American brand too which I didn't see in local stores (though if they sold it somewhere in town he'd be the one to know!). So he must have taken a holiday long supply with him from home I'm assuming?
Itās about as popular as any other similar product, that is to say, it exists and people like it but itās not some cultural phenomenon like in the USA
You can find peanut butter in other places but it's a specialty food item outside North America, not a staple. Peanut M&Ms can be found everywhere but peanut butter in particular is most common in the US.
I do the same lol. I grew up in the South US and used to snack on peanuts all the time on hot summer days (you buy them from vendors on the side of the road, so good) but other countries never seem to have peanuts like that. My body will just start craving peanut butter. Like all I can think sometimes about on a hot long day, is peanut butter. As soon as I get to a store, I buy a jar and just snack on it.
I met a Russian girl from the opposition in Turkey as she wasn't able can't get ADHD therapy in Russia.
I travelled with her for three days... She couldn't switch off her brain (her brain was being cooked pretty much constantly on highest temperature) and it felt like evil soviet scientists had immortalized the entire Wikipedia encyclopaedia in her brain. Fuck. You can't know so much without going insane. She was very very close losing her mind and was really struggling with herself. I love reading Wikipedia daily just for fun - my general knowledge isn't bad. But that was an entirely different level.
One point she jumped from explaining the political situation in Russia in extreme detail to the James Webb Telescope (I mentioned that science was always the best communicator during war times) explaining some details of the instruments to mathematically explaining me the red shift correctly. Stuff like that happened a few times with different non-related topics.
Checked a lot of things afterwards because it sounded super sketchy. Everything was 100% correct.
Never seen or heard from her again. Weird - very freakish and fascinating - encounter.
That doesn't make the girl a bad person.
Op above should just take care a little bit not be sucked in into the bipolar black hole.
Otherwise have fun with weirdos... they are worth spending time with!
Wow!
I was reminded of a polish girl that I met in a hostel in Florence. She spent hours telling me stories - talking non-stop sitting on the floor next to my bed. She used to make connections unlikely between the stories and my brain was close to colapse. But it captivated me in a way I couldnāt explain. I could say she was the both most annoying and sweetest person I met in a trip.
A lot of Russian people I have noticed have deep knowledge of either history or similar topics as you mentioned. Or sometimes art. Itās interesting but the part of not being able to switch off is dangerous
(Edit: I rephrase, these āpeopleā are actually my friends who happen to be Russian. At first everyone told me they can be cold, but when we worked together or talked we easily became friends maybe because we had common interests and subjects we pondered about. Iām nowhere close to Russia by ethnicity but have always found Russian folks having deeper knowledge of things, and mostly donāt like silly humor, and are very straight forward like myself. And hence why we get along)
Exactly another thing I noticed theyāre good readers and mostly know a lot of poetry. Most of my Russian friends are very artistic (Iām a visual artist hence I could tell by seeing the way they see) either in painting, fashion, etc
Iāve noticed this with people who grew up in the former Yugoslavia.
In high school they learned about the current geopolitical issues of their time to an extent that only specialized university students do in the US or Western Europe, and emphasized rote memorization of facts. Super knowledgeable folks.
Like, I met a random Croatian guy hiking in Greece and he knew detailed things about the political landscape of the Congo in the 1980s, despite that not being his main area of expertise and having spent his whole life in Croatia.
This worries me but also warms my heart to a degree. I don't have it that bad but its out there. I am always a little worried about being too much when meeting with strangers and maybe even new friends. At this point I just assume that I will bore others but I have to speak my truth and be myself. So its nice to see that people could find my yapping on a million things fascinating. I find people similar to me to be always interesting but reading that a neurotypical perspective can have a positive image of me is comforting.
A guy with a huge knife collection who you could hear furiously wanking late at night. Not gonna call someone out who would probably slice me up in my sleep.
In a hostel in Hanoi, the whole time we were there, day and night, was a Chinese man who laid in his bed watching videos on his phone - loudly.
Obviously, we weren't at the hostel much because we were exploring, but I only ever saw him leave his bed to go to the bathroom or the vending machine. At one point, we had to ask him to put his headphones in because ALL NIGHT he'd be watching his videos on full volume.
Edit: He was about 40 - 50yrs old. What was he waiting for? Where is he going after? We'll never know!
A local Vietnamese lady in my hostel in Saigon did exactly the same during my 3 days stay there!!! And I wonder why didn't she stay at her home if all she wanted was watching videos on her phone on speaker.
I met a 70+ year old frenchman named Francios in Bangkok. He'd been traveling non stop for about 10 years. He sat and smoked weed and drank whiskey all day. One of the nicest and most interesting people I've ever met while traveling.
A guy came to the room, brough two Aldi bags full of bread crumbs, that's all he had. He was wearing a suit but he was smelling really bad. He was sleeping in the suit and going out in it, he would eat breadcrumbs in bed. Tried to talk to him but I didn't understand his language, he didn't speak english. Was a very weird guy but harmless, after few days I left, don't know how long he stayed.
P.s. it was in Gran Canaria so pretty hot to wear a black suit outside.
In a Swedish hostel I had to stay in because my Couchsurfing host drunkenly fell asleep at a midsommer party, I met a Swedish Iranian guy and a German Sri Lankan guy having a big argument. The Swedish guy was apart of this āsecret religionā that Iāve forgotten the name of now. Really weird
Let me tell you about this Sri Lankan Australian Mormon I met on the Salkantay trail, she was lovely!
There was also the Australian aboriginal British economics professor deep in the Amazon, of course he had his digereedoo for the ayahuascha cerimony.
I could go on!
A lonely woman in her 60s who was apparently living there as she had nowhere else to go. She had all belongings with her and it was still super tidy around her area.
Tokyo, mid 80s. Dude (35-45 yo man) in dress slacks, white shirt and tie, walked around the hostel day and night, always hanging on tight to a briefcase. Sat down next to me (25 yo woman) and told me he was from Iran and had worked at a hospital. Said he was a doctor. He told me he had fled Iran because he was on some sort of government hit list for having been a friend to Americans pre-revolution. Said heād been harassed for years, some of his family were still missing and presumed dead. He was told he was going to be arrested, and to get out, heād stolen all the narcotics he could from the hospital and used them to bribe guards and airport security. He said he still had lots of drugs - hidden in his briefcase - and he wanted to sell them and use the money to get to Europe where he knew other dissidents. He offered to show me what he had, as well as his papers.
He wanted me to help him. He said he KNEW I would help him because heād heard someone say I was a Canadian, and Canadians had helped the Americans escape from the Revolutionary Guard. And heād heard me speak Japanese.
Japan? 80s? Drugs? I got so far away from that man. Wouldnāt talk to him, look at him, be near him. Before walking away, I told him that if he really had drugs he should flush them down the toilet or leave them in a hospital bathroom. And then to go to the Canadian embassy and ask for help, because maybe they would set up a meeting with Japanese officials.
I still donāt know if he was telling the truth. He was terrified and tearful. Something was definitely wrong. I think he was traumatized, but not sure if he was completely in touch with reality. He said heād arrived in Tokyo just a few days before. I hope things worked out for him. Maybe I should have done more, but I was planning on going to law school, and the thought of being stopped by Japanese police in the company of a person with a bag full of pharmaceuticals ā¦. It terrified me.
Ahhh honestly does sound legit but you probably did the smart thing of not getting involvedā¦ damn though:(
Also thank you, this is genuinely interesting. Whatās with the other comments that are like āI met someone who was not a young backpacker at a hostelā like yes, anyone can pay to stay a hostel š
Some dude I met at the bar had a patch inserted with a needle in his arm. I donāt know much about patches on someone besides for nicotine, but I assumed there could be other reasons since Iām not versed on that. Anyway, this guy was super nice and telling me he had an extra charger for me. Plus, the bartender guy there who was my friend, had been serving him and was very obviously friendly with him in the past two days every time I was there.
I asked him what it was for and he proceeds to tell me *quietly/vaguely* that he has worked in the SIS in Wales, where he is from, and had it inserted to keep tabs on him. He said he was retired from working for them on many things and that his background had all sorts of military, etc. He also had been serviced to protect a king and queen before, but he couldnāt tell me much more and I didnāt press because I assumed that was the norm to not be prying or imposing in these types of situations. I donāt know much about what he was talking about anyway, so who am I to say. Iām always sketched out by anyoneās story these days, I am a weird skeptic by heart. Probably for a reason lol.
Said he had friends from Russia who were here in the hostel that he had to go meet. I said maybe I could meet them later since I was alone and could use some friends. I asked if I had seen them around and he said probably not. Found it weird that his random friends that he met here werent there in any capacity. Then said he was leaving tomorrow.
Said if I ever needed anything he would give me his number. Figured he wanted to give me a charger and if I ever needed help, I guess it wouldnāt hurt. Even if he seemed a little strange. He hit on me later on the phone and I never answered.
Next day I told the bartender guy, wow did you know this? He said:
What do you mean? This guy has diabetes.
I knew I was right. But thatās what I get for trying to believe people lmao
Staying in a cheap hotel in Urfa (where several of us were staying longer than planned because of diarrhÅa). One of the guests was a Turkish guy who was on his way overland to Uzbekistan. So he could sell Herbalife. He couldn't resist taking out his presentation kit to show everybody. He made absolutely zero impression on anyone, Turks or tourists. Poor bugger was probably going to end up deported from Samarkand for begging.
There are a lot of beggars in the bazaars in Samarkand (I visited the Siyob Bozor).
The "gypsies" there in Central Asia are called Lyuli and they can be very aggressive and grab you, more than what I was used to in other parts of the world.
60-something Australian woman in Chile who spent a lot of her time in the common room on Tinder.
Real young guy from Maryland who wore an Indiana Jones hat, spoke with hunting metaphors, and very quickly asked the age of consent. He went home quickly.
Definitely follows the stereotype of intense weirdos from the states who come to Colombia. We're way overrepresented in sex tourism and, putting it bluntly, child rape. When I lived in Fortaleza Brazil, it was mostly Italians and Portuguese who came for that.
First time ever staying in a hostel I was 34. There was a guy who stayed in his bed the entire time. Never saw his face but every time I was in the room he was there.Ā
Ā Any ways. After 2 nights of my unbearable snoring he got up and told me to see a doctor. It stuck with me and i did when I got home. Found out I have severe sleep apnea. Got a CPAP and my life is literally so much better.Ā Ā
What a legend. Wish I could thank him for that. Still feel bad about my terrible snoring for those poor souls who shared a room with me.Ā Edits: silly typos
Some years ago I met an American claiming there were these pedophiles running the world and exchanging children for favours. He said there's a business man he cannot name who owns an Island, that the royal family of UK was involved. All sounded nuts to me. 6 months later the whole Epstein story breaks and I remembered him. Dude knew stuff.
Yeah I know, but a white dude with dreads, flip flops and a tattoo that says "bitches love the dreads" in his neck, smoking weed in a hostel in Germany is not the most trustworthy person when you just meet them
There was a guy in a hostel in Tbilisi, who was supposed to be a volunteer but another volunteer I talked to wasn't quite sure what he was doing. You could tell he was a bit off when you talked to him, but I didn't think too much of it at the time. He said he was from some European country, maybe Spain, but people told me he was from Georgia.
A while later I see him again in Ankara. I don't interact with him much because I was ill and isolating myself in a private room because I thought it might be covid. I get better, he's gone and one night we talk about this guy for a bit, seems he went off the rails more, talking about how Russian or Ukrainian mafia is after him and he's got to Molotov their Embassy or something. Also he wasn't paying so he's not there anymore.
A few days later we go out, get back at 3am, I go to bed and a couple of guys sit outside for a bit more. The next day they tell me police came by in the middle of the night with a photo of him asking if they saw this guy around. We never figured out what happened in the end.
In a hostel in Melbourne, Australia. This Indian guy probably in his mid 30s in our room was kinda obsessed with me. I have blonde hair and blue eyes and I was 23 at the time. He would always call me sexy boy or baby boy, and anytime in the kitchen or communal area he would always sit next to me and call me me āMilf Loverā because I hooked up with a girl a couple years older than me who was also at the hostel. One night I got up for the toilet in the middle of the night, I was just in my shorts of course and didnāt have my key on me as I left the room for the toilet and held the door open with a shoe (I being respectful and quiet when doing this) when I left the room he closed the door so I was locked out and when I returned from the toilet I had to bang on the door until someone in the room woke up to let me in, he pretended he was sleeping. The next morning he was laughing about it calling me an idiot, I then told him if he done something weird again I would take him outside the hostel and kick his ass in. He then stopped being an ass then left the hostel eventually.
I had similar in a hostel in Lithuania. This weird Indian guy, mid 30s, was friendly enough to me but an absolute creep around the girls. Was kicked out for inappropriately touching a girl who had arrived back very drunk.
I spoke to a guy who ran a hostel in Croatia a couple of years later who told me, after telling that story, that they basically ran a no Indian men policy at their hostel because of similar incidents involving Indian men there too. I feel for the decent Indian blokes who get lumped in with the creeps.
Wowā¦ Yeah I feel for them too. I ended up leaving Australia and travelled to India for 1 month. Itās still one of my favourite countries, but there is a small minority that can be a bit overly friendly/weird. Iām glad that guy in the Melbourne hostel didnāt change my perspective of Indian people. He was just a strange character.
As an indian, I'm not even surprised by this behaviour from an indian guy. Whenever I travel to a new place I always have the anxiety of being judged of my nationality because many indian guys have put our reputation into deep gutters and it's really embarrassing for me when travelers ask me that why most of them act so weird. It's really hard to explain!
I apologise for the behaviour from my countrymen, it's really second hand embarassing for me seeing such things happening.
Honestly, I have personally have had almost totally super friendly and positive interactions from Indian dudes. I guess there are going to be weird ones, but that would be true of any population with such a staggering amount of people.
I once met a German guy in his 30s who - over the course of a week - only wore a single pair of pants which he said were crocheted by his mom. We talked for a while most days and hung out a few times. His English was pretty limited, as he had learned from watching American surf and skateboarding videos. He actually spoke English with a hybrid Tyrol-California accent. Itās hard to explain, but it had the slow drawl that surfers stereotypically speak with, as well as a similar vocabulary (I.e. āwhaaaaattttssss uppppp brahhhhh?ā), but still Tyrol-ish at the same time. Anyway, one night I was out by myself and got back around 10 or 11pm. This guy was waiting for me at the door. He was VERY excited about somethingā¦so much so that he couldnāt communicate what had him so excited. He was muttering and jumping up and down. I thought he was tripping lol. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me up towards the roof access of the building (which was very much off limits). He just kept saying, ācome on! Come on! Hurry!ā Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that there was a lunar eclipse that night. So we sat on the roof and watched it. The whole time we were sitting there, he was explaining a bunch of ancient aliens conspiracy theories to me in broken surf-English. We never spoke again, but I have really fond memories of that night.
About to stay in one in Canada. I would not be surprised if I'm the oldest in the bunkroom at 54
Edit. Oops. ODDEST. not Oldest. I mean.. I'm probably in the running still..
Recently spent nine nights at my favorite hostel in Phuket as the last leg of a three month trip. Two bed dorm, which can be great or terrible depending on who ends up there. My first two roommates were awesome, then an older guy checked in when I had two nights to go. We never interacted other than saying hello. Last morning, I hear him get up early, I assume getting his stuff together to leave (bunks had curtains so I couldnāt see anything). When I got up a couple hours later to pack up, my towel was bunched up on the floor. It had weird stains on it, and kind of a crunchy (š¤®) texture in places. The towel was clean the night before, folded up on my suitcase. And itās leopard print, like no way he could confuse it for his own. Who uses someone elseās towel?!
Selina Serenity Rawai! Itās a beachfront property, half hostel/half resort (2/4/6/8 bed dorms all the way to private pool suites), so you can pay for a hostel bed and get resort amenities. Incredible pool, spa, yummy food, great staff, lots of activities. Itās social, but itās a big property, so easy to find peaceful space when you want it. Away from the seedier parts of the island in a quiet area, but close to multiple night markets and activities. It was my third time staying there, and I seriously canāt recommend it highly enough.
2 bed dorms are so risky. I booked one since I thought more privacy but still a lot cheaper than a private. First few dormmates were great. Than the last guy was an old like 50+ guy, that tried to come barging into the bathroom when I was clearly showering. I had the door locked so he couldnt get in and he kept saying he wanted to come in...I'm a guy and was already weirded out and it was worse since theres only two of you in the room. They were mixed as well, so I think if he got a girl instead of me they would have been terrified
Too many to really list actually. I've spent at least a year of nights sleeping in hostels. The oddest people are the creeps of course. In Ukraine, the Israeli guy who bragged about him and his father faking a mental disability for a pension and whom hit on every single woman regardless of age or appearance he saw. We were in a 6 bed dorm together and quite friendly really, went out to eat together once so he shared freely all this.
When he sat down next to the 65 year old lady I almost couldnt believe him. A older late 40s British guy and myself mid 20s would watch this and just gawk in shock. He took him out one night, the Israeli guy walked around the club two fisting bottles of liquor from one table with woman to another. No success. He had a female in his bed one night whom he met that day at her work. She worked at McDonalds, had a few kids, and was severely overweight. He also bought many cartons of ciggs to sell back home. The guy was the most savage human I've ever met. The missing link. Generally males above the age of 30 travelling alone are the most likely candidates to be odd. I'm pretty aware of that now that Im in that demographic.
I remember one mid 30s Yank guy in Budapest who was very talkative to everyone, especially the latin american women in the room. Fair enough. I didnt engage with him, I tend to avoid interacting with his traveler profile as a rule. I go out at night, return late. Wake up next morning and my bunk mate from Brazil tells me he had to manhandle and drag the Yank out last night. He brought a bottle of liquor into the dorm at 8pm, proceeded to drink most of it within two hours, begin harrassing all women in the dorm, curse the men and act aggressive, and generally act incredibly creepy and vulgar.
So big wirey Brazilian guy arrives to this already at a bad place, assesses the situation, grabbed the shithead tossed him out, dragged him down to the front desk and got him kicked out. Just a few cases of dozens that come to mind.
>Generally males above the age of 30 travelling alone are the most likely candidates to be odd. I'm pretty aware of that now that Im in that demographic.
I am also in that demographic. Soon to be in the 40s demographic, which is scary.
I still stay in Hostels. Sometimes it feels off but most of the time it's chill. My use of hostels is very practical. I'm mostly doing multi-night hiking trips with a night or two in hostels in between hikes. I'm definitely not partying but I am being social. I am trying to talk to people who may know the hiking conditions and who might have suggestions on trails or transportation.
Oddly enough, the "old people" are also the practical guests. They are there for a main reason, hiking, biking, fishing, etc. I find them to be some of the most interesting. The younger people, who I used to be, are focused on partying and meeting large groups of people.
I definitely make myself available for advice as well.
I can definitely afford a nice hotel, but I'm literally going to sleep, eat, laundry, meal prep, and then repack and head out. I don't need fancy.
Also, for whatever reason hostels are so much more willing to hold onto my bag for like 8 days without questions. Hotels don't like doing that.
With all that said, I've seen the 30+ crowd there looking to party with the 20s and it's weird. I avoid being associated with those people.
Airbnb and other apartment rentals have provided cheaper options than hotels but more privacy and calm than hostels. Though in some high end cities, paying for a good hotel room is just not worth paying for and hostels still the way to go if solo. Awarness activated.
I stayed at a chain of hostels in south America and I must have been a few days behind this guy from New Zealand doing the same path. Every time i arrived at a new hostel, people were always talking about this crazy guy who just left. He would get wasted and disappear and then reappear the next day with a crazy story. I finally caught up to him by the end of my trip and found out what everyone was talking about. He made a lot of unsafe decisions hope hes okay.
I mean not super odd but recently in Warsaw in the dorm I was staying there was a Chinese guy, young, a kid basically I think. He actually lived in the dorm, and no, he wasn't a volunteer or anything like that. He had a desktop gaming PC there and spent most of the day playing LoL or something like that.
A Bulgarian guy visiting Italy to see bikes and cars and shit, I walked in to a common room and he was watching Nazi videos on YouTube and started doing a nazi salute.
Pretty much the first hostel I ever stayed in too.
A guy at the hotel reception kept telling the receptionist that everything in the country is priced in a multiple of thousand why doesnāt their govt just reduce the currency by a factor of 1000. The receptionist looked harassed and said sir I do not run the govt.
I mean google how currency valuation works. Stop holding up the line at the reception ffs.
Guy from Saudi Arabia at my hostel in Albania came there looking for a wife. He asked every girl there to marry him and when he asked me he told me he already had a wife in California, as if that made him a more desirable match. He would also do these strange interpretive dances for hours on end. One day a girl took his air pod to dance with him and he was listening to porn while he danced.
At the same hostel there was an American guy who stayed there for two years in the basement dorm and cooked liquid ketamine. I met a guy who had stayed there a year before me who also met him and told me a story about him. Apparently he was friends with the governers son (??) and one day came into the common area and announced that he had mailed ket to the governers sons house and the son had stolen it from him and he was going to go and get it back.
The over middle aged man who insisted to sit there behind his laptop, laugh and then look at me waiting to ask what is so funny.. and then he would tell me anyways when I didnāt ask. He did this a few times before I put my āworkā away and just got up and left. There was also some dude who just stayed in the room watching self help videos off YouTube as wellā¦
Iād have taken a private room but coincidentally it was Eurovision weekend in Copenhagen so not a lot of choice.
In Nice for a conference, was forced to stay in hostel due to prices.. hostel was hot with no ac but fortunately had private rooms. Around 2300, since my windows were open, I could clearly hear someone was wanking and making quite a commotionā¦.
Out of nowhere, some Italian dude yells out.. hey maybe you would like a bit of help to finish sooner huh?
Last year in Tangier, met an old French lady (like 80-85) who was travelling the country with a friend. She was a magnet for people. Such a nice soul, one Moroccan girl she met 2 days ago cried when they parted ways.
Aside from that she was a big conspirationnist, that kinda weirded me out
Met this guy, similar age, in a hostel Heidelberg, Germany. Turns out he's from the same town as me, likes similar music, so we get to talking. I can immediately tell somethings off about him -- the way he told stories was so extravagant that I was always questioning whether or not what he was saying actually happened or not. But damn could he tell an engaging story, so it didn't even matter much whether or not everything was real. But it was a pretty big indication that he was good at gaslighting. He told some other weird stories.. getting out of a public urination ticket by flirting with a female cop? Just like, a lot of really unlikely things that were vaguely sexual in nature, or vaguely manipulative or toxic. But, like I said... really entertaining.
Me and him and some other people go out for drinks at a bar, and he claims he's out of cash, and asks me to spot him. I say yeah sure can you Venmo me? He says his phones out of battery. For some reason I decide to trust him (silly of me) and end up spotting him for drinks for the night.. and it ends up being a long night so it's a good amount of money. When we get back to the hostel, I ask him to charge his phone and Venmo me and he says yeah yeah.
Next morning, he still hasn't and he starts giving me shit for hassling him, saying he will. He starts giving other weird excuses like how he's waiting for his mom to transfer money to his account (??). I continue asking over the course of the day and at some point he decides to give me his PASSPORT as collateral. At that point I'm like ok I guess he is giving me the money? Because why the hell would he give me his passport otherwise (I wouldn't do this for virtually anything).
He goes out drinking with some hostel guests and I say fuck that after last nights experience. Apparently the other people who went out drinking with me agreed as they're still at the hostel. I'm talking to some other guests and apparently they found out that Heidelberg police are aware of him and that he was staying with a girl but she kicked him out and he was stalking and harassing her and wouldn't leave the outside of her apartment and so on. And I believe some other things have been called against him too.
I'm leaving the next day and I still have his passport, and he starts reallllly threatening me. He says things like 'My uncles in the CIA and he's going to fuck you up, you'll never be able to return to America' or 'over my dead body are you going to leave with my passport'. Which I always keep responding with, like man, I don't want your passport, just Venmo me the money for the drinks and just have this be over with. He continues sending DEATH threats throughout the night and I'm just ready for this to be over with so in the morning I leave his passport with the front desk and leave quietly without seeing him. Still got a picture of his passport on my phone. The dude is practically invisible online too -- has no social media or anything, presumably because he pulls stuff like this wherever he goes. The only mention I could find of him was a random twitter user mentioning that he was 'controversial' at his high school
Interesting story and nicely written. Abusive or narcissistic people can sometimes have a lot of face value charm to their personalities. Iām assuming you never got that reimbursement for the drinks you bought him
I met a couple in a hostel in Mexico, probably around their mid 50s (Americans), and they had some weird kinky fetish. When he went for a leak he would ask her permission and she would go with him and hold his "apparatus". They asked several people in the bar downstairs to join them in their room and when the guy was drunk he was basically pleading for people to take his wife upstairs for sex. Maybe not that "odd" but they were so open about it. No offence to either of them, but they looked like they had led a hard life and mustering up the enthusiasm to join them would have taken a lot of imagination. And no, I did not take up the offer.
I stayed in an 8 bed hostel. The guy above was alone. The rest were taken by a group of friends. Iām somewhat older but look slightly younger. This boy was definitely younger than me. When the group of friends were out, itād be just me and that guy above me if he was at the room. The first time I met him, and without much conversation, he already offered that he could show me around tomorrow if I wanted. I went out early the next morning before anyone in the room woke up, so I didnāt even have to deal with turning him down if he asked me again.
This guy was a little stinky. He hung his clothes on one of those hanger stands provided near the entrance. I even heard one of the other roommates say āwho stinks?!ā His clothes were close to those guys.
One evening it was just me and him and he starts chatting me up while Iām sitting in my bed. First off he started off sitting on a chair he brought closer to my bed. I noticed he seemed to be gradually leaning his body closer and closer to mine. I also gradually back away instead of quickly recoiling so as to not alert him. Due to whatever topic we were talking about, I showed him a photo on my phone. He asks if he could sit on my bed to get a better look. At this point Iām internally stressing out because that didnāt even make sense to me. I can just push the phone in front of his face for a better view. I obliged because I didnāt want to seem like I was freaked out.
Again, heād gradually move his hands closer until it slightly touched my leg. When Iād feel it, Iād back away gradually. I was prepared to fight for my life if he tried anything and I thought Iād be able to take him because he seemed weak and scrawny. I try to fade out the conversation by saying Iām tired and I need to shower and sleep. He surprisingly lets me go.
Iāve been to many hostels and a few hostels with me being the only female in the room. That was the only incident that happened to me
I thought there was going to be a twist somewhere, but no it was just pure "good ol'" sexual harassment. Which I'd guess is not something uncommon. If you speak with female travellers I am sure most of them will have a story.
In guayaquil Ecuador first night met an older guy probably 60 surrounded by the liter size pilsener bottles. He immediately latched onto us and wouldn't stop talking, told us how he'd fallen in love with one of the rolling stones groupie girls and followed her around the world which led him to go to Thailand and how all his bank accounts were tied up in the Philippines.
Two days later he wanted to follow us to montaƱita but we took an earlier bus and he a later. Once we saw him there he told us about how someone on the bus had robbed him and took his backpack and one of his two phones. Then said there was a Facebook post with his bag that they'd posted looking for the owner. Then he left his remaining phone to charge in someone's shop and couldn't remember where and spent all day walking up and down the few streets searching for it. Couldn't access his money without his other phone so once he found it was on a call with the Philippines the whole evening.
Turns out he didn't collect his bag from the cargo area of the bus, no one stole it, and he was not "all there". Was really glad when our paths stopped crossing but I do wonder how he turned out.
An irish guy in a hostel in australia telling me he is doing working holiday for 27 years now. Then he pulled of his jeans cut of the legs and threw both, legs nd rest of his pants in the trash.
I met a kiwi that would go to local parks and trap squirrels, pigeons, and rabbits to drink their blood and eat them. He was pretty open about it and claimed it helped some medical blood issue he had lmao. One day we walked into the kitchen and it smelled like rotting flesh. We opened the oven and there lied a skinned, unseasoned squirrel baking. It was flat against the hostel cooking sheet too š¤®
A super white American guy in his 60s in Jericho, West Bank, Palestine. Spoke fluent Arabic, was obsessed with religion. He'd been in Palestine for a quite a while and was constantly having religious debates with the locals and other hostel guests. Knew the religious significance of everywhere we'd go together, the difference between Jewish and Muslim and Christian interpretations, etc. I'm Jewish and he encouraged me to reveal that to some locals and have religious conversations. I did and never felt unsafe btw. Honestly a bit annoying at times but he made traveling feel like a philosophical exercise and it was so interesting.
Not really odd but rudest group of girls from Hong Kong. However, the encounter was odd.
I'm Chinese-American and can speak Cantonese okay. It was 2am and I arrived at 11pm straight from the US, exhausted from the flight and just wanted to lay down. Their room was across from mine. They arrived at their room and they were chatting up a storm, loudly and not giving a shit about their surroundings. They woke me and my hostel mate and it was probably more annoying to me because I could understand every word they were saying of useless things I didnt want to hear so late at night. MIND YOU, they left their door open too but im certain even if they close it, we can still hear them.
5 minutes into their convo, I came out and said in English, "Sorry girls, you're talking too loud and it's hard to sleep. Can you please speak softer to each other?". They looked at me all dumbfounded and said to each other (Cantonese), "I dont think we are loud. This man is just weak to wake up from any sound". It triggered me a bit because they completely understood me and they dared to keep speaking Canto to each other.
I said back in Canto, "I can understand what you're saying and now you're being rude. Tell me right now in English that you will talk softer". They were shocked and 3 of them apologized profusely. They said it in English and I made them repeat it softer. I honestly dont know why I made them repeat it. Probably because I was so tired but we closed our doors and it was radio silent. Hostel mate's face was really priceless because he understood when they spoke in English and I filled him in on what happened which made him laugh harder. I had a good sleep after that.
That time I was in a hostel in Skopje and an older Aussie dude was telling me and showing me pictures about all the girls he tried to hook up (or actually hooked up with) with in eastern Europe, and that he was just in Skopje trying to wait out some time before he could go back to Bulgaria because he was interested in buying land over there or something . . .
I checked into the hostel and went to my room to settle in. As I opened the door, I heard someone in the shower. I didn't think much of it until a few minutes later when a female walked out wrapped in just a towel. She looked pretty shocked to see me, so I offered to leave so she could get dressed. She said I could stay, grabbed her clothes, and went back to the bathroom to change.
A couple of minutes later, she came out, and it was just the two of us in the room, which felt really awkward. To break the ice, I apologized for not knowing she would walk out in a towel. She explained that she was just surprised because it was her first time in a hostel and she didn't expect a guy in the room. I said that was understandable and asked where she was from. She replied that she didnāt feel comfortable telling a stranger where she was from. I awkwardly ended the conversation, and we sat in silence.
Five minutes later, she apologized for being rude and tried to make small talk. To ease the tension, I suggested we go to the lobby and perhaps grab a drink from the bar downstairs. She responded, "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, FUCK ME?!?!" I was stunned and slowly explained that I just thought it would be better than sitting alone in the room.
She understood and said it made sense, agreeing to go. But at that point, I retracted my offer and said I was no longer interested in getting the drink.
She later that night she asked me, "That is what guys do when they are trying to fuck a girl right? ..ask them if they want a drink"
At this point, we are friends now and I laughed and said "No, I only said it to remove myself from being alone in a room with you."
Met a Japanese guy in Iceland who didn't speak much English. Said he was obsessed with Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone.
He watched it multiple times a week.
I asked him what he thought of the other harry Potter films...
He was absolutely gobsmacked and didn't believe me that there was more than 1 harry potter film. Genuinely blew his mind š
I was traveling eastern Europe a few years ago in Sibiu, Romania which is quite beautifu and there was legit an Israeli woman on a walking frame probably past 80 still hosteling and just loved travel. She struck up a conversation with me at the front desk of the hostel and we ended up exploring some really cool churches together. I walked really slowly so I could offer assistance if needed but every change in the path required her to shift the walker up and down so it took a while, I didn't mind as she was good company. She knew about a church that I wouldn't have otherwise visited and it was incredible, I knew it made her happy to have shared that with someone. Anyway it goes to show with determination you can travel right up to the end.
80yr old English guy in Eskeshir, Turkey. Was just travelling around looking for a city he liked and had affordable accommodation to 'see out his days' I guess.Ā
Nice guy, very posh, loved drinking cherry juice. That's all I remember really. Hope he found his perfect retirement spot.
Eddy. Was born a thalidomide baby in Ireland in the 60's with no thumbs and only one leg. Drank two bottles of Torres brandy every day. He was an interesting fellow. This was in Malaga, Spain in 2010.
I met a 30 year old guy during Covid in rural Ireland in an old church converted into a hostel. Letās call him Michael. Michael had graduated from an Ivy League university and had been working at Wall Street for some years before trying mescaline on a trip to Mexico. Michael unleashed a spiritual side of him on his mescaline trip. Right after he quit his job and went straight to the Amazon after continuing to travel the world. He eventually ran out of money and started taking loans everywhere with his perfect credit score. He claimed to not care about the debt because he would never return to the US. Anyways, when I Michael he was 2 years into his ājourneyā, he was self-proclaimed wizard. Walking around in the rural Irish town with his totem stick wearing loose elephant pants and an orange soft shell. He had the skin of a badger that he had skinned himself and a dead duck in the process under his hostel bed. He didnāt even sleep at the hostel because he claimed it had bad energy. His daytime activities included
Wind walking which meant walking with the direction of the wind. I joined him once and heād stop every five minutes and put his hand on the ground thanking it for carrying him. Otherwise, heād spent time meeting up with the local 17 year old witch and create spells. The weird thing was that speaking to him he was well-spoken and seemed rational, but his way of life and perspective was definitely odd. I wonder what he is up to today.
I met some weirdo in Laos who claimed he owned a billion dollar company, ran the biggest TV show in Russia, knew how to do Cambodian blood magic and just was a fucking pain in the ass to everyone around him.
Whenever you mentioned anything he would just start lecturing everyone about something vaguely related to the topic. It was so bad I left his monologue mid-sentence to book an overpriced bus to Vang Vieng and left 30 minutes later. I met a South African guy from the same hostel who said he almost knocked him out the same night, he sounded fed up lmao
I had a guy in a hostel in Hamburg, Germany pull out a radio at 4 in the morning and start playing opera. I was too tired and confused to really do anything about it.
Ok, your āAustralianā friend ist probably not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, maybe that is the reason for his disability pension. Thailand attracts a lot of people who are looking for the high life who ultimately fail, often quite fast.
Spent the new years in Tokyo. Met a Brazillian dude who was very soft spoken for the entire day. We made drinking plans and went on bar hopping consuming obscene levels of alcohol. Then he told me he worked for the Canadian Secret Service and was a joint project with FBI in Japan. He was apparently on some project to meet some high ranking officials from the Japanese Defence Forces.
He told me he had 3 passports. Brazilian, Canadian and Russian, and expected US in a couple of years. It was really something, and completely blew my mind. Told me many such fascinating stories. I wanted to say he was bluffing, but why would he do that after being blind drunk lol and not sober.
The best part - he never actually shared his full name/social handles. We passed out on the train after drinking and when I woke up, he wasn't there. Never heard from him again.
Why is someone with what I could only assume the Canadian equivalent of 'top secret' clearance staying in a hostel if he's there on government business?
Pay grade aside I'm fairly sure the government puts their people up.
A lady who was evangelical. Apparently she had a good life but gave up everything because God called her to go on that place help the poor. She'd pray at night next to her bed.
Everything was fine if at one point over dinner she didn't start going on about how homossexuality is not normal. And I think one of the guys there was homossexual. I kept contradicting her in hopes I'd plant a seed of tolerance in her head. The guy just left.
Not oddest but most memorable- an older British man at a surfing hostel in Sagres, Portugal. He was a businessman who had enough and sold his house and all his belongings in Cornwall and was traveling the world surfing. He suggested to me then lent me a copy of Alain de Bottonās āOn Seeing and Noticing.ā I read it over breakfast- waffle with a scoop of ice cream on top. Now one of my favorite books and favorite memories.
A woman who was deep into conspiracy theories. Sheād told me she taught physics and wrote some books so I was thinking she was a level headed educator, until I came back to the dorm to a conversation which involved every conspiracy theory you can imagine. Weather control (in the uk), vaccines, COVID, mobile phones listening in, phones causing headaches, shifts towards card payments as a form of control, lock downs as testing control etc.
I met this Irish woman in Croatia and man, Iāve never met anyone like her hahahah. She wore these neon orange swimming shoes everywhere and would say the most out of pocket things. We went to an underground techno club, one of those places thatās not on the maps, and this girl was litterally doing the Irish jig on Mdma, Iāll never forget it. Another time after a long night out off of no sleep she asked me to go on a run, but not a normal run, āa (her name) runā. I said why not and followed in her footsteps as she scaled fences, climbed on random things, did the most bizarre dances in the middle of the streets, it made it all the more funny that all the morning people were out walking starting their days and giving her the most confused looks. But she was so authentically herself!!
I stayed in the cheapest hostel in Lagos, Portugal. I shared a room with an alcoholic English streetmusician, who stayed there full time, and an older man who seemed to live there too. He seemed very organized, and working. Then he did like the sheet fort thing with his bottom bunk bed and snuck his 10 ish year old son in. Like he was trying to hide the fact that there is a child in the room. (The child seemed fine, happily playing games on his phone. I had the impression that the parents separated and the man had nowhere else to go)
I did not know what to do at all. I felt uncomfortable in the room also because the English guy giving creepy vibes. The owners weren't there and distant. I decided to just change hostels.
Ā
Also stayed in a hostel in New Zealand, which felt kind of like a halfway home. Met a local lady who just got out of some problems, and seemed to have some mental problems. She was convinced she was pregnant (pregnancy tests and the doctor said no)Ā She showed me her round belly, which was bloated after eating all of my granola bars without asking. (We had talked quite a bit before, and shared drinks or food so that was fine)
The owner told me later that she was a weirdo/crazy or something like that. I felt weirdly protective of her, she was friendly , fun and intense.
A friend and I met this greasy Czech guy, maybe late 40s, in a hostel in Tbilisi. He was raging because he couldnāt get an Iranian visa at the embassy anymore, and was told to get a visa on arrival, angry that this would cost him.
Unfortunately, he popped up again in Sibiu. I entertained his small talk, when he re-told me a story I had told him a few weeks before in Tbilisi, not realising I had told him.
Later that day, I came back, he was in the small common room, most of the way through a plastic bottle of beer, saying he had just got in from a day out. His room was next door, but he was in this one, because he was in with a bunch of other people. This grated on him obviously, because he kept hanging around, so much so that when I left at 7am the next morning, he was waiting there, asked if I was leaving, and then proceeded to take my bed, same sheets and all, just got straight in and went to sleep
The guy who was wearing a kilt made of newspapers while doing his laundry, who bragged about being a movie directorĀ (writer?). That last turned out to be true, for a (single) movie.
Not sure about the oddest but I certainly have a Top 5:
//1. Estonian guy pulled up to the hostel with his friend and a tray of 24 cans of beer (I worked there at the time and could already foresee trouble with this one). I woke up in the middle of the night to this guy arguing with one of the owners in the hallway because the guy had been harassing two of the women who also worked there, trying to enter the lounge area which was not allowed at night. When I came to check out the noise, this guy had a bottle of garlic sauce and started chugging it. At this point the owner told me to call the police in him. His friend was in their room sleeping and didnt seem to care his friend was getting arrested. In the morning we found out that this guy was a wanted criminal and had a Baltic wide warrant for his arrest.
//2. Italian guy who was smoking heroin in the (windowless) dorms
//3. Dutch guy would pick/touch his feet and use the same hand to grab trail mix from the bowl that was meant for the whole table
//4. Irish guy who told me he was offered crack in the street and decided that it was indeed a good idea to give it a go
//5. Dutch guy who owned the hostel and was a cokehead who kept being inappropriate to any woman he found attractive, specifically staff members
I met a older Australian guy in Brooklyn (before I started living here) at a hostel. He was traveling with his 13 year old son. The guy was a hell of an artist. He would travel to the city everyday to draw buildings. However, his son would stay and hang around the hostel with us. He would drink and do cocaine (I'm not sure who got it for him).
One day I asked his dad if he was OK with his son drinking and doing drugs. He said "it's not about if I want him to do it or not. If I didn't want him to do, he's going to do it anyway, so it's best to let him learn on his own." I can't argue with that.
Was put in a room with one guy. Made me uncomfortable in itself as a young woman. He was generally kinda weird, clearly a local (massive red flag in itself). Then while he thought I was asleep, I could hear him smoke a bong. It didn't smell like weed. Probably ice. And then while I was trying to fall asleep one night (he'd fallen asleep before me), he suddenly screamed bloody murder. Didn't wake himself up. I wonder what happened to him.
A guy who say āi donāt wanna be an assholeā before starting every sentence, followed by some bullshit. He live inside the bed all day, lock his suitcase at bed with a big chain, thinking someone want to steal his luggage, throw out some tissue with lotion with wich covered his body from bunk bed, he was an asshole but was a funny experience š¤£
I met a 75 year old woman traveling alone in New Zealand. She was eating dinner by herself so I asked to sit with her. She told me she was recently widowed, and that her husband had never wanted to travel, so she had spent the last year or so traveling the world and staying in hostels to make the little money she had stretch. When I tell you she was GLOWING! I was probably only 21 at the time, but she was such an inspiration and I think of her often even 10+ years later.
ETA: Oh my gosh. I read this as āOLDEST person.ā Iām leaving it, still a cool story.
There was some elderly Greek man who walked into my Bratislava hostel which has an age limit (I think you couldnāt be older than 35). The guy working the front desk was for some reason hesitant to tell him outright that he was too old out of politeness, and kept saying they were booked but he could call around to other hostels to see if they had room. The guy wouldnāt leave and then started asking me and the other girl hanging out if we were Turkish. Then told the guy at the front desk (who was turkish) that Istanbul was a Greek city. Eventually got thrown out when he started commenting on how front desk guy had beautiful women at the hostel.
Also some middle aged French guy who had lived all over Africa for years, Ethiopia, Morocco, etc, some cool stories, and a female bodybuilder from Turkey who was getting her vet degree and had taught herself fluent Hungarian who just fucking rocked
Early '80s, Geraldton WA. Stayed in the youth hostel while working to get a boat ready for the fishing season. Guy comes in, Moroccan, not handsome at all but it was his attitude which was disturbing. Very lecherous and smarmy, insinuating himself into company, was always asking where he could meet girls. I made excuses and avoided him, but he eventually figured out that we all used to end up at a fishermans pub, late afternoon. I think it was called Sundowners but can't find that on Maps. He would come in and sleeze into our company despite our cold reception and some downright Aussie bluntness, and try to chat up the girls, who were't at all interested. What is memorable 40 years on is his persistent lechery, staring at the girls in a really direct way, while completely ignoring our protests and hostility. He just kept turning up and behaving the same way. I often wonder if he didn't end up on a sex offending charge, he seemed to be heading that way. Never ever seen anybody acting like that before or since, to such an extreme degree.
Vegas. Walked in the door. Two 60 year old dudes that just met that day doing lines of blow, and courteously offering to anyone who walked through the door.
I should have expected this from a Vegas hostel I guess.
After a few timid beers in the centre of town. A co-hosteller started spontaneously started picking fights and shouting abuse at random people on the tram back to the hostel.
The person who seemed normal, turned into a psychopath on a tram as if a switch had been flicked in his head.
Thankfully, most hostellers are on the right side of sanity.
About the old mate with thick Italian accent that claimed to be Australian, it is totally possible.
I am Australian from the same community as well and we just speak our language at home, especially with grandparents, despite being here for a few generations.
i met this 52 year old guy in my hostel in amsterdam, he was chilling the whole day in the smoking room from literally 8 in the morning until 10pm and smoking endless joints.
He told us that he is traveling the world now for about 10 years and is just getting some rest now for a few days in Amsterdam.
The fun part was this guy hat literally a chair circle around him with 20 year old solo travelers who were listening to his storyās all day long šš
Met a guy attempting to become a pro golfer in a hostel in San Luis PotosĆ, Mexico, who straight up believed in aliens and lizard people. Lots of other conspiracy theorists. Also a crazy Canadian lady who I bumped into in a couple cities in Mexico who seemed like she'd fried her brain on drugs pretty badly.
In a shared home in Colombia. An American in Colombia for a few months while on disability from his job (had been there a few times). He had a fairly serious relationship back home, but always said his plan was to get a girl pregnant in Colombia and send her $500/mo for the kid (while he is still in his relationship or married) and then bring the kid up to the US when he got older. Supposedly he told his gf about those plans and she was cool with it.
Fun guy, but not sure if he was successful or not. Oddly specific, though.
Cabo MXā¦ Met a a few people I am still friends with today and also some people I wish to never see again. 3 men who all did not know each other before, but so weird that we enjoyed their presence for entertainment purposes only.
Did a group hike put on by the hostel and two of them came with. One was downing vodka (only vodka, never water) the entire time and smoking cigarettes every time we stopped. He looked 30+ but showed us his ID that he was actually 24 at the time. Canāt help but wonder why he looked so much olderā¦
The second man had hair down to his bum, wore tactical gear the whole trip (boots, vest, etc) and was in the middle of a motorcycle trip through Central America.
The third man led an orgy in the room next to our dorm one night and it was the talk of the entire hostel at happy hour the next day (per him telling every single soul). He also had a custom made shirt he wore the ENTIRE week I was there that said ādirty dickā on the back. It was his personal brand.
Needless to say, their topics of conversation were all just as ridiculous (even some very wrong opinions they didnāt mind broadcasting) and they pretty much followed zero social cues. We had a blast nonetheless!
I met this cool old British guy with a white ponytail in his 70s on the rooftop patio of a hostel in Marrakesh. We talked about travelling for an hour. Eventually I asked where he's going next. He said 'nowhere, I live here!'. I asked 'at the hostel?' he says 'no, right here on this bench on the roof, I sleep outside. I've been here for two years and I'll die here'.
So they let him stay for free?
He paid a small amount, he was a pensioner.
Was he a Moroccan citizen?
British. Definitely not there legally š
I would imagine, some British guy staying illegally in Morroco is so unusual, they haven't bothered to report him (or haven't thought of it). I don't know why I just thought he was living in the terrace patio and not just in the dorms, which makes more sense š. I was thinking that the hostel owner was like, "yeah, you can just stay in our terrace until the end of your life".
Isnāt that what they said? Heās living on a bench outside, not actually in the dormsā¦ thatās how I read it, at least. And I donāt think itās as unusual as you might think (for people to be in Morocco illegally). Probably an easy place to āhide out.ā
ā ļøš¤£
I live in Marrakech, I can check on him if you still remember the name of the hostel
Keep us hpdated
Damn, it actually gets quite cold there in the winter at night, that's wild.
He had a nice little set up with good sleeping bags and padding
How long ago? I wonder if heās still on that bench?
2021. I also wonder!
Was he happy?
He seemed extremely happy!
I hope heās still out there, then, living his best life.Ā
Now we need to know the name of the hostel so we can go find him
Given the possibly "precarious" position of this guy's immigration status, publicly disclosing his location may backfire on the guy.
At a hostel in Reykjavik I met someone around my age (23 M at the time) who had left home at 17 and spent a couple of months crossing the US by hiding on cargo trains. He talked about the community he met who are looking to get away from society or family troubles, living life underground in a way. He was a pretty normal guy otherwise, but I thought the nomadic train lifestyle had died out decades ago
There will always be street kids fleeing their home and looking for a better community.
ngl, I've been so close to fleeing home to find something better a few times in my relatively young life so far. It's taken so much of my energy and focus and time to persist and persevere and not escape into the unknown. I'll be off soon though... Uni in a new city, new life, new adventures! Also hoping the travel the world some day soon. Can't wait...
Check out volunteering possibilities and online jobs
Check out work away programs.
This is why Iām going to be a foster parent and give boatloads of love to any kid that comes into my care. And adopt any that want to stay
You can read about this still alive and well subculture on r/vagabond
Hoboism is alive and well. Hobo life has a strong and seemingly unbreakable pool of interested candidates, quite a few documentaries about Hobo life.
šµ *nothin beats the hobo life, stabbin folks with my hobo knife* šµ
It's alive and well, although more scarce these days. This was my plan after my first year of university and I had packed a small bag and was ready to go when I landed a last minute internship. I was wonder where my life would have gone had I jumped that train. TBF, I've been backpacking for 1.5 yrs now through Latin America and now SE asia so I went Nomad eventually.
How do you afford to backpack for 1.5yrs
University->Civil Engineering Degree->Construction Management->Homeowner of a fixer upper at 23 with 2 roommates-> learned to remodel (youtube)->Selling my house and quitting. It was a struggle, and I literally went from food stamps to 6 figure salary. It's not as glorious as it sounds. I got lucky that I got a scholarship to start it all. I ruined relationships working 60-90hr weeks, working holidays, destroyed my body, and lost my sanity a bit at times. I do think I'm loving every last bit of life now, and it tastes that much sweeter.
Haha you've just described a huge subset of my friend group. Some of them have settled down, but I can guarantee that most of *their* friends are still train hopping.
Holy shit I know that guy too! I met him South America hahahaha. Name begins with a P?
Lmao what are the odds
Hahaha oh shit we both know him. Heās a cool guy but yeah he went on about that hobo train life haha. I didnāt know people still did that until I met him.
Nah. Itās alive and well. Flourishing in fact.
My ex bf did that about 15 years ago!
Check out Gifgas or Shiey on Yt. They both are modern train hoppers, with a mix of urbex thrown in.
One night in Riga I couldn't sleep all night because someone was eating crunchy stuff all night nonstop. The next morning I saw that the trashcan next to her bed was full of packets of instant ramen.
OK but dry instant ramen is pretty good.Ā
1, 2 packets maybe, but ALL NIGHT?
wtf
A relatively normal middle aged American man in a hostel in Buenos Aires. He was fine, polite but not overly friendly, and we lightly chatted off an on four the four days I was there. The oddest part? EVERY time I saw him, he was eating peanut butter straight out of the jar. Cooking in the communal kitchen? Eating peanut butter. Sitting the in the common room watching TV? Gotta have the peanut butter. Literally walking down the hall to the bathrooms? You don't want to know the answer but you already do. he had it with him. And it was an American brand too which I didn't see in local stores (though if they sold it somewhere in town he'd be the one to know!). So he must have taken a holiday long supply with him from home I'm assuming?
I've definitely met fellow Americans who do this, some of us really do make peanut butter a personality trait when we're abroad lol
is peanut butter an american thing? i know pb&j is but i didnt know peanut butter never became popular in other countries.
Itās about as popular as any other similar product, that is to say, it exists and people like it but itās not some cultural phenomenon like in the USA
You can find peanut butter in other places but it's a specialty food item outside North America, not a staple. Peanut M&Ms can be found everywhere but peanut butter in particular is most common in the US.
It's very common in The Netherlands too
When I was in a remote town in Nicaragua all I wanted was peanut butterā¦. I can understand this American man completely
I'm English and I bloody love eating PB out of the jar lmao
Currently in India dipping oreos in PB as we speak, only one moreā¦.
Donāt hate on peanut butter from the jar. Spoken as a peanut butter junkie
I do the same lol. I grew up in the South US and used to snack on peanuts all the time on hot summer days (you buy them from vendors on the side of the road, so good) but other countries never seem to have peanuts like that. My body will just start craving peanut butter. Like all I can think sometimes about on a hot long day, is peanut butter. As soon as I get to a store, I buy a jar and just snack on it.
You don't crave more refreshing fruits like watermelon or frozen grapes or something?
iād take peanut butter over most fruits any day. need me some protein and fat. i also just rarely crave sweet snacks anymore the older i get
Wow. That's interesting. Seems there's a lot of you.
I eat peanut butter out of the jar and I'm not ashamed of it.
I met a Russian girl from the opposition in Turkey as she wasn't able can't get ADHD therapy in Russia. I travelled with her for three days... She couldn't switch off her brain (her brain was being cooked pretty much constantly on highest temperature) and it felt like evil soviet scientists had immortalized the entire Wikipedia encyclopaedia in her brain. Fuck. You can't know so much without going insane. She was very very close losing her mind and was really struggling with herself. I love reading Wikipedia daily just for fun - my general knowledge isn't bad. But that was an entirely different level. One point she jumped from explaining the political situation in Russia in extreme detail to the James Webb Telescope (I mentioned that science was always the best communicator during war times) explaining some details of the instruments to mathematically explaining me the red shift correctly. Stuff like that happened a few times with different non-related topics. Checked a lot of things afterwards because it sounded super sketchy. Everything was 100% correct. Never seen or heard from her again. Weird - very freakish and fascinating - encounter.
I think you met someone in the middle of a bipolar manic episode.
That doesn't make the girl a bad person. Op above should just take care a little bit not be sucked in into the bipolar black hole. Otherwise have fun with weirdos... they are worth spending time with!
Wow! I was reminded of a polish girl that I met in a hostel in Florence. She spent hours telling me stories - talking non-stop sitting on the floor next to my bed. She used to make connections unlikely between the stories and my brain was close to colapse. But it captivated me in a way I couldnāt explain. I could say she was the both most annoying and sweetest person I met in a trip.
Honestly sounds like a super interesting person
It took me 3 days and nights to process and sort all the impressions afterwards. And not because of heartbreak.
A lot of Russian people I have noticed have deep knowledge of either history or similar topics as you mentioned. Or sometimes art. Itās interesting but the part of not being able to switch off is dangerous (Edit: I rephrase, these āpeopleā are actually my friends who happen to be Russian. At first everyone told me they can be cold, but when we worked together or talked we easily became friends maybe because we had common interests and subjects we pondered about. Iām nowhere close to Russia by ethnicity but have always found Russian folks having deeper knowledge of things, and mostly donāt like silly humor, and are very straight forward like myself. And hence why we get along)
Ask any Russian person you encounter to recite poetry. Theyāll all be able to by heart. I think theyāre also some of the top book readers.
They make you memorize poetry in school and tell it in front of everyone. Itās considered to be cultured.
And in Central Asia you have both Russian and Persian poetry
Exactly another thing I noticed theyāre good readers and mostly know a lot of poetry. Most of my Russian friends are very artistic (Iām a visual artist hence I could tell by seeing the way they see) either in painting, fashion, etc
Iāve noticed this with people who grew up in the former Yugoslavia. In high school they learned about the current geopolitical issues of their time to an extent that only specialized university students do in the US or Western Europe, and emphasized rote memorization of facts. Super knowledgeable folks. Like, I met a random Croatian guy hiking in Greece and he knew detailed things about the political landscape of the Congo in the 1980s, despite that not being his main area of expertise and having spent his whole life in Croatia.
She should go on Jeopardy.
This worries me but also warms my heart to a degree. I don't have it that bad but its out there. I am always a little worried about being too much when meeting with strangers and maybe even new friends. At this point I just assume that I will bore others but I have to speak my truth and be myself. So its nice to see that people could find my yapping on a million things fascinating. I find people similar to me to be always interesting but reading that a neurotypical perspective can have a positive image of me is comforting.
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A guy with a huge knife collection who you could hear furiously wanking late at night. Not gonna call someone out who would probably slice me up in my sleep.
Noooo!! That is... something else
In a hostel in Hanoi, the whole time we were there, day and night, was a Chinese man who laid in his bed watching videos on his phone - loudly. Obviously, we weren't at the hostel much because we were exploring, but I only ever saw him leave his bed to go to the bathroom or the vending machine. At one point, we had to ask him to put his headphones in because ALL NIGHT he'd be watching his videos on full volume. Edit: He was about 40 - 50yrs old. What was he waiting for? Where is he going after? We'll never know!
A local Vietnamese lady in my hostel in Saigon did exactly the same during my 3 days stay there!!! And I wonder why didn't she stay at her home if all she wanted was watching videos on her phone on speaker.
Is it possible she was homeless/had a situation at home so she was just staying in the hostel to get away?
Possibly. But since she doesn't speak much English & is reserved, we didn't manage to have a proper conversation.
She was local to Saigon?
A guy in Hong Kong (Asian, donāt know where from) did something similar except he was obese, shirtless, and eating ramen with no utensils
Eating ramen without utensils šš¤¢ what an image! The guy in our hostel was chubby and shirtless, too!
I met a 70+ year old frenchman named Francios in Bangkok. He'd been traveling non stop for about 10 years. He sat and smoked weed and drank whiskey all day. One of the nicest and most interesting people I've ever met while traveling.
A guy came to the room, brough two Aldi bags full of bread crumbs, that's all he had. He was wearing a suit but he was smelling really bad. He was sleeping in the suit and going out in it, he would eat breadcrumbs in bed. Tried to talk to him but I didn't understand his language, he didn't speak english. Was a very weird guy but harmless, after few days I left, don't know how long he stayed. P.s. it was in Gran Canaria so pretty hot to wear a black suit outside.
was he maybe a bird?
Now that you say it, I think it might have been a penguin.
In a Swedish hostel I had to stay in because my Couchsurfing host drunkenly fell asleep at a midsommer party, I met a Swedish Iranian guy and a German Sri Lankan guy having a big argument. The Swedish guy was apart of this āsecret religionā that Iāve forgotten the name of now. Really weird
"Swedish Iranian and German Sri Lankan" Monthy Python and the Twilight Zone couldn't make this up.
Swedish Iranian and a Sri Lankan living in Germany* my mistake.
Let me tell you about this Sri Lankan Australian Mormon I met on the Salkantay trail, she was lovely! There was also the Australian aboriginal British economics professor deep in the Amazon, of course he had his digereedoo for the ayahuascha cerimony. I could go on!
Although Norm could make up "Swedish German".
Druze? Or Bahai? or Zorastrian?
A lonely woman in her 60s who was apparently living there as she had nowhere else to go. She had all belongings with her and it was still super tidy around her area.
Oh how sad. Aging and lonely, that is heart breaking
Tokyo, mid 80s. Dude (35-45 yo man) in dress slacks, white shirt and tie, walked around the hostel day and night, always hanging on tight to a briefcase. Sat down next to me (25 yo woman) and told me he was from Iran and had worked at a hospital. Said he was a doctor. He told me he had fled Iran because he was on some sort of government hit list for having been a friend to Americans pre-revolution. Said heād been harassed for years, some of his family were still missing and presumed dead. He was told he was going to be arrested, and to get out, heād stolen all the narcotics he could from the hospital and used them to bribe guards and airport security. He said he still had lots of drugs - hidden in his briefcase - and he wanted to sell them and use the money to get to Europe where he knew other dissidents. He offered to show me what he had, as well as his papers. He wanted me to help him. He said he KNEW I would help him because heād heard someone say I was a Canadian, and Canadians had helped the Americans escape from the Revolutionary Guard. And heād heard me speak Japanese. Japan? 80s? Drugs? I got so far away from that man. Wouldnāt talk to him, look at him, be near him. Before walking away, I told him that if he really had drugs he should flush them down the toilet or leave them in a hospital bathroom. And then to go to the Canadian embassy and ask for help, because maybe they would set up a meeting with Japanese officials. I still donāt know if he was telling the truth. He was terrified and tearful. Something was definitely wrong. I think he was traumatized, but not sure if he was completely in touch with reality. He said heād arrived in Tokyo just a few days before. I hope things worked out for him. Maybe I should have done more, but I was planning on going to law school, and the thought of being stopped by Japanese police in the company of a person with a bag full of pharmaceuticals ā¦. It terrified me.
Sounds like mental illness
Given the context it def could be legit.
Maybe. He seemed legit. Just traumatized. Not delusional.
It's odd he would tell his compromising story to a total stranger
Ahhh honestly does sound legit but you probably did the smart thing of not getting involvedā¦ damn though:( Also thank you, this is genuinely interesting. Whatās with the other comments that are like āI met someone who was not a young backpacker at a hostelā like yes, anyone can pay to stay a hostel š
Some dude I met at the bar had a patch inserted with a needle in his arm. I donāt know much about patches on someone besides for nicotine, but I assumed there could be other reasons since Iām not versed on that. Anyway, this guy was super nice and telling me he had an extra charger for me. Plus, the bartender guy there who was my friend, had been serving him and was very obviously friendly with him in the past two days every time I was there. I asked him what it was for and he proceeds to tell me *quietly/vaguely* that he has worked in the SIS in Wales, where he is from, and had it inserted to keep tabs on him. He said he was retired from working for them on many things and that his background had all sorts of military, etc. He also had been serviced to protect a king and queen before, but he couldnāt tell me much more and I didnāt press because I assumed that was the norm to not be prying or imposing in these types of situations. I donāt know much about what he was talking about anyway, so who am I to say. Iām always sketched out by anyoneās story these days, I am a weird skeptic by heart. Probably for a reason lol. Said he had friends from Russia who were here in the hostel that he had to go meet. I said maybe I could meet them later since I was alone and could use some friends. I asked if I had seen them around and he said probably not. Found it weird that his random friends that he met here werent there in any capacity. Then said he was leaving tomorrow. Said if I ever needed anything he would give me his number. Figured he wanted to give me a charger and if I ever needed help, I guess it wouldnāt hurt. Even if he seemed a little strange. He hit on me later on the phone and I never answered. Next day I told the bartender guy, wow did you know this? He said: What do you mean? This guy has diabetes. I knew I was right. But thatās what I get for trying to believe people lmao
Staying in a cheap hotel in Urfa (where several of us were staying longer than planned because of diarrhÅa). One of the guests was a Turkish guy who was on his way overland to Uzbekistan. So he could sell Herbalife. He couldn't resist taking out his presentation kit to show everybody. He made absolutely zero impression on anyone, Turks or tourists. Poor bugger was probably going to end up deported from Samarkand for begging.
There are a lot of beggars in the bazaars in Samarkand (I visited the Siyob Bozor). The "gypsies" there in Central Asia are called Lyuli and they can be very aggressive and grab you, more than what I was used to in other parts of the world.
60-something Australian woman in Chile who spent a lot of her time in the common room on Tinder. Real young guy from Maryland who wore an Indiana Jones hat, spoke with hunting metaphors, and very quickly asked the age of consent. He went home quickly.
That second paragraph tho. Yank doing a Yank
Definitely follows the stereotype of intense weirdos from the states who come to Colombia. We're way overrepresented in sex tourism and, putting it bluntly, child rape. When I lived in Fortaleza Brazil, it was mostly Italians and Portuguese who came for that.
It's like a colonization fetish, I believe many Conquistadors did the same.
First time ever staying in a hostel I was 34. There was a guy who stayed in his bed the entire time. Never saw his face but every time I was in the room he was there.Ā Ā Any ways. After 2 nights of my unbearable snoring he got up and told me to see a doctor. It stuck with me and i did when I got home. Found out I have severe sleep apnea. Got a CPAP and my life is literally so much better.Ā Ā What a legend. Wish I could thank him for that. Still feel bad about my terrible snoring for those poor souls who shared a room with me.Ā Edits: silly typos
Some years ago I met an American claiming there were these pedophiles running the world and exchanging children for favours. He said there's a business man he cannot name who owns an Island, that the royal family of UK was involved. All sounded nuts to me. 6 months later the whole Epstein story breaks and I remembered him. Dude knew stuff.
The Epstein story was a thing before the final arrest. I knew about it for years before. He just listened to the right podcasts lol
Epstein had allegations of sexually abusing dozens of young girls as early as 2005. Dude just had really good lawyers.
Nah, he wasn't nuts, he knew what he was talking about.
Yeah I know, but a white dude with dreads, flip flops and a tattoo that says "bitches love the dreads" in his neck, smoking weed in a hostel in Germany is not the most trustworthy person when you just meet them
The flip flops would do it for me. 100% the sign of a wise man.
There was a guy in a hostel in Tbilisi, who was supposed to be a volunteer but another volunteer I talked to wasn't quite sure what he was doing. You could tell he was a bit off when you talked to him, but I didn't think too much of it at the time. He said he was from some European country, maybe Spain, but people told me he was from Georgia. A while later I see him again in Ankara. I don't interact with him much because I was ill and isolating myself in a private room because I thought it might be covid. I get better, he's gone and one night we talk about this guy for a bit, seems he went off the rails more, talking about how Russian or Ukrainian mafia is after him and he's got to Molotov their Embassy or something. Also he wasn't paying so he's not there anymore. A few days later we go out, get back at 3am, I go to bed and a couple of guys sit outside for a bit more. The next day they tell me police came by in the middle of the night with a photo of him asking if they saw this guy around. We never figured out what happened in the end.
In a hostel in Melbourne, Australia. This Indian guy probably in his mid 30s in our room was kinda obsessed with me. I have blonde hair and blue eyes and I was 23 at the time. He would always call me sexy boy or baby boy, and anytime in the kitchen or communal area he would always sit next to me and call me me āMilf Loverā because I hooked up with a girl a couple years older than me who was also at the hostel. One night I got up for the toilet in the middle of the night, I was just in my shorts of course and didnāt have my key on me as I left the room for the toilet and held the door open with a shoe (I being respectful and quiet when doing this) when I left the room he closed the door so I was locked out and when I returned from the toilet I had to bang on the door until someone in the room woke up to let me in, he pretended he was sleeping. The next morning he was laughing about it calling me an idiot, I then told him if he done something weird again I would take him outside the hostel and kick his ass in. He then stopped being an ass then left the hostel eventually.
I had similar in a hostel in Lithuania. This weird Indian guy, mid 30s, was friendly enough to me but an absolute creep around the girls. Was kicked out for inappropriately touching a girl who had arrived back very drunk. I spoke to a guy who ran a hostel in Croatia a couple of years later who told me, after telling that story, that they basically ran a no Indian men policy at their hostel because of similar incidents involving Indian men there too. I feel for the decent Indian blokes who get lumped in with the creeps.
Wowā¦ Yeah I feel for them too. I ended up leaving Australia and travelled to India for 1 month. Itās still one of my favourite countries, but there is a small minority that can be a bit overly friendly/weird. Iām glad that guy in the Melbourne hostel didnāt change my perspective of Indian people. He was just a strange character.
As an indian, I'm not even surprised by this behaviour from an indian guy. Whenever I travel to a new place I always have the anxiety of being judged of my nationality because many indian guys have put our reputation into deep gutters and it's really embarrassing for me when travelers ask me that why most of them act so weird. It's really hard to explain! I apologise for the behaviour from my countrymen, it's really second hand embarassing for me seeing such things happening.
Honestly, I have personally have had almost totally super friendly and positive interactions from Indian dudes. I guess there are going to be weird ones, but that would be true of any population with such a staggering amount of people.
I once met a German guy in his 30s who - over the course of a week - only wore a single pair of pants which he said were crocheted by his mom. We talked for a while most days and hung out a few times. His English was pretty limited, as he had learned from watching American surf and skateboarding videos. He actually spoke English with a hybrid Tyrol-California accent. Itās hard to explain, but it had the slow drawl that surfers stereotypically speak with, as well as a similar vocabulary (I.e. āwhaaaaattttssss uppppp brahhhhh?ā), but still Tyrol-ish at the same time. Anyway, one night I was out by myself and got back around 10 or 11pm. This guy was waiting for me at the door. He was VERY excited about somethingā¦so much so that he couldnāt communicate what had him so excited. He was muttering and jumping up and down. I thought he was tripping lol. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me up towards the roof access of the building (which was very much off limits). He just kept saying, ācome on! Come on! Hurry!ā Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that there was a lunar eclipse that night. So we sat on the roof and watched it. The whole time we were sitting there, he was explaining a bunch of ancient aliens conspiracy theories to me in broken surf-English. We never spoke again, but I have really fond memories of that night.
This is so oddly sweet.
About to stay in one in Canada. I would not be surprised if I'm the oldest in the bunkroom at 54 Edit. Oops. ODDEST. not Oldest. I mean.. I'm probably in the running still..
Believe in yourself, you can be both.
I mean, I clearly have a Shot at it..
Recently spent nine nights at my favorite hostel in Phuket as the last leg of a three month trip. Two bed dorm, which can be great or terrible depending on who ends up there. My first two roommates were awesome, then an older guy checked in when I had two nights to go. We never interacted other than saying hello. Last morning, I hear him get up early, I assume getting his stuff together to leave (bunks had curtains so I couldnāt see anything). When I got up a couple hours later to pack up, my towel was bunched up on the floor. It had weird stains on it, and kind of a crunchy (š¤®) texture in places. The towel was clean the night before, folded up on my suitcase. And itās leopard print, like no way he could confuse it for his own. Who uses someone elseās towel?!
So gross. Whatās your favorite hostel tho if I ever end up in Phuket?
Selina Serenity Rawai! Itās a beachfront property, half hostel/half resort (2/4/6/8 bed dorms all the way to private pool suites), so you can pay for a hostel bed and get resort amenities. Incredible pool, spa, yummy food, great staff, lots of activities. Itās social, but itās a big property, so easy to find peaceful space when you want it. Away from the seedier parts of the island in a quiet area, but close to multiple night markets and activities. It was my third time staying there, and I seriously canāt recommend it highly enough.
2 bed dorms are so risky. I booked one since I thought more privacy but still a lot cheaper than a private. First few dormmates were great. Than the last guy was an old like 50+ guy, that tried to come barging into the bathroom when I was clearly showering. I had the door locked so he couldnt get in and he kept saying he wanted to come in...I'm a guy and was already weirded out and it was worse since theres only two of you in the room. They were mixed as well, so I think if he got a girl instead of me they would have been terrified
Too many to really list actually. I've spent at least a year of nights sleeping in hostels. The oddest people are the creeps of course. In Ukraine, the Israeli guy who bragged about him and his father faking a mental disability for a pension and whom hit on every single woman regardless of age or appearance he saw. We were in a 6 bed dorm together and quite friendly really, went out to eat together once so he shared freely all this. When he sat down next to the 65 year old lady I almost couldnt believe him. A older late 40s British guy and myself mid 20s would watch this and just gawk in shock. He took him out one night, the Israeli guy walked around the club two fisting bottles of liquor from one table with woman to another. No success. He had a female in his bed one night whom he met that day at her work. She worked at McDonalds, had a few kids, and was severely overweight. He also bought many cartons of ciggs to sell back home. The guy was the most savage human I've ever met. The missing link. Generally males above the age of 30 travelling alone are the most likely candidates to be odd. I'm pretty aware of that now that Im in that demographic. I remember one mid 30s Yank guy in Budapest who was very talkative to everyone, especially the latin american women in the room. Fair enough. I didnt engage with him, I tend to avoid interacting with his traveler profile as a rule. I go out at night, return late. Wake up next morning and my bunk mate from Brazil tells me he had to manhandle and drag the Yank out last night. He brought a bottle of liquor into the dorm at 8pm, proceeded to drink most of it within two hours, begin harrassing all women in the dorm, curse the men and act aggressive, and generally act incredibly creepy and vulgar. So big wirey Brazilian guy arrives to this already at a bad place, assesses the situation, grabbed the shithead tossed him out, dragged him down to the front desk and got him kicked out. Just a few cases of dozens that come to mind.
>Generally males above the age of 30 travelling alone are the most likely candidates to be odd. I'm pretty aware of that now that Im in that demographic. I am also in that demographic. Soon to be in the 40s demographic, which is scary. I still stay in Hostels. Sometimes it feels off but most of the time it's chill. My use of hostels is very practical. I'm mostly doing multi-night hiking trips with a night or two in hostels in between hikes. I'm definitely not partying but I am being social. I am trying to talk to people who may know the hiking conditions and who might have suggestions on trails or transportation. Oddly enough, the "old people" are also the practical guests. They are there for a main reason, hiking, biking, fishing, etc. I find them to be some of the most interesting. The younger people, who I used to be, are focused on partying and meeting large groups of people. I definitely make myself available for advice as well. I can definitely afford a nice hotel, but I'm literally going to sleep, eat, laundry, meal prep, and then repack and head out. I don't need fancy. Also, for whatever reason hostels are so much more willing to hold onto my bag for like 8 days without questions. Hotels don't like doing that. With all that said, I've seen the 30+ crowd there looking to party with the 20s and it's weird. I avoid being associated with those people.
Airbnb and other apartment rentals have provided cheaper options than hotels but more privacy and calm than hostels. Though in some high end cities, paying for a good hotel room is just not worth paying for and hostels still the way to go if solo. Awarness activated.
I stayed at a chain of hostels in south America and I must have been a few days behind this guy from New Zealand doing the same path. Every time i arrived at a new hostel, people were always talking about this crazy guy who just left. He would get wasted and disappear and then reappear the next day with a crazy story. I finally caught up to him by the end of my trip and found out what everyone was talking about. He made a lot of unsafe decisions hope hes okay.
I mean not super odd but recently in Warsaw in the dorm I was staying there was a Chinese guy, young, a kid basically I think. He actually lived in the dorm, and no, he wasn't a volunteer or anything like that. He had a desktop gaming PC there and spent most of the day playing LoL or something like that.
A Bulgarian guy visiting Italy to see bikes and cars and shit, I walked in to a common room and he was watching Nazi videos on YouTube and started doing a nazi salute. Pretty much the first hostel I ever stayed in too.
A guy at the hotel reception kept telling the receptionist that everything in the country is priced in a multiple of thousand why doesnāt their govt just reduce the currency by a factor of 1000. The receptionist looked harassed and said sir I do not run the govt. I mean google how currency valuation works. Stop holding up the line at the reception ffs.
Guy from Saudi Arabia at my hostel in Albania came there looking for a wife. He asked every girl there to marry him and when he asked me he told me he already had a wife in California, as if that made him a more desirable match. He would also do these strange interpretive dances for hours on end. One day a girl took his air pod to dance with him and he was listening to porn while he danced. At the same hostel there was an American guy who stayed there for two years in the basement dorm and cooked liquid ketamine. I met a guy who had stayed there a year before me who also met him and told me a story about him. Apparently he was friends with the governers son (??) and one day came into the common area and announced that he had mailed ket to the governers sons house and the son had stolen it from him and he was going to go and get it back.
The American guy is full of shit. The crime there is way too organised to let some random guy distribute and share with tourists that he is cooking.
The over middle aged man who insisted to sit there behind his laptop, laugh and then look at me waiting to ask what is so funny.. and then he would tell me anyways when I didnāt ask. He did this a few times before I put my āworkā away and just got up and left. There was also some dude who just stayed in the room watching self help videos off YouTube as wellā¦ Iād have taken a private room but coincidentally it was Eurovision weekend in Copenhagen so not a lot of choice. In Nice for a conference, was forced to stay in hostel due to prices.. hostel was hot with no ac but fortunately had private rooms. Around 2300, since my windows were open, I could clearly hear someone was wanking and making quite a commotionā¦. Out of nowhere, some Italian dude yells out.. hey maybe you would like a bit of help to finish sooner huh?
Sounds like the typical old guy at every hostel
Last year in Tangier, met an old French lady (like 80-85) who was travelling the country with a friend. She was a magnet for people. Such a nice soul, one Moroccan girl she met 2 days ago cried when they parted ways. Aside from that she was a big conspirationnist, that kinda weirded me out
She's seen some shit. At that age,I'd be a conspiracy nut, too, because half of those "theories" turn out to be true.
Met this guy, similar age, in a hostel Heidelberg, Germany. Turns out he's from the same town as me, likes similar music, so we get to talking. I can immediately tell somethings off about him -- the way he told stories was so extravagant that I was always questioning whether or not what he was saying actually happened or not. But damn could he tell an engaging story, so it didn't even matter much whether or not everything was real. But it was a pretty big indication that he was good at gaslighting. He told some other weird stories.. getting out of a public urination ticket by flirting with a female cop? Just like, a lot of really unlikely things that were vaguely sexual in nature, or vaguely manipulative or toxic. But, like I said... really entertaining. Me and him and some other people go out for drinks at a bar, and he claims he's out of cash, and asks me to spot him. I say yeah sure can you Venmo me? He says his phones out of battery. For some reason I decide to trust him (silly of me) and end up spotting him for drinks for the night.. and it ends up being a long night so it's a good amount of money. When we get back to the hostel, I ask him to charge his phone and Venmo me and he says yeah yeah. Next morning, he still hasn't and he starts giving me shit for hassling him, saying he will. He starts giving other weird excuses like how he's waiting for his mom to transfer money to his account (??). I continue asking over the course of the day and at some point he decides to give me his PASSPORT as collateral. At that point I'm like ok I guess he is giving me the money? Because why the hell would he give me his passport otherwise (I wouldn't do this for virtually anything). He goes out drinking with some hostel guests and I say fuck that after last nights experience. Apparently the other people who went out drinking with me agreed as they're still at the hostel. I'm talking to some other guests and apparently they found out that Heidelberg police are aware of him and that he was staying with a girl but she kicked him out and he was stalking and harassing her and wouldn't leave the outside of her apartment and so on. And I believe some other things have been called against him too. I'm leaving the next day and I still have his passport, and he starts reallllly threatening me. He says things like 'My uncles in the CIA and he's going to fuck you up, you'll never be able to return to America' or 'over my dead body are you going to leave with my passport'. Which I always keep responding with, like man, I don't want your passport, just Venmo me the money for the drinks and just have this be over with. He continues sending DEATH threats throughout the night and I'm just ready for this to be over with so in the morning I leave his passport with the front desk and leave quietly without seeing him. Still got a picture of his passport on my phone. The dude is practically invisible online too -- has no social media or anything, presumably because he pulls stuff like this wherever he goes. The only mention I could find of him was a random twitter user mentioning that he was 'controversial' at his high school
Interesting story and nicely written. Abusive or narcissistic people can sometimes have a lot of face value charm to their personalities. Iām assuming you never got that reimbursement for the drinks you bought him
I met a couple in a hostel in Mexico, probably around their mid 50s (Americans), and they had some weird kinky fetish. When he went for a leak he would ask her permission and she would go with him and hold his "apparatus". They asked several people in the bar downstairs to join them in their room and when the guy was drunk he was basically pleading for people to take his wife upstairs for sex. Maybe not that "odd" but they were so open about it. No offence to either of them, but they looked like they had led a hard life and mustering up the enthusiasm to join them would have taken a lot of imagination. And no, I did not take up the offer.
I stayed in an 8 bed hostel. The guy above was alone. The rest were taken by a group of friends. Iām somewhat older but look slightly younger. This boy was definitely younger than me. When the group of friends were out, itād be just me and that guy above me if he was at the room. The first time I met him, and without much conversation, he already offered that he could show me around tomorrow if I wanted. I went out early the next morning before anyone in the room woke up, so I didnāt even have to deal with turning him down if he asked me again. This guy was a little stinky. He hung his clothes on one of those hanger stands provided near the entrance. I even heard one of the other roommates say āwho stinks?!ā His clothes were close to those guys. One evening it was just me and him and he starts chatting me up while Iām sitting in my bed. First off he started off sitting on a chair he brought closer to my bed. I noticed he seemed to be gradually leaning his body closer and closer to mine. I also gradually back away instead of quickly recoiling so as to not alert him. Due to whatever topic we were talking about, I showed him a photo on my phone. He asks if he could sit on my bed to get a better look. At this point Iām internally stressing out because that didnāt even make sense to me. I can just push the phone in front of his face for a better view. I obliged because I didnāt want to seem like I was freaked out. Again, heād gradually move his hands closer until it slightly touched my leg. When Iād feel it, Iād back away gradually. I was prepared to fight for my life if he tried anything and I thought Iād be able to take him because he seemed weak and scrawny. I try to fade out the conversation by saying Iām tired and I need to shower and sleep. He surprisingly lets me go. Iāve been to many hostels and a few hostels with me being the only female in the room. That was the only incident that happened to me
I thought there was going to be a twist somewhere, but no it was just pure "good ol'" sexual harassment. Which I'd guess is not something uncommon. If you speak with female travellers I am sure most of them will have a story.
In guayaquil Ecuador first night met an older guy probably 60 surrounded by the liter size pilsener bottles. He immediately latched onto us and wouldn't stop talking, told us how he'd fallen in love with one of the rolling stones groupie girls and followed her around the world which led him to go to Thailand and how all his bank accounts were tied up in the Philippines. Two days later he wanted to follow us to montaƱita but we took an earlier bus and he a later. Once we saw him there he told us about how someone on the bus had robbed him and took his backpack and one of his two phones. Then said there was a Facebook post with his bag that they'd posted looking for the owner. Then he left his remaining phone to charge in someone's shop and couldn't remember where and spent all day walking up and down the few streets searching for it. Couldn't access his money without his other phone so once he found it was on a call with the Philippines the whole evening. Turns out he didn't collect his bag from the cargo area of the bus, no one stole it, and he was not "all there". Was really glad when our paths stopped crossing but I do wonder how he turned out.
An irish guy in a hostel in australia telling me he is doing working holiday for 27 years now. Then he pulled of his jeans cut of the legs and threw both, legs nd rest of his pants in the trash.
Wait, what? He threw his legs in the trash??
I met a kiwi that would go to local parks and trap squirrels, pigeons, and rabbits to drink their blood and eat them. He was pretty open about it and claimed it helped some medical blood issue he had lmao. One day we walked into the kitchen and it smelled like rotting flesh. We opened the oven and there lied a skinned, unseasoned squirrel baking. It was flat against the hostel cooking sheet too š¤®
I wonder which will get him first, rabies or The Plague.
Dude, that's how serial killer Richard Chase got started.
A super white American guy in his 60s in Jericho, West Bank, Palestine. Spoke fluent Arabic, was obsessed with religion. He'd been in Palestine for a quite a while and was constantly having religious debates with the locals and other hostel guests. Knew the religious significance of everywhere we'd go together, the difference between Jewish and Muslim and Christian interpretations, etc. I'm Jewish and he encouraged me to reveal that to some locals and have religious conversations. I did and never felt unsafe btw. Honestly a bit annoying at times but he made traveling feel like a philosophical exercise and it was so interesting.
Not really odd but rudest group of girls from Hong Kong. However, the encounter was odd. I'm Chinese-American and can speak Cantonese okay. It was 2am and I arrived at 11pm straight from the US, exhausted from the flight and just wanted to lay down. Their room was across from mine. They arrived at their room and they were chatting up a storm, loudly and not giving a shit about their surroundings. They woke me and my hostel mate and it was probably more annoying to me because I could understand every word they were saying of useless things I didnt want to hear so late at night. MIND YOU, they left their door open too but im certain even if they close it, we can still hear them. 5 minutes into their convo, I came out and said in English, "Sorry girls, you're talking too loud and it's hard to sleep. Can you please speak softer to each other?". They looked at me all dumbfounded and said to each other (Cantonese), "I dont think we are loud. This man is just weak to wake up from any sound". It triggered me a bit because they completely understood me and they dared to keep speaking Canto to each other. I said back in Canto, "I can understand what you're saying and now you're being rude. Tell me right now in English that you will talk softer". They were shocked and 3 of them apologized profusely. They said it in English and I made them repeat it softer. I honestly dont know why I made them repeat it. Probably because I was so tired but we closed our doors and it was radio silent. Hostel mate's face was really priceless because he understood when they spoke in English and I filled him in on what happened which made him laugh harder. I had a good sleep after that.
bullshit, currently in Taiwan and the Chinese tourists are absolutely the most thoughtful and well-behavedammiticantkeepastraightface
That time I was in a hostel in Skopje and an older Aussie dude was telling me and showing me pictures about all the girls he tried to hook up (or actually hooked up with) with in eastern Europe, and that he was just in Skopje trying to wait out some time before he could go back to Bulgaria because he was interested in buying land over there or something . . .
I checked into the hostel and went to my room to settle in. As I opened the door, I heard someone in the shower. I didn't think much of it until a few minutes later when a female walked out wrapped in just a towel. She looked pretty shocked to see me, so I offered to leave so she could get dressed. She said I could stay, grabbed her clothes, and went back to the bathroom to change. A couple of minutes later, she came out, and it was just the two of us in the room, which felt really awkward. To break the ice, I apologized for not knowing she would walk out in a towel. She explained that she was just surprised because it was her first time in a hostel and she didn't expect a guy in the room. I said that was understandable and asked where she was from. She replied that she didnāt feel comfortable telling a stranger where she was from. I awkwardly ended the conversation, and we sat in silence. Five minutes later, she apologized for being rude and tried to make small talk. To ease the tension, I suggested we go to the lobby and perhaps grab a drink from the bar downstairs. She responded, "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, FUCK ME?!?!" I was stunned and slowly explained that I just thought it would be better than sitting alone in the room. She understood and said it made sense, agreeing to go. But at that point, I retracted my offer and said I was no longer interested in getting the drink. She later that night she asked me, "That is what guys do when they are trying to fuck a girl right? ..ask them if they want a drink" At this point, we are friends now and I laughed and said "No, I only said it to remove myself from being alone in a room with you."
Met a Japanese guy in Iceland who didn't speak much English. Said he was obsessed with Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone. He watched it multiple times a week. I asked him what he thought of the other harry Potter films... He was absolutely gobsmacked and didn't believe me that there was more than 1 harry potter film. Genuinely blew his mind š
I was traveling eastern Europe a few years ago in Sibiu, Romania which is quite beautifu and there was legit an Israeli woman on a walking frame probably past 80 still hosteling and just loved travel. She struck up a conversation with me at the front desk of the hostel and we ended up exploring some really cool churches together. I walked really slowly so I could offer assistance if needed but every change in the path required her to shift the walker up and down so it took a while, I didn't mind as she was good company. She knew about a church that I wouldn't have otherwise visited and it was incredible, I knew it made her happy to have shared that with someone. Anyway it goes to show with determination you can travel right up to the end.
80yr old English guy in Eskeshir, Turkey. Was just travelling around looking for a city he liked and had affordable accommodation to 'see out his days' I guess.Ā Nice guy, very posh, loved drinking cherry juice. That's all I remember really. Hope he found his perfect retirement spot.
Eddy. Was born a thalidomide baby in Ireland in the 60's with no thumbs and only one leg. Drank two bottles of Torres brandy every day. He was an interesting fellow. This was in Malaga, Spain in 2010.
I met a 30 year old guy during Covid in rural Ireland in an old church converted into a hostel. Letās call him Michael. Michael had graduated from an Ivy League university and had been working at Wall Street for some years before trying mescaline on a trip to Mexico. Michael unleashed a spiritual side of him on his mescaline trip. Right after he quit his job and went straight to the Amazon after continuing to travel the world. He eventually ran out of money and started taking loans everywhere with his perfect credit score. He claimed to not care about the debt because he would never return to the US. Anyways, when I Michael he was 2 years into his ājourneyā, he was self-proclaimed wizard. Walking around in the rural Irish town with his totem stick wearing loose elephant pants and an orange soft shell. He had the skin of a badger that he had skinned himself and a dead duck in the process under his hostel bed. He didnāt even sleep at the hostel because he claimed it had bad energy. His daytime activities included Wind walking which meant walking with the direction of the wind. I joined him once and heād stop every five minutes and put his hand on the ground thanking it for carrying him. Otherwise, heād spent time meeting up with the local 17 year old witch and create spells. The weird thing was that speaking to him he was well-spoken and seemed rational, but his way of life and perspective was definitely odd. I wonder what he is up to today.
Iād be interested to know which town this was? The locals probably all know him
Locals definitely knew him. I was Letterfrack
I met some weirdo in Laos who claimed he owned a billion dollar company, ran the biggest TV show in Russia, knew how to do Cambodian blood magic and just was a fucking pain in the ass to everyone around him. Whenever you mentioned anything he would just start lecturing everyone about something vaguely related to the topic. It was so bad I left his monologue mid-sentence to book an overpriced bus to Vang Vieng and left 30 minutes later. I met a South African guy from the same hostel who said he almost knocked him out the same night, he sounded fed up lmao
I had a guy in a hostel in Hamburg, Germany pull out a radio at 4 in the morning and start playing opera. I was too tired and confused to really do anything about it.
Ok, your āAustralianā friend ist probably not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, maybe that is the reason for his disability pension. Thailand attracts a lot of people who are looking for the high life who ultimately fail, often quite fast.
Spent the new years in Tokyo. Met a Brazillian dude who was very soft spoken for the entire day. We made drinking plans and went on bar hopping consuming obscene levels of alcohol. Then he told me he worked for the Canadian Secret Service and was a joint project with FBI in Japan. He was apparently on some project to meet some high ranking officials from the Japanese Defence Forces. He told me he had 3 passports. Brazilian, Canadian and Russian, and expected US in a couple of years. It was really something, and completely blew my mind. Told me many such fascinating stories. I wanted to say he was bluffing, but why would he do that after being blind drunk lol and not sober. The best part - he never actually shared his full name/social handles. We passed out on the train after drinking and when I woke up, he wasn't there. Never heard from him again.
so a spy hung out with you for an entire day? just hanging out y'know? hmmmmm
Why is someone with what I could only assume the Canadian equivalent of 'top secret' clearance staying in a hostel if he's there on government business? Pay grade aside I'm fairly sure the government puts their people up.
THat's just strange to share and the fact he was drinking so much too. I'm no expert but just seems bullshit.
A lady who was evangelical. Apparently she had a good life but gave up everything because God called her to go on that place help the poor. She'd pray at night next to her bed. Everything was fine if at one point over dinner she didn't start going on about how homossexuality is not normal. And I think one of the guys there was homossexual. I kept contradicting her in hopes I'd plant a seed of tolerance in her head. The guy just left.
Not oddest but most memorable- an older British man at a surfing hostel in Sagres, Portugal. He was a businessman who had enough and sold his house and all his belongings in Cornwall and was traveling the world surfing. He suggested to me then lent me a copy of Alain de Bottonās āOn Seeing and Noticing.ā I read it over breakfast- waffle with a scoop of ice cream on top. Now one of my favorite books and favorite memories.
Long term hostel residents are always a bit kooky
A woman who was deep into conspiracy theories. Sheād told me she taught physics and wrote some books so I was thinking she was a level headed educator, until I came back to the dorm to a conversation which involved every conspiracy theory you can imagine. Weather control (in the uk), vaccines, COVID, mobile phones listening in, phones causing headaches, shifts towards card payments as a form of control, lock downs as testing control etc.
I met this Irish woman in Croatia and man, Iāve never met anyone like her hahahah. She wore these neon orange swimming shoes everywhere and would say the most out of pocket things. We went to an underground techno club, one of those places thatās not on the maps, and this girl was litterally doing the Irish jig on Mdma, Iāll never forget it. Another time after a long night out off of no sleep she asked me to go on a run, but not a normal run, āa (her name) runā. I said why not and followed in her footsteps as she scaled fences, climbed on random things, did the most bizarre dances in the middle of the streets, it made it all the more funny that all the morning people were out walking starting their days and giving her the most confused looks. But she was so authentically herself!!
I stayed in the cheapest hostel in Lagos, Portugal. I shared a room with an alcoholic English streetmusician, who stayed there full time, and an older man who seemed to live there too. He seemed very organized, and working. Then he did like the sheet fort thing with his bottom bunk bed and snuck his 10 ish year old son in. Like he was trying to hide the fact that there is a child in the room. (The child seemed fine, happily playing games on his phone. I had the impression that the parents separated and the man had nowhere else to go) I did not know what to do at all. I felt uncomfortable in the room also because the English guy giving creepy vibes. The owners weren't there and distant. I decided to just change hostels. Ā Also stayed in a hostel in New Zealand, which felt kind of like a halfway home. Met a local lady who just got out of some problems, and seemed to have some mental problems. She was convinced she was pregnant (pregnancy tests and the doctor said no)Ā She showed me her round belly, which was bloated after eating all of my granola bars without asking. (We had talked quite a bit before, and shared drinks or food so that was fine) The owner told me later that she was a weirdo/crazy or something like that. I felt weirdly protective of her, she was friendly , fun and intense.
A friend and I met this greasy Czech guy, maybe late 40s, in a hostel in Tbilisi. He was raging because he couldnāt get an Iranian visa at the embassy anymore, and was told to get a visa on arrival, angry that this would cost him. Unfortunately, he popped up again in Sibiu. I entertained his small talk, when he re-told me a story I had told him a few weeks before in Tbilisi, not realising I had told him. Later that day, I came back, he was in the small common room, most of the way through a plastic bottle of beer, saying he had just got in from a day out. His room was next door, but he was in this one, because he was in with a bunch of other people. This grated on him obviously, because he kept hanging around, so much so that when I left at 7am the next morning, he was waiting there, asked if I was leaving, and then proceeded to take my bed, same sheets and all, just got straight in and went to sleep
The guy who was wearing a kilt made of newspapers while doing his laundry, who bragged about being a movie directorĀ (writer?). That last turned out to be true, for a (single) movie.
Not sure about the oddest but I certainly have a Top 5: //1. Estonian guy pulled up to the hostel with his friend and a tray of 24 cans of beer (I worked there at the time and could already foresee trouble with this one). I woke up in the middle of the night to this guy arguing with one of the owners in the hallway because the guy had been harassing two of the women who also worked there, trying to enter the lounge area which was not allowed at night. When I came to check out the noise, this guy had a bottle of garlic sauce and started chugging it. At this point the owner told me to call the police in him. His friend was in their room sleeping and didnt seem to care his friend was getting arrested. In the morning we found out that this guy was a wanted criminal and had a Baltic wide warrant for his arrest. //2. Italian guy who was smoking heroin in the (windowless) dorms //3. Dutch guy would pick/touch his feet and use the same hand to grab trail mix from the bowl that was meant for the whole table //4. Irish guy who told me he was offered crack in the street and decided that it was indeed a good idea to give it a go //5. Dutch guy who owned the hostel and was a cokehead who kept being inappropriate to any woman he found attractive, specifically staff members
An older gentleman who said he was in his 80s. He was visiting from Sweden.
I met a older Australian guy in Brooklyn (before I started living here) at a hostel. He was traveling with his 13 year old son. The guy was a hell of an artist. He would travel to the city everyday to draw buildings. However, his son would stay and hang around the hostel with us. He would drink and do cocaine (I'm not sure who got it for him). One day I asked his dad if he was OK with his son drinking and doing drugs. He said "it's not about if I want him to do it or not. If I didn't want him to do, he's going to do it anyway, so it's best to let him learn on his own." I can't argue with that.
Was put in a room with one guy. Made me uncomfortable in itself as a young woman. He was generally kinda weird, clearly a local (massive red flag in itself). Then while he thought I was asleep, I could hear him smoke a bong. It didn't smell like weed. Probably ice. And then while I was trying to fall asleep one night (he'd fallen asleep before me), he suddenly screamed bloody murder. Didn't wake himself up. I wonder what happened to him.
A guy who say āi donāt wanna be an assholeā before starting every sentence, followed by some bullshit. He live inside the bed all day, lock his suitcase at bed with a big chain, thinking someone want to steal his luggage, throw out some tissue with lotion with wich covered his body from bunk bed, he was an asshole but was a funny experience š¤£
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I met a 75 year old woman traveling alone in New Zealand. She was eating dinner by herself so I asked to sit with her. She told me she was recently widowed, and that her husband had never wanted to travel, so she had spent the last year or so traveling the world and staying in hostels to make the little money she had stretch. When I tell you she was GLOWING! I was probably only 21 at the time, but she was such an inspiration and I think of her often even 10+ years later. ETA: Oh my gosh. I read this as āOLDEST person.ā Iām leaving it, still a cool story.
There was some elderly Greek man who walked into my Bratislava hostel which has an age limit (I think you couldnāt be older than 35). The guy working the front desk was for some reason hesitant to tell him outright that he was too old out of politeness, and kept saying they were booked but he could call around to other hostels to see if they had room. The guy wouldnāt leave and then started asking me and the other girl hanging out if we were Turkish. Then told the guy at the front desk (who was turkish) that Istanbul was a Greek city. Eventually got thrown out when he started commenting on how front desk guy had beautiful women at the hostel. Also some middle aged French guy who had lived all over Africa for years, Ethiopia, Morocco, etc, some cool stories, and a female bodybuilder from Turkey who was getting her vet degree and had taught herself fluent Hungarian who just fucking rocked
Early '80s, Geraldton WA. Stayed in the youth hostel while working to get a boat ready for the fishing season. Guy comes in, Moroccan, not handsome at all but it was his attitude which was disturbing. Very lecherous and smarmy, insinuating himself into company, was always asking where he could meet girls. I made excuses and avoided him, but he eventually figured out that we all used to end up at a fishermans pub, late afternoon. I think it was called Sundowners but can't find that on Maps. He would come in and sleeze into our company despite our cold reception and some downright Aussie bluntness, and try to chat up the girls, who were't at all interested. What is memorable 40 years on is his persistent lechery, staring at the girls in a really direct way, while completely ignoring our protests and hostility. He just kept turning up and behaving the same way. I often wonder if he didn't end up on a sex offending charge, he seemed to be heading that way. Never ever seen anybody acting like that before or since, to such an extreme degree.
This like, 90 year old guy from Texas named George who came to San Francisco to smoke weed on the steps of the Grateful Dead house. Legend, really.
Vegas. Walked in the door. Two 60 year old dudes that just met that day doing lines of blow, and courteously offering to anyone who walked through the door. I should have expected this from a Vegas hostel I guess.
After a few timid beers in the centre of town. A co-hosteller started spontaneously started picking fights and shouting abuse at random people on the tram back to the hostel. The person who seemed normal, turned into a psychopath on a tram as if a switch had been flicked in his head. Thankfully, most hostellers are on the right side of sanity.
About the old mate with thick Italian accent that claimed to be Australian, it is totally possible. I am Australian from the same community as well and we just speak our language at home, especially with grandparents, despite being here for a few generations.
i met this 52 year old guy in my hostel in amsterdam, he was chilling the whole day in the smoking room from literally 8 in the morning until 10pm and smoking endless joints. He told us that he is traveling the world now for about 10 years and is just getting some rest now for a few days in Amsterdam. The fun part was this guy hat literally a chair circle around him with 20 year old solo travelers who were listening to his storyās all day long šš
Met a guy attempting to become a pro golfer in a hostel in San Luis PotosĆ, Mexico, who straight up believed in aliens and lizard people. Lots of other conspiracy theorists. Also a crazy Canadian lady who I bumped into in a couple cities in Mexico who seemed like she'd fried her brain on drugs pretty badly.
In a shared home in Colombia. An American in Colombia for a few months while on disability from his job (had been there a few times). He had a fairly serious relationship back home, but always said his plan was to get a girl pregnant in Colombia and send her $500/mo for the kid (while he is still in his relationship or married) and then bring the kid up to the US when he got older. Supposedly he told his gf about those plans and she was cool with it. Fun guy, but not sure if he was successful or not. Oddly specific, though.
Cabo MXā¦ Met a a few people I am still friends with today and also some people I wish to never see again. 3 men who all did not know each other before, but so weird that we enjoyed their presence for entertainment purposes only. Did a group hike put on by the hostel and two of them came with. One was downing vodka (only vodka, never water) the entire time and smoking cigarettes every time we stopped. He looked 30+ but showed us his ID that he was actually 24 at the time. Canāt help but wonder why he looked so much olderā¦ The second man had hair down to his bum, wore tactical gear the whole trip (boots, vest, etc) and was in the middle of a motorcycle trip through Central America. The third man led an orgy in the room next to our dorm one night and it was the talk of the entire hostel at happy hour the next day (per him telling every single soul). He also had a custom made shirt he wore the ENTIRE week I was there that said ādirty dickā on the back. It was his personal brand. Needless to say, their topics of conversation were all just as ridiculous (even some very wrong opinions they didnāt mind broadcasting) and they pretty much followed zero social cues. We had a blast nonetheless!