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how to pick a backpackers hostel

Are you a backpacker who loves to travel around the world? Well, this post is much needed for you to pick the best hostel wherever you travel. After all, it is the accommodation that compliments your overall travel experience and brings you the utmost comfort after a tiring day. Especially when it comes to choosing a hostel, you expect to take away cherishable and memorable moments with you that last forever.

However, picking the right hostel is a tedious task, isn’t it? So, let's quickly look through how you can decide on the most appropriate hostel before you book your next travel:

Explore: Hostel is not just about staying, but it’s much beyond that! Hostels bring you a complete environment, where you experience the best of your time. So, before you jump to a conclusion, make sure to explore a few hostels and then decide which one to go for.  You can go through the hostel’s website and get a fair idea on its offerings to help you find the perfect one for you. Research thoroughly if the desired hostel has got ensuite, single rooms, dorm or deluxe rooms. Prior to making your decision, look for other amenities and also make sure to give them a call to clear all your queries. 

Inspect the price: You must keep the price in consideration but remember that cheaper is not always better! Just because the hostel is charging low, do not assume that the overall services would meet your expectations. If you are a solo traveller, you must look for affordable hostels but make sure you do not end up paying less but suffering more. A lot of cheap hostels may have cleanliness issues, uncomfortable bedding, and improper services. Thus, it is advised that you should go for a hostel that has moderate charges and also that offers a good deal of services. 

Inspect the room: This has much to do with the cleanliness. Often, the hostel might look appealing to you from outside but can be a real mess from inside. Before you decide to book your dorm, make sure to check the room and see if it is clean and hygienic. An unhygienic room can certainly spoil your experience and can disappoint you in many ways. While you inspect your hostel, check if the sheets and covers are washed, there is a seamless water supply, the rooms are neatly arranged and you have all the amenities right there in the room. 

Location: The location of your hostel matters a lot! Though it also depends whether you are looking to stay at the prime location of the city or looking for some lone time outside the city. Whatever you choose, make sure that you have the availability of cabs or other public transport to get you going around the city with ease. While considering the location of the hostel, think twice that how far it is from the airport/ station, is their good transportation facility, does it have good attractions, restaurants or nightlife and how safe is it. There are so many tips for staying safe when travelling so please check them out and stay safe. 

Check for hostel offerings: Make sure to look for luxuries and amenities offered by your desired hostel.  Check if your hostel provides you morning breakfast, locker facility, push-button showers, free wifi, bar, laundry services, dining halls, and other services. The more facilities you get, the better it is! With all the services, right a call away, your stay can be much more refreshing and worthy. 

Decide the type of dorm: While choosing your backpacker hostel, you must also decide the type of dorm you want to fit into. If you are looking forward to saving your money, you can pick larger dorms as smaller dorms are likely to charge you more. Also, if you are a solo traveller, and love to socialize with new people, make friends and share stories, going for larger dorms can be the right choice. On the other hand, if you are a person who likes to have privacy and not much chatter, you can go to smaller dorms or single rooms to avoid any disturbances.  

Look for a common area: It is good to have a good common room in a hostel that can accommodate many people at once. The best hostels are the one that allows their guests to interact and socialize as much as possible. As solo traveler are fond of meeting new people, hanging out with new friends and sharing great stories, during the morning or evening snack time, having a common area would encourage people to gel up with each other, create new stories and complement their overall stay at the hostel. 

Read the reviews: Last but not least, do not forget to read the reviews of the hostel where you intend to stay. It’s not wise to ignore the negative reviews. If you wish to go for the best hostel, reviews can really help you. While browsing for the hostel, also check their positive and negative reviews and pick your final one accordingly. Reading the negative reviews can get you an idea of what things can go wrong with you and get you a fair idea of where you need to clarify things with the hostel before you get it booked. 

None of you would like an unpleasant stay or any element of discomfort in a splendid travel tour. But unfortunately, there are many backpackers who don’t spend much time selecting the hostel and end up choosing the one which doesn’t suit their requirements at all. But, if you don’t want to make the same mistake, make sure to follow these pieces of advice and make your travel worthwhile. You never know, who may cross your path, what new experiences you get, and what new stories you create. Its all about the place you choose to stay and people you spend your time with. Following these hostel choosing hacks, your hostel will not just be a place to sleep or shower but to have a blastArticle Search, make new friends and share amazing stories with fellow travellers!


Dealing With Unhappiness Through Positivity

If we know that all unhappiness leads to choices, we can be ready for alternative action and therefore we can stop wallowing in self-pity. Unhappiness can be a good thing if we learn to frame it in a different way.

I am unhappy when things do not go as I want. The unhappiness is due to unfulfilled desires. It happens when the rest of my world does not have the same view of a perfect world as I have. I think I have done a good job. My boss thinks otherwise and tells me so. I become unhappy. I couldn’t make it to a top B-school. I become unhappy.

As soon as I am unhappy, my thought process goes like this. I am right but they are not agreeing with me. If they were my friends, they would agree with me. So they are not my friends. Therefore I do not need to like them. Ergo, I will thwart all they want to do, because they have stopped me from following my wishes. I know that this thought process seems exaggerated in the cold light of day, but when we are unhappy, this is the sentiment.
Since I cannot thwart them, as I have no control over them, I feel incompetent. I have two reactions – either I try to control them (be it my significant other or my boss) or I wallow in self pity. Sometimes, I try to control and if that does not work, I wallow. While I wallow, more scenarios come to mind specially those that reinforce my belief. I love these thoughts because they justify my unhappiness and give a reason why I should not do anything.

The result of this mindset and lack of action is that people become genuinely unhappy with me and want to avoid my company. If the issue is at the workplace, the company wants to avoid me. I get fired.
Let me reframe unhappiness. When I am unhappy with the status quo, I want to change it. The desire to change can lead to action. Wallowing in self-pity is denying myself the opportunity for action. Sometimes I pay lip service to action, but I know that it will not work so that I can retreat into self-pity.

As soon as I am unhappy, I say to myself, “Yes, I am unhappy, therefore I need to change my status quo. What actions can I take?”

The impulsive or instinctive action of fight-flight is obvious. That is what animals do.

Do I have any other choices?

One choice could be to reframe my desire and really determine if this desire is a genuine need or wishful thinking. For example – I want a Rolex and I am unhappy I don’t have one. Do I really need one? What need does it satisfy? To prove to myself that I have money or to impress someone? If neither is necessary, or I can achieve the objective by another means, I don’t need the Rolex.

The other choice could be win some-lose some. Maybe I will agree in this case, so that I invest in a relationship which will yield something bigger later. For example, does it make sense to take up cudgels with my client just because of ego – to prove that I am right? If I agree with him now, will he agree with me later?

The third choice could be to determine an action plan of some duration, which leads to the change in the status quo. I sometimes want the complete change to happen overnight, and when that does not happen due to laws of nature, I get the reason to wallow in self-pity and stop the action. For example, if I am not satisfied with my weight, my desire is to do something so that I become thin overnight. When that does not happen, I get a reason to give up. I can create a plan with some intermediate checkpoints like losing 500 grams a month so that I can do 6 kilos in a year. The problem is my emotions and the desire for instant gratification.

My point is that I have more than one obvious choice. If I know that all unhappiness leads to choices, I am ready for alternative action and therefore I can stop wallowing in self-pity.

In essenceHealth Fitness Articles, unhappiness can be a good thing.