We
love the experience that travelling brings, meeting people and learning about
them and their experiences. We also learnt that hostelling is one of the best
ways to experience this, meeting people of different nationalities and ages,
all bonded by common interest and who are always ready with a story or two to
swap.
Hostelling
is well developed in many parts of the world, but not in Singapore. Travellers
complain about the the poor conditions of the hostels (dirty, smelly, tiny
rooms with paper-thin walls, etc.) and the lack of backpackers' atmosphere. We
saw the existing 'hostels' as pretty much mercenary businesses. It's sad, even
shameful, for us to read about and to find backpackers visiting Singapore
having a rough time because of the poor condition of the hostels here, and not
be able to experience the real joy of hostelling like we did when we were
backpacking. The lack of backpackers' atmosphere also does not surprise us
because many of the so-called "hostels" and "homestays" are
not set up purely for budget travellers, but for anyone on a tight budget.
These include locals, foreign workers, foreign students, and the sick from
neighboring countries who have come to seek medical treatment. Sure, you can
find a cheap bunk in Singapore, but to us, there's much more to hostelling than
that.
To
us, hostelling means staying in value-for-money
accommodation where you can interact and have fun with other travellers in a convivial
atmosphere.
We
have made mistakes of checking into cheap hostel after checking out their
website, only to find the tiny room freezing, the "heater" was a
broken stove which leaked gas, the sheets were dotted with insect droppings,
and the place so messy it was a fire hazard! We couldn't bring ourselves to
sleep there. The owner refused to give us a refund (we had pre-paid for several
nights' stay ) it was a whole lot of money down the drain. Cheap doesn't always
mean value-for-money.
Nevertheless,
it was the right decision for us to move on. There was no point in ruining our
vacation by staying in a place which would only make us miserable. Imagine
tossing and turning all night, scratching bedbug bites and sweating from the
heat and humidity. It's also no fun sleeping in a "dorm" which is
actually several beds placed along a common corridor, or in a dingy, shoe
box-sized"room" with partitions which fall short of the ceiling.
