A tall, lean and fit man in his senior years, with sun-darkened skin, still walks with long strides that show that he was a former backparker. He climbs up and goes down stairs with agility, and hardly pants, even if it is hot, and there is no need for him to stop moving to catch his breath, unlike many his age.
With a slight longing in tone in his voice, he recalled the youth hostels that he stayed at. As he spoke about these youth hostels of old, his gaze was that of looking far away, amd the memories made him smile.
This is the gist of what he said:
Many years ago, backpacking was already the way to get to see different places. He didn’t know about youth hostels as before, there was no Internet or a lot of information about such things that you can read from newspapers and magazines. He found out about youth hostels from a friend who travelled to many countries using the EuroRail. It was the thing to do at that time and so he went on his first, lengthy, backpacking trip in Europe, choosing to stay at youth hostels.
Most youth hostels would only accommodate him during sleeping hours. The maximum amount of days he may stay in one youth hostel was 3 days, then they won’t accommodate him anymore. and so he would have to choose another youth hostel in the same area if he will stay at that place for a longer period of time.
The accomodations at youth hostels were a lot better than staying in a YMCA. There were same sex rooms and he had stayed in a mixed room once. Most had bunk beds but he remembered one that had folding beds. These folding beds were set up at a school.
He spoke about how he had made friends while at the hostel, talking to the ones in the same room with him, until they would fall asleep. He said that he met many good people yet during his travels, he was cautious as he might lose his things and money, though no untoward incident ever happened to him.
As a final statement, he said that during his trip to the UK last year, he saw airport accommodations that were like capsules that you would slip into. These did have a TV inside. He said they were practical for someone to stay at if they have a long stopover but it might be claustrophobic.
A backpacking dream that you embark on are going to be memories that you will enjoy for the rest of your life.