So last night was my first time ever staying in a hostel. Definitely not a favorable situation for me!
My friend Dan came back from Thailand and he decided to come kick it with us cool peeps in Canggu, Bali. He and I got lucky that only one hostel was available near our favorite spots.
This place is called Clandestino Hostel. The place is decent for the price, but not super nice. It cost $105 American Dollars for 5 nights.
When I arrived at the Hostel, there were about 30 or so people congregating at the bar, pool and picnic tables. Everyone was making their plans for the night, Bali night life is huge on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The way it works at a Hostel is everyone becomes friends right away. We are sharing a space so there are no enemies in the space, it’s a good vibe.
Drinking starts and everyone is laughing and talking and it’s a great to see everyone engaged and connected. The internet in Bali is terrible, so most of the time, no one even bothers trying to get on it.
The atmosphere is very full, with lights, music, happiness and healing that fills the air in Bali. Everyone is easy going and goes with the flow like gentle waves. It’s so comfortable here. The hostels environment was no different.
While everything on the outside seemed to be magnetic and exciting, the sleeping was a terrible situation. It is a 6 person dorm. Unfortunately, there is one guy in our room who was not interested in having the air conditioning on, so therefore the whole room of 6 people were sweaty and stunk like body odor. That was unpleasant in every way after being in a private villa for 3 weeks.
This morning, I got outside after sweating so bad to see a few new faces, some leaving for home and some leaving for another adventure in another location. Everyone was in a great mood and still smiling from a great night of partying.
It’s still so crazy to me that people from Europe enjoy up to 5 weeks or more off of work at a time to do whatever they want. They get to go on holidays and enjoy being alive while us in America work 60-80 hour work weeks for a single week off of work a year if we are lucky (most of us don’t get paid for the time off either)! I think we need an overhaul in America. It’s so hard to believe I have to go home, not knowing when I will ever get an opportunity to go away again and have an adventure because work is the priority always.
Another thing I noticed is that all of us at the hostel have different ways of saying things. There was a group of guys that were from Manchester, a girl from Brazil, a girl from Holland, a girl from Georgia, a few guys from France, a guy from Canada that was living in America, a few guys and a girl from Britain, and then a lot of other people not from here but not sure where they are from.
I think the culture is so completely different everywhere but we don’t notice it until we have a chance to come together and learn. Most of the people I have had the pleasure of meeting have been very envious of America. They wish they could live in America, but no one has given me any specific reason. They just love the concept of America. It’s crazy to me because living in America my whole life, I know that it’s a great place but I feel like everyone seems to be disconnected and broken around me.
In America, many people judge so harshly that you almost don’t want to wear the wrong outfits, hair styles, makeup, or look out of place because the pettiness is out of hand. It’s hard. The funny thing is, everyone in Bali just lives and let’s others live. No one is judged or beat down for beliefs or ideas, for clothing or if you have marks and scars. It’s really cool. I love that there is nothing wrong with being yourself here. In the hostel everyone is enjoying themselves and doing what feels right for themselves. It’s cool to see and even cooler to experience. I truly admire them all and never feel like I need to think or feel anyway about anyone. In fact, I notice myself admiring the courage and healing of others without feeling jealousy or discourse.
So all in all, hostels aren’t a bad environment but sleeping is hard when you have a mixed room with different types of people and different preferences for temperature. It is especially difficult when someone doesn’t like air conditioning at night 🤦♀️. Oh and the last tidbit is there is one bathroom for 6 people to share. That can get tricky.
The Panic Spot 