Light travel: Views & Comments Backpacking

Hostels, Places, People, Rooms, Kitchens, Food & AOB???!!!

First, they are not inhabited by teenage twenty something s or thirty year olds thinking they missed the "Twenty's

What we thought we be walking in to was a big mistake, we have come across all age groups young middle aged and retired people from all parts of the world.
Including builders in mission beach, to a retaired lady we met in Airlie Beach then Rockhampton and she will be in Noosa same time as us but different hostels, she was retracing her youth.

Rules: Yes there are a few.

Your mum's not here so do your own washing up!!!
Label all your food in the fridge 'or it will be thrown out'!!!
Keep the noise level down after 10pm
Don't wash your shoes in the washing machines
No food to be kept in your room!! it invites ANTS!!!!
Sleeping bags not allowed...Bed Bugs!!!

Note Bed bugs are not inhabitance of budget guest rooms or poor people, they are carried around in baggage/suitcase and taken from hostel to hostel. or hotel to hotel .All linen has to be laundered when guest has vacated the rooms. Bed bugs like dark, moist corners and only come out early in the morning to FEED on you!!! Yuk..... You can kill bed bugs by washing bedding at a hot temperature and exposing to sunshine!!!

So..wash it and hang it out.....

Eating and cooking

You will soon find the optimum time for carrying out this task, as most backpackers seem to inhabit the kitchen around 6.30 onwards.. its best to get in early if you want space and not just elbow room, also different kitchens seem to have different amounts of prep space or even hobs... you will also find the lack of an OVEN, so will have to re-invent meals or just do microwaves or boiled pasta!!!!

International Backpacker cuisine = PASTA 1000 WAYS

We have seen a vast amount of pasta being eaten in different guises,all with some sort of bolognaise or red sauce, and they seem to make LOADS of it could feeeeeed the whole hostel!!!!

Now something different American couple older than us cooked beef sausages for breakfast, cut them up put into a big soup / cereal bowl, The lady must have had a sweet tooth, beef sausages with strawberry jam eating with her hands (finger food) Her husband ok had mustard.

Rooms

On the whole we have found the rooms to be fine, most air-conditioned in one form or another be it a noisy unit or just drafty windows lol. They have been clean even the bedding is laundered so no problems there, beds are comfortable (have seen new mattresses being delivered in two hostels).
One thing we would say it that the walls are rather thin...so you do hear everything, and I mean everything..even the screaming, and groaning coming from the other rooms (don't ask, just use your imagination!!!!)
There wasn't a saggy mattress in any of the rooms we stayed in, This is better then some 4 Star hotels we have stayed in.

Best sheets and brand new commercially laundry wash goes to parrot fish Port Douglas
Best room size en suite goes to Port Douglas
Best welcome Richard and his team in Mission Beach Retreat
Best entertainment and most involved manager Airlie Beach YHA
Worst Kitchen goes to Rockhampton YHA
Most Modern and up todate YHA Brisbane