Well I don't want to give you the wrong idea, but I have been sleeping around for quite a while now. In fact tonight sees me bedding down in my 91st bed in 8 months in the city of Chicago, Illinois. It averages out at 11 beds per month. Many have been for single (one night stands), whilst occasionally I have stayed in a location for up to a week. Of course, being an anally retentive and chronic list maker, I have catalogued these beds, recording the different towns, cities, villages and countries and I can recall details about each and every one of them.
One surprising benefit of all this bed hopping, is the fact that it has gone a long way towards curing me of my 'Princess and the Pea' affliction. In the past I had to have the exact same pillows to sleep upon or I would wake up with chronic neck-ache, now any pillow in any bed will do (though admittedly a number have been rather uncomfortable!)
Let me share some of the more significant record breakers:
The first bed (and also my first taste of Airbnb) - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pri was an excellent hostess and she managed to make me feel most welcome and safe as I began my world journey.
The shortest stay in one bed - Vancouver, Canada. 6 hours in the C&N Backpackers Hostel. It was awful. The room smelt of wet paint, the bedding wasn't clean, the electrics were extremely dodgy and the whole fourth floor had to share one communal bathroom and toilet. Fortunately, I arrived in Vancouver on a late night train from Seattle at midnight and I was up and out by 7.00am the following morning to catch a ferry over to Vancouver Island.
The most basic bedroom - Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. During my trek on the Annapurna circuit I slept in a number of different guest houses. All were extremely humble. A bed, a couple of blankets, a pillow, a main light. They were always clean however and extremely welcome after a long day hiking. They observed a tradition to leave your boots outside the door each night (a blessing for me and my smelly shoes.)
The smallest bedroom - Anchorage, Alaska, USA. I spent one night in a sleep-pod in a hostel in downtown Anchorage. I had been warned that the room was small, but I was still not prepared. The ceiling was only 4 feet high and room dimensions were 8 feet long by 4 feet wide. The bed was a very thin mattress on the floor. They had taken one standard bedroom and made 6 sleep pods from it. The exterior wall now had 6 miniature doors in it, 3 low down and 3 higher up, accessed by short ladders. That said, there was a tiny window, numerous electricity sockets and lights and rather clever shelving in the room to stow belongings. I slept well, but half way through the night I had to open the door as I became a little hot and claustrophobic.
The dirtiest bedroom - Ky Anh, Vietnam. I shared this room with a mouse and a cockroach. I was very grateful for my silk sleeping bag liner (no, not for kinky reasons, but because the weave is so fine that bed bugs and other insects can not squeeze through!) The room was very cold, very mucky and had only one blanket. The hotel served no food, was very noisy and cost a whopping 250,000 dong per night (that's a massive £7.47) There was a complimentary crust of stale bread in the corner behind the cupboard for the mouse to eat though, which I thought was kind.
No bed at all - Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China. My island misadventure when I ended up sleeping on a chair on a beach after getting rather drunk and catching the wrong ferry back across Kowloon Harbour. Whoops!
In transit - a couple of overnight flights, a few overnight trains and even a couple of overnight greyhound buses. Actually, I am beginning to sleep on them now, something I could never do before, though some have been real marathons, like the 16 hour train journey from Chengdu to Xi'An on a very hard seat.
In an airport - Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi, India. My Visa disaster stopped me from going to the hotel I had booked (and paid for) as the authorities would not let me leave. I felt like Tom Hanks in that movie..."The Terminal.'
The most luxurious - Xi'an, China. - The Aurum International Hotel. I had been on the road for quite some time and I felt the need for a hotel room with an en-suite bathroom, preferably one with a bath in it! I ended up in a luxury suite, complete with bathrobes, a bed turn down service, a living room, two televisions and a laundry service which cost more than the bloody clothes! Still a very grand and relaxing experience for me to feel indulgent in and I used the swimming pool every day.
With the best companions - Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Heng Long I Hotel. Oliver, Ida and I met on the bus travelling from Vietnam to Cambodia. We chatted a great deal and when we reached the capital, they came with me to the hotel I had booked as they didn't have anywhere sorted yet. They liked the Heng Long hotel, we liked each other and we chose to travel together for the next 9 days through Cambodia - it was magical.
The most space efficient bedroom - Hong Kong, China. The room was really small, yet they managed to squeeze in a toilet, a shower, a sink, a bed, an air-conditioning unit, under bed storage and shelves everywhere. It even had a window to let in the noise and aromas from the street below (thank goodness for ear plugs!)
The most welcoming - Nanaimo,Vancouver Island, Canada. With John and Sherry. They told me to make myself at home, but I stopped short of walking around naked scratching my privates! Their welcome, in both the log cabin on the lake and in their farm homestead was excellent. Not for the first time on this trip, I had to make myself move on.
The most festive - Hoi'An, Vietnam. I stayed in the Lantern Hotel for Christmas and it was a lovely place. The staff tried really hard to deliver a western style Christmas at their Christmas Eve Gala Dinner. They served turkey and sprouts, created an epic gingerbread castle and even put on some entertainment in the form of amateur singing and dancing.
The most like Hogwarts - Wesley College, Sydney University Campus, Sydney, Australia. This was a great place to stay during the Aussie summer break (February.) It was close to a major bus route and in a lovely neighbourhood. I felt like a right student again and enjoyed the daily cooked breakfasts in the refectory.
The most homely - Berwick, Melbourne, Australia. I practically moved in with Jen and Paul (who I had not previously met) and stayed with them for over a week in their beautiful home. I even got to meet Jen's lovely parents when I returned for an extra couple of nights after my diving trip up north.
The most wildlife - Juneau, Alaska, USA. One morning I woke up to find a pile of animal dung on the road outside. I asked Tamra what animal it was from and she answered 'a bear'. I also had a porcupine say hello to my shoe as it passed the steps, I saw bald eagles in the trees and mountain goats on the hills.
The smallest cabin - The Spirit of Freedom liveaboard, the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. I shared it with Riley from South Africa, Danielle from Los Angeles and Kim from Korea. The four of us packed into a very tiny space, but it cost us a lot less to be onboard than the couples who had cabins to themselves. We sensitively took turns in our tiny bathroom, let the girls change for bed first and apparently none of us snored (I can only think that I must have been too tired to snore, after completing 11 dives in 3 days!)
The most luxurious cabin - Halong Bay, Vietnam. I treated myself onboard the Bai Tho to a private cabin, though as the costs in Vietnam are far less than in the west, this was not so expensive. I had a magical few days onboard and some great companions from Spain and Canada.
The best Samaritan - Matara, Sri Lanka. The home of Charmi, my tuk-tuk driver. When my accommodation fell through, Charmi offered me a bed in his home when I had nowhere else to stay. If the same thing happened now I would be far more relaxed, but this was still my first month of traveling the globe, and I was incredibly anxious. He and his mum made me feel very much at home and his act of kindness was the first of many I have encountered.
The coldest (and highest) bedroom - Ghorepani, nr Poon Hill, Nepal. The only time I felt any effect from altitude sickness. I went to bed early, as it was cold and dark, but woke up before midnight and could not get back to sleep again. Fortunately we were up at 4.00am to climb Poon Hill. The views were well worth it.
The hottest bedroom - Cairns, Australia. Thank God for air conditioning. It was over 40 degrees centigrade each day and the humidity levels were terrible. Suffice it to say, that every time I entered my room, I put on my air-conditioning and took off everything else!
The most disappointing - Guangzhou, China. The Jin Yan Hotel. I had informed them when I booked the room that I would be arriving in the late evening. After flying from Shanghai and taking a taxi to the hotel, the staff member on duty proceeded to tell me they had no rooms left. I had already paid for mine and I told them I was not leaving the hotel as I was in a brand new city and I didn't know where I was. I told them it was their responsibility to find me an alternative place to stay. They duly found me another hotel and sent me there in a taxi, but I had to pay again. When I contacted Agoda.com for a refund, they said that I had cancelled the original hotel. I had to get the hotel manager of the Jin Yan to put in writing that I had not cancelled, but that he was full up. Agoda then told me they would reimburse me within six working weeks. They never have. (I say never use AGODA. COM - they suck!)
Of course, travelling alone makes accommodation a financial nightmare. Even when I get the smallest and most modest possible option, I usually end up in a room that could sleep two and I am charged accordingly. If I could have split my accommodation bill in half, by traveling with a companion, I would have saved thousands of pounds. Oh well. Mustn't grumble!
I wonder how many more beds I will sleep in before I finish my trek around the world?
Good night all,
Paul
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Oh Paul what interesting reading this was I can actually picture you in every room you have stayed in haha xx
ReplyDeleteSue, thank you again for your words of encouragement - they are always appreciated. Love Paul x
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