It has been a long time since I slept in a hostel, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the experience would even still appeal to me. I’ve lived in everything from villas overlooking the ocean to rinky dink shoeboxes over the years, but it has been a long time since I shared a room with a group of strangers – eight years if my memory serves me correctly. Dorms are great when you are young and penniless, but would someone a couple years shy of 30 (cringe) still appreciate the adventure? I was willing to find out.
It’s worth checking out all your options when entering a new city. Kuala Lumpur had proved that Airbnb was the best bang for your buck. Sometimes hotel booking sites can find you some pretty great deals on last minute rooms. And oftentimes, swanky new hostels offer the best atmospheres, especially for solo travelers.
A quick search of George Town through hostelworld.com, showed that the city was full of hip and happening hostels, full of way more character than a budget hotel. Sure a hotel offers some privacy, but at the cost of four white walls and a mattress. Hostels usually have some theme or gimmick to draw you in. Plus they tend to be clustered in the areas closest to all the activities you’ll want to do. Plus they offer the more environmentally-friendly water refills instead of handing you plastic bottles every day. Plus they’re full of other travelers looking to meet people. I had enjoyed some time to myself in Kuala Lumpur, but by the time I reached George Town, I was ready to make some new friends.
The 80’s Guesthouse immediately grabbed my attention, being located in a 100-year-old, historic shophouse, smack on the main tourist street. Usually being on the main party drag means a fair amount of noise, but I was impressed to read that not a single review mentioned any such noise. The mention of excellent hot showers sealed the deal.
Ok so the 80’s theme was a tad lacking, but the old shophouse building was charming. Old brick walls had been left exposed, the wooden staircase was crooked and rickety and creaked with every step. Openings in the celling that used to create a small courtyard were now covered with basic sheets of plastic, but allowed a wonderful amount of natural light to shine through.
Many old relics of the historic building were left in tact, such as doors and exposed beams. The parts that couldn’t be salvaged were patched over with polished cement and wood furnishings, making the place feel new and clean despite its rustic charm.
My bed was a bottom bunk in a four-person, all-girls dorm. Lockers were provided in the room, which was itself locked off to all of the other hostel guests. Each bunk had a shelf with a power outlet and a reading light. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice of place to stay. Ok the shared showers could have used some extra hooks or an additional shelf on the dry side to set belongings on, but that was a minor inconvenience for such a great find.
Of course, the guests are what really make or break any hostel experience, and I met some lovely girls in my dorm room. I had been ready to be surrounded by young gap-year kids, out of the house for the first time, but the travelers in Malaysia surprised me in a very pleasant way. It seemed that Thailand was the destination of choice for first-time backpackers. Malaysia was an afterthought, and thus filled with well-seasoned travelers closer to my own age range. Many of the girls who shared my dorm were expats on vacation from their jobs abroad. One was a marketing guru from Boston, now working in Shanghai. One was a Dutch girl currently teaching English in Cambodia. I had somehow managed to find exactly the vibe I hadn’t dared hope for.
The 80’s Guesthouse also served a small breakfast every morning, which I wasn’t really bothered with given the endless options of cheap, excellent food in the city. By small, I mean cornflakes, toast, and two bowls of fruit. Those on a tight enough budget to appreciate the free meal were astounded by the presence of brown bread. I’ve never seen so much excitement for brown bread. Apparently it is a rare luxury in the world of hostels.
My stay at the 80’s Guesthouse was so lovely that I ended up extending to five nights instead of the four I had originally booked. Of course, the extension was only in part due to the hostel. The rest was because I found George Town to be the most marvelous little hidden gem of a city, and that is coming from someone who much prefers islands to cities. I found George Town to be the Asian equivalent to New Orleans’ French Quarter. And if you know how much I adore New Orleans, then you know that that statement does not come lightly.
The food was the stuff of legend, the historic buildings were rich with character, the locals were friendly and ready to tell you about their culture and colonial history, and the best activity was just wandering around the cobblestone streets all day. Instead of New Orleans’ music milieu*, George Town was home to a very happening street art scene.
Some of the street art is quite famous, and so we would go on Easter egg hunts around the city, in search of our favorite pieces we had already seen photographs of. Oh, it’s so much more than just the handful of artwork you see online though! For each piece you have already seen in a photograph, there are a dozen more waiting to be discovered down the most unsuspecting hidden alleyways. I’m getting ahead of myself though. The marvelous culture of George Town will have to wait. Next time!
*Word of the day: milieu (n): the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops : environment. (Merriam-Webster)
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