Downs Motel Toowoomba, Australia Sept 2004

This is Downs Motel at Toowoomba. It's one of the most reasonable rate that we can find in this small town during that time. Toowoomba is in Queensland, Brisbane and this motel is close to the University of Southern Queensland. The rate is not inclusive of breakfast. They can deliver the breakfast to your room or you can have it in their dining hall. The motel is family owned and the breakfast is also home cooked. Hmm, delicious....

This is the side of the hostel where we have to pass by to our room. On the right is the location for all the rooms. There is a large parking area and the whole area is quite comfy.

That's our room, Room 9. Along the corridors there are many flowers too. By the way, Toowoomba is known as the city of flowers and there are always flowers around you especially during spring. The room is quite basic, but comes with an attached bathroom.

Brisbane Backpackers Resort, Australia Sept 2004

Brisbane Backpacker Resort. This is our overnight stay before we head to Tangalooma Resort the following morning. The hostel is just ok. Can't remember much except that our room did have an attached bathroom and a balcony. The good thing is, this hostel provides free transfer. Upon arrival at the Brisbane Transit Center, just give them a call and they will come and pick you up. They also send us back to Brisbane Transit Center the next morning. It was quite convenient for us as we do not have to worry about the transfer and we only need a place to rest that night.

YHA Sydney, Australia Sept 2004

YHA Sydney is actually quite a funky hostel. We stayed one night at this hostel and thought that this place is quite central and within walking distance to Paddy Market and The Rock. I can't remember much about this hostel as it was so many years ago but I do know that I do not have any complains about this hostel. The hostel do arrange for shuttle service to the airport and I thought that was quite convenient. It is quite expensive staying here but I do enjoy it.

Waikiki Beachside Hostel, Honolulu August 2007

This is Waikiki Beachside Hostel in Honolulu. To get here directly, you can take the direct shuttle from the airport to the hostel. Just pay them a couple dollars, about US$8.

Sad sad sad...this hostel does not have a lift but their cafeteria is quite big and is not in the building. Since Honolulu is so hot, I find it quite uncomfortable to sit around under the hot sun, without the air-con.

There are two different floors, one for the ladies and another for the men. There is an in-room telephone for free local calls. That's the plus point. Also, there is a TV in the room. The washroom/bathroom is quite dirty and messy to me. I don't really feel comfortable staying there. On the first night, one of the girls came back drunk. She stepped in and suddenly we heard a loud noise. She fell straight on the floor and the other two room mates have to carry her on to the bed. For me, I just continue to sleep...hehe

I actually checked out the next day. I was fortunate to have a friend there and I checked into his house instead. One caucasion girl saw me with the luggage as I was about to carry it down the staircase when I checked out and she offered to help. She didnt even wait for me to agree and she just grab my luggage and bring it down for me. I was of course very thankful to her but then I was also wondering if I am really that small and weak looking?

Hostelling International Hostel, Vancouver Sept 2006

There are a few Hostelling International hostels in Vancouver. This is HI Central, located at Granville Road. You can reach the hostel by taking the Airport Bus with a few minutes walk. It's quite easy to find the way to the hostel.

The hostel also provides free breakfast but I didn't managed to try out the breakfast as I had to leave early every morning for my local tour. In fact I didn't really get to enjoy the hostel stay as I leave early in the morning and only came back late at night.

The room is ok, enough space for the luggage on the floor and walking around. The hostel is within walking distance to Gastown. The local bus operators such as Vancouver Sightseeing and Grayline picked me up from the hostel for the daily tour.

I would recommend this place if you are looking for a hostel in Vancouver due to its central location.

Astor Victoria, London Sept 2007

There are two directions to Astor Vistoria Hostel. One and the easiest is from Pimlico Station and the other is through Victoria Station. On the day of my arrival, the Pimlico Station was closed for some renovation. I made a mistake earlier of not looking at the announcement on the Metro Station website. Apparently, the Pimlico Station will be closed on weekends for a few months for some upgrading work. So I had to stop at Victoria Station instead. The direction to the hostel from Victoria Station is not very clear and easy to find. I was dragging my luggage around looking for the hostel but could not find the location even though I was very sure that I did not missed any corners. In the end I walked into the police station to seek help but was still unable to find the hostel. After a long walk, and fortunately it was a hot sunny Sunday afternoon, I managed to find the hostel. Again, this place is a little isolated. The buildings looked the same but most of them are hostels or hotels. One stranger noticed my confused look and offered help. Apparently, the name of the street was changed some time ago but it was not updated on the signboard. After a short while, I finally found the Astor Victoria with his help.

The hostel itself was quite beautifully decorated. Again, there was no lift but that is just a small problem to me. What I want is security, convenience and clean premises.

That's my room. There is inroom locker, hooks for hanging clothes and even a tiny bathroom. No one bathe in the room except me, out of curiosity I tried and I wet the carpet a little. There was no hook in the bathroom so I had to hang my clothes and towels on the door knob outside the bathroom door. It was very inconvenient and when I opened the door to take my clothes and towel, I would wet the carpet. The bathroom comes with heater so it is not too bad but the toiletries would need to stay on the floor. No wonder everyone else bathe outside the room. The common washroom and bathrooms are quite clean. The room is quite comfy to me. There is also a basin near the window. The window in the room is very big and at night I used to buy prepack Asian food from the sundry shop nearby and eat next to the window under the cool breezy air.

That's the kitchen. Breakfast is pathetic. There is only coffee/tea/milk and some bread and jams. After being "spoilt" at Jacques Brel Hostel in Brussel, I tend to have higher expectations of the breakfast at other hostels. However, usually the free breakfast in hostels are as simple as this....just some coffee/tea/milk, bread/jams and maybe cereals. So this is actually the stardard breakfast provided everywhere else.

It was even more difficult to find the hostel after dark. I was very lost at night and everywhere looks about the same to me. The area was again quiet and even with the map, I had problems looking for the hostel. It usually takes me about 1 hour to find my way home from the station even when I thought I has memorized the directions. But when Pimlico Station was opened again during the weekdays, I had no problem finding the hostel. It suddenly became very convenient.

On the last day, I checked out about 7.30am in the morning but I left my luggage at the storage area. As you can see, it's kept at your own expense. Can you see my red luggage? I went walking in the London city and went back to the hostel to collect my luggage at about 4.30pm before I took the train to the Airport. When I reached the hostel, the luggage room was locked and when I asked for the key from the reception, they just gave the key to me. Anyway, even though I've heard of people's luggage being stolen, I don't really think anyone would steal a person's luggage. What's there in it? Dirty old smelly clothes....unless I'm wrong about this.

This photo is taken by a Korean for me. She just checked in the day I checked out and we happened to leave the hostel at the same time in the morning. Well, to sum it up, this location is ideal if only Pimlico station is open. Otherwise, I do not think I want to stay here again.

Journey Waterloo Hostel, London Sept 2007

I would describe Journey Waterloo hostel as very cute. It is near to Lambeth North Station, which is walking distance to the hostel and is one stop away from the Waterloo Station where you take the Eurostar to Europe. Anyway, the Eurostar station should have shifted by now to another place in the city. Just walk straight across the Lambeth North Station for about 10-15 minutes and you would reach the hostel. The area is very quiet though and at first I thought I was lost because it doesn't look like there is a hostel in that area. There are not many people walking in the small street in that area.

The hostel looks like an English cottage to me from the outside and the walls inside are printed with footprints. There are no keys or cards given and access to the hostel and rooms is by password. When you reached, you need to ring the bell and the reception will open the door.

There is no lift in the hostel which is a setback. There are only two floors. I stayed here for a night only during my transit from London to Brussels the next morning. I chose this location as it was just a station away from Waterloo then...and I do not have to rush to the Waterloo station the next day since I have already collected my Eurostar ticket the evening when I arrived.

There are internet in the lobby but it cost 1.75 pounds per minute.

This is the corridor to my room. There is no attached bathroom or washroom. Both are for common use and is located along the corridor. As you can see, everything is so small and squeezed. There is an iron provided for common use in the corridor. Breakfast is also provided but I did not have a chance to enjoy it as I have to leave early for my train to Brussels.

I was lucky to stay here for only a night. I had a room mate from China with her mum who is here to attend her convocation. She snores so loudly the whole night and I didn't really have a good rest that night. She not only snores but she also makes funny noises when she sleeps. Gosh! I wonder how the rest of my room mates slept that night. That's the disadvantage of sleeping with others in a dorm. If you do not mind paying extras, you can always have a room to yourself or especially when you are travelling with friends.

The staffs here are very friendly. Personally I do not think I will be back at this hostel but I would like to try out other hostels for different experience.

Jacques Brel Hostel, Brussel Sept 2007

This is Jacques Brel Hostel in Brussel City. Once you arrive at the Eurostar station, buy a metro (their lrt/mrt) ticket to Madou Station. The hostel is right behind Madou Station, about 5-7 minutes walk. Quite a convenient location as the mini market is also around the corner. There is also a 3 storey Express Supermarket nearby, about 10 minutes walk, that sells a variety of drinks and pre-pack food at reasonable price e.g. mineral water cost 0.54 euros. To get to the Express Supermarket, turn left from the hostel's entrance. At the roundabout, walk towards the right and turn to the right on the second right lane. Go straight down the road till the corner. Turn left towards the main road. The supermarket is opposite the main road on the right corner.

From Madou Station, walk towards the back to the building behind, then turn right. You will see a roundabout with a green statue. The hostel is right at the corner. It's a white colour building and you won't missed it.

People in Brussel don't really speak English. It's difficult to find someone on the road who speaks English and can direct the way. It is better to get your facts right before you travel there independently.

The hostel has a beautiful, large open area outside the lobby as the picture above. It's a good place to hang out. At night, the entrance is via the 'bar'/'restaurant'. The reception close at about 7pm in the evening and the check-in, in/out to the hostel is through the bar/restaurant. Food, drinks, beers are available at the bar/restaurant and free internet access is also available at the bar. Unfortunately, they only have two computer terminals and it is not easy to wait for your turn to use it. The bar is opened from 7pm - 1am. A plate of spaghetti costs 6 euros.

The luggage room is underground. You need your room card access to enter the luggage room. Bring along a padlock. There is also a lift in the hostel so you don't need to worry about carrying your lugggage upstairs.

That's the lobby of the hostel. It's spacious and has a coffee machine as well. Cost 1 euro for hot water, 0.70 euro for coffee/hot chocolate. The wordings on the machine is not in English. French, I suppose and I have some problems trying to buy my drinks from the machine. Fortunately there were some young kids playing ping pong there and I had to stop them from the game for help :-). They translated the words on the coffee machine to English for me and for the next few days I had to memorize the foreign language and the combination of the words on the machine to buy my same hot chocolate without milk and little sugar.

That's the lobby outside the room. Isn't it spacious? There is a balcony outside the large window and I see people hanging outside chatting or smoking sometimes. The common washroom is around the corridor, but not to worry, there is an attached bathroom in the room. The lift is also around the corner.

That's my room. When you stay at hostel, you always need to bring along some padlocks to lock your cupboards. The red door is the entrance. It is a six bed dorm and costs 16 euros per night. My room mates came from everywhere. They greet each other in foreign language so I ignored them most of the time because when I greeted them back in English, they don't seem to understand me. There was a girl from Poland who speaks English and she is the only one that I talked to. However, she got herself confused at times and she spoke to me in another language and to another girl in English instead and we were looking at her like....err, I don't understand what you are saying...haha...that's the fun thing about staying in hostels. You meet people from all over the world and we try to live together and understand each other. I met a Japanese girl on the morning when I was checking out from the room but it was just a hi and bye and enjoy your holiday thing.....

This is the bathroom in my room. You can leave the bathroom door open and just close the shower curtain when you bathe so that others can use the basins and mirror but I usually lock the bathroom door so that I have the whole room to myself when I bathe...haha...anyway, I am always back in my room by around 8pm or 9pm and the rest will be back much later so I have not inconvenienced anyone.

The cafeteria is nicely decorated and spacious too. This hostel provides the best breakfast that I ever had in any other hostel. There are hard boiled eggs, apples, ham, different types of bread and jams, few types of cereals, cheese, a few types of coffees, teas, drinking water and even orange juice. I had a good breakfast every morning as I need lots of energy to walk in the city. Sometimes I brought along one apple and one hard boiled egg for my dinner. That's how I save when I travel...not everyone can follow what I do unless you are a small eater like me.

If I ever go back to Brussels, I will stay here again. The tour bus even comes to the hostel to pick me when I signed up for the local tour and I think this is a very valued for money hostel.