Hostel World

Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah 

 

Alright after the first night's wrong hotel debacle and the second night spent getting stung by a mosquito and listening to drunken Iranian dudes stumble around a shitty hostel dorm, I was ready for something a bit easier. 

So while I was awake all night at the hostel from hell, I did some research on a good social hostel to spend my next few nights. Looking at reviews on hostel world and google always tends to be an exercise in futility, they often have friends fill them out or pressure the good clients to leave the good reviews, so my strategy is to look at the bad reviews and figure out why they didn't like it. Sometimes you can tell if the client just wanted a fancy hotel and doesn't quite understand the whole hostel experience. Really I'm only in it for the social aspect, if the rooms are even serviceable I'm cool with it. 

Found one that had a cool looking lounge and offered beer pong, kareoke and pub crawls. Got three nights and took the train to the "old city," where the Cheers Lighthouse hostel lay hidden among a sea of boutique hotels and little bars and restaurants. 

Walking to find this place from the train brought me right through the historic district of Sultanahmet. Getting lost in this area is unreal. Every single step you take is steeped in the past, and you can feel the pulse of the souls that walked the steps before you. 

The train system in Istanbul puts Calgary to shame.

Fishermen off the bridge always

A pedestrian picture of a pedestrian park. 

 

I arrived in the Hostel where I met the bartender, who was from Paris originally, and the event planner from Albania originally. I dumped my bags in my room and went out for the day. I was finally ready to start my trip. 

A view of the Bosphorus shipyard from the balcony. 

 

Home for about 5 days.

 

 

 

 Man, you meet some of the coolest people in these types of hostels. The week I was staying I felt like I hit the jackpot. We had Indonesians, Dutch, Egyptians, Americans, a crazy Irish dude, Italians, Spanish, Colombian, and Brazilians. 

 

I did the pub crawl one night, that was pretty wild. I have my comments about the drinking and "clubbing" culture that I will save for another post. 

 

We had a belly dancer in one night. That was also interesting. Had an awesome time. The beer was too expensive though but that's Istanbul in general I think, stupid government.