how i made my hostel bunk feel like home
After ten years of traveling, you’d think I’d be used to hostel life, but honestly, I still struggle with sharing a room with seven strangers. Last night in Far North Queensland, I spent half an hour trying to block out the glaring white ceiling light and the endless rustling of snack bags. I finally snapped and decided to turn my bunk into my own little den.
Here’s what I did: I bought two towels from the nearest supermarket (the only ones left were neon green, so now my bed looks like a frog habitat). I clipped them up with hair clips to make a makeshift curtain. Suddenly, I had privacy! But here’s the kicker: I looked around and realized only one other person had done something similar. The rest were just complaining about the lack of curtains. Why don’t hostels just provide them? It’s not like it’s rocket science.
For entertainment, I rigged my tablet to a gooseneck mount and clamped it to the bunk. Now I can watch Netflix or YouTube hands-free, but the real challenge is keeping the Wi-Fi from dropping every ten minutes. Does anyone else have issues with hostel Wi-Fi being so spotty you can barely load a video? I swear, it’s like a rite of passage.
Lighting is another headache. The main light is so harsh it feels like I’m being interrogated. I got a cheap USB lamp and set it to a warm orange glow, which makes my little space feel like sunset. Why do hostels insist on those blinding white bulbs? It’s like they want us to stay awake all night.
And snacks—don’t get me started. I learned the hard way that opening a bag of chips at midnight is basically asking for dirty looks. Now I stick to bananas and chocolate, but I miss crunchy snacks. Anyone else sneak snacks and hope nobody notices?
The pillow situation is a joke. There’s never enough. I started rolling up my jacket under the pillow for extra support. It’s not perfect, but it beats waking up with a stiff neck. Why can’t hostels just give us two pillows?
I’d love to hear if anyone else has figured out ways to make hostel bunks more comfortable, or if you’ve run into the same annoyances. Maybe I’m just getting picky after all these years, but I refuse to believe this is as good as it gets.
#hostellife #travelhacks #bunkbedstruggles #Travel
