My Love-Hate Relationship With Hostels

Fellow Bristolian and lovely editor of Bristolian Backpacker, Mitchell Labiak, shares his love-hate relationship with hostels.  Hostels are the bread and butter of backpacking. Staying in a hostel as opposed to a hotel is the difference between telling people you are “going travelling” and telling people you are “going on holiday”. At the best of times, they are cheap, friendly, and helpful places where you can meet other travellers, feel somewhat at home, and save money on your trip. And at the worst of times? To paraphrase Tolstoy, “All good hostels are alike; each shit hostel is shit in its own way.” …

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Don’t Panic: How to Deal with the Most Common Travelling Issues

*Collaborative Post With travelling comes the opportunity to slip up and make mistakes. It happens – and it happens often, with nearly every tourist running into an issue shared by thousands of others across the world. Fear not, as there are ways to avoid common problems, as outlined below. Overpacking One of the most common issues with travellers crops up before they’ve even left home. You need to be strategic with your packing. Otherwise, you could find yourself overloaded once you’re abroad, especially when travelling long-term. There’s nothing worse than having to lug a huge, heavy suitcase around. Remind yourself …

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Why I Love Sending Postcards

Anybody who knows me well will know how much I love postcards. So, you can imagine how sad I was to learn that the oldest UK Postcard company closing. Mitch understands that on all of our trips some of my time will be spent browsing and buying postcards. This is followed by finding a post office and learning how to say “stamps” in a new language. I love writing and sending postcards. Here’s why. Postcards are Personable When I post a status on Facebook, 559 people can read it. I am (effectively) talking to 559 at one time. Giving them …

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How I’ve Changed as a Traveller in 3 Years

It was over three years ago that I took my first solo flight to Istanbul to meet Mitch. Since then, I’ve taken many more solo flights and had the luxury and joy of travelling to many more countries. The way I travelled around Vietnam in 2014 and Europe in 2015 is very different to the way I travel now, in 2017. There are lots of reasons for this, primarily age, work, and country. Here are those little things that have added up to me changing along the way. I am Not a True Budget Traveller I’ve always defined myself as …

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My Love-Hate Relationship With Starbucks

A Starbucks in Guangzhou, China

Following on from my Love-Hate Relationship with Lonely Planet, the lovely Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian) has written about another thing we have a love-hate relationship with while travelling… Starbucks. The first time I went to Starbucks, I was 17 years old (it was one of those dates that wasn’t actually a date but I really wished it was a date) and I was told to order a chocolate coffee milkshake sort of thing. You know the one I mean. Anyway, I loved it (because I was 17 and my taste buds were about as sensitive as Donald Trump’s sense …

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“You’re Living Your Dream & This Shit Should Be Fun”

Ain’t nobody want to see you down in the dumps because you’re living your dream and this shit should be fun. The title of the blog post comes from a new Ed Sheeran song, Eraser. Granted, he’s talking about his life as a high-flying, global singer-songwriter. Alas, I am not. But the line is relatable and something I’ve been meaning to write about for a while: Living The Dream. We’ve met a lot of people on our travels who said they were so envious of our lifestyle. We’re “living the dream” they’ve said. Travelling and working combined is certainly a blessing, …

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