Today's hostels provide perfect accommodation for the penny-pinching traveler. You get to have a decent place with clean sheets and comfortable beds to crash for a few days for a fraction of what you'll pay in economy hotels. Unlike the hostels of yesteryear, you now have a wide range of options that do not include bugs and scorching heat.
However, sharing a room with several strangers is sometimes and unavoidable element among hostels even today. Of course, there are now many facilities that offer private en-suite rooms but, if you don't want to pay the price of privacy you have no choice but end up in a dorm room.
Sharing a room with several others give rise to a situation where observance of a set of Dos and Don'ts are mandatory. Most of these rules are supposed to come naturally by reason of civility and common sense. However, what should be common behavior appears to be not so common after all.
I've seen countless hostel rooms in my many years of travels and I have seen more than enough fights breaking out in those rooms. There are two most common and frequently recurring causes of these fights. These are - noise and smell.
To avoid getting caught in an ugly fight and ending up with a black eye or spending a night in jail, here are the most basic of good manners any hostel transient should observe when sharing a dorm room with others:
Respect resting and sleeping times. It should be remembered that people stay in hostels not to be entertained but to rest and sleep. So, if you happen to see someone trying to catch some sleep, please do not act as if you are the only one staying in the room. Blaring music, loud voices and unruly behavior should be avoided. This is especially obligatory in the wee hours of the morning if you arrive a little loaded and overly cheery!
Passing gas may be acceptable in private but never in the presence of ten other individuals in an air-conditioned room. The others may not notice the incident if it goes without a sound, but they deserve to be spared of the ensuing torturous smell. Avoid at all cost.
Never bring smelly food inside the room regardless of how delectable the aroma may seem to you. Strange cuisines may be a welcome cultural experience in the streets of a foreign city but never in the comfort of a hostel room.
If your clothes or shoes smell, have the decency to wash them or at least hide them in your bag. Do not display them for everyone to see and smell. Otherwise, do not work up a steam if someone mentions it to your face.
Finally, if you are catching an early flight the next day, please pack your things early in the evening. Don't wait for the clock to hit the 3 or 4 am mark before you start sorting through countless plastic bags and cause an annoying racket that will wake everybody up except the good-humored drunk who entered an hour earlier.
Sunee is author of this article on Hotels in Thailand. Find more information about Phuket Hotels here.
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