In a Hostel Nation, You Want to Stay at a Nice Backpackers...

Hotels, scientists agree, are a waste of money and often hazardous to your health (citation forthcoming).  They are also just not very fun!  When traveling for pleasure, who wants to be confined to a darkened, soul-sucking chamber with little home comfort and less personality?  Well, I suppose johns, criminals, and anti-social types might.  But the rest of us might be looking for something a bit more authentic when we are on the road.  Perhaps a place to meet other travelers or like-minded people, where comfort is not measured by how close the TV is to your bed, but rather how close the bar, the beach, the music, or the sky are. 

Throughout the world (as far as I know) low budget travel accomodations for all ages are known as hostels.  In Mexico, they were also called hospedajes.  In South Africa, they are called, perhaps most appropriately, "backpackers."  In fact, the name "hostel" is reserved for homes for local young men, which I'm sure serve a community purpose but at the same time are potentially dodgy.  One thing that makes travel in SA so easy is the plethora of backpackers throughout the country, and the professionalism that almost all of them display.  One might also call it an art form, because these places are typically lined with cool decorations, continuously stocked with booze, and never cease to pull off a casual, yet funky sort of comfort.  The staff usually include the same crew of motleys:  a handful of 20-something SA whites performing the admin and PR, a few local sissies and mamas to help cook and clean, and a dog or two or three with whom to play a variety of games and other dog/human cooperative activities.

So on average for about $18/night (which is actually not very cheap compared to other continents), you can sleep in a bed, eat, mingle, party, and relax.  If you have a tent, you can often do it for $12.  You can also be put in situations to spend more money, like on big dinners they might offer (always good) or day trips into the local nature or communities. 

It should be noted that, since these costs can still add up, it certainly "pays" to find other ways to stay.  I already talked about WWOOFing in an earlier post; in future entries I will share a couple other ideas up my sleeve.

That said, I had some of the best times and met some of the most fun people of all my trip in these backpackers.  I also made contacts that would give direction to many future ventures.  In fact, the networking (or just the shared drinks and laughs) is what you are really paying for in these places, and I can't say it's not been worth it.  It's hard to convey such intangibles in pictures, but the images below still give you an idea of the vibes of some of the backpackers at which I crashed.

The backyard at Hermanus backpackers.  Many places had pools.  Nice touch.

You can do great white shark cage diving in Hermanus (day trip!).  I thought standing near this mural was more humane.

The Hermanus BPers bar.  My first exposure to SA pool, which is mini-pool, and has very strange rules. 

A crew of folks about to have dinner in Hermanus.

The braai from the first night in Hermanus--salad, steak, ostrich vos (sausage thing), squash, and garlic bread.  Not too shabby!

The Backpackers in Jeffrey's Bay, called Ubuntu.  The self serve bar and the pool table just behind the couch.

Staff chicks set to braai.  Very very funny girls :)

Mor vos and some millies (corn cobs) to cook!



Coffee Bay Backpackers, perhaps one of the most infamous and most crashed places in SA!



Another awesome braai at Coffee Bay.

Some local entertainment.  Eastern Cape culture at it's finest.

Western culture at it's finest.



The bar scene at Coffee Bay during a pool/drinking tournament.  That's Kate lining up her shot.

Whaaaaaa...?  You can't always find a backpacker.  Sometimes it's just B&B's, which outnumber actually people in SA about 3 to 1.  This lady and her husband were a pair of very hospitable alcoholics in Saldahna Bay, West Coast.

 

For another U-Turn, I spent 2 nights camping outside of a nice family's hut in Lesotho.  This is basically what the whole country looked like, which is not a bad way for a country to look.  While there was no real set cost, I paid 100 Rand total for 2 nights and food (about $15).



Traditional meal of millie pap, egg, and heavily salted spinach.  Please eat with your hands.



A nice Lesotho breakfast for me and my friend of tea and corn muffins.  Everything is made of corn here.

The bar at the premier BPers in the northern Drakensburg mountains, called Ampitheatre.  Often the locals would come hang out since it was the only proper bar in town.

Some Germans doing what they do best.

The house dog, who was a sweet chap.  I was very lucky to have at least one dog in nearly every place I stayed.