Hostel Free is the Way to Be

Yes, early on in my trip I was very pro-hostel. It is a great way to meet people, there are so many fun things to do through a hostel's services: sometimes breakfast is included in the very cheap room fee and so on. The sentiment begins to change when there are a few too many late night roommates who think it's a good idea to turn on all the lights and continue the night, well morning, at 5 am when everyone else is trying to sleep. Or when you realize that all the people you are constantly meeting you will never see or speak to again. Everything begins to feel entirely superficial. Or when you realize that everyone you are exposed to are mostly Australian and rarely local (in most cases, the hostels are even staffed by travelers who never want to leave). What exactly happens when all of these disenchantments begins to slowly creep up on you? You start to hate hostel and begin to want to end your trip early. But instead, you stick with it and begin to surf couches. At least, that's what happened in my case.

Let me tell you, this is the BEST decision anyone could ever make while traveling. Couchsurfing (couchsurfing.org) actually solves every problem I had with traveling. My hatred of the general mass of people found in hostels is eliminateed when you really only come home to the person, or few people, who live(s) in the apartment you're crashing in. Because the amount of people are limited, the connection you can form with that person is more concrete and you can potentially get back into contact with him/her because you inevitably have to exchange contact information. And they actually live in the city so they can offer information that you otherwise wouldn't have access to. The only downside, is that sometimes you have to go back to hostels because you can't find anyone that can host you in a reasonable location in the city you are visiting (ie. right now in Oxford).

London was the first time I couchsurfed. First, I was able to have a flashback to the high school days with Melissa when I crashed at her apartment my first two nights in London. It was fun to relive how absolutely insane I was in high school, and I get a personal tour of Parliament (along with some crazy stories of the MP she's interning with). The next three nights I crashed at an apartment owned by a Londoner who happens to be an alum of the University of Chicago. What a small world, eh? I got my own key and everything. So convienient. 

I spent the most amount of time in London so far--five nights versus the usual two, three or four. It was amazing (even though my top 2 are still Paris and Amsterdam). I went to some open air markets, had GREAT ethnic food, went to the Apsley House, Parliament, the Globe, the Tower of London, London Bridge, walked through Tate Modern, the British Museum and saw The King's Speech. AND I managed to get about 6 pages written for my THESIS. Mmmm productivity.

The British Museum actually blew my mind. That is by far the most amazing museum I have ever been in. Sorry, Louvre, but it's true. Too bad that the majority of its acquisitions were products of imperialism and really only remain there because Britain refuses to give them back. Actually, when I did the guided audio tour of the Parthenon sculptures, the concluding remarks spent a good five minutes rationalizing why they haven't been returned to Athens. Apparently, it is better for the world to be able to see the sculptures "in context" with the history that affected their creation and the resulting art that followed surrounding them. I may have been the only one laughing through the audio tour. Typical. That happened at Westminster too (thank you Jeremy Irons for leading me through the Abby).