Picked a $12 hostel over a cheap hotel in Bangkok 10 years ago and never looked back

Back in 2014 I was planning a trip to Thailand and had to choose between a private room in a cheap hotel for $25 a night or a dorm bed in a hostel for $12. Went with the hostel because I was broke. Best decision. Met a guy at breakfast who told me about a bus to Chiang Mai that was half the price of the train. Saved like $40 on that alone. Plus the hostel had free toast and jam in the mornings. Hotels never give you that. Has anyone else had random hostel strangers give you a tip that saved you real money?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugow301mo ago

Met a guy in a hostel in Laos who showed me how to make pad thai on a camp stove.

xena_miller311mo ago

Hostels are honestly the reason I’ve kept traveling for as long as I have. That free toast and jam thing is real, I’ve survived entire days on hostel breakfasts and water. The random strangers who just hand you a piece of paper with a bus route scribbled on it or tell you which street stall has the best cheap curry, those people are gold. I had a guy in a hostel in Vietnam tell me not to book the Ha Giang loop through my hostel because the company they partner with overcharges and takes you to tourist trap villages. Took his advice, booked a different company, saved like $50 and had a way better experience. You never get that kind of insider knowledge from a hotel front desk, they just want you to use their taxi service.