Sunday 14 February 2010

Hostel Crazy!

Well today I've been back at the Student Travel Association (STA) looking at accommodation for the first few nights when I arrive in new cities.

Through STA I've booked:

  • Three nights in Los Angeles (Hollywood area ... oh plus a pick-up from the airport)
  • One night in Nadi (Fiji)
  • Two nights in Auckland (New Zealand)
  • Two nights in Sidney (Australia)
  • Two nights in Tokyo (Japan)

All for the small sum of £202.00 ... pretty good value I think, for around £20.00 per night in all those (mostly capital) cities.

When I got home I also reserved:

  • Four nights in Toronto (Canada)
  • Two nights in Anchorage (Alaska)

For £7.70. Both of these hostels are 'Hostel International' (HI) so I got a discount; it's going to cost me around £15.00 per night in Toronto and £16.00 per night in Anchorage ... not bad at all.



That means that with my volunteer work in Cambodia (21 nights) and my Alaskan Wonder trip (14 nights) I have booked, or pre-booked, 51 nights accommodation ... which, considering one of my main aims is to keep my trip as open as possible, is quite enough.

However, when I spoke to STA today they did have a great deal on a hotel in Tokyo; the Shinjuku Washington Hotel looks stunning and, considering it's in one of the most expensive countries in the world (and it's in the capital of that country) you would expect it to cost the earth for a night. But at only £89.00 for a night I am really tempted to stay there before flying to Singapore ... but this is a whole day's budget (and abit more) blown on one night ... plus its only a hotel, and there are hundreds all over the world that are grand (basically I could do this another time) ... I will have to think about this.

Speaking of Japan I was going to book my 'Japanese rail pass' today but alas, I have to wait a maximum of three months before I visit the country to apply (so I will have to wait until August).

Well there's not alot left to do now; I need to take some photocopies of important documents but apart from that it's all plain sailing now ... he says.

2 comments:

  1. Hello! I saw your Jan 25 post on TravelPod about Japan and thought I would respond here since you might have been frustrated not getting any response at TP.
    It seems you are going to do Japan and I guess it will be for the 13 days you mentioned in your post. That should be fine to see a lot in Japan but I would recommend not trying to see too much. As for the language issue, you may encounter a few minor hassles but nothing that won't be possible to overcome.
    In terms of accommodation, I would look into the cheaper ryokan style places which are more traditional but usually quite nice as long as you don't mind sleeping on a padded mat/quilt on the floor. When I went, I think I found/ordered a guide of ryokan type (cheaper) accommodation from the Japan Travel Bureau/Agency.
    Also, I highly recommend trying an onsen (hot spring bath) at least once when you are there and if you head to a place like Beppu, and are the adventurous type, you can sample the Japanese pufferfish (fugu) which is famous/infamous for being deadly poisonous if prepared impropery. ;)
    Sounds like you have an awesome adventure upcoming! On a personal note, you may find that the unplanned aspects of your trip can also be the most interesting and fulfilling!

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  2. Aopaq,

    Thank you for all the above info ... really useful. I don't mind sleeping on the floor (did alot of camping when I was younger so I'm used to it) so I will try that; I also quite fancy staying in a pod hostel and at a religous venue.

    Your right about not seeing too much; it's getting the balance right. I want to see Toyko and Kyoto but I would also like to travel north as it seems not many people do that.

    Oh deffo on the hot spring ... where did you go?

    Oh and I'm missing the pufferfish ... I'm not that adventurous :). I can't wait for my trip to start ... the unplanned is certainly going to be a brilliant part of my trip (just like Budapest when I went to europe)I also hope to meet up with fellow travellers and go places I wouldn't have even thought off.

    Thank you

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