Now I've found the reality, fortunately quite different. Well aside from the drunken antics, that one is fairly accurate... I'm a little in awe actually of those I've seen be out all night, come back about 6/7 in the morning, have brekkie, then continue drinking ready to go out again the next night! Me, I'm more of a get in before it's light out, sleep, hopefully not have a hangover then take it easy the next night. Maybe this makes me a bit of a pansy, but who cares.
I opted to stay in the all girls dorm whilst I'm here, because let's face it....
It's been pretty good in the girl's dorm, much less stress when you're getting dressed in the morning, no-one snores (though the dutch girl on the bottom bunk does occasionally talk in her sleep) and there's usually a hair dryer/spray/clips etc that you can borrow when yours end up going for a stroll. Now I'm not saying life is perfect, there's a hole in one wall where the fixed a leak in the showers next door and haven't yet fixed it, but the room and bedding are clean. We're on bunk beds, and it's the general consensus that the bottom bunks are best as people tend to tie sheets around them and make them into a little den, but I haven't found the top bunk too awful. Though our bed doesn't have a ladder so a little clambering is involved! It's also the squeakiest bed in the dorm, but as I'm the one making the squeaks it doesn't really bother me.
As I'm travelling solo, by staying in a hostel I've been able to make some friends, lovely folk that I can go to the beach with, chill out watching movies with, cook with and have some great nights out with. A lot of people are in the same boat (travelling on their own) and when I first got here I was a little daunted because everyone looked like they had known each other for ages and were chatting away, but once you make the effort to join in it's clear that some people have only just met, and so immediately I felt welcome.
Now for nights out, the hostel has a rough plan for events every night. Sometimes this is just movie night with free hot chocolate, or heading out for the "best pizza in Sydney" (it is pretty good actually), but there are some more messy nights out. On my first night out I found myself at a paint party and came home covered in pink paint, there has also been a Halloween night out, trips to see fireworks, specific nights in different pubs/clubs where our hostel entertainment managers wrangle us a free drink or two. In some ways it's a little like being back at uni, and though it could be easy to spend a fortune on drinks (things are a wee bit expensive here) if you plan your free drinks right and have soft drinks/water then you can save some pennies, avoid nasty hangovers and still have a great time.
Overall I would recommend the hostel experience, and if you're in Sydney then check out the Kings Cross Backpackers. There's a little renovation work going on at the moment, but it's a clean, friendly hostel and there's free brekkie and unlimited free tea...what more do you want!!
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