I am very new with the experience with hostels and thanks to my German friend I have been able to experience the beauty of hostels throughout our Taiwan round trip. Due to the pandemic I have definitely noticed a decline in the occupancy of the hostels, however what I did see is the remanence of what travelers left off and the vibe was very positive. Let me show you what I mean.
I forgot to take a photo of the front door so I used what was on the web however it still looks exactly the same... small yet clean.
Edit : Above image was taken from easylifehostel.com when searched on Google and the link is as below.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipN6fz3Mza3atmz-3pe7HbcCZFX-Y5aGVv-YM7vn=w375-h249-k-no
As I entered I was greeted with a young man and he kindly explained to me where everything was and where my place to stay is located. What I did noticed is the absence of people... it was very quiet... however it had a vibe that it used to be a very fun place to be. I truly sometimes feel the effects of how Covid did to the tourism industry when I see empty spaces like this... this was actually pretty much through out my entire journey in Taiwan. Although you can see there is a lot of space for fun here. :)
Even a large kitchen area!!~~ I can imagine so many travelers get together and cook together for a large and fun meal in this hostel. I was impressed by the kitchen ware and space they had to offer.
Here was my bedroom shared with others... it was just me and my friend. Just the two of us.... wish there were more because I am very curious of others who visit places like here and wanted to know where they were heading to.
I was told that Yilan in Taiwan is famous for the hot springs and this hostel has offered a rock solid tub to enjoy the real hot springs.
The tub was large... it was very large because it took like 30 mins for the hot springs to fill up!! I imagined it would be something like 10 mins but even with a lot of water coming out it took some good time. My friend was able to take a full on body dip however for me it took too long to fill the tub back up so I just took a shower. hahahaha.
Another view of the room and the beds. The bathroom is where the hot springs tub was located.
As you can see here.... with the guitar.... I really felt that there was such a positive vibe in this atmosphere. You can feel it... you can like almost see it. Lots of room to chat and gather around and I can imagine everyone laughing and enjoying each others company.
I was walking around and on the table where people write down and leave some mark of their own presence I was correct. I looked at this sketch of someone who drew with a simple pen and note paper and it was that same area.... people sitting down and having a good time. Such a beautiful drawing when you are looking at the drawing and both being there at the same time.
There was something about this place that made it such a fun place to hang out with... I had my friend stand there so you guys can see it in scale and in perspective of how people sat and laid down.. chat... ect.
As you can see when you open the front door you are greeted with this wall and notes of many memories. It felt very youthful and full of energy... let me show you more examples of what was on the table.. it made me smile.
Some photos of travelers from the past that stayed here.
More drawings of the building as you can see on the bottom right corner.
There were many hand writings of people who left a positive mark in this hostel.
Food around the neighborhood was very good too~ This place you just pick what you want and they will cook it for you! I will blog this one on a different post since it is pretty unique and a yummy topic altogether.
This was a pretty funny one for me... since I am a designer myself I can tell whoever drew this had some serious OCD accuracy trying to line up the entry of the hostel with a ruler. hahahaha. Nevertheless it is great work. :)
I for one left a hand written mark in this place the next morning when we left to continue our journey. Both in English, Korean, with a bit of Chinese. I am still learning. :)
Alright!!~~~ It is time to move!!!!
What a beautiful morning to start to our next destination of... we dont know where... "just move north!!!" hahahaha.
Our next stop... somewhere north!
To be continued....