Mark Baker - Year 39
This is the first in a series of photos documenting the different beds I sleep in while I travel. It seems correct to start with the one that has helped me start these travels. My Boston bed. Thank you for the lodging Mike.
A typical Travelodge bed, I find them pretty comfortable. This one was at the Heathrow Terminal 5 Travelodge. A good nights sleep ready for the big adventures of travelling!
For the first four nights I slept at the Nevsky Group Aster Hotel which had an excellent location. I walked everywhere and saw most of the city. The bed was comfortable with 2 big pillows. My checkout time was midday but my train did not leave until 23:55. I asked to extend my checkout time. […]
At my second attempt of finding somewhere to stay in Moscow I really ‘nailed it’ picking ‘Godzilla Hostel’. It was secure, tidy, friendly and very close to metro a station and only a 20 min walk to the Red Square. The people I met there was pretty amazing, everybody having there own very interesting story […]
Leaving Moscow seems a very long time ago. 5 days on train with only a few 15-30 minutes stops each day can do that I guess. Add in to the equation that the train has no WIFI for passengers, there is internet on the train but only for the conductors, and you have a very […]
My was very comfy and I am pleased I went for the double and a high rated place on booking.com. Where I went wrong, and hopefully, for the last time is I booked a hotel when a hostel is better suited to travelling alone in my opinion. I still would highly recommend Zaya hotel in […]
This 29 hour trip from Ulan Bator to Beijing had much more variation than the 4 night journey from Moscow to Ulan Bator. The Scenery changed more often, as too did the wheels on the train as you can see from the photos above. The width of the railway track differ between Mongolia and China by only 10cm […]
I have really chilled and enjoyed my stay in Beijing. The Chinese Box Hostel is a great place to stay, made easier by the excellent english of the people who work on reception. They are also very knowledgable of the area. The thing I have liked most, once again, is the different people I have […]
I stayed at the Riverside Hostel for one night after a 10 hour trip from Beijing on a bullet train. This idea worked out much better for me than having to navigate the hour and half public bus journey to YangShuo. It truly was a riverside location and overlooked the main river in the city which […]
Stay in at Wada Hostel was great choice based on two from a very knowledgable traveller in Beijing. I really enjoyed my stay in the hostel and in particular YangShuo, especially after yesterdays excursion rock climbing I could have stayed there longer had I not made other plans. I can completely understand why it has […]
After staying in Yangshuo for 4 days I chose to head to Shanghai to do some volunteering. So although I loved my stay I had to leave to head back to Guilin on the bus. This journey was much less eventful than it the opposite was, mainly because I had a plan and now roughly […]
It was pouring down as I left the Guilin hostel at 6am on the Thursday morning to catch the train to Shanghai. It was the first time had to use me rain mac! On the recommendation of the hostel I found a taxi to take me the 40 minutes or so to Guilin North station, […]
After leaving the train I headed straight for the metro, once there I realised I did not know where to go because it was 6:30am and too early to go to the hostel. So I decided I would head to the Peoples Square and see what it looked like before too many people got up. Coming […]
For the first 4 nights in Shanghai I stayed in the Blue Mountain Youth Hostel. On the most part is was a good stay, the people there were OK the staff were helpful but not over the top helpful. It was just an OK hostel. It was let down badly by not having any wifi […]
I moved hostel whilst in Shanghai and this was at Chi Chen Hostel. It was really good hostel with very helpful and kind staff. Very clean and a great atmosphere. What made it better is that I met a fellow traveller called David and we explored parts of Shanghai together and had some really great […]
Finding a place to stay in Busan on booking.com was easy because the Welcome Busan Hostel had a 9.1 rating which is very high. I can understand why, the owner is friendly and helpful as to are the other members of staff. The facility is quite new, very clean and well maintained. It is located […]
The Mido Hostel is a really contemporary hostel with very happy and helpful staff. Mido is in a great location within Seogwipo that enabled me explore most of the city. My only downside to this visit is nothing to do with the hostel but more to do with my expectation of the island being smaller and […]
As I am sure you can guess from the photos above this was not my favourite hostel. I am really not sure how it got 8 out of 10 on the booking.com reviews. The photos on booking.com are the hostel at its newest and tidiest best. The hostel was untidy, uncared for and tatty. It […]
The Maru hostel was so much better than the first hostel I stayed in Seoul. It was not perfect, the owner and only person on reception did not appear until 11am and that was if you were lucky and the bathroom didn’t feel finished. Other than that this place had a relaxed feel with everyone […]
Since leaving the UK I have been doing quite a bit of reading and my interest in Zen led me to learn a little more about Taoism. Upon arriving in Korea I decided I would look for groups and training courses on topics I am interested in like the power of the mind, pain management […]
My biding memories of Korea will always be staying with Master Kim, The Temple Stay, the food with oval metal chopsticks and the modern architecture. My final night in Korea was spent at the zzzip guesthouse which I have to say is one the best I have stayed in. The Korean couple that own it, […]
Annes Hostel Yokozuna in the Ryogoku area of Tokyo which is also known as Sumo Town. Whilst I stayed there the Grand Tournament was on and I saw Sumo wrestlers wandering the street as well as fighting in the arena at the event. The hostel is very near to great subway and JR station to […]
Hotel Shin-Imamiya is a capsule style hotel and has great transport links around Osaka and Shinsekai is only a 5 minute walk away and once you have your bearing you can be in the Namba area on foot in 20mins or two quick stops on the subway. The hostel itself really depends on the people […]
This is possibly the coolest hotel I have ever stayed in. I love the design and flow of the hotel and the futuristic capsule in which guests sleep. The locker room and shower area: The Capsule area is just so cool!: My only gripe is that with all the design and consideration of the whole […]
The only night I could stay in the 9 hour hotel was the Friday night because it was fully booked after that. I booked up and took the last bed. I then had to find hostel for the other remaining nights and to my surprise there were none, so I treated myself to hotel (and […]
In Hiroshima I stayed at the Guest House Carpe Hiroshima Koi which was a nice place to stay for a few days. The owner was very helpful and a big baseball fan, his Hiroshima team was in a playoff promotion game the night I arrived and he was excited and hopeful. Unfortunatley they did not […]
The Sun White Hotel in Osaka was the only a hotel available by the time I came to booking accommodation, and I got the last room! It cost £53 a night which is 5 times more than I have been paying for a bed for night in Japan, So that has come as a shock. […]
I staying Daikoku Hostel in Osaka for 5 days to give me time to prepare for my friend visiting. This hostel was really nice and I would highly recommend it because it was so clean, the owner was so helpful and the bed were comfortable. Its location to the main site in Osaka is great […]
The apartment in Osaka was really great for Ben, Devon and I to stay in. Everything felt new and the washing machine came in very useful with a 1 year old too. Its location was walking distance to most attractions including Shin-Sai Bashi and Shinsekai. This apartment is great for 2 adults and a child […]
With Ben and Devon flying out from Osaka at 11:35pm on the 1st November and me catching a flight at 9:55am the next morning it made sense for me to stay in hotel near the Kansai airport. When we arrived at the Rinku Town stop next to the hotel and one 5min stop from the […]
Today I caught my 4 hour flight from a rainy Osaka to a sunny and very warm Manila in the Philippines. This is because I crossed the equator in to summertime in the southern hemispere. Upon arriving in Manila I caught a taxi to my DG Budget Hotel which was a complete contrast to the […]
My room in Boracay was not the best, however it served the purpose and the aircon was really much appreciated. The shower was cold, and I am looking forward to a warm one, but because it was so hot outside the water was never really freezing. The toilet did not flush, but I sorted that […]
This bed at the Red Planet was really comfortable and it was really nice room and good hotel in the center of Manila and close to the Mall of Area and Bay Area.
In Vancouver I stayed in a great place called Hostelling International Downtown. To stay I had to pay for a 3 month membership, which still meant the Hostel was cheap. This hostel is very sociable and most definitely one of the best I have stayed in. It has a games room, a TV room, a […]
Yesterday I arrived in a very cold Jasper. Apparently it is -17 degrees outside at the moment. The journey from Vancouver to Jasper took 20 hours and as you can see from the photos the views were pretty amazing. The trains in Canada have a Sky Carriage which lets you look out over the top […]
My second Hostelling International hostel, Hi Jasper, was equally as good as the first but a little different. It did not include breakfast, but the facilities were very good, except they did not have a games room. However they did have the most amazing views. The hostel was 8km from the main town centre so […]
This train journey was amazing! It is definitely one of the best experiences I have had on my travels. There was lots of interesting people to talk to and the train and views were great. The food was really nice too, I had a three course meal each night. One passenger was telling me how […]
This is the third Hostelling International Hostel I have stayed at in Canada and it is OK but by no means the best. The atmosphere is not quite right and the bedroom smells a bit. I did get breakfast and the facilities are OK, although they do charge nearly twice as much for the laundry […]
Because there was a snorer in the dorm room I had in Toronto, I felt a private room and the next hostel was the correct way to go. So I paid a little extra and stayed in my own room. I realised how much walking I had done the previous few days and after seeing […]
I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Toronto for some creature comforts, it was everything you would expect from this brand of hotel. I would stay here again.
My bed was really comfortable at the Hostelling International Ottawa Jail. The breakfast was a help yourself variety and very nice too. At 11am each morning there is tour of the the old jail which is very interesting and shares some mystical, spooky and gory stories.
Another Hi Hostel and another great breakfast and a bed that is comfy. The only downside was the noisy guests in the same dorm room in the morning who were talking rather loudly.
Another HI hostel! This one was Ok, the bed was comfortable but no complimentary breakfast with bed I booked which I though was rubbish. I think there should be a Hostelling International standard for a consistency of experience. I can’t really grumble when you consider the room cost me $17 (£8.5) for the night, like […]