Yesterday was my last day at the Infiniti Party Hostel. You may ask, why am I staying at a Party hostel to begin with? Well, many hostels, and all hotels, seem boring frankly-just a place to lay your head. This place seemed fun and interesting on Hostelworld.com. It seemed like a place that definitely wouldn't be boring. Even the reviews said so. They said "If you are a light sleeper-this isn't the place for you", One said the staff was all on drugs. I wasn't sure about that. First, after 5 nights, what I found:
(1) The staircase to the hostel appears to be in an abandoned warehouse, and junk is piled on the side, such as an old tv and a piano with keys missing. Frequently, day-old have drunk cups of beer, dirty plastic spoons with ice cream spilled around it, and other junk is left here.
(2) Throughout the hostel, which includes the common area, rooms, kitchens, etc scattered around, are spent bottles and cans of all sorts of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. In addition, plates with half-eaten pizza from the day before can be found, old shells from watermelons, etc. The whole place reeks of beer.
(3) The rooms are tiny and stuffy. The "mattresses" on the beds are actually large pieces of foam. Graffiti is on the walls.
(4) The hostel is right next to the courtyard of one of the hottest clubs in Budapest-and thus music blares until 4:00 am every night.
(5) People play music and drink until morning. I like to take a jog around 6-7 am, and this is the only place I have been where others are up, because they haven't slept. I heard one person outside my room around 6:00 am wish her friends a good night. Night? Look up! It's not night-it's light out! I have gone to bed around 2-3 am, and at least once I have been the first in bed.
(4) Of course-the big one-I am twice the age of anyone else there-easily. There is nobody over 40 except for me. I don't think there is anyone over 30 except for me. I asked the desk clerk if I was the oldest person who ever stayed there. She asked her partner, and he said others have stayed there who we're older. Bullshit, I am the oldest. I am convinced of it.
Yet, the above I can take-and have no problem with. I can sleep soundly. As mentioned yesterday, one of my roommates was supposedly screwing a woman in his bed, and I guess he was so loud that others in the room we're complaining. I slept right through it.
What I can't take is that I have had three different rooms since I came here, as the first reservation was for three nights, and I added two subsequent nights afterward. Every time I changed rooms, I had to check out between 10-12, and check back in after 2:00. And this means for the afternoon I have to carry my passport and computer with me. My big case I can leave in their luggage room, but because a few of the people are reception (at least one) seem to be under the influence of something, I prefer to carry my valuables with me.
And they don't accept credit cards. When I tried to extend my reservation the other day, the person at the desk took my money-but I didn't think I needed to ask the appearing-to-be-somewhat-high desk clerk that I needed a receipt-so yesterday, she accused me of not paying. The amount in dispute was only 7 Euros, so I paid her (I am not sure how she arrived at that number-the price for a bed was 13 Euros).
So what I learned is that when giving money to someone on drugs, ask for a receipt.
Other then that, yesterday I went on a mediocre walking tour of the Jewish District of Budapest. The guide didn't seem well informed. (maybe she was on drugs too). I then took a nap, ate dinner near the hostel, and had some drinks with a guy I was taking to in the bar at the hostel. Actually, that brings me back to the one good point of the hostel. The others staying there are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. Maybe it is the esprit de corps of living amongst the filth, or the laid back atmosphere, but it is a fun place.
