Considering I did an excellent job with catching trains in Europe, I'm having an awful time with the transport in the UK. It's not that it's substandard and terrible here - it's just that I seem to have a running streak of issues.
First, there was the bus in Skye that only turned up when I was setting off with Hugh, who I hitched a ride with. Not only that, I had purchased a ticket online for the wrong day!
Second, I blindly followed my travel app, Tripit, with my train from Glasgow to Preston, and thought I'd be going on a train two hours earlier to the one I booked. As a result I turned up too early and spent two hours at the station.
Third, today, I accidentally and casually boarded an earlier train to Birmingham. It was only when it set off half an hour early that I realised. The ticket inspector wasn't too happy and told me off but thankfully, there was someone else who had made the same mistake sitting opposite me. Although I despise the rude way he spoke to me especially in comparison to the way he spoke to the other man, I'm glad he let me off and that my cheap ticket has not gone to waste!
Before I encountered my third transport mistake, I was going to blog about my awful night of sleep yesterday and hostels. Maybe I spoke too soon about my hostel experience. I still think Hoax has been the best but I had some inconsiderate dorm-mates yesterday.
The first checked in 15 minutes before 1AM, arrived in the room and switched the light on without taking the time into consideration. Being on the top bunk, it woke me up. Though it was switched off quite quickly, all I got was a hello and no sorry.
The second dorm-mate rolled in around 2AM or possibly even 3AM. She had checked in earlier in the night and locked her big roller-bag in a locker. When she came home she made a lot of noise taking her bag out of the locker, rolling it around on the wooden floor, opening it noisily to find her stuff for a shower (!) and bed, and trying to lock it inside again!
I've never stayed in a hostel prior to being on this trip but I don't think it's hard to stay in a hostel. Being around people constantly just requires consideration and courtesy, a lot of which is just pure common sense. Maybe it's true what they say though - common sense isn't so common!
My next quip is how do some kids end up screaming for what they want while others are quite quietly content with what they have? There are examples of both on this train!
