Mr Plastic Bag Man & The Characters You Meet in Hostels.

"What a perfect idea! I'll wrap all my individual belongings in hundreds of plastic bags! Yes, this method will be so considerate to my sleeping room mates at 6am while I rummage through every single bag, meticulously packing and unpacking everything then doing it all over again just for shits and gigs."

I kid you not this has happened to me and I am sure everyone can recall their own versions of Mr Plastic Bag Man. Being woken to the rustling noise of plastic is like a knife in the ear, nothing is more infuriating and unless you are very ballsy most people will just lie there in a fit of rage. I take the huff and puff approach where I loudly toss and sigh and roll my eyes in the hopes the idiot will get the message. I always say to myself that next time I'll yell at the bastard and put them in their place. I have no doubt that somewhere down the track Mr P-B-M got his comeuppance and hopefully it came in the form of a black eye.

The characters you meet in hostels are an integral element to travelling. It is like a big lucky dip. You never know what people you will encounter. The beauty of it is a new friend could be just around the corner and you don't even know it yet. The downside is you may get stuck with an insufferable twit. My theory is you serve your time with the twit you will be rewarded with someone fun in the next hostel.

The most baffling character I ever met was a curious bloke called Ron. He was a Brit in his late 40's, had been living in hostels for almost three years and hung around everyone like a bad smell. He was overtly friendly and you could get stuck with his eccentric ramblings for literally hours. He had a penchant for hitting the 'discotheques' hardcore and picking up 'the babezzz'. I had no idea how he could afford this lifestyle and as I continued to bump into him around the Czech Republic I began to form many different theories. He was a mysterious guy who didn't give out too much personal information. He said he was quite ill and that was obvious in is off green complexion, bold head, hoarse cough and fragile frame. My conclusion was that he was living out the last leg of his life with his savings the way he wanted to - by travelling. But I'll never know the answer.

The loveliest people I ever met were two Canadian boys on our very first night in Europe. We were 18, had just done the twenty something hour commute and arrived in Prague with our hearts in our throat with nerves, excitement and no clue. As the three of us Aussie girls wandered curiously around the hostel pub we began having a friendly chat and drink with them and the rest is history. We instantly clicked and the next three days in Prague felt like three weeks as we explored the amazing city together. We remarked at how quickly we got to know each other in such a short time span and spent the next month of our trips tweaking our plans so that our paths could cross again (in some very beautiful locations too I might add - Vienna, Florence and Rome). The five of us were the best of friends and some of the happiest times of my life were spent with them.

It is these people that shape your experience. The Ron's, the Mr Plastic Bag Men and the life long friends. The magical environment of meeting people in hostels and the intoxicating effect of foreign cities means you get to know someone so much quicker and that special bond you can't quite put your finger on is timeless.

- BELLA