during our previous trips to SE Asia, Africa, the middle east as well as Europe, we always stayed in a personal double room. There were a few reasons for this, the most evident one being that backpacking couples requirement their privacy (for cuddling, arguing, as well as other things…) The other reasons being that we like to have our valuables locked away safely in our own space as well as we don’t want to be disturbed by people snoring, turning lights on in the middle of the night as well as getting up early!

A great personal space in South Africa – nobody around to disturb us except for monkeys in the jungle
We’ve always stayed in hostels, however select the personal space instead of a dorm bed.

We tried out a dorm space two times on our previous travels, when in Borneo, Malaysia as well as when in Mozambique, (only since whatever else was completely booked) as well as we hated every moment of it! We had visions of dirty, smelly dorm spaces with rock difficult beds…and we were right. There were about 20 people in the room, bags as well as clothes littered the ground as well as hung over each bunk-bed. people were walking around in their teeny-tiny underwear, it smelled like a locker space as well as people were inspecting in at 3:00am as well as being truly loud.

No one likes a smelly, filthy dorm room
From that moment on, we vowed never to go in a dorm space again.

But…

This trip has made us accept the dorm space with open arms!

In Mongolia, we did a trip to the Gobi Desert as well as 6 of us stayed in one ger camping tent as well as it [turned out to be] great. In Ulan Bator, there aren’t truly any type of personal rooms. Basically, the spaces in people’s apartments have been turned into dorm spaces for backpackers. The beds are truly comfy as well as clean, there are only 8 beds in a space (maximum), it doesn’t odor as well as the shared bathrooms are spotless!

The shared bathrooms are truly clean in this part of the world
The exact same goes for our time spent in Russia. We were in a dorm space that only had 4 beds, it was silent, extremely clean as well as the other backpackers were truly respectful. The second dorm we were in had 7 beds, all of which were full, as well as the people were truly quiet, utilized their headlamp at night to browse with their bags as well as seemed to tippy-toe around the room. There was even a privacy curtain that might be pulled across the bottom bed! So awesome.

A great quiet, comfortable, 4 bed dorm space in Russia
Besides the truth that the spaces are truly clean as well as it’s a great environment to be in, the expense is much, much more affordable for a dorm than for a personal space in this area of the world. In Ulan Bator, the expense of 2 dorm beds was $12, while a double space was $30. That $18 we saved per night truly added up as well as assisted out our budget plan for Mongolia. While travelling in SE Asia, the expense of a personal space wasn’t much a lot more than the expense of 2 beds in a dorm room.

Why are the dorms cleaner, quieter as well as much better in this part of the world?

We believe it’s since of the kinds of travellers.

SE Asia, South America, central America, Australia as well as Europe are hotspots for space year trainees as well as younger travellers…and are understood for being locations to party! Which is fine, however being in a dorm isn’t precisely all that satisfying for a couple. From what we’ve seen (and heard) the beds aren’t great, the spaces are type of grubby as well as things can rather quickly get stolen.

We wouldn’t depend on any type of of these crazy, partying hooligans around our valuables…
The travellers we’ve satisfied so far have been a a lot more mature crowd. everybody seems to be right here for trekking, hiking, culture as well as history as well as the age demographic is about 25-50. Mongolia as well as central Asia don’t precisely shriek “beach party”.

The owners are likewise always around. They either sleep in a dorm bed as well, online in the apartment or condo ideal next door, or are hanging out in the kitchen area during the day.

One of the excellent things about these hostels is the shared kitchen
Of program we don’t always stay in dorm rooms, however considering that there aren’t lots of choices for personal rooms, we’ve made a decision to be a lot more open-minded as well as have had positive experiences so far!

What do you think? have you stayed in a dorm room? What was your experience like? tell us below.

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