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The guy in that Chiang Mai cafe who told me to stop booking hostels and try couchsurfing instead. Saved me $600 in two months.
Was sitting next to this random Canadian dude at a coffeeshop in Chiang Mai last spring. He overheard me complaining about hostel prices going up. He goes 'dude just do couchsurfing, hostels are a scam for long term travelers.' I laughed it off thinking he was some kind of hippie. But after my 3rd week of paying $12 a night I caved. First host was a retired teacher with a spare room and a cat. Stayed 10 days for nothing. Just cooked dinner for her twice. Then a couple in their 30s let me crash for two weeks while they were away. By the time I left Southeast Asia I'd saved around $600 easy. Has anyone else had good luck with couchsurfing? Or bad experiences?
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charles9195mo ago
Hostels are a scam for long term travelers" - I lol'd at that part because I've definitely dropped way more than $12 a night on some hostels that were basically glorified bunk beds. But man, that cooking dinner for the host thing sounds like a bargain considering what you saved. I tried couchsurfing once in Budapest and my host tried to sell me on joining his multi-level marketing thing for three straight days. So your experience sounds way better than mine. Still, $600 is $600 and I'm kind of jealous now.
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jordanhall5mo ago
And honestly I think you're being too hard on hostels. Yeah some of them are dumpy but for solo travelers they're pretty much the only way you're gonna meet people without forcing yourself into random conversations at bars. I stayed in hostels all through Southeast Asia and met some of my best friends that way, people I still talk to years later. The social aspect alone is worth the premium over camping or whatever. Plus most of the good ones now have real kitchens and decent common areas, not just a bunch of bunk beds stacked in a room. Couchsurfing can be a total roll of the dice, I've had some weird experiences too but also some genuinely kind people who just wanted to show off their city. The MLM thing in Budapest sounds like a nightmare though, I'm sorry you had to deal with that.
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paulw634mo ago
@jordanhall makes a fair point about the social side of hostels. But nobody's mentioned the people who stay in them for weeks on end and treat common areas like their personal living rooms, leaving laundry all over the couches. Had a guy in Chiang Mai who practically set up camp with his laptop and snacks, took up three seats for hours each day.
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