New York, New York-- Hostel Takeover

New York makes me tingle. I love the smells (hot bagels, exhaust, expensive perfume, fishy markets, crispy Peking duck, even the moldy pee of the subway, believe it or not). The sights (and sites) from uptown to down; the fantastic people watching; randomly overheard conversations on the train-- all of NYC is a feast for the senses. Her attached price tag, however, doesn't feel so nice, less of a tingle and more like a punch in the nose. In a city where a bottled water is $3-4; a deli sandwich easily $12 and a two-star hotel begins at $150, it's hard, in these strict economic times, to imagine jaunting off to the Big Apple for a quick weekend getaway. But I did just that recently and did it all for under $200.

The first and most important aspect of staying in the city is finding safe, clean and affordable accommodations. Sure you can break the bank and hunker down at a 2 or 3 star semi-skanky Days Inn in China Town or Times Square for under $200 and hope that your matress hasn't been hemmorraged on or that the slightly-human shaped brown stain on the floor is the result of an enormous coffee spill and not some unspeakable drama. But why would you when there's a plethora 0f fantastic hostels dotting the city from Battery Park and the Financial District to Harlem. Unfortunately, I've found that hostels have a short list of negative connotations for the adult traveler, most of them unfounded:

1. Only young'ns go there (or the very old, if its an Elder Hostel)

2. They're underfunded, undercleaned, over-crowded and located in hard-to-access, unsafe locales

3. Dorm-style sleeping is uncomfortable and unpalatable (this one is debateable but I'll get to that in a minute).

Hostels have been the mainstay of travelers backpacking through Europe and Asia forever, and in the past 20 years, they've caught on here in the states, too. Certainly there are horror stories that abound: scary neighborhood locations, loud, creaky bunk-bed sex at 3 am in the room you're sharing with 8 other people you don't know; cold showers, stolen belongings-- the list goes on and on. But the truth of it is, in this modern world where the internet can provide all the information and first-person accounts of a place, there's no reason not to do a little advance research and try a hostel on for size. These days, many are funky, fun and provide all the services of a boutique hotel, like my favorite in NYC, The Broadway Inn and Hostel, located on West 101st St and Broadway near the park in the Upper West Side.

For $18 bucks per night (for a 10 person dorm, the prices go up from there depending on how many are in your room-- check hostels.com for exact rates) you have a small, clean bed in a small, clean room.  There's a modern kitchen, two tv lounge areas, an extremely helpful and hardworking staff and a safe, quiet, interesting neighborhood on the the 1 train that runs the length of the city. It's a no frills abode, certainly, but the city has all the frills a person could want, you only have to leave your dorm to find them. Of course, you'll also have 4-8 roommates but really,  that's the best part. Random interactions are the pulse of any traveling experience and random people make them that much more memorable.  I've met people from all over the world while staying in hostels.  You go from being strangers one minute to walking around with furry teeth and sleepy seeds in your eyes, chatting about life, the next. You only have to remain open-minded and curious to cross the bridge from stranger to part-time friend.

  I know, I know.  Hostel life it isn't for everyone.  If you don't like the idea of sharing a bathroom; if you need terrific privacy all the time; if you can't listen to six smelly German boys snoring in unison after a night spent guzzling beer-- then perhaps you should stick to expensive hotels.  But if you can remain open to the possibility of expanding your boundaries and your mind, you just might learn a few things about tolerance, the world and yourself.