The Weird People you Meet in Hostels: Bucharest

Generally, the people that stay in hostels are young. Sometimes, if the hostel also offers private rooms, older people will also stay there. However, it is rare for a mature person to stay in dorms. It is clear why this is. Usually an older person will have enough money to stay in nicer accommodation. Dorms offer no privacy or comfort, and I often sleep poorly when staying in one due to people going to be late, being noisy, leaving the light on etc. If money was not a factor, I would probably stay in a hotel.

But, there is another factor that needs to be considered. If you are a solo traveller, hostels offer the benefit of meeting other people. This intangible benefit makes the choice of staying in a hotel (if money is not a factor) a little more difficult. With this information in mind, let us return to the question of the old in hostels. Assuming these old people are there for the social reason, why would they want to associate with the young? Or do they just not have much money?’

This is question I asked myself while staying in Bucharest. At the hostel there, an elderly Chinese man attached himself to me and seemed impervious to the social signs I made indicating that I did not want him to accompany me. He was irritating and odd, and even though I mostly ignored him, still spent some time with me. He first invited himself to a tour of the Palace of Parliament with me. That was ok, because he found someone else to talk to during the tour. He expressed interest in accompanying me to the art gallery after the tour, something I emphatically did not want. Thankfully, he said he wanted to eat afterwards and did not ask me to join him. I went to the art gallery in splendid isolation. That evening, back at the hostel, I ran into him and asked if he had gone to the art gallery after his lunch. No, he said. He said that he had eaten too much for lunch and ‘didn’t have time’. This answer puzzled me. We had left the parliament at 1:00. Did his lunch take the whole afternoon? Very strange.

The next day, he invited himself along with me to take the train to Brasov. We talked a little bit, but I’m sorry I didn’t inquire about what he did for a living. He told me lived in Ohio, and that was all I got. I should’ve tried speaking Chinese to him. He only went to Brasov for the day, so as soon as we arrived, we separated. I thought that was the last of him.

I was wrong. Although, I didn’t see him again, I did hear of him secondhand. At the hostel in Brasov, I met an Australian guy and we began talking about Bucharest. When he mentioned an odd 60-sometihng person staying at his hostel there, I immediately asked if it was the Chinese guy. It was! Apparently, he had tried to invite himself to go clubbing with the Australian at an ‘Indy club’, thinking it was an ‘Indian restaurant’. Needless to say, he bailed when he discovered it was the truth. But is inviting yourself to something really appropriate given the age difference? I don’t really think it is. You should try and at least have a good rapport with someone before suggesting doing something social together.