What's That Smell?

Got off the plane this morning from Dublin to Heathrow airport (only an hour or so flight), as sick as a dog. JD was worried that I wouldn't be able to go on or even enjoy the remainder of our trip, and suggested that we cancel our plans and head home early.

To which I replied, "HELL NO."

I was going to take my chances.

We arrived at the hostel with JD exhausted acting as pack mule helping to lug my stuff because of my illness (my dear wonderful boyfriend.) The hostel, it turns out, was a bit of a shabby, smelly place off of Earls Court station and to make things worse, the double bed rooms they advertise don't freaking exist. To them and only them, a double bed (which is used to describe a queen or king size bed overseas), means a room with two twin beds. I was sick, I was pissed, and I was tempted to take our chances and find accommodations elsewhere. The woman behind the counter added that the room was small enough that we could push the two twin beds together. After a millisecond of angry thinking, I thought, "fuck it, we would lose one day's cost of accommodation and I'm too sick to care more about this" and paid for the rest of our stay.

The woman was not joking - the room was tiny as hell, the beds old and springy, and weird annoying smells were everywhere. The smells are like a mix of very bad Indian food, some b.o., mildew, and musty air. The shared bathrooms were even worse - they insist that they are cleaned every day, but apparently what I consider clean and what they consider clean are two different things.

I've said before that I'm the kind of person who doesn't care where I lay my head, as long as there is a bed and a bathroom. But let me change that now: I don't care where I lay my head, as long as there is A CLEAN LARGE BED and a VERY CLEAN BATHROOM.

So for any of you out there who are trying to find budget accommodations in London - don't book at Nevern Hostel. In fact, if you are a couple traveling looking for private rooms, it's worth the extra 10-20 pounds per night just to have something acceptable and CLEAN.

(For the record, when I visited London alone in 2004, I stayed at City of London/St. Paul's Youth Hostel near Blackfriar's Station. This place is wonderful for any lone traveler/backpacker in search of a single bed and not minding sharing a room with 3-9 other people. The beds are comfortable, the bathrooms very clean, and you a get free full English breakfast every morning with your reservation.)

I'm actually a bit tired so I will sign off for now. There is more to tell about tonight, but I will have to relay it all in the morning. My nasty-ass bed awaits.


Ta-ta.