Help There's a Homeless Guy In My Room!

Hello Peeps, I hope you're all doing well? I have found it strange hostelling so far as a lot of the people have been incredibly quiet and that's coming from me and I find social situations somewhat difficult so like a guide I once read said I've initiated a lot of the conversations I've had by saying Hi and asking a few questions about them which has generally led to joining them on trips or for a few drinks. Like for anyone who backpacks alone it can get pretty lonely so speaking to the other backpackers has so far been key to me enjoying myself. I don't really understand how this works with me as back home I would've never initiated a conversation with someone I didn't know and it would've been almost impossible for me to do so as my fear grabs hold and shuts down my social side, out here however maybe it's because people have been in the same boat as me I've found it a lot easier.

 

Anyway so I've officially left Seattle and landed in the land of Vancouver meaning it's the perfect time to write my shorter than Reykjavik review on Seattle. I arrived at Seattle airport along with a few other holiday goers which seemed to amuse some of the locals as they didn't think very highly of their city, I later found out why. Seattle itself is probably better than what I experienced so don't take my word as the final word of whether to go or not though I have heard from some locals that it's not the friendliest of places. I personally didn't feel comfortable there as I feel guilt very easily so my hostel's (HI Seattle at the American Hotel) destination in the International District it wasn't a good place for me to be. During my two and a bit day stay in Seattle I was constantly bombarded by homeless people asking for money, which consistently brought my mood down. I like to help people as much as I can so seeing so many people struggling doesn't sit well with me when I cannot do anything about it. This alongside the mostly overcast and windy weather meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. The HI Seattle at the American Hotel itself was pretty good in my eyes as free breakfast was available everyday between 6am-9am consisting of toast, bagels, oatmeal, orange quarters, bananas, coffee and juices. On the cleanliness front the whole hostel including the bathrooms were cleaned everyday which is a major bonus when you think about how many people use them a day. It also had a TV room generally showing films or the news though I don't think it got used very often as most people travel to see places and not to see some TV. In terms of friendliness/ helpfulness the staff were good but the hostel itself had a slightly downcast atmosphere... people were not mixing as much as I had seen previously in other hostels so at breakfast it felt like we were in mourning and I don't know what one guy's problem was but he was rude and had a problem with people which is something I luckily have not come across anywhere else so far. One of the guys I spoke to at the hostel said he had been at the Green Tortoise hostel in Seattle before he came to HI Seattle and found it a lot better in a much better location near the Pike Place Market though he was gutted that he was only allowed to stay there for a week maximum so depending on what you're planning on doing in Seattle I'd recommend staying at the Green Tortoise.

 

Trips/ Tours
The Pike Place Market is always worth a visit and I think it's open everyday nearby the waterfront. It's full of gift and food stands including a famous fresh fish stand where the owners will throw some of the fairly large fish across stands to each other, sometimes getting passers by involved. Just outside of the market is the very first Starbucks (pictured below) which gets quite busy so it's generally best to go here during the week if possible otherwise you'll probably be queuing outside for a coffee.

 

 

 

The Space Needle is also good for a visit for a view of the city and mountains but if possible it's obviously best to go on days with clear sunny weather or at night when the city is lit up.

 

 

 

Unfortunately the weather was overcast when I went and it decided to be incredibly windy on top of the Needle so trying to take a photo wasn't particularly easy as my phone which doesn't take photos clearly at the best of times was going all over the place creating the wonderfully blurry shots below:

 

 

 

Now onto what I mean by the title... some homeless dude somehow managed to blag his way through the hostel's entrance door, the door leading to where the rooms are both of which require swipe cards to gain entry late at night only to knock on our dorm room's door saying he had one of the beds but had left his card behind which was a pretty reasonable explanation considering he had got so far and could have been relaxing in the common area. We unfortunately later found that he had been lying and was using someone else's bed when the actual new dorm room mate entered and asked the homeless guy to get out of his bed which he luckily did without a fuss. After speaking to one of my dorm room mates in the morning about it he said he thought the guy was homeless to begin with and curled up in a ball with his clothes on his bed terrified of the man for hours until he was asked to leave by the new room mate. Anyways the best bit about staying in Seattle is that I got to meet a fellow Brit and had a laugh with him in a few bars in Seattle and I've later met up with him in Vancouver which has been a god send as I've found it a lot harder to mix with fellow backpackers here so far though people have been nice and I've had a couple of chats with people.

 

All in all I probably wouldn't go back to Seattle though some people I've spoken to had enjoyed it there so I think it depends on each person's experience and perspective of the place.

 

That's going to be all for a while, I'm not sure when I'll be doing my Vancouver one as I'm here for quite a while

 

Much Love

 

The Weird Guy