Blog Hiatus

Dear readers,

Thank you to those who emailed in positive feedback and reviews over the past couple of years. I very much appreciate the kind words and help in making this blog happen. And thanks for reading my little blog.

My apologies for taking a long break from the blog – life got in the way at first, and then COVID grounded me. As I wasn’t travelling, I kind of let things slide on the blog front.

However, I do have a bit of a backlog of reviews kind readers have sent in, so I will work on posting these over the next few months.

I am still not travelling as a result of the pandemic, and I’m sure many of you are in the same boat. However, as things open up, I do plan on hitting the road, and will hopefully have more reviews and tips for folks. I’m planning a few trips and have already started emailing hotels to check on their accommodations, so I’m hoping to post some more city reviews in the near future.

If you are out there travelling do please send me any hotel reviews to help keep things running.

Until then, stay safe!

Traveller

Bedwetting and Hot Summer Nights – Part 3

A lovely reader submitted these additional tips for keeping cool on hot summer nights, thanks for sharing!  This builds on the previous two posts on this topic: Part 1 + Part 2.

Just read your article on hot summer nights and protection.  Maybe I have grown accustomed to it during the years, but these are my strategies:

• I normally sleep without a mattress cover, I have tried it but hated it.  The leakage of my diapers is quite minimal, so I usually dare to risk this. However if I feel a bad spell is coming I wear diapers covers during winter time, in the summer time I resort to bed mats (Goodnites Bed Mats or something similar) to be absolutely safe.
• Sleepwear, in winter I normally cover up my diapers. In summer I just sleep in my diaper.  The rare occasion when I have to share a hotel room e.g. , I do wear baseball pants on top.
• Choice of diapers: based on my needs I pick a night diaper that is suitable.  Plastic backed diapers are more reliable, but during summer I only go for cloth backed material. Tena Slip Ultima is (here in Europe) my preferred choice and has a good quality breathable material.

With this strategy, I find the heat in the summer period survivable without compromises.

Hope this helps and gives you some more tips to share with your readers.

Bedwetting and Hot Summer Nights – Part 2

Summer has finally arrived to where I live, and this means hot, sweaty nights. This can be annoying for anyone, but it can be particularly problematic for those of us who wet the bed, wear protection at night, and/or protect our mattresses with various waterproof pads and covers. Waterproof things like diapers, pads, and mattress covers do not breathe like fabric, and as such tend to increase sweating and discomfort on hot nights.

I covered mattress covers in Part 1, here I explore diapers and pads.

Diapers

Now these are even more sweaty than mattress covers, as the encase warm sweaty parts of the body in waterproof material. Here are a couple of tips I’ve found helpful when wearing diapers in warm situations:

• Use baby powder – You probably already do, but this will really absorb moisture and helds keep your skin dry. Find a brand that works well for you and bring it with you. I’ve found that I can’t always rely on finding the brands I like while travelling abroad. Pro-tip: Buy the biggest bottles you can find and one smaller travel-sized bottle. When the smaller one runs out, simply re-fill it from the larger bulk bottle.
• Wear cloth-backed – They may be a little less reliable, but the breath way better, and the cloth backing prevents plastic from the diaper from coming into contact with your inner thighs and other parts of your body, which increases sweating. If you already have a pair that works for you, try a similar variety from the same company, but just a cloth-backed version.
• Wear smaller diapers, like cloth-backed pull-ups – Ok, so this is the riskier recommendation. I don’t know about you, but I take as many measures as possible to prevent getting the mattress of a hotel bed wet. My mattress at home is already pretty stained; one more little circular patch isn’t going to make much of a difference. But I’d rather not damage a hotel’s mattress. I know this is also the case for many of my readers with whom I’ve talked with. As such, I tend to wear better protection (premium diapers, slightly more absorbent diaper) when traveling. These are unfortunately also the kind of diapers that are the sweatiest. If you have reliable mattress protection, you can consider wearing a more breathable pull-up, like one of these Tranquility pull-ups. Pull-ups have come a long way and can be much more breathable than tabbed diapers. You can even roll down the waistband (or even trim it with scissors) to decrease the surface area, and increase the comfort.
• Go without protection – Again, this is riskier, but if you have a reliable mattress cover (like your own Goodnite’s Bed Mat), you may just want to forgo the diaper. Wet underwear can always be washed in the sink and hung up to dry, or transported home in a zip-lock bag, or go without.

Pads

Other than diapers, several readers have suggested that they wear pads at night to catch leaks. While my experience with pads is that they are less reliable and don’t have the standing gathers that catch leaks (I’m a side-sleeper mostly), these can be a great option for keeping cool. After all, underwear with a pad in them breath way better than a full diaper or pull-up. If you are selecting a pad for the first time, try one that is specifically meant for nighttime use. These ones have larger sections in the back and standing gathers. Daytime pads (and pull-ups and diapers for that matter) are meant to typically catch leaks and accidents from a person who is upright.

One system I tried out in my youth was a ‘belt and pad system,’ like this one:

I found them less comfortable as compared with Goodnites and so I abandoned them, but they are very breathable. They work with two elastic sections with buttons on either end, which fasten into islets in the pad.

Another option is a ‘mesh pants and pad system.’ These work like your typical pad that sticks into your underwear, but rather than a sticky pad, they rely on a close fitting but very breathable mesh set of underwear to hold the pad in place. Like this:

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We all have our own techniques, and I would love to hear yours. The number of nights I’ve tossed and turned and sweated this summer alone demonstrates that I am far from an expert when it comes to bedwetting and warm weather. What works for you? Add it in the comments or send me an email at bedwettingtraveller@gmail.com.

Bedwetting and Hot Summer Nights – Part 1

Summer has finally arrived to where I live, and this means hot, sweaty nights. This can be annoying for anyone, but it can be particularly problematic for those of us who wet the bed, wear protection at night, and/or protect our mattresses with various waterproof pads and covers. Waterproof things like diapers, pads, and mattress covers do not breathe like fabric, and as such tend to increase sweating and discomfort on hot nights.

I remember growing up with by bed protected by a (noisy) plastic mattress cover and dreading hot summer nights. Some morning the sheets would be soaked through with sweat and I slept very poorly. Wearing Goodnites on a cold winter night was not all that uncomfortable, and could be rather cozy, but in the summer this meant clammy sweaty skin and even rashes.

There were quite a few summer nights when I would forgo the Goodnites and just resign myself to waking up in wet sheets; at least I would manage to get to sleep. Going without protection is fine if you are at home and trust your mattress protection (or have a comfortable sleeping mat/pad), and if you share a bed with a partner who is understanding and very accommodating. However, this is not an option when you are on the road. Even with an accommodating hotel that supplies a mattress cover, I would still be nervous about going without any protection. Mattress covers are not entirely reliable and damaged mattress fees can be steep.

This post explores a couple of options to help those who wet the bed deal with the heat. I suppose it applies equally to those traveling to hotter climates, as well as those simply trying to get a comfortable sleep at home in the height of summer. I will primarily be orienting it around those travelling.

First things first, I do not have an air conditioner at home, but I find that most of the decent hotels I visit whilst travelling do. This is a big relief and has made me a little lazy when it comes to devising techniques to beat the heat.

Mattress Protection

Waterproof mattress covers come in a wide range of materials. I’m lucky that I didn’t have to experience rubber sheets while growing up, but I did have a noisy plastic mattress cover on my bed all the way up until high school. At which point I finally got a quieter cover, though it still seemed obvious to me.

Modern mattress protectors are often design to breath and are made from some very reliable and breathable materials. For example, the SafeRest, advertises itself as being waterproof with a breathable membrane. I’ve used one of these fitted-sheet-style covers on my bed before but found it leaked after about a year of wear and tear.

I then ‘upgraded’ to something similar to this Millano SilverClear Terry Waterproof Mattress Cover. This cover entirely encases your mattress, which is great for preventing some kinds of leaks, but can be a hassle when it comes to changing it, as you need to lift up the entire mattress and unzip it, and it’s a lot of moving heavy mattresses about. The one I use is pretty decent, though my last serious leak did find a hole and soak through to my mattress. I have yet to replace this one, and instead have just thrown down a Peapod Mat. It’s great and never leaks, but is not totally ‘summer friendly’ and can get a little warm (it’s a terrycloth towel-like surface).

While searching online, I did find this cover, the Tempur-Pedic Performance Luxury Cooling Waterproof Mattress Protector, which advertises itself as cooling, which might be ideal for summer. I’ve not tried this before and would love to hear from someone who has.

You will have likely experimented with different covers at home, and hopefully have found one that is comfortable. However, when you are on the road, we must take what we can get. So far, only a handful of hotels offer mattress protectors, and when they do, we don’t get a choice in the brand or materials.

So how does one beat the heat in these cases? If you get a mattress cover that doesn’t breath, I recommend requesting a couple of additional sets of sheets. Having additional layers between you and say a horrible plastic cover will help reduce sweating and discomfort.

Adding a couple of layers of towels is a less ideal but still workable solution, so long as they are underneath the sheet. I find this is a little frustrating, as the towels can bunch and be difficult to keep smooth. Likewise they can make things warmer.

If there is no mattress cover, or even if there is and you don’t trust it, and you are considering going without protection or perhaps wearing something a little more breathable but less reliable, you may want to bring a disposable bed mat, like a Goodnites Bed Mat, and put it underneath a couple of layers of sheets.

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We all have our own techniques, and I would love to hear yours. The number of nights I’ve tossed and turned and sweated this summer alone demonstrates that I am far from an expert when it comes to bedwetting and warm weather. What works for you? Add it in the comments or send me an email at bedwettingtraveller@gmail.com.

For more, see Part 2, coming soon!

Longer Trips

So I’ve written a lot about staying in hotels and other various accommodations for shorter periods of time, but not about longer trips away from home. There are additional challenges to travelling for longer periods of time when you suffer from nocturnal enuresis. Now I’ll admit that the majority of my travel has been the shorter business variety, but have had had a couple of longer trips, typically for vacation purposes, and have learnt something from these. I will admit to having less experience with longer trips, so I would value other people’s tips. As always, feel free to email me with your experiences, hotel reviews, and in this case, tips for protracted travel.

Just for clarity, when I say longer trip, I’m thinking of the kind of trip which is longer than 2 weeks. I’m also thinking of trips that generally go to one location and stays put, rather than say a tour which moves about every few days.

Some of the challenges you might encounter on a longer trip will include a limited ability to bring the necessary supplies with you and the need to do laundry. These will be confounded if you are moving about on a speedy grand tour.

Let’s start with basic supplies.

Medication: For those who use different medication to treat or reduce the symptoms of their nocturnal enuresis it is important to get an adequate supply of this medication. You should know this already but bring this medication in your carry-on, losing a bag is stressful enough without the added worry of losing access to important medication. I will often bring a couple of spare diapers in my carry on as well, enough to get me through a couple of nights, just in case my bags go missing.

Mattress Covers: Bring your own mattress cover. Depending on your access to laundry facilities and weight restrictions, you may want to bring disposable bed pads. There are lots of options available (Goodnites, Tena, Depends, and generic brands), and these are relatively well-available, so you may be able to purchase them wherever you are staying, eliminating the need to pack a bunch of these with you.

Ordering Diapers: It’s easy to bring along exactly what you need when you go on a short visit, however, packing a month’s supply of diapers is not realistic, space conscious, or cost-effective. My recommendation is to bring at least a week’s supply of supplies with you, and then purchasing what you need while you are away.

The quickest solutions is to pop into a medical supply shop or pharmacy and purchase whatever you need however this may not be reasonable for a number of reasons; language barriers can make purchasing what you need difficult, buying diapers in public can be very embarrassing, shops may not be easily located and may not have brands with which you are familiar, and finally, you may not want to spend a portion of your trip hunting down obscure medical supply shops and carrying around bulky bags of diapers.

Just because you are travelling, does not mean that you can’t order things online. This involves a little more work then clicking the re-order button on your regular suppliers website, but is well worth the trouble. Here are some tips for ordering diapers to your accommodations when travelling, these work particularly well if you are staying in one place, but if you are moving about, you can order supplies to meet you in various locations, so long as you have set points on your itinerary.

• Find out the mailing address of where you are going to stay. You may need to call (or email) ahead to find this out, and also to let them know that you are expecting mail. It took me far too long to realize that hotels regularly receive packages for their guests and are well-equipped to handle this sort of thing. Just let them know beforehand. Some online sites may not have forms that can accommodate addresses in hotels, if this is the case, just email their customer service and let them know, they are usually accommodating. Some order forms will also have a ‘notes’ section, and this is the place to put something like ‘This order is going to a hotel, and the guest will be arriving on such and such a date, etc.’
• Order in advance if possible. A lot of medical supply sites have next day shipping or will ship within three days, which is very convenient. However this is not always the case. If you lack confidence in the rapidity of delivery, order in advance. Just let your accommodation know the window in which your order may be arriving, to make sure they are waiting for you when you arrive.
• Order as much as you need. While you may buy in bulk while you are at home, carting around a case of diapers is not conducive to easy travel. If you are going to be away for a month, order a month’s supply (and perhaps a couple extra, just in case).
• Research brands. While some brands are pretty widespread, different countries have different brands of diapers, and you may not be able to find your usual brand. It can be stressful experimenting with new potentially unreliable diapers while travelling, so where possible, I would recommend that you don’t spring for the local generic brand. You may need to take advantage of Google Translate services to read reviews.
• Order from a local site. This should be a no-brainer, but don’t order from your site back home and pay tons on shipping. Instead, order your supplies from sites in the country you are visiting. This may be difficult, as some sites will identify your location using your IP address. If this is the case, just download a free VPN program (like Windscribe) and set your country to the country you will be visiting.

Doing Laundry: Unless you are travelling with a massive wardrobe, if you are travelling for longer than a couple of weeks, you will likely have to do laundry at some point anyhow. Ask around in advance about laundry options. Many hotels will offer a laundry service, though it is often rather expensive. Laundromats are also quite prevalent around the world, a little bit of research in advance will help you find these. Laundry detergent often comes in huge boxes or jugs, to avoid wasting money on a big box of detergent that you will only use a couple of times, I recommend bringing along your own, with just enough for the duration of your visit. Remember, you can always do laundry in your sink or tub if need be.

As always, be confident, plan ahead, and have a great trip!

Other Helpful Blogs

I thought it might be a good time to show some love to other bloggers and blog posts which offer helpful information to bedwetters. So in no particular order, here are a couple of other helpful blogs out there:

Clumsy Crafter: How to Travel with a Bedwetter – This post is more about travelling with children who wet the bed, but there are some helpful tips for those travelling with bedwetting in general.

Traveling with the Family – Another blog that is principally oriented for those travelling with young kids who wet the bed, but it again offers good advice for staying in hotels.

There are some websites that have pages with travel tips, again these are almost exclusively focused on travelling with bedwetting children:

Street Directory: Bedwetting Tips – What about Traveling?

Finding Debra: Tips to Handle Bedwetting While on Vacation.

The Bedwetting Store: 6 Tips for Traveling with a Bedwetter.

Growing Up Bilingual: Tips for Traveling with you Child Suffers from Bedwetting.

Kid Activities: Travel Tips for Families Experiencing Bedwetting.

Someday I’ll Learn: what to do about Nighttime Wetting while Traveling.

And people sharing their personal stories of wetting the bed when they were younger:

Design Mom: Bedwetting.

As you can see, there’s a lot of content out there, but most of it is oriented towards parents of children who wet the bed. One of the reasons that I started this blog was that I noticed that there was a lack of content out there for adults who wet the bed.

Have I missed any good resources? Please let me know!

Fantastic Bedwetting YouTuber!

In my previous post, I wrote about some of the online resources that are available for adult bedwetters, and I mentioned that one resource, namely the YouTube videos of Olivia Robbin, are worthy of their own post.

The content creator has over 44 videos, most of which discuss her experience with bedwetting and having an overactive bladder (OAB). I applaud her work, as she is endeavouring to break the stigma of adult incontinence. Her videos are charming, informative and personal. She has all sorts of videos, some of which cover events in her own life, such as her experience with surgery and doctors visits. Others posts provide information about such things are famous people who wet the bed, product reviews of diapers (1 and 2), and lots of other helpful tips.

The video that led me to discover this contributor was her post offering 10 helpful tips for those travelling with overactive bladder and bedwetting. I highly recommend that you check out her video (all of her videos in fact), as it is very informative.

Looking over her 10 travel tips, I noticed a lot of similarities with recommendations I’ve made in previous posts. Her list is perhaps a little different as it does offer advice for people who also suffer from OAB. I thought it would be worth sharing her list here (found in the comment section of her video), and provide some additional comments of my own (my comments in Italics):

1. Start a voiding journal a week or two before leaving on a long trip. Gives more insight into voiding habits. Definitely a good idea, I travel enough that I know the impacts that it will have on my bedwetting. For example, I know that the first night I spend in a new place, particularly after long travel, I’m almost certainly going to wet the bed. I also know that jet lag increases my likelihood of wetting. Knowing your bodies habits gives you more confidence.
2. Pick plane seats/hotel beds wisely (close to bathroom). Some people say to put diapers on after security. Yes, this is a good idea, and different people have opinions on putting protection on before or after security, if it is going to be required for the flight. See my posts on air travel:

Air Travel – Part 1

Air Travel – Part 2

Air Travel – Part 3

3. Pre-tape diapers if you’re able to pull them off/then up again when you need in a pinch. I find that this can make the diapers harder to transport discreetly and also bulkier, but it does increase their comfort, the ease with which they can be put on, and in some cases cuts down on leaks.
4. Concealing:
5. Avoiding noise? Hold a shirt against your tapes while putting them on.
6. Bring mini scissors to cut them off later.
7. Pack extra plastic bags with you to dispose in. Better yet, dark concealed zip lock bags/scented. Definitely a good idea, I’ve not tried the special bags that are on the market.
8. Feeling a little self conscious about smell? Pack a small Febreze/odor control/light body spray
9. Bring extra protection and supplies wherever you go. Pack in one bag or disperse in smaller to-go bags. Definitely a good idea, running out of supplies is incredibly stressful. I like the idea of also spreading them out throughout your bags. While bringing a couple of diapers in your carry on may seem more embarrassing, for example, with the possibility that your bag might be opened by airport security, but it also means that if your checked luggage gets lost, you will at least have a couple of diapers to keep your sheets dry while your luggage is (hopefully!) being found.
10. Ask hotel if they accommodate/bring disposable pads. Definitely, this is one of my top things, as my readers will know.
11. Pack an accident kit. Here’s what you should include in your kit:
    1. Sanitary wipes
    2. Travel-size package of tissues
    3. Hand sanitizer
    4. Travel soap
    5. Toilet Seat CoversAvoid the squat position. Makes it harder to empty. This is a good idea for those who suffer from OAB, though given very long flights where you might sleep, this could also be a good idea.

8. Always stop to pee before leaving places. Makes it less awkward and less stressful. Always good advice! 
9. HAVE A TRAVEL BUDDY/TELL A FRIEND. I typically travel alone, and when I travel with others, it is generally work colleagues. I definitely applaud this recommendation, but for me, I am definitely not comfortable telling my work colleagues about my bedwetting issues. Perhaps when the stigma is reduced, sometime in the sunny future.
10. Have fun! Don’t make it about your bladder. Definitely the best advice. I travel a lot and I try not to let my bedwetting interfere with my travel one bit.

Please do follow/subscribe to this fantastic producer and let me know if you have any favorite YouTube content creators who offer videos that might be helpful to readers.

 

 

You Are Not Alone – The Online Incontinence Community

We often feel along with our incontinence issues. It isn’t exactly something that comes up a lot in casual conversation, and given the steps that we take to conceal the issue, a long time friend could also wet the bed and we would never know.

Enter the magic of the internet. There is a large online community of adult incontinence sufferers out there. It’s heart warming to see how supportive they are to one another, and I’ve neglected talking about the online community on my blog for too long.

I first wanted to draw readers attention to a great online support group. Daily Strength is a website which offers support groups for a wide range of issues, and they have a Bedwetting Support Group. You can get inspiration from reading other people’s posts, or you can register, create your own anonymous account, comment, and write your own posts.

The Incontinence Support Center also has an online support forum – Incontinent Support – which again has easy to find posts which you can read without registering. I find this forum better organized, as you can search for posts on specific topics and it seems more intuitive.

And then there is the Adult Bedwetting Sub Reddit. While I’m certainly an amateur when it comes to Reddit, and I still struggle with the format, I found this group one of the more active. I also appreciated this forum as it helped introduce me to some excellent resources, including the videos of one amazing YouTuber, Olivia Robbin, whose work is worthy of a Blog post of her own.  

There are many other groups and forums out there, as well and informative websites and videos. Have I missed any that have been particularly helpful for you? Please let me know!

The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone, and in fact there’s a whole world of people out there who share the same problem, just like me! And we can and do support one another.

Medications for Bedwetting?

I am in the process of compiling some of list of different medications available for bed wetting. I have tried my share in my days, but I would be interested in hearing what other people have tried, and for what symptoms. 

This is by no means intended to replace a proper diagnosis with a medical professional, but last time I went to see my urologist, they prescribed me something new to try. This was a medication which I’d never heard of before, and while it didn’t work as compared to what I normally use, it did remind me that it’s good to check in and see what else might be popping on the market given ongoing research.

I would love to hear from you, my long suffering reader, as to your experiences with medication, if you are willing to share. Please email me (bedwettingtraveller@gmail.com) to share.

Thanks and safe travels!

Hostling as a Bedwetter – Part 2

This entry is continued from Part 1.

There are additional challenges with staying at a hostel while suffering from enuresis. One such challenge is the issue of wet sheets in the morning. In Part 1, I already discussed my not to effective technique for getting the sheets off your bed, but this is only part of the problem. You still have to get new sheets and dispose of the wet sheets.

Most hostels I’ve stayed at didn’t have laundry facilities, nor were guests expected to launder their sheets. You were given a set up sheets when you checked in, and expected to bring those back at the end of your stay. I assume if you stayed for more than a week, or some such duration of time, that you would get additional sheets. I have certainly not stayed at a hostel for this amount of time, so I can’t comment.

What this means is that you need to bring your wet sheets, in hand, and give them to the person at the front desk. And if you don’t happen to be checking out, you need to ask for new sheets. This ‘walk of shame’ is incredibly embarrassing. I think this is because in addition to say admitting to someone that you wet the bed face to face, you are presenting them with evidence of this. It was because of too many of these interactions that I stopped staying at hostels. Regardless of how comfortable I feel about me medical problem, and sharing it with others, this was a step too far.

I have done this on several occasions and I can only say that the thought that you will not see these people again is only some comfort.

One of the problems with staying at a hostel was the constant sounds of a room full of people sleeping affecting my sleeping patterns for the worse, leading to more accidents than usual. On a few occasions I remember having a loud noise wakening me in the middle of the night, and finding myself and my bedding wet. While the sleeping dorm room certainly did not notice my predicament, I found the ‘walk of shame’ to the front desk person on duty at night very difficult. But rather than try to fall asleep in a loud room in a wet bed, I made the ‘walk.’

 

Tips

Ok, so the ‘bad stuff’ sounded pretty bad. I wanted to offer some tips for those bedwetters sufficiently brave (or prepared), to stay at a hostel:

Shower Bag – Have a shower bag with all the necessary things you need for a typical shower, but also to get changed for bed. You’re going to want shower sandals anyhow, but having a larger shower bag lets you bring everything you need to discreetly change in the washroom. Having a separate smaller, waterproof bag with a drawstring for any absorbent underwear you need to change into is also advisable, as you would not want these to get wet from say a damp towel.

Bring a Towel – Douglas Adams was right, bring a towel, and perhaps 2 if you can manage. One is for normal shower stuff, and the other is for discreetly getting to the washroom is you have a leak or more serious accident. And of course all the other reasons that a towel is an awesome and necessary travel item.

Spare PJs – Depending on how long you are travelling, bring at least 2 pairs of sweatpants/PJ bottoms. Sweatpants work well because you can wear them in other circumstances, as those who pack light, don’t bring two pairs of PJs.

Sleep Shorts – In addition to PJ bottoms, I also bring along high-waisted sleep shorts. I wear these over my diaper. It might just be me, but I’m a little paranoid about being blissfully asleep and having my diaper exposed through a trick of the sheets. These might also be more practical given the climate you are travelling in. For those really concerned about discretion, a pair of track pants may be advisable, as these mask the tell-tale sound that any night time protection might make. They also conceal leaks rather well.

Extra Opaque Garbage Bags – Always very useful, at least one per diaper that you are bringing and if you are really concerned about your privacy, you can wrap each one in a garbage bag before leaving, making it easier to discreetly transfer them to your shower bag to change.

Skip the Bed Pad – As I’ve said, almost all hostels have waterproof mattress covers (or mattresses), so these can be left at home. Also they add to the bulk.

Bring Spare Protection – So you are packing light, and want to bring only as many as you need, but I recommend bringing a couple of extras. Travel can be unpredictable, you never know when you might be delayed a night, or some other incident (like what happened to me at one hostel), bring one or two spares at least.

Bottom Bunk – There is considerable debate about this, as the top bunk offers a little more discretion (as people can’t say, look down on you), but I vote for the bottom bunk in a hostel. I stayed at a surprising number of hostels that didn’t have ladders up to the top bunk, necessitating a complicated climbing maneuver. This is not something I would look forward to doing while wearing my night time protection before bed, let alone in the morning after an accident. Also, I have this strange fear about having a serious accident, and it somehow dripping onto the person below me. This is a mortifying thought, and I choose the bottom bunk as a precaution. Because I would anticipate being woken up in the middle of the night more often than normal, and because this would suggest more opportunities for someone to wake up wet (possibly at odd hours), being able to more easily get in and out of your bed is a must.

Don’t Panic! – Like I’ve said elsewhere, you are not going to see these people again. So if anything does happen, I know it can be horrible, but try not to stress out too much. Relaxe and enjoy exploring the world!

I’m sure I’ve missed some advice and most likely some issues/challenges with staying at hostels. I would very much love to hear about some of the experiences of my readers. Feel free to leave a comment,  or send me an email.