Sunday 8 May 2011

Backpackers Hostel K’s House, Kyoto

I could not have asked for more amusing roommates at my Kyōto hostel – one is a programmer and the other is a physicist. And last night we were all in an exceptionally philosophical mood. I don’t know whether it was the large quantities of beverage we imbibed after dinner (coffee for me, tea for the physicist, beer for the programmer), or the fact that we had spent much of our day strolling down Philosopher’s Path. But for whatever reason, we were waxing philosophical on everything from manga to plasma turbulence.


And after touching lightly on such topics as fish-eye lenses, tea-cosies and Eurobonds, we moved on to singing the praises of our hostel. It is cheap, friendly, conveniently located and immaculately clean. The staff understand the needs and aspirations of backpackers. They organise free movie nights and walking tours. The information board at the reception has all kinds of useful information – not just the usual maps and time-tables, but also Calendar for this month’s shrine flea markets, Legends and folklore of Kyoto and It’s Raining! Where Should I Go?

But what endeared us most to Backpackers Hostel K’s House, Kyoto is that they provide lots of things for free, which are as follows:
• Tea
• Coffee
• Wi-Fi
• Alarm clock
• Books, maps and DVDs
• Padlocks
• Board games

When we had drawn up the list, the programmer remarked, “What more do you need as a traveller?”
“In fact,” said I, going further, “what more do you need in life?”
We all nodded in solemn agreement, but it was well past midnight, and – as I mentioned earlier – we had all drunk more than was good for us.

14 comments:

Pratiti said...

:)
I want to travel!! But life is unfair. My parents don't have holidays even though I do now.

Karthy said...

Ah...the backpacker gods would be very bemused with the place ne? "where was all this...when we had to go around thieving. lying and stealing to travel the next mile?"

Anonymous said...

1. Funky lighting.
2. If/when I get around to finagling a trip to Japan, am landing up at this place!!

Rara Avis said...

I'm not. Sroyon must have a habit of making things sound more cool than they are. Because nobody can have this many cool things in heir life.

beej said...

ah.. but (in keeping with the philosophical tone of this post) someone forwarded me a msg that read "life is interesting for those who take an interest in it"...

Sroyon said...

@Pratiti: Life is long; there will be other holidays.

@Karthy: The backpacker gods are the only people I can think of who might possibly have been even more amusing roommates than the programmer and the physicist.

@arzkiya: I strongly recommend it.

@Raktima: Nevertheless, this particular story happens to be true.

@beej: Please don't start. Please.

Rara Avis said...

@Beej: I don't know which country you belong to and which language you speak, but I'd grown up with the idea that whenever you go to a restaurant, whatever the guy at the next table is having always looks far more appetising than what you happen to be having, and that's normal. So it is with Governments and traffic rules and everything else. I don't know if it has anything to do with (powercut, ctd later.)

Rara Avis said...

...being Bengali or being Indian, for my ideas had been shaped mostly by watching fellow Bengalis.
Then, up came Sroyon. Normal Bengali guy, but whichever country he goes to work in sounds like the only country in the world, whichever place he stays in seems like the best place ever, and I find it amazing that the Government here (which is the pet peeve of all Kolkatans, Beej, in case you are an outsider) did not align itself to perfection just because he was here.

@Sroyon: This is how one tells between geeks and philosophers.

The Reluctant Rebel said...

I'm afraid you can;t just blame the coffee for your philosophical musings. You are an atael at heart - admit it! Admit it now!

Anonymous said...

Ok, explain to me exactly what aantel means! Explain it now, even before you admit it. Oh and you know the sad part? Even after prolonged association with your blog, none of your qualities have rubbed off on me. I continue to think that I lead the worst kind of life. -Raktima.

Anasua Deb said...

dont you need some food? Thats the first thing that strikes my mind. And ofcourse, i would have needed some good books to sustain as well.

Sroyon said...

@Saha: And who was the one talking about Mankind's purpose on this earth?

Anasua Deb said...

i am amazed at the japan economy and all i can do after reading this post is to wait for the day when the youth hostels in my country would be able to provide half the things free of cost to the boaders.

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