Sleeping Around Europe

By Robert Alejandro

My 4T+ Facebook “friends” might think that I am living the high life traveling to some of the most incredible countries in Europe. It is true that I see this European backpacking trip as a chance of a lifetime ̶ something I’ve been waiting, working and saving up for about 20 years. But living the high life cannot be farther from the truth.

Most of the countries I’ve visited use the Euro as their currency, which when converted to Philippine peso is around 60 for a Euro. An ordinary meal would cost around 10 Euros ̶ that’s a whopping 600 pesos! I’m traveling for three months around Europe and 600 pesos on each meal is something I can’t do. Travel costs (airfare) are worse and accommodation costs are a BIG deal when one travels SLOW and for a long time, the kind of travel I like to do.

And so, here I am purchasing bread and cheese as baon for a couple of days. I watch expenses like a hawk but I try to make sure it doesn’t get in the way of my having fun. I’ve vowed to have a decent meal, preferably a local dish, in every city I visit.

Every time I arrive in a new city, my first order of business is where to lay my head at night. This can be very interesting, at times, challenging, and sometimes surprising. In the course of finding the right hostel in Rome, I came upon a Filipino couple and asked them if they knew of any cheap accommodations. They just happen to be managing a local hotel and they gave me a rate that was UNBELIEVABLY low. I was blessed to live like a king in Rome – breakfast was free and when they served it, I almost cried with tears of joy. And though the internet is still the most useful source of information in finding a place to stay for the night, DO look for Kababayans or fellow Pinoys ̶ I think we are an incredible race that does look out for one another. Well, most of the time. Iba ang Pinoy and I’m very proud of that.

Other than living like a king in Rome, I have to face realities in other cities. In the islands of Santorini and Mykonos, Greece, I slept in “camping grounds”. I brought a sleeping bag and they provided a place for me to lay my sleepy head with just 10 Euros a night. It was rather really cheap compared to typical accommodation rates offered by most hotels or hostels. Before closing my eyes, I bid goodnight to the Grecian stars which served as my ceiling during this night. In the morning, I rolled out of my sleeping bag and I’m on Greek soil, soiled. I thought, “mas mabuti pa ang kulungan ng baboy sa Pilipinas, may bubong at sahig.”  But don’t get me wrong. I love sleeping outdoors, I love new experiences and I have no problem looking like a homeless person.

And so I am sending this dispatch to all of you out there from a hostel in Budapest (17 Euros a night). I share my bed in a dorm with 12 other people, some of them go to bed at 3am and make a whole lot of
noise. And yes, I live a great adventurous life. Perhaps not a high life but a GREAT life.