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It doesn’t matter how many times an influencer tells you that “courage” is the only thing required to travel – it doesn’t change the fact that you normally need cold, hard cash. Airlines and hotels don’t care about our personal motivations and bucket lists, and travelling is – now more than ever – a luxury. At a time when food banks are bursting at the seams, millions of people have placed travelling in the “maybe next year” category. I’m one of them – I simply can’t afford to go abroad right now. Even a trip to visit my parents in my native Poland must wait till autumn, when Ryanair tickets fall low enough to be within my price range. At the same time, I firmly believe that summer is for fun and making memories. So, one morning in June, I decided to take a day trip from Glasgow to Pitlochry in the Scottish Highlands. I initially planned on using a return ticket, returing home the same evening to cut costs. Then I saw a backpackers’ hostel on the town’s picturesque high street. I couldn’t resist. I had to check-in. Read more on Scotland travel: Take the train for a sustainable Scottish Highlands adventure Best budget hotels in Scotland The best Scotland road trips to travel in your lifetime What comes to mind when you read the word “hostel”? Temporary accommodation for people with no luck? Prison-like conditions? A horror film from 2005? In my case, the answer is community. At the age of 18, I began working in the funky and vibrant hostels of Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. What initially started as a way to escape hellish call-centre work quickly turned into the most fulfilling job I ever had. As a result, my nostalgia-fuelled stay at Pitlochry Backpackers felt magical yet surreal. The pandemic nearly destroyed the industry. Sleeping in one room with multiple strangers simply wasn’t an option at a time when most people were meeting their friends and loved ones in parks for socially distanced walks. Even the award-winning hostels I used to work in didn’t survive, and they were among the best in the world. Hostels aren’t just about a cheap bed; if you choose wisely, yours might be more fun than any fancy hotel. And trust me – I love fancy! But it’s a chance to meet new friends from all over the world, or at least encounter characters you’re unlikely to spot at the local branch of Hilton. The hostels I worked in had a tremendous reputation because the whole team worked hard to provide an unforgettable experience. We showed our guests around the city, partied with them, cooked for them at no extra charge, played games and booked tours together. I’m still in touch with some of my former guests, many of whom I met way back when people on the internet were arguing about the colour of a dress. Nearly a decade later, most of us are scarred after a deadly pandemic and much poorer than we wanted to be. If ever there was a time for a hostel renaissance, it’s now. Hostels aren’t just about a cheap bed; if you choose wisely, yours might be more fun than any fancy hotel I think everyone with a passion for travel should try a proper hostel at least once in their life. There is something harmonious about exploring a new place – whether it’s a Highland forest or the Old Town in Prague – and returning to a communal space filled with personality, where the sound of laughter welcomes you as soon as you cross the threshold. In Pitlochry, I spent the day spotting kingfishers in the forest and listening to Joni Mitchell by the Loch Dunmore. Upon my return, I was greeted by a cheery Australian lad who said we should go for pints later. In the hostel’s kitchen, people were making a casserole together. I ended up solving jigsaw puzzles with two Brazilians at 2am while discussing the Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles’ newest album. In the digital era, and in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, it’s harder than ever to establish new connections face-to-face. Even asking for a napkin at McDonald’s gives me anxiety. That night in Pitlochry, I was showered with generosity and kindness. Chatting to everyone and learning about their circumstances felt liberating and natural. The process of choosing a hostel is not much different to picking a hotel. Pay attention to reviews; a place with a good rating is likely to be perfectly clean and tidy. A caring management is key. Ideally, you want your hostel to include various references to backpacking and the outdoors. Speaking from experience, if the place is filled with maps, flags, and leaflets, that’s a good start. A hostel should be a warm, authentic place that brings together people who are passionate about visiting new places and learning new things during their adventures. There’s nothing worse than a cold, lifeless hostel with white walls and fragile, aluminium frame beds that squeak and shake every time you take a deep breath. Many hostels offer private bedrooms at prices much lower than budget hotels. Booking one is a best-of-both option for those who would love to experience the social elements of a hostel without having to share a dorm with strangers. If you’re staying in a dorm and the place isn’t fully booked, they will most likely offer to move you to the most comfortable dormitory or bed available. Receptionists are there to tell you about the area, offer recommendations and help you book attractions. In the digital era, and in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, it’s harder than ever to establish new connections face-to-face Pitlochry is a popular Scottish tourist destination, but my stay still cost me a paltry £25. Book a good hostel in Central or Eastern Europe, and you could end up paying half that price. On the other end of the spectrum, some of Europe’s best hostels, such as Majdas Hostel in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the House of Sandeman in Porto, Portugal, charge somewhere between £30 and £45 for a night in a dorm during the summer months. That’s still far cheaper than most hotels, for digs that are arguably far superior. Pitlochry Backpackers helped me find a bit of that 2010s joy in me again. Surrounded by board games, DVDs, musical instruments, and quirky posters reminded me that you don’t have to splurge to have memorable, delight-inducing travel experiences. I might be cash-poor, but I now intend on getting out and exploring more of Britain’s nature while staying in cheap and cheerful backpackers’ hostels. I don’t plan on staying home all summer, and you don’t have to either. It’s time to shake off your British reserve, channel your inner extrovert and swap buttoned-up luxury for the hotel’s more affordable, cooler cousin. Read more of our best Scotland hotel reviews

A plan for how Indonesia will spend $20 billion to transition to cleaner energy was submitted Wednesday to the government and its financing partners

A fitness expert has slammed Logan Paul and KSI's Prime energy drink and called it their “most profitable scam yet”. James Smith looked at the science behind hydration and claimed that despite the fact the drink is the official hydration sponsor of UFC, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Barcelona, Paul and KSI “don’t even understand” the concept of hydration. Explaining how rehydration works, Smith said that water and sodium are key to tackling dehydration. He said: “If you’re partaking in a sport [where you] lose loads of water and loads of salt [and you] replenish with just water, over time you’re going to create a negative balance of sodium.” While Smith explained that replenishing electrolytes sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, it was sodium that is the most important to replenish. He then compared Prime’s offering to other leading brands, showing that Prime only has 5mg of sodium. It did however have an impressive 700mg of potassium. Logan Paul's Most Profitable Scam Yet www.youtube.com Powerade, meanwhile, contains 168mg of sodium and 200mg of potassium. “So understanding that when we sweat we lose mostly water and salt, which one of these two, [Prime of Powerade], do you think is going to be superior when it comes to replenishing the sodium that you’re losing?” he asked. It comes after Paul and KSI’s Prime defended the levels of caffeine in its beverages after facing a backlash. Health experts previously called on the US Food and Drug Administration to investigate the energy drink company. A 12 oz can of Prime, which was founded by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, contains 200mg of caffeine, equivalent to about half a dozen Coke cans or nearly two Red Bulls. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Jill Scott has sent a message of encouragement to the Lionesses ahead of their World Cup semi-final showdown against co-hosts Australia. The former England midfielder - who was part of the Euro 2022 winning squad last year - told the current crop of stars to be themselves and “put on a show”. “Keep doing what you’re doing, you’ve got so many fans from around the world,” Scott said. “Go out there, put on a show for the fans, we’re all so proud of you. A massive good luck from me.”

BEIJING Boeing named Alvin Liu head of its China unit on Wednesday, picking a Chinese-born representative recently hired

Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Alisson are subject to interest from clubs in the Saudi Pro League, but the Reds do not intend to sell either of them.

Andrea González aims to be vice-president in Ecuador after her party's presidential candidate was shot dead.

Tribal lands have some of the best potential for solar and wind energy in the US, but it’s

Battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. unveiled a new superfast-charging battery Wednesday that could be a game-changer

The Dutch economy unexpectedly succumbed to its first recession since the pandemic on weakness in both consumer spending

A dearth of skilled labor that’s restraining German output is getting worse. More and more companies across Europe’s

Streamer iShowSpeed has opened up about the health crisis that saw him rushed to hospital, saying that he “almost died”. The influencer was in hospital for weeks after being taken to a Japanese hospital in July for a sinus infection which caused a "deadly headache”. The influencer, real name Darren Watkins Jr, previously posted footage of himself with one eye closed and the other severely swollen. His followers have been showing support for the 18-year-old, with fans previously arriving outside of his hospital in Tokyo. Now, speaking in a new stream, iShowSpeed talked about the extent of the pain he was experiencing at the time. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “I am f***in’ back, bro,” he said. “Y’all don’t even know the pain I went through, bro. Y’all don’t know what the hell I went through, bro.” “Bro, I almost f***ing died. I almost jumped off of a f***ing building, chat. I was this close to jumping off of a Japanese building. And I’m not trolling, bro. I’m being deadass. I swear on my life, bro. It was that freaking bad, bro.” hes ALIVE! www.youtube.com He went on to say that he underwent a spinal tap procedure and said his headaches were like being “stabbed” behind the eye. “I literally had the worst-ever sinus infection,” he added. “It got super, super bad. And the sinus infection was causing cluster headaches… I pray none of y’all in the chat experience a cluster headache. It feels like somebody has a knife with your eye and are stabbing it from the back of your eye.” He added: “That’s the one that almost killed me. That’s the one that almost got me… I went through so much. I’m still healing.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.