"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain

So let's all get out there and travel more and open our minds! A large part of a travel budget often goes on accommodation as you need to be safe to rest and sleep to be able to enjoy the days. The options are expanding from large independent hotels, well-known chain hotels (you know what you're getting mentality), small B&Bs and even renting a room in a private home for your holiday. The one option I had never tried before was sleeping in a dormitory in a hostel so I tried it and can tell you there is nothing to worry about but being prepared definitely helped.

Who Stays in Hostels
I can report it's anyone and everyone. It wasn't just young backpackers but also business people attending conferences and working in the city for a short time. Others were staying at the hostel while trying to find a permanent place to rent. There were all ages and all nationalities and we all got along fine with the shared facilities.

Facilities
An en-suite bathroom is not common, unless you book a private room and then the cost is close to the same as a hotel so why stay in a hostel? You can expect there to be separate showers for men and women, and separate toilets too.

Your clean bed linen is usually included in the cost of your stay but you may need to rent a towel. You will be expected to make your bed for yourself which isn't as bad as it sounds and also gives you a chance to check the cleanliness of the area where you'll be sleeping that night.

There should be a kitchen where you can leave your food - labelled, of course - and where you can cook and prepare a meal. There should be somewhere to eat and somewhere to relax which might be the same place or might be a dining room and a TV room.

Some hostels have social events and some have bars and restaurants that are open to the public too.

Many hostels have wifi but where I stayed it was only available in the dining room and Reception which actually worked out great as everyone wanted to make Skype calls to loved ones and it meant the sleeping areas were quiet.

Location
I chose a hostel on the edge of a city and without a bar in the building so I felt quite confident it wasn't a party location.

Essential Packing
I sought advice from seasoned travellers and was grateful for these tips:

You'll be sleeping in a room with strangers and need to block that out to get to sleep. Always take ear plugs and a eye mask.

However clean the hostel is you don't want to walk around barefoot. You just don't. Take flip flops (lightweight slip-on sandals) and always wear them.

You may need to get up in the night or come back late so pack a pocket torch so you don't have to put on the main room light and annoy the others in the dorm.

You may sleep naked at home but you need to take something to sleep in when sharing a room with strangers. If you turn over in the night and the duvet isn't covering all of you, well, let's not go there but you see my reasoning.

Take a few padlocks as there may be lockers to store your bag which you have to lock yourself or rent a padlock from Reception. Some hostels have a small storage box by each bed so you can lock away your headphones, watch, etc.

I stayed for two nights in a 12-person dormitory and I'd do it again as I slept well and everyone was really nice. The hostel staff were friendly and had tips for local transport and sightseeing, and other guests were fine too.

So have I convinced you? Would you consider staying in a hostel dormitory on your next trip to save on accommodation costs?

If you've started making that groaning sound when you get up from a low chair or after sitting too long you may well have to accept the signs of aging are with you.

As the average life expectancy is about 80 years old in the UK and US the reality is that once over 40 you are middle-aged whether you will admit it or not. For those with offspring it may well be when your kids leave home that's the time of life marker for you.

Mid-Life Crisis

Here's when you start worrying about where your life is going and feeling trapped and invisible. Old forgotten dreams resurface in some unexpected and even unwelcome ways.

Men and women deal with the fear of tipping over the halfway point of life in different ways. While a man may buy a sports car (red, of course) or a motorbike, or trade the wife in for a younger girlfriend, women tend to choose travel or an 'all singing all dancing' food processor.

Energy Levels

When you are younger it's all about how many hours in the day but as you get older it has to be about how much you can personally do with the energy available each day. Sure, you may well be awake from 7am to midnight every day but that doesn't mean you will have the energy to work for all your waking hours nor should you. It is perfectly acceptable to factor in 'down time' and to not want to work until bedtime.

Is knowing you are getting older when you accept you can't drink and go dancing like the old days, not least because there are kids half your age looking at you as if you're an alien/their grandparents? It's OK to not want to party late into the night as you know you will suffer more for it the next day than you ever did when younger. Meeting a friend at lunchtime can be the answer to know you won't be going out that night and be too shattered by then.

More Signs of Getting Old

Apparently if you listen to talk radio shows instead of music and start regularly feeding the birds in the garden then you have reached middle-age. If you find yourself wistfully referring to the 'old days' too often and change your favourite tipple to sherry then the signs are there for all to see. If golf becomes your main form of exercise and you forget people's names but they let you get away with it then yes, start accepting. I thought failing eyesight should be on the list but others tell me failing hearing is causing them more concerns.

It's not all negative as the ability to accept and to not fight reality is one of the better factors of aging.

Go on, be honest. Will you deny middle-age has arrived right up till the time old age hits?