An Ode to the Cambie Hostel

I'm glad I stayed here.

There are any number of reasons. Good location, affordability, comfy beds. But the real value has been the interesting people I've met. To wit:

-3 German tourists offering conversation and bear spray
-An Australian nurse from Melbourne, looking to work in Canada
-An Australian SCUBA instructor, also from Melbourne, touring around most of North America in one very long go.
-A German accountant, looking to work in a Canadian hotel.
-A German student on her way home from working in a Canadian hotel.
-A pair of girls from Ecuador and Japan, both studying English.
-Their Swiss friend. Also studying. Them.
-A Swiss tourist, who talked about his government provided Swedish assault rifle.
-An Irishman touting the wonders of Jameson.
-A former member of the Singapore armed forces, looking for work in the same field as my mom.
-An American college student with a bad haircut, in the middle of an existential crisis.
-An extremely friendly Quebecois musician, with a gift for making friends with everyone.
-An extremely intense Australian "bogan" (redneck) with too many tattoos, trying to get to Cuba.
-A verbose, friendly Quebecois filmmaker
-An American from Washington D.C., showing off his photos from Washington state.
-An Englishman who kept trying to throw pennies into everyone's drinks.

And that's just off the top of my head.

Now, will I miss the mice? No. The nails in the floor? Of course not. The noisy drunks at 3 am? Never.

Would I come back next time I passed through Vancouver? In a heartbeat.

Perhaps I didn't do the full Vancouver tourist round. I never saw the aquarium. I never went to the art museum. I took a three hour bus ride to do "The Grind" today and it was CLOSED. (Very Griswold family vacation). But I feel like I got a much more intimate glimpse at the life of the city. More than that, at the Cambie, I got a chance to see not just Vancouver, but the world through the eyes of it's fascinating and varied clientele.

I think Americans have the wrong idea about hostels. They are "sketchy" or "cheap". They are places where people get knifed or robbed. But I really came to enjoy it. It's a setup full of travelers. And since we are all mixed together, we get to meet each other. So much better than languishing alone in a hotel room.

So, here's to the Cambie. I love it. But I hope it's not too unique. I can only hope the rest of the world has places like it.