My 2nd time ever staying at a hostel

My second time ever staying at a hostel was in New Orleans and it cost $16 a night. 
The first person I met there was a man who was about middle aged and dressed like an explorer. He walked into the dorm and we started talking. 
That's what I was starting to love about hostels; They are generally an open environment and very easy to meet people. I had read that they are like that but I was still surprised at how much of a sense of community I got from hostels. The first one I ever stayed at didn't have too many people in it while I was there, so I was still realizing what being a hostel stayer was like.
I told the man that I wanted to travel for 2 years and that I had just left home 2 weeks before. He said that he had also traveled for 2 years and now he is walking the Mississippi river. I was surprised. 
I had never met anyone else who have actually done what I'm doing. I remember thinking, Damn, that guy has lived my dream and now mine has only just begun. 

Later that night, someone in the hostel started talking to me. He sounded a bit redneck too and he was really friendly. He said I said go outside and have some beers.He led me outside to an area where several others were sitting around a table. 
He said, "hey everyone, this is Ben. He's going to hang out with y'all for a bit" and then he walked away. I thought that when he said I should come out, he was going to as well but I guess he had something to do, so he introduced me and left?
    Anyway, I sat down and drank beer and talked. I found out that they weren't just guests at the hostel; they lived there and paid rent every month.. They said that people from all over and other countries come and go. I was surprised that people were living at that hostel. They worked in construction and seemed to enjoy staying there.
The conversations were funny. The guy to my right, liked the idea of recording with my camera. The man sitting to my left was an old man with a big grizzly beard and everyone called him Pops.
I talked with him and recorded some of the things he said throughout our conversation.
I think it was a great video, feel free to check it out.
The man was a war veteran and I'm grateful to have listened to what he had to say.

Interesting Things in New Orleans

After going to Niagara Falls I decided to go to New Orleans.
It was too expensive to take a direct flight from Buffalo. After searching, I found that Southwest Airlines had a great flight deal from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans! It was cheaper to take a bus from Buffalo to NYC and then transfer to another bus going to Charlotte and then taking that cheap flight to New Orleans. Being a vagabond and making travel money last longer is kind of like a game. A game that I enjoy.

It took more than one day to make that cheaper transit option and I spent a night camping while in Charlotte.  

I flew into New Orleans on my 23rd birthday. Of course the freaking airport was in the middle of nowhere, which I learned is how it usually is everywhere after getting more travel experience.

  I looked for public buses to the city but didn't find any. The only way out of there was either to walk all day, take a taxi, or if you reserved a hotel which offered hotel pickup.

I didn't book anything ahead. I had only stayed at a hostel once in my life and was still new to my travelling lifestyle so I wanted to go to the city and look at the different hostels first. I had a few addresses written down that I looked up before arriving. 

This was on the inside of the taxi I took

After finding a hostel, I went to explore the city.

There were lots of shops and a lot of those shops sold alligator heads... Or they could have been crocodile heads. I don't know the difference and I really don't care about being all technical and scientific. The point is they looked cool.

I also went into a store called Hippie Gypsy. Inside they had a picture of the United States with all states and it was labeled and color coded to show the marijuana laws and age of consent of every state. wow. It was titled, The Grey Areas of the Red, White, and Blue. I apologize for the glares on the picture.

Here are some pictures I took in a couple more shops...

While I was walking around New Orleans that day, a woman (well, I think she was a woman anyway but I'm not completely sure) with crazy hair that stood up and also was holding a Huge glass of some sorta red liquid (probably alcohol) looked at me as I was walking by and held out her drink and said "hey baby, you want a sip?"

She looked like a person whose name was probably Riesha or something. By the way, Riesha (pronounced Rye-eesha) is a fake name that I made up to call people who are tacky looking.

Anyway, she kept trying to talk to me like "hey, you going to the football game later?" I said something like "nope, fuck football" and walked away quickly. Don't be mad if you're a person who likes football; I was just trying to get her to stop talking to me.

Also, I walked down the famous street that everyone always talks about, Bourban Street. I came back to that street again at night it was a lot more active. Anyway, while I walking down the street during the day, a young woman was walking in front of me then an old guy comes from around the corner and bends over right in front of her and says "fuck me!" 

I'm pretty sure she didn't know the man and wasn't too happy about that.

I went into a restaurant later and ordered the Gumbo and Po' Boy Special.  I had no idea what a gumbo or po' boy was. 

That's why I ordered it. 

The Gumbo and Po' Boy Special
It was tasty! :)

I also checked out some of the art in the city...

lol

And I found some cool looking buildings...

The sign just said Bar

New Orleans also had a lot of gay pride...

When It got dark I went to Bourbon street and it was very crowded and also one big party! There was lots of bars and some strip clubs.

I had never drunk a daiquiri before in my life and I decided to try one since New Orleans is famous for them. I went into a place called Big Easy Daiquiris and ordered a large one. It was good but it gave me the biggest chest freeze in my life. 

I don't get brain freezes. I never have; I don't know why? 

Maybe, I don't have much of a brain? No, maybe my brain is just too powerful to get them! However, I do get chest freezes. :(

Next, I went into a voodoo shop. Not that I was intending to do any voodoo but I wanted to see what it was like inside. What pissed me off was that I was not allowed to take film or pictures inside. I wonder why? Would spirits attack me if I did?

All over the street were signs advertising the Hand Grenade as

New Orleans most powerful drink. It was even more popular than the Hurricane drink! I saw many people walking around drinking from the green tubes. I went and bought one. I have no idea what's in it.

 It was good though. Actually, I really would like to drink one now as I'm writing this!

The Hand Grenade

A church near Bourbon Street

I might have been a little bit drunk ^^

This is the end of this post. Thanks for reading.   :)

Camping in Niagara Falls State Park

While visiting Niagara Falls I decided to save money by camping in the state park and I had a good experience while doing so. So if you visit Niagara Falls while on a budget or just like to camp (both of those things applied to me), it's something you could consider doing too.
  While walking and looking for a good area in the park to camp in, I came across a tree with some type of fruit growing from it. I didn't, however, recognize what it was. Actually, they looked like apples except they were really small like cherries.  

This has to be edible, I thought. So, I picked some and ate them. They tasted like an apple, only a little more sweet and sour. Maybe they really were miniature apples? I collected a bunch and took them with me. There was many of them (there was when I was there in September 2013) and they were tasty. So try to find them if you go there! :)

 I didn't see any signs or anything that said camping wasn't allowed but I still wanted to stay hidden just in case and also for privacy. 

I walked across a field and then into the woods until I couldn't see the road.

My camping spot

What I quickly noticed was that the soil was loaded with worms!

I didn't have to dig to find worms, just scraping the ground a little with a stick unveiled many worms.

It was nice to camp.

In the town of Niagara Falls there was just hotels, tourist crap and pricey restaurants. I eventually started buying food from 7-11. I liked the state park and the waterfalls but I got really tired of the tourist town that was around it. However, that town did have something I like...   This building 

So, I spent most of my time in the park. It was so beautiful.

I also found some leaves that look like mustaches.

 Nobody bothered me in those woods and I camped in that park for a couple nights... 

And I discovered that at night, they light up the falls with colored lights.

The Bitch at the Canadian Border

I had seen Niagara Falls from the American side and I also wanted to see them from the Canadian side. On the American side you are able to get closer to them but on the Canadian side you are able to get a better view of them. 
I didn't know how long I wanted to be in Canada. I thought that since I was crossing the border that I should spend a week or two at least exploring some of Canada and maybe go to Toronto too. I had read before on the U.S. travel government website that I didn't need a visa if visiting under a certain amount of time.
I was a little nervous about crossing the border.

                                          The view while crossing the bridge into Canada

This next part is something I don't like thinking about... sigh

At the end of the bridge, I entered the Canadian check in place.

It was a little room with one guy behind the counter checking people's passports. I approached the counter and showed him my passport. He asked me if I had any knives or pepper spray.

"I have a pocket knife" I said. He had me pull it out and show him but allowed me to bring it. He then asked how long I would be in Canada...

Looking back at my response, I now see how ignorant I was. I had never crossed a border on foot before and of all the places, I sure the hell didn't  expect Canada to give me any problems! Americans didn't even used to require a passport to go there!

When he asked me how long I would be in Canada, I told him that I might wander around for a week or two. Then he called somebody over and told me to follow the lady to the building next door...

The woman had short blonde hair. I said "hello" then she said "hello". As we walked across the street she asked if I went to school. I said "no" and then she asked "do you have a job?"

I'm sure that not having a job like "normal" people didn't make me look too good. 

We went into the building and the blonde lady left and I had to talk to another woman behind the counter. She asked me some questions. 

I explained that I had saved up some money and now I'm travelling. She was a polite woman and told me that they were concerned about if I was planning on ever leaving Canada and also that I have enough money to support myself while wandering around. She seemed to believe me that I'm simply an explorer and not some criminal or someone trying to escape to Canada and said that If I could show her my bank statement that shows I have enough money to support my travels that I could stay however long I needed.

Of course, I didn't have a bank statement on me. She pointed to a hotel across the border and said that it had a computer room and that I could print it there. She said to go print it off and bring it back and then I can travel Canada! 

I walked all the way back across the bridge border and found the hotel and the computer room, then had to pay a fee in order to print it and then I walked back across the border with my bank statement in my hand.  I was getting sweaty since the sun was rising higher and all of the walking with my backpack on. 

I entered the building once again and a man told me to take a seat. Soon after, the lady with the short blonde hair called me up to the counter. I handed her my passport and bank statement and explained that the other lady told me to come back with it. Unfortunately, that other lady was not there...

The woman with the short blonde hair was a bitch. She had a very serious face and began questioning me. I had to explain again that I was a wanderer. She said "why would I let you into My country! you haven't shown me any proof you intend to go back to your life in Texas!" I once again explained that I didn't intend to go back for awhile. I told her that I might go to Europe or somewhere after Canada because I'm a wanderer and I'm travelling!

She didn't seem to get it.

She said that me wanting to wander was a problem. I directly asked her if wandering a country was illegal. "no" she said. "then what's wrong with that?" I asked. " I told you what's wrong with that, aren't you listening! I can't trust you to leave Canada!"

Whenever I first crossed the bridge, the guy in the booth let people pass when they told him that they would be there just for a day or two mainly to see the falls. I didn't even see him stamp anyone's passport. He simply looked at it and asked a couple questions and let them pass...  But of course, because I was honest and wanted to be in Canada for more than just a couple days, I ended up being a security concern.

I understand the concern and suggested her to give me a date to be out by and I'll make sure to leave by then. You can't technically know for sure that the people who walk across to see the falls plan to leave either because a lot of people walk back to the U.S. and don't have a return flight or anything. She then said "oh, I intend to give you a date!" 

She began asking me more questions like "did you reserve a hotel room?" and looked at me like I'm a complete moron when I told her no. "Then where do you intend to stay?!" I told her that I could walk in and get a room. I've done it many times and there are a Ton of hotels in that area. Of course, I didn't tell her that I was carrying a tent in my backpack and I planned on camping some; she probably would've thought that was terrible!

She then asked me if I had researched about Canada and knew what I was going to do there. "I haven't looked up Everything, maybe go to Toronto" I said. After mentioning Toronto, she said "do you even know anything about Toronto?" "I know it's big" I said.

That answer seemed to make her even more frustrated with me. 

She starting angrily ranting things like "when you go on vacation you need to plan what you are going to be doing!" Several times she used that word.Vacation. She didn't seem to get the point that I'm a drifter and I'm not on vacation. "I'm a wanderer; I like to explore" I said with emphasis. "Go sit down" she said and I waited once again.

After awhile, She called me back to the counter. She had a document stapled to my passport. "I'm allowing you to enter Canada for today which I probably shouldn't even be doing! If you're not out of Canada by midnight tonight there will be a warrant out for your arrest!" It was about 12:00 p.m. As I was leaving she said "have fun wandering for 12 hours!"  Bitch.

It wouldn't have been worth it to get a room. I would have the room for less than a day and wouldn't have been able to sleep there! I didn't have anywhere to leave my bag and had to carry it around while in Canada that day. 

The so called Canadian city was just a bunch of gimmicks and tourist stuff. It looked like a freaking carnival.

However, the place had some beautiful parks and I got to see a good view of the falls.

While in Canada I felt somewhat like an unwelcome guest even though I knew I shouldn't because it was just that one lady that I had a problem with. I thought that Canada would be a welcoming neighbor. But whatever, assholes are everywhere. I was probably there in that tourist town for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours then I walked back across the border.

It was my first time to ever go to another country completely alone and where I didn't know anybody. It was also my first time to walk across a border. Many people who have had more travelling experience than me at that time would've known this: Do Not EVER say to immigration officers that you don't have a plan or a scheduled departure date. 

Standing next to Niagara Falls

Inside Niagara Falls State Park I saw something that surprised me.  
             This...

Wow, that's cool, however, I usually expect WiFi to be in a building and not in an outside nature place. Maybe It was coming from the visitor center but it ranged a lot further away.
 I continued into the park and found the path that led to a stoned area right next to the falls from which I got to gaze down at the big majestic waterfalls.

I noticed a wooden platform down below that people in yellow poncho's were on and it led right next to the base of the roaring waterfall!  I instantly became jealous.
I would probably rather see the falls from the bottom looking up than from the top looking down. Actually i wanted to see them from both points of view but I know it would be more intense looking at it from the bottom.

                                           Oh no,.. that old guy's ass is in the picture.

After looking at all of the waterfalls from above, I decided to find out how to get on the platform to look at them from below.  I found the ticket booth for it.  The name of that attraction was The Cave of the Winds and it cost $11.
   I bought the ticket and was given a yellow poncho and shower shoes; we had to take our other shoes off. Then I was taken into an elevator inside of rock and went down...

I saw rapids raging down from the waterfall and boulders speckled across as I walked that wooden platform. The higher I went up the platform, the closer I got to the base of the waterfall. Eventually, I reached the special section called the Hurricane Deck. 
It allowed you to stand right next to the bottom of the waterfall. It was windy and water poured down intensely.
It was really like being in a hurricane! I loved it. it was awesome! Actually it was... fucktastic.

My first time ever at a hostel

During my time in Buffalo, NY,  I found a hostel. I was surprised to see one there. I had never seen one before in my life. I've heard of them before but didn't know that much about them. I thought that hostels were only on backpacker travel routes in Europe or only in secret special places and was surprised that one was in Buffalo.  I didn't think hostels were very common.
  I knew that at hostels I would  probably be sleeping in a room with other people. "Oh God, I wonder what kind of people will be in there" I thought as I approached the door... 
   I walked in the hostel and there was newspaper articles and all kinds of stuff stuck all over the walls. It was $25 a night! Wow, I could hardly believe this was happening!
Back then I thought $25 a night was cheap, but now I do not, haha. It is a lot cheaper than a hotel in America though.
I remember the receptionist saying "understand this IS a hostel, you will be staying with other people" as if I might not know what a hostel is. He handed me bed sheets and a towel and I walked up to my room. The room was empty, however, there were other people's stuff on some of the other bunk beds. So, they'll probably be back later.

The hostel was nice. it had WiFi, which surprised me that a place so cheap did. (what I considered cheap back then, I'm typing these words from my journal)
It also had a lounge area and a kitchen that people are allowed to bring food into and use for cooking as long as they wash the dishes afterwards.
Later someone else walked in the room. He said "hello" then went to his bunk which was across the room from me. Later another guy walked in.
I was laying down on my bunk and was on Facebook or something. The man looked at me and said "hello" then he asked "what country are you from?" which I first thought was a strange thing to ask but I soon learned that a lot people from other countries stay at hostels. "Uh, this one" I said. He was like "oh really?" sounding fascinated. He went on to tell me that he was from India.
I had heard that people meet a lot of other people by staying in hostels, but I was a little surprised when this guy just walked over and started a conversation while I was laying in my bed. I was starting to learn of the sense of community you can get from hostels.
I told him how I was wandering around and he thought it was cool.  He also told me that he wandered around at a phase in his life but he did it in India. We had a good conversation. He also told me that my money will last a long time over in Asia and that part of the world.  
Time passed on and we were both wondering if anyone else would show up. No one did. It was just us 3 in the room. The other guy didn't really talk much; he just went to his bunk and put in headphones.
In the morning, the Indian man wished me luck and I left..

Well, that was my first ever experience of a hostel. I know there really wasn't anything unusual about it and usually I try to write down unique experiences but it was unusual for me back then during the early part of my trip. I've stayed at many hostels now and it sometimes feels strange to imagine a time that I didn't even know what it was like to stay at one. So, I wanted to type my first experience. Much of this post was copied word for word from my journal which I wrote back then. It amazes me how much about my life has changed since I left on my trip and I am reminded of that as I type the words I haven't looked at in a very long time.