backpacker (noun) – a person who travels or hikes carrying their belongings in a rucksack
Most backpackers will tell you that their time spent on the road is among the most rewarding travel experiences one can ever have and that, almost always, it’s the journey that teaches them more than their destination itself. Yet, one of the tasks backpackers have to endure – and sometimes dread – while globetrotting, especially in our country, is retiring for the night in peace.
Yet, many a backpacker will swear that they’ve had the most enriching experience here in Mumbai, more specifically, at the HOP Hostel in Bandra.
Nestled in the by lanes of the bustling Hill Road in a quaint bungalow, the HOP (Horn OK Please!) Hostel is quite a rendezvous for the weary yet resilient backpacker. Entering this hostel here, in Mumbai, takes you travelling – both time and space – to a more contemporary-yet-modern European feel in this 120-year-old bungalow. Inspired by their stay at a hostel on one of their tours to the beautiful Budapest, childhood friends, Rishab and Smit, decided they would like to have as much fun interacting with their guests and making them feel at home as they did back then. More than its minimally decorated four walls, which are host to 3 dormitories – one exclusively for women, it’s the experiences that backpackers of different regions, nationalities and ethnicities share on their brief stay here.
Bandra, a cosmopolitan melting pot of a range of languages, cultures, fashions and so much more, plays the perfect host to backpackers discovering this maximum city and the HOP Hostel is more than a welcoming retreat. The common room here plays host to plenty of activity, bonding and fun. On some nights, guests come together for an impromptu live gig, on other nights they either play board games, get hosted to a magic show or immerse themselves in Bandra’s more than popular nightlife. A walking tour of Bandra, the tourist spot is also a much loved and appreciated initiative of the owners of the HOP Hostel. To add to this, breakfast and Wi-Fi are complimentary services that come along with the budget-friendly and exceptionally clean accommodation.
So, what do boarders here like the most? Well, everything! For one, the comfortable mattresses for a good night’s sleep seem like heaven which are ‘hard to come by’ at most accommodations, the really clean showers are another. For most backpackers, this is all they need. But the added breakfast, internet and more than anything, the lively bit of fellowship and sharing of experiences with fellow travellers are like an added luxury.
While most travellers will agree that the journey is more rewarding than the destination, at the HOP Hostel, this journey becomes a truly enriching one.