Travelling Folk.

Travelling has taught me a great deal already but one of the things I have become an expert on is people.

Hostels are breeding grounds for people who are weird and wonderful. When you are constantly on the move, a new hostel a day brings with it a room of new faces, personalities and interesting characters.

From my experiences so far I have grouped these travelling folk into ten 'traveller' types which range from the sweet, to the sour, to the just plain weird.

If you've travelled before, some of these may sound familiar and if you haven't, then take notes because you are bound to come across some of these along your way...

1. 'The Scarer'

The scarer is probably the most common individual among the travelling community.

Thriving off the fear of others, the scarer enjoys watching you squirm as they recall tales of travelling horrors from places that you have just told them you are due to visit.

They are usually not experts or anymore experienced than you, but they speak with such arrogance and confidence, hoping it lures you into believing they know their stuff.

Scarers have usually visited the places they are trying to scare you about, and most likely they too were scared before they visited. However, in classic 'scarer' style, surviving their experience has granted them the power to act boastfully, evoking fear into those who are to follow in their footsteps. They often disguise their scaring as friendly advice, but don't be fooled.

"Oh Townsville, that's where you'll catch Dengue Fever"
             
- Little Old Lady, Airlie Beach -

"You want to be really careful in Malaysia, there's a lot of theft and other things.. stick together and be very, very careful"
            
- Lady at Market Stool, Cairns -

2. 'The Competitor'

The competitor is equally as common as the scarer. Their sole purpose is to compete over travelling routes, activities and experiences. They will, at first, make you believe that they are just being friendly and showing a genuine interest in your journey, however, just like a predator striking its prey, they will suddenly attack.

They go out of their way to either top anything you have done with some extravagant tale or they aggressively defend their own choices, as if to convince themselves that their way was best, even though it clearly wasn't.

"Well we like thought about hiring a car but we thought well we won't like meet people like you do on the greyhound"

-Annoying Girl, Yamba -

3. 'The Encourager'

This is everyones favourite type of traveller.

The encourager doesn't judge, or give you reasons why not. They just listen, offer valuable advice and get genuinely, really excited for you... they may even express their immense jealousy at your plans.

They are such a massive boost that gives you confidence. They generously share their wisdom and experience to help you, not to put you off or dishearten you.

They are the ones we try to smuggle in our backpacks to be our personal tour guides.

"Oh girls you will absolutely love Bali! It is so beautiful, you won't want to leave."

-Market Lady, Cairns-

4. 'The Language Barrier-er'

The language barrier-er is one of the most frustrating types of traveller.

They are clearly lovely people, so sweet and friendly, however, we simply don't speak the same language.

This causes great problems in communication and often means that bar a few hand gestures and laughing nods, you can't speak to them.

- quote unavailable due to language barrier -

5. 'The Dosser'

The dosser has a very different travelling outlook.

They have usually intended on travelling around but have become settled in one place, usually working for their accomodation at the hostel where they meet other dossers and form a mini dosser community. Very quickly, their motives for travelling become less about covering ground and more about comfort.

We all envy the dosser, they are often living the dream with no real plans to return to normality.

"Yeh I work here now, I just go meet people off the bus and that's it really, easy!"

-Quirky European Girl, Byron Bay-

6. 'The Old Age Pensioner'

Probably the most inspirational of all, the old age pensioner is a traveller who has the courage to come out and backpack among all the young travellers.

They hold their own, with immense wisdom and knowledge. Refreshingly open, we have often found them to get themselves into more outrageous situations then anyone else and have a crazy good time doing it.

"I just turned down this random street to find a massive chinese new year parade going on. They were dancing in the streets so I joined them, it was great!"

-USA Lady, Christchurch-

7. 'The Jekyll & Hyd-er'

This type of traveller is the master of the false sense of security.

They don't give much away. They may be so friendly in the evening, but you will awake in the morning and it is as though you don't exist to them.

They may even have taken your number or added you on Facebook the night before, but you can be sure that come morning, they will want nothing more to do with you.

8. 'The YOLO-er'

The yolo-er is crazy. They are a rare breed but not easily forgotten once you have met one.

They are usually eighteen year olds on gap years, buzzing from the novelty of the freedom that comes from the first time you are away from home.

We could all learn a lot from them, their attitude is refreshing albeit a little wreckless as they commonly have no regards for any budget whatsoever.

"We say ...fudge the budget! "

-Gap Year Guy, Katoomba-

9. 'The Dissapear-er'

The dissapear-er is always on the move.

They usually arrive in the middle of the night so all you can catch of them is a sleepy glimpse of their silhouette.

Not many can be found, but they do exist.

Despite their late arrival, you wake up in the morning, eager to get a proper look at your 'unknown' roomate, only to find that they have already got up and gone.

You will never learn anything of the dissapearer or where they are heading. Completely and utterly dedicated to travel, these guys don't waste a second and they certainly aren't interested in making friends.

10. 'The Breath of Fresh Air-er'

The breath of fresh air-er is a happy traveller to end on.

They aren't the most common but they are the best to meet.

They can be all ages and from all parts of the world but whoever they are, they share your opinions and interests and make for the best conversation.

This particular type of traveller shares all your main interests in travel; where they want to go, what they want to do and why they are travelling in the first place. These are the guys that you just click with and end up chatting to for hours over a drink or a monopoly board (best game of monopoly I have ever played). Because you share so many common interests, they can usually offer you the best advice and we like that, a lot.

So there you go guys, my guide to the top ten travelling types that you may encounter on your adventures...

I like to think I fall into a positive category myself, although I fear I may be a 'struggle-er' - the traveller who can't gracefully mount the top bunk without causing great harm to those around her and/or herself... exiting with minimal grace and maximum disturbance...