STORIES FROM THE ROAD

THE COMMUNITY WALL.

A growing community archive of real travel stories — shared by travelers around the world, from hostel kitchens, night buses, mountain trails, border crossings, and the people we somehow never forget.

STORIES FROM THE ROAD

THE COMMUNITY WALL.

A growing community archive of real travel stories — shared by travelers around the world, from hostel kitchens, night buses, mountain trails, border crossings, and the people we somehow never forget.

BROWSE THE WALL

READ BY FEELING OR MOMENT.

Each card shows the first lines. Open the full story directly inside the wall, then close it again.

ALL

ADVENTURE

HOSTEL LIFE

CONNECTION

FUNNY DISASTER

LOCAL EXPERIENCE

CULTURAL DIFFERENCE

BAD PLANNING

TRAVEL LESSON

GOODBYE

SOLO TRAVEL

NATURE

UNEXPECTED KINDNESS

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT

HOSTEL FRIENDSHIP AFTER A BREAKUP

HOSTEL LIFE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

Why you should check into hostels, all the time, especially after being broken up with.

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT

HOSTEL FRIENDSHIP AFTER A BREAKUP

HOSTEL LIFE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

Why you should check into hostels, all the time, especially after being broken up with.

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT

HOSTEL FRIENDSHIP AFTER A BREAKUP

HOSTEL LIFE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

Why you should check into hostels, all the time, especially after being broken up with.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

THE TATTOO THAT GOT US KICKED OUT OF A HOSTEL

HOSTEL LIFE

FUNNY DISASTER

CONNECTION

On my final day at a hostel in Medellín, I met a Russian motorcyclist over breakfast. A few hours later, I was tattooing him on the pavement outside because the hostel owner had kicked us out.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

THE TATTOO THAT GOT US KICKED OUT OF A HOSTEL

HOSTEL LIFE

FUNNY DISASTER

CONNECTION

On my final day at a hostel in Medellín, I met a Russian motorcyclist over breakfast. A few hours later, I was tattooing him on the pavement outside because the hostel owner had kicked us out.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

THE TATTOO THAT GOT US KICKED OUT OF A HOSTEL

HOSTEL LIFE

FUNNY DISASTER

CONNECTION

On my final day at a hostel in Medellín, I met a Russian motorcyclist over breakfast. A few hours later, I was tattooing him on the pavement outside because the hostel owner had kicked us out.

BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

CHASING MY STOLEN PHONE THROUGH COLOMBIA'S CARNIVAL

ADVENTURE

TRAVEL LESSON

CONNECTION

At Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia, my phone disappeared from the fanny pack I was wearing across my chest. Within minutes, the seven of us - four travellers and three Colombian locals - were following its live location through the crowded streets, with only five percent battery left on the one phone we could use.

BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

CHASING MY STOLEN PHONE THROUGH COLOMBIA'S CARNIVAL

ADVENTURE

TRAVEL LESSON

CONNECTION

At Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia, my phone disappeared from the fanny pack I was wearing across my chest. Within minutes, the seven of us - four travellers and three Colombian locals - were following its live location through the crowded streets, with only five percent battery left on the one phone we could use.

BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA - ZEYNA

CHASING MY STOLEN PHONE THROUGH COLOMBIA'S CARNIVAL

ADVENTURE

TRAVEL LESSON

CONNECTION

At Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia, my phone disappeared from the fanny pack I was wearing across my chest. Within minutes, the seven of us - four travellers and three Colombian locals - were following its live location through the crowded streets, with only five percent battery left on the one phone we could use.

MAZUNTE, MEXICO - ZEYNA

WHEN BOREDOM TURNED INTO CAKE

LOCAL EXPERIENCE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

When I woke up that morning in Mazunte, I had no plan. By sunset, I was standing behind my own cake stall on the town’s main street while strangers asked whether I supplied bakeries, accepted wedding orders, or sold magic cake.

MAZUNTE, MEXICO - ZEYNA

WHEN BOREDOM TURNED INTO CAKE

LOCAL EXPERIENCE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

When I woke up that morning in Mazunte, I had no plan. By sunset, I was standing behind my own cake stall on the town’s main street while strangers asked whether I supplied bakeries, accepted wedding orders, or sold magic cake.

MAZUNTE, MEXICO - ZEYNA

WHEN BOREDOM TURNED INTO CAKE

LOCAL EXPERIENCE

CONNECTION

SOLO TRAVEL

When I woke up that morning in Mazunte, I had no plan. By sunset, I was standing behind my own cake stall on the town’s main street while strangers asked whether I supplied bakeries, accepted wedding orders, or sold magic cake.

KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND - ZEYNA

THREE SECONDS BEFORE WE FELL

ADVENTURE

SOLO TRAVEL

TRAVEL LESSON

There were three seconds between Lindsey saying, “We’re falling,” and the scooter beginning to slide down the cliff. Three seconds to understand what was happening. Three seconds to decide how to land. Three seconds to hope neither of us would break anything.

KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND - ZEYNA

THREE SECONDS BEFORE WE FELL

ADVENTURE

SOLO TRAVEL

TRAVEL LESSON

There were three seconds between Lindsey saying, “We’re falling,” and the scooter beginning to slide down the cliff. Three seconds to understand what was happening. Three seconds to decide how to land. Three seconds to hope neither of us would break anything.

KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND - ZEYNA

THREE SECONDS BEFORE WE FELL

ADVENTURE

SOLO TRAVEL

TRAVEL LESSON

There were three seconds between Lindsey saying, “We’re falling,” and the scooter beginning to slide down the cliff. Three seconds to understand what was happening. Three seconds to decide how to land. Three seconds to hope neither of us would break anything.

NO PHOTO
SUBMITTED

ANYWHERE · COMMUNITY WALL

Your story here

ADVENTURE

TRAVEL LESSON

COMMUNITY

A memory, a mistake, a stranger, a place, a goodbye, a funny disaster, or a moment that stayed with you - that is enough. The Community Wall is meant to hold the kind of stories travelers usually tell each other in hostel kitchens, on hikes, or while waiting for the next bus. Your story does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be real.

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

ADD YOUR STORY
TO THE WALL.

Share a memory, a mistake, a stranger, a goodbye, a place, or a moment that stayed with you. Your story can be published anonymously, with your name, or with your Instagram handle.

If it's easier: You don't have to write it. Send me a voice note - the way you'd tell it at a hostel table - and I'll put it together and show you before it goes anywhere.


A story does not have to be dramatic. It just has to be real.

Story tags (choose up to 3)

WRITE YOUR ROAD

EVERY STORY STARTS SOMEWHERE.

HostelStories is a guided travel journal for the moments you want to notice, write down, and carry home - the quiet memories, the chaotic detours, and the people you somehow never forget.

HOSTEL STORIES