Over the past twelve months I visited 12 countries on two continents and stayed in hotels, hostels and apartments for durations ranging from a single night to several months. Conditions have run from rat-infested to five-star as well as rat-infested-five-star.
While I certainly appreciate a good night’s sleep on a comfortable bed, it bothers me that the vast majority of the space for which I am paying is wasted while I am unconscious. If I spend $25 a night for a room and only use 10% of the space, I have just flushed $22.50 down the toilet (provided the toilet is working).
While my recent travels took me to some of the cheaper countries of the world (big surprise) I fear that I will never have the chance to see more expensive destinations unless I get creative in my accommodation search or less anal in my expense allocation. Creative it is!
While couch-surfing appears popular, it seems extravagant to require such a large piece of furniture for something as innocuous as sleeping. Could I learn to sleep sitting up (sleet/sleeting)? I will take up less space and certainly increase the number of potential hosts. Plus the obligation to be a good guest would be halved.
I wonder what would happen if I ran an ad on Craigslist with the subject heading: Wanted: Chair hire in the London area, 2 nights. What kind of people would respond? How much would I have to offer for the use of a chair per night? Would the quality of the chair affect my offer? Certainly a star system could be applied ranging from 1 star for a wooden chair to 5 stars for a leather chair with attached ottoman (en suite).
Is there a business for people with small spaces to put up rows of folding chairs to rent to out-of-town guests? It paints an amusing picture especially if a bedpan is included under each chair–though this sounds similar to the last plane I was on.
I am not traveling for 30 days so must get cracking on learning the fine art of sleeting. Now what if I did not even need a chair, and could sleet on the floor? That would take things to an entirely new level (lower).
Wanted: 2’x2’ space in the London area. 2 nights.
But where would the bedpan go?
