Light Hostel

I enjoyed Light and made a few friends there. We went to different night markets together. The big shared room on the main floor has a full-service kitchen and is useful for longer stays. The crowd is mostly Taiwanese, around 90%, with about 10% Western guests, so meeting people and making plans together was easy enough. Tainan is smaller than Kaohsiung and gets fewer Western visitors; backpackers often choose one of roughly five budget hostels. Even the pricier UIJ has few Western guests, so there isn’t much socializing there. Light sits in a busy part of town at a lively intersection, with an outdoor restaurant by the main entrance. I found the neighborhood hip. It’s at the southern end of the nightlife area, which continues north for five blocks. A large pedestrian street is one block east on weekends, running along Asakusa Shopping Center on Section 3, Guohua St. Fridays and Saturdays are usually fully booked, though it’s quieter during the week. The building dates to the 1960s and wasn’t designed as a hostel. It used to be a hospital, so even the dorm rooms have their own bathroom. There’s just one shower, toilet, and sink in each, which could be inconvenient for late sleepers. With earplugs, noise didn’t bother me except when someone flushed. The beds have thin four-inch foam pads rather than spring mattresses. The dorms are self-service, and guests strip their own beds before checkout, which helps keep costs down while providing better facilities than other budget hostels. Reception is only open from 10AM to 6PM, so arrange self check-in ahead of time if arriving later. Otherwise, there’s no way to get in.