One of the many great aspects of traveling is meeting interesting people. Some are more interesting than others. Scooter is the owner of the underground-hostel I am staying at and he falls into the first category. There are very few hostels in Texas. I found only one in Austin. An hour after the booking I receive an email from the hostel owner telling me it’s temporary closed but if I want to I can stay in an unofficial hostel in South Austin. I had little choice and agreed. The hostel owner said this place is run by a friend of hers. His name is Scooter and he is ‘one of a kind’. What can I say… yes he is. Scooter converted his apartment into a big dorm room with kitchen and bathroom. 100% IKEA style. He built the bunk beds himself. I did not want to challenge my luck and decided to sleep in one of the lower ones. The very colorful decor, linen, sheets and abundant cushions make it look a little like a kid’s bedroom. He shares the room with his guests, cooks for them and goes out. In his former life, Scooter was an aspiring star in the music business. How often do you get to meet someone who auditioned for American Idol? Don’t miss this video of one of his other auditions: