Hitchhiking is more than just an opportunity to travel somewhere at minimal cost, it is a whole culture that allows you to take a fresh look at the world, expand your spatial range, feel all the colorfulness and fullness of life, make unexpected acquaintances and experience your own endurance and ingenuity.
I wonder when people thought of this way of moving?
Lomonosov and hitchhiking
They say that hitchhiking in Russia has a 300-year history. The first happiness in this field was experienced by Mikhail Lomonosov, who is jokingly called the first hitchhiker. Indeed, in order to get an education, he covered a distance of almost 1000 kilometers, traveling from Kholmogory (Arkhangelsk region) to Moscow either on foot or on someone’s cart. This is how strong the man had a thirst for knowledge.
Hitchhiking: why is it needed
But the modern tradition of such travels was also brought by students - the people are eccentric and ready for all kinds of extreme sports. But this was dictated not so much by money (although low scholarships are also the engine of all crazy ideas), as by the desire to "come off to the fullest" with the help of a mass of new impressions.
There is no denying that the monetary aspect is still one of the incentives for such trips. Who will refuse extreme rest, which is possible not contrary to, but precisely because of such a cheap way to travel?
Although it is extremely unreasonable to start your own hitchhiking trip without any preparation; the pros and cons should still be considered in advance. On one enthusiasm you will not go far both in the literal and figurative sense.
Also, hitchhiking skills come in handy when there are no tickets to the desired point in high season, when the transport schedule is extremely inconvenient, when you want to explore some locality or country and immerse yourself in the reality of what is happening. It seems that every person at least once in a lifetime should taste this smell of dusty roads in order to feel what it is. And for some, it can become a lifestyle.
The benefits of hitchhiking: cost savings
When we hear that someone managed to go around half the world with $ 100 in his pocket, then a thought immediately arises: "Is it weak for me?"
It’s true that drivers generally don’t take money from hitchhikers. Given the considerable cost of travel in Western Europe, this is a significant plus. A kind of service charge is simple human communication. Typically, fellow travelers are taken to their cab by truckers who spend many hours sitting behind a steering wheel, and they simply want to turn off the radio and listen to a living person. Here is such a mutual assistance.
This does not mean that you don’t need to take money on a trip, because anything can happen on the road (for example, you have to go to the hospital), you just need to save a lot. Large bills should be exchanged for smaller ones.
Emotional aspect
So, from all of the above, it is clear that the lack of funds and a lot of free time is by no means the main reason that makes a person slow down unfamiliar cars. A real hitchhiker is led by a desire to see the country from the inside, get to know the locals, listen to the tales of talkative truckers.
Of course, there are unspoken rules for hitchhiking regarding what kind of interlocutor you need to be. The driver basically takes a companion for his own fun, and if he starts a conversation, it is better to support him and answer not monosyllabic, but giving more details.
It is not always convenient to depend on your luck or someone else's arbitrariness, because you never know how long it will take to get the next ride, whether it will stop raining on the road, whether there will be an overnight stay in a new city or in general you will need to spend the night in a field under a bush.
But it is precisely this, at first glance, hitchhiking lack of travel that beckons its followers. If you exaggerate the essence of such trips, we can say that a person creates an extreme situation for himself, heroically finds a way out of it, while at the same time enhancing self-esteem, and voila: then there is something to brag about with friends.
Freedom of movement
It is nice to feel that you are not dependent on the availability of tickets, bus schedules, etc. This condition is called "your own boss." Hitchhiking gives you the opportunity to follow your unexpected impulses, for example, having seen an interesting picture outside the window, you can give in to your inner impulse without a twinge of conscience and go out to look at everything close up. And you can spontaneously change the route or even stay somewhere for a day or two.
Security
It cannot be denied that hitchhiking carries a considerable share of risk. This is the most significant drawback of this type of movement. As for girls and women, it is extremely dangerous for them to do it alone. Men are simpler, but they also need to be extremely careful and not get into suspicious cars. If possible, you never need to take expensive mobile or tablets on the road, do not keep your wallet in sight.
Of course, there is still the danger of getting into an accident. Sadly, the fact that the hitchhiker is the victim of an accident on average once per 100 thousand kilometers. Although such a danger equally applies to those who travel for money. But God saves those who are safe, so an experienced hitchhiker does not slow down those cars that rush at breakneck speed.
Knowledge of the language
No way without it. Pantomime and gestures will not always help out. It’s definitely not possible to talk essentially with the driver, but this nullifies almost the whole point of the hitchhiking. Of course, this does not mean that you need to know the language perfectly, a conversational level is enough. It is useful to grab a phrase book or gadget with an online translator, as well as a map of the area in the language of the country where you plan to travel.
The benefits from this are substantial: local residents can give very practical recommendations as to where it is better to stay, where you can eat cheaply, what else to see and so on.
Nameplate
The hitchhiking gesture, known in almost all countries, is an outstretched hand with a thumb raised up.
As a rule, if the driver takes such a passenger, this implies that he agrees to free travel and is ready to throw a newly-made companion along his route. True, in some countries (Russia, Ukraine) it is better to clarify this delicate moment, otherwise you may find yourself in an awkward situation if the driver does not know about any hitchhiking or knows, but wants a monetary reward for his service.
Plus, it is desirable to have a sign in your hands. This is the main assistant on the road for hitchhiking around the world. It is one thing to stand with a raised hand (especially on branched international highways leading in many directions: drivers are just too lazy to stop to clarify), and quite another with a specific destination pointer.
Just in case, you can write two or three signs (one with the final destination, where you need to get, and the other with intermediate), because the car does not always go straight to the place we need, sometimes you have to make transfers. It is better to take a marker and what to write on (cardboard, sheets of paper) from home, otherwise they will not appear on their own somewhere in the middle of the field on the road.
Exploring the route
This is the key to success. It is necessary to collect as much information as possible about possible places to spend the night, calculate the mileage, figure out what distance you can actually cover in a day, shovel a bunch of reviews from your own kind about a particular section of the road (because there are places everywhere where you can get stuck for the whole day, and it's better consider in advance).
The navigator will be a good help in all this venture. It is also advisable to find out the weather forecast or inquire about the average temperature indicators for a specific time of the year, it depends on what to take on a hitchhiking trip and what will be superfluous.
Beginner Tips
- There are entire communities of hitchhikers who are ready to provide a free overnight stay, just register in one of them and arrange an overnight stay.
- It’s better to stand halfway to the passing car so that you can see the backpack behind your back (this has a stop).
- On a hitchhiking trip, be sure to bring a plastic card with you just in case, which can be used in the country of destination. Otherwise, customs officers may find fault with an insufficient amount of cash.
- At gas stations, as a rule, there is a free toilet, as well as a washbasin. In no case should you forget about hygiene; the hitchhiker should have a neat appearance so that the driver takes him into the cab.
- Access to free internet is available in public libraries.
- If there is a cumbersome musical instrument, then it will be useful to take it on a trip: you can even earn extra money by playing on the street.
- A sleeping bag and a warm blanket are also needed.
- For the safety of movement at night, you must have reflective strips on clothes and a backpack, reflectors, headlamps.
- It is better to vote outside the city, especially after gas stations. But near the signs prohibiting stopping, or cornering, there is almost no chance.
Hitchhiking: reviews
If you evaluate the opportunities for hitchhiking in Europe, then they say that the most responsive drivers are in Germany, and the most indifferent are in Spain. So if you plan a tour of Western countries, then it is better to get to Berlin by train, and already there begin to catch a ride.
Hitchhikers are much more likely to catch a car under the age of 25 years (so to speak, socially acceptable age; it is believed that older people stop cars solidly).
It is always necessary to dress neatly, cleanly, but it is desirable taking into account some features: you need to have bright wardrobe elements in order to set up drivers benevolently and fit in appearance to the image of an eccentric student, and in no way remind a potential terrorist.
It’s more fun and reliable to catch a car in a company, but this makes the whole event very difficult; a lonely hitchhiker will get to any point faster than a couple of lovers (although they are unlikely to be very upset).
And if some of the shortcomings of this type of tourism did not become an obstacle and a decision was made to still try hitchhiking, what is needed first of all is the spirit of adventurism.