Hitchhiking is something more than just an opportunity to go 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, start unexpected dating and test your own endurance and ingenuity.
I wonder when people thought of this way of transportation?
Lomonosov and hitchhiking
Hitchhiking in Russia is said to have a history of 300 years. The first to experience happiness in this field was Mikhail Lomonosov, who is jokingly called the first hitchhiker. Indeed, in order to get an education, he covered a distance of almost 1000 kilometers, getting from Kholmogor (Arkhangelsk region) to Moscow either on foot or on someone's cart. That's how strong the man's thirst for knowledge was.
Hitchhiking: why you need it
The modern tradition of such trips has also startedstudents are eccentric people and ready for any kind of extreme. But this was dictated not so much by lack of money (although low scholarships are also the engine of all sorts of crazy ideas), but by the desire to "come off to the fullest" with the help of a mass of new experiences.
Nothing to deny, the money aspect is still one of the incentives in such trips. Who will refuse extreme rest, which is possible not in spite of, but precisely because of such a cheap mode of transportation?
Although it is extremely unwise to start your own hitchhiking trip without any preparation; the pros and cons should still be considered in advance. Enthusiasm alone will not get you far, both literally and figuratively.
Also, hitchhiking skills will come in handy when there are no tickets to the desired point in the high season, when the transport schedule is extremely inconvenient, when you want to explore some area or country and immerse yourself in the reality of what is happening. It seems that every person at least once in his life should taste this smell of dusty roads in order to feel what it is. And for some, it can become a lifestyle as well.
Pros of hitchhiking: cost savings
When we hear that someone has managed to travel half the world with 100 dollars in his pocket, then the thought immediately arises: "Am I weak?"
It's true that drivers generally don't take money from hitchhikers. Considering the considerable cost of travel in Western Europe, this is a significant plus. A kind of payment for the service is simple human communication. Usually fellow travelers are taken to their cabintruckers who sit for many hours at the steering wheel, and they just want to turn off the radio and listen to a live person. Here is such mutual assistance.
This does not mean that you should not 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 money. It is better to exchange large bills 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 driven by the 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 about how to be a conversationalist. The driver basically takes a fellow traveler for his own fun, and if he starts a conversation, then it is better to support him and answer not in monosyllables, but giving more details.
Depending on your luck or someone else's arbitrariness is not always convenient, because you never know how long you will have to wait for the next ride, whether it will rain on the road, whether there will be an overnight stay in a new city, or even you will need to spend the night in a field under a bush.
But it is this, at first glance, the lack of hitchhiking so attracts its adherents. If we exaggerate the essence of such trips, then we can say that a person himself createshimself an extreme situation, he heroically finds a way out of it, while at the same time increasing his self-esteem - and voila: then there is something to brag about to friends.
Freedom of movement
It's nice to feel that you don't depend on the availability of tickets, bus schedules, etc. This state is called being your own boss. Hitchhiking gives you the opportunity to follow your unexpected impulses, for example, when you see an interesting picture outside the window, you can shamelessly succumb to an inner impulse and go out to look at everything up close. Or you can spontaneously change the route or even stay somewhere for a day or two.
Safety
It's undeniable that hitchhiking carries a lot 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 this alone. It is easier for the stronger sex, but they also need to be extremely careful and not get into suspicious cars. If possible, you should never take expensive mobile or tablets on the road, and keep your wallet out of sight.
Of course, there is still the danger of getting into an accident. It is sad but true that a hitchhiker becomes a victim of an accident on average once per 100 thousand kilometers. Although this danger also applies to those who travel for money. But God saves the 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. Definitely not talking to the driversucceed, but this nullifies almost the whole point of hitchhiking. Of course, this does not mean that you need to know the language perfectly, a conversational level is enough. It would be useful to grab a phrasebook or gadget with an online translator, as well as a map of the area in the language of the country you plan to travel.
The benefits of this are significant: locals can give very practical recommendations on where to stay, where to eat cheaply, what else to see and more.
Plate
Known in almost all countries, the hitchhiking gesture is an outstretched hand with a thumb 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 even know about any hitchhiking or knows, but wants a monetary reward for his service.
Plus, it is desirable to have a sign in hand. This is the main assistant on the road for hitchhiking around the world. It's one thing to stand with your hand up (especially on the branched international highways leading in many directions: drivers are just too lazy to stop to check), and quite another - with a specific destination sign.
Just in case, you can write two or three tablets (onewith the final destination, where you need to get, and others with intermediate ones), because the car does not always go straight to the place we need, sometimes we 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 by themselves somewhere in the middle of a field on the road.
Learning the route
This is the key to success. It is necessary to collect as much information as possible about possible places to stay overnight, calculate the mileage, estimate how much distance you can really cover per day, shovel a bunch of reviews from your own kind about a specific section of the road (after all, there are places everywhere where you can get stuck for a whole day, and this is better take into account in advance).
Navigator will be a good help in this whole undertaking. It is also advisable to find out the weather forecast or inquire about the average temperature indicators for a particular time of the year, it depends on what to take on a hitchhiking trip, and what will be superfluous.
Tips for beginners
- There are entire communities of hitchhikers who are ready to provide free accommodation, just register in one of them and arrange an overnight stay.
- It is better to stand half-turned to a passing car so that you can see the backpack behind your back (this encourages you to stop).
- When hitchhiking, be sure to take a plastic card with you just in case, which can be used in the country of destination. Otherwise, customs officers may find fault with insufficient cash.
- Gas stations usually have freetoilet and washbasin. In no case should you forget about hygiene, the hitchhiker must have a neat appearance for the driver to take him into the cab.
- Free internet available in public libraries.
- If you have a non-bulky musical instrument, then it would 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 stripes on clothes and a backpack, reflectors, headlamps.
- It is better to vote outside the city, especially after gas stations. But near signs prohibiting stopping, or on turns, there is almost no chance.
Hitchhiker reviews
When considering the opportunities for hitchhiking in Europe, they say that the most responsive drivers - in Germany, and the most indifferent - in Spain. So if you are planning a tour of Western countries, then it is better to take a train to Berlin, and already there you can start catching rides.
Hitchhikers under the age of 25 are much more likely to catch a car (so to speak, socially acceptable age; it is considered undignified for older people to stop cars).
You should always dress neatly, cleanly, but it is advisable to take into account some features: you need to have bright elements of the wardrobe in order to make drivers friendly and fit in appearance like an eccentric student, and in no case resemble a potential terrorist.
In the company to catch a carmore fun, and more reliable, but this greatly complicates the whole event; A lone hitchhiker will get anywhere faster than a couple in love (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 try hitchhiking, what is needed first of all is the spirit of adventurism.
