The movement of backpackers is expanding all over the world - people who prefer to travel on their own, bypassing tour operators, and with a minimal budget. For them hitchhiking This is a common thing, perhaps even the norm of life. This way of conquering space has a lot of advantages: in addition to cheapness, you get to know people, get to know countries in their authentic and uncombed tourist form. It is truly an adventurous journey in its original sense. The disadvantages of hitchhiking are that you completely fall out of the familiar comfortable environment and all responsibility for life and health falls only on yourself, you are not guaranteed an overnight stay under the roof and dinner at the appointed time. If the road beckons you, you should know the basics of this travel format.
Basic rules for hitchhiking
Hitchhiking in Russia may seem banal to you, but it is better to study in a familiar social environment. In our country, there are several informal clubs for hitchhikers. To join one of them, go, for example, to the village of Izhitsy in the Valdai region Novgorod region. Meetings, the so-called elbes, are held there twice a year. So, what do you need for hitchhiking? In addition to equipment - tents, clothes and various little things useful on the road, you should know some rules.
1. You must have a goal
Hitchhiking with no money is purposeful travel. Otherwise, it turns into wanderings without purpose and meaning. The M10 highway leads to the same village of Izhitsa. Buy a road map of Russia, learn the names of key settlements, find places where you can spend the night and eat. Having mastered a simple route, you can go, for example, by hitchhiking to Europe from Russia.
2. Consider the rules of the road
Hitchhiking around the world will be more successful if you know the basics of the rules traffic. It is almost impossible to catch a car on high-speed sections of freeways, and traffic rules prohibit stopping on bridges and overpasses. And if you go on a hitchhiking trip around Europe and Russia, then you need to follow the rules for walking along highways.
3. Consider local customs
In Europe, the sign that you want to be picked up on the road is a raised hand with a hand clenched into a fist and a raised thumb. However, in some countries of Southeast Asia, such a gesture is considered indecent and offensive. There it is better to have a cardboard with the name of the settlement where you want to go.
4. Tramps are not liked anywhere
If you are going to hitchhike in Russia, this does not mean that you can look like a dirty ragamuffin. Untidy vagrants are treated badly everywhere. Someone just feels sorry for dirtying the interior of the car, while others begin to fear for their lives at their sight. So try to be civil. To do this, have a thread and a needle, a bar of soap, a comb with you.
5. The third extra
The idea that traveling with a large group is more fun and safer is very attractive and makes sense. But finding a passing transport will be much more difficult for you. The cabs of even the main trucks are designed for a maximum of three people. And purely subjectively, three people are already perceived as a threat. European drivers will 100% bypass a company of three young men. But in Thailand or, where the rules are taken more lightly, even five can be planted into the open back of a pickup truck without any problems. By the way, some people generally prefer and basically do not take anyone with them.
6. The road will be mastered by the walking
When hitchhiking, you have no one to rely on but yourself. Be active in search of transport. Much more often pay attention to those who go and ask for a lift. Sit in the shade - it means you don't need to go anywhere. Standing at a pole - maybe you are a road worker. In any case, even slowly moving on foot, you will be closer to the goal than if you stood all day waiting for a ride.
7. Calculate your strengths
8. Personal contact is the key to success
Try to establish contact with the driver at a distance. The language of facial expressions and gestures is international. If you manage to interest or attract the attention of someone, he will have less reason to refuse further communication with you. In general, "share your smile ...". Do not climb into the cockpit silently and with a sullen look. First, it's impolite. Secondly, having greeted and assessed the situation, you can quickly decide whether you should get into such a company. It is better to refuse at the slightest doubt than to get stuck in history. But in this case, apologies.
9. Around a lot of interesting things
The benefits of hitchhiking are numerous. One of them is the opportunity to see something that is not in any tourist brochure, or which is not mentioned on any of the sites. Even if you are hopelessly (seemingly) stuck in the little-known village of Kukuyevo, this does not mean that there is nothing interesting from the word “generally”. The ruins of a manor, churches, a museum at a rural school, an unexpectedly beautiful view of the surroundings, monuments military glory- all these living witnesses will tell you much more about the Motherland than the official pompous publications.
10. Exude optimism
A journey of this format is closest to its original meaning. This is truly an adventure. Difficulties and even minor troubles can lie in wait for you at every turn. Be persistent and take everything that happens with humor. After all, you set off on the path for this. A big smile and a positive attitude will help you solve most problems.
After gaining experience on short routes, even trip around the world hitchhiking will not seem impossible to you. Unexplored paths and paths are waiting for you. Dare!
Hitch-hiking- this is the free movement of tourists on passing transport with the consent of the driver (conductor, driver). Initially, hitchhiking was possible only on passing cars, but later developed hitchhiking on other modes of transport. Hitchhiking is not considered ticketless travel in a route transport, unless the consent of the driver (conductor, driver) is obtained.
Hitch-hiking- It's not a complete scam. The main principle of hitchhiking is the mutual benefit (conscious or not) of its participants. As a rule, the main benefit that a driver derives from a hitchhiker is communication. Especially on a long route, communication that breaks the monotonous rhythm of the road and allows the driver not to fall asleep. That is why hitchhiking, under various names and in various forms, has existed since ancient times and will continue to exist until cars and drivers disappear.
informality- Another very important aspect of hitchhiking. History knows the facts when drivers of regular buses, bound by strict rules, pick up hitchhikers precisely for the sake of informal communication. "Passengers - for money, fellow traveler - for the soul." That is why the passage on a passing ship with the inclusion in the ship's list of hitchhiking is usually not considered, since in this case certain formal relations are created.
Confidence- Another very important principle of hitchhiking. The driver allows the hitchhiker into his very narrow personal space in the cab of the car. Manifestations in this case of suspicion, insincerity, lies are simply unacceptable.
1. Type zero hitchhiking- movement on passing bicycles, motorcycles, horses, horse-drawn carts, rickshaws and other non-mechanical vehicles or vehicles with a small engine. The allocation of this kind of hitchhiking is more of a comic character, since in real life very rare;
2. Hitchhiking of the first kind- the most common type. This refers to the movement of passing cars and trucks, buses and other ground non-rail vehicles;
3. Hitchhiking of the second kind- movement on passing railway trains;
4. Hitchhiking of the third kind- "hydrostop" or "aquastop", movement on passing boats, ferries, ships and other water vehicles;
5. Hitchhiking of the fourth kind- movement on passing helicopters, airplanes and other air vehicles;
6. Hitchhiking of the fifth kind- so far belongs to the realm of fantasy and implies the use of space transport.
The most famous type zero hitchhiker is jokingly called Mikhail Lomonosov, although this page of his biography is rather legendary.
The emergence of hitchhiking coincides with the emergence of road transport at the beginning of the last 20th century. Initially, hitchhiking was more spontaneous. Later, the hippie movement played a significant role in the promotion of world hitchhiking, as hitchhiking gave these people the opportunity to travel and get acquainted with different people without spending money, which they usually did not have at all.
In 1978 was established Petersburg Hitchhiking League (PLUS). The President of this League is Alexei Vorov, who has hitchhiked over 1.3 million kilometers, which is still an unbeaten record. Hitchhiking by the definition of PLAS is a sport, which is why PLUS members often hold various competitions and speed races both in Russia and around the world.
Outwardly, PLUS riders are distinguished by bright yellow overalls. However, at their suggestion, this uniform began to be found everywhere, so any yellow figure on the road should not be considered a PLA.
The greatest achievement of PLUS - round the world expedition"Autocolumb" 1992-93. The members of this expedition traveled around the globe, without using any regular transport, having visited 25 countries of Eurasia, as well as North and South America.
In the summer of 1996, one of the PLAS members, Philippe Leontiev, traveled from St. Petersburg to Dakar, hitchhiking over 16,000 kilometers using 197 modes of transport (including a Nouakchott-Lisbon plane loaded with frozen fish) and visited 15 countries in the process. In general, this journey took 2 months.
Moscow Hitchhiking School (MSHA) was founded in 1994 by Moscow-based hitchhiker Valery Shanin, author of Hitchhiking: Hitchhiking Through the US and Europe. His hitchhiking experience is about 100 thousand kilometers (data for 2001). The main interest of Shanin and his school of hitchhiking is the countries of the West.
Valery Shanin and the School of Hitchhiking organized several major events for hitchhikers, such as the Russian Hitchhiking Championship, the Moscow Hitchhiking Championship, and others. mass media, although, according to some hitchhikers, they were organized at a rather low level.
Free Travel Academy (VVP) was founded in 1995 by Muscovite Anton Krotov. The experience of Anton Krotov is more than 500 thousand kilometers. Unlike other schools of hitchhiking, WUA perceives hitchhiking as a science and as a method of understanding the unity and kindness of the world around us. The main slogan of the WUA school is "Science will win!". The fundamental goals of the WUA are to find, collect and disseminate information related to independent travel, regardless of the material level of the traveler. Because of this, this particular school is one of the most famous and respected among beginner hitchhikers.
The Academy of Free Travel organizes many mass expeditions to various countries, including the African and Asian continents. For beginners, "self-propelled trips" are often organized.
Russian hitchhikers (the terms "stopper" and "stopper" are also used) use their own slang, which is not always understood by other people. For example, the word "dog" for some hitchhikers means commuter train ("to go to Moscow on dogs"). Some of this slang is borrowed from hippie slang and trucker slang. The word "half-stop" is used to refer to people who, on the same trip, alternate between hitchhiking and paid transportation.
Used sources
1. .
2. Krotov A.V. Autostop in Russia. - M.: Armada-Press, 2001. - S.8-32.
Route.
It is useful to know which settlements will be on the way and whether they will be at all. It is not always necessary to have a card with you, for example, if it is a Moscow-Peter stop. If you go somewhere in the wilderness, you can even buy a paper one, although I usually download offline maps to my android. Calculate how long a typical trip on this route takes, add to this figure from an hour to infinity. Who catches the car for 15 minutes, someone has to stand for several hours.
Gear.
Can not be bad weather, sometimes bad equipment. First of all, you need to get dressed. weather and bright. Comfortable shoes and neat clothes add +100 to comfort. In the rain, of course, take a raincoat and spare socks with you. Shoe covers are also a topic, by the way. I don’t recommend girls to wear short dresses even in extreme heat, I had such an experience, I didn’t like it. No incidents, but they offered to make money.
Be sure to have a flashlight and spare batteries for it, a flashlight on your phone does not count! It is very convenient to ride with a power bank, there are even solar-powered ones, but this is no longer on the mandatory list.
Sleeping bag / sleeping bag / tent. If the journey is long, at least the first two should be with you.
Backpack.
The most common mistake of beginners is to buy a backpack for 70 liters and stretch it with things up to 90. You don't need so many things! Just believe me, the back is more expensive. If the stop is summer, then, even if you go very far, fifty liters is more than enough. Everything you need will appear when you need it.
Provision.
Always take water with you. From food, take dried fruits and chocolate - that's it on the road. Eating before the road is a must! Often good drivers are fed, but not all and not always.
How to start.
It is very difficult to catch a car in the city or on a bypass. Look for transport that takes you out of town to the highway, go as far as possible, so you will catch a car faster. Smile, wave, thumbs up)
Where to stand.
Certainly not on the bridge. And not before turning. And not after. Make sure that you are clearly visible for a long time, the driver needs to have time to think and understand that he wants to pick you up. If it's already dark, stand under a lantern or light yourself with a flashlight.
In car.
Be as friendly as possible, but not intrusive. Chosen for completely different reasons. Someone is bored of traveling alone, he picks up an interlocutor for himself, someone likes to teach the mind, in this case, you will hardly have to talk, but only listen to how to live. Someone himself was the same, planted, fed, put to bed. In general, pump insight. Do not sleep if the driver himself did not offer it to you! And even if he offered, it's still better not to sleep.
Never camped or slept in a tent until I quit my job and hitchhiked for the first time. A story about how you can change your life, and whether it is worth it - especially for Scooter.
I was born and lived all my life in Moscow. I graduated from two institutes: like most people of my generation, I got into the first institute by accident - I became a programmer. The second one I chose consciously, and received an MBA degree. I almost got legal education, but a son was born, and I had to interrupt my studies.
All my life I worked according to a schedule invented by someone - from 8 to 17, from 9 to 18, endless from and to, with a break for lunch. I started my career as a secretary and ended up as a head of human resources. I often rested, three to five times a year: all my life I preferred to save on things and cafes in favor of traveling. At first I bought package tours, and later I started planning trips myself: I got so good at buying tickets, booking hotels and transfers that I began to be considered an advanced traveler among my friends, and I was happy to advise everyone.
In February 2017, after working at Rospotrebnadzor, studying at the Plekhanov Institute and receiving an accountant diploma, I decided to take a break from the office and went to the Mosgortur company, which organizes holidays for privileged categories of families. New job helped me reconsider my values: I left home for a long time, and six months later I realized that I wanted to go on a long journey, and hitchhiking.
Where? How? With whom? Hitchhiking means that you and your fellow traveler are not separated even for a minute. You vote on the road, you spend the night together - in a tent, in a hostel, visiting couchsurfing hosts, you share food in half. I was lucky: I quickly found "my" person.
To search for fellow travelers, there are groups and pages on VKontakte about travel - WUAs, "Hitchhiking Community", "Drahma Tramps" and so on. Since I already had a visa to the USA, and really wanted to visit New York again, I posted an ad looking for a fellow traveler or fellow traveler in South America with return through the USA. In anticipation of responses, I looked through the ads of other users. One of them interested me in the timing of the proposed trip: a young man from St. Petersburg had already bought a ticket to Thailand and was looking for a fellow traveler to Southeast Asia on the same dates as I was looking for fellow travelers to America. I responded to S.'s ad about hitchhiking in Thailand out of sheer curiosity: I wanted to see what the acquaintance of future fellow travelers looks like, what questions they ask, what answers they get. We met, and I knew for sure that I would not go anywhere with this man: at first I didn’t like him at all, neither in appearance, nor in demeanor. But, after talking with S. for some time, I changed my mind: he inspired confidence, was neat, calm. He could be trusted. I was inspired that he went on a journey similar to mine: he quit a well-paid job, sold his car, and went traveling the day after his birthday.
It's good to break away when you're twenty. When you are forty, and have years of continuous work behind you, several higher education, an arranged life, a child, more or less clear and predictable plans - everything becomes unobvious. Losing your monthly income is scary. An established social circle calls for prudence - this will be especially active on the part of relatives. Before the trip, I agreed with my mother that my son would live with her - we transferred him to a school near her house, and I monthly gave money for his maintenance.
It is not for nothing that a 65-liter backpack has been lying in my village house for more than ten years, it is not known how it got there - it's time to pick it up, put things in it and hit the road. I had to fit all my philosophy in clothes, cosmetics and accessories into these 65 liters and no more than 10 kilograms. YouTube helped me: lists and essays on how to build a backpack for hitchhiking are usually of little use in real life.
My list is as follows:
- Backpack (65 liters) + mini backpack + waist bag + backpack cover / rain cover;
- foam + sleeping bag;
- jeans + jacket with long sleeves;
- sneakers + sandals;
- three pairs of socks + woolen socks + underwear, five pieces + swimsuit;
- two shorts + pants (sports);
- windbreaker + fleece + raincoat;
- two T-shirts + two T-shirts;
- towel + buff + keffiyeh or arafatka;
- sneakers + flip flops;
- knife + sunglasses + belt;
- drugs + cosmetics;
- box for food;
- tongue brush + tooth brush + dental floss + washcloth + manicure set;
- wallet + bank cards+ passport + driving license + other documents (photocopy of passports, two bank statements, insurance).
I met the given weight: at the beginning of the journey, my backpack weighed exactly 10 kilograms, but in the process, various little things were added, such as soap, washing powder, pens, a selfie stick, a marker - I flew to Russia with a backpack weighing 17 kilograms.
Before, I did not understand that a person needs very little in life. Now I have come to the theory of minimalism in life: having dropped in to Moscow between my trip to Southeast Asia and my trip to Russia to Vladivostok, I gave away two-thirds of my wardrobe.
My first step was to buy a one way ticket to Bangkok. At first it was difficult for me to step on the plane without a return ticket, then to go out on the track for the first time. You leave the city, look for a suitable position where you can be clearly seen, stand up "for show" - you're done! You stand and look into the eyes of passing people, catch their eyes, they see your eyes - you are waiting for your driver. It was very difficult for me: to open my eyes and my soul to strangers. Another feature of hitchhiking is complete uncertainty: no one knows where you will be in an hour, and where you will have to spend the night. It was the complete opposite of my previous life. We could leave the hitchhiking point in five minutes, and immediately get to the place we needed. And they could get stuck in the open spaces of a foreign country, in the mountains, and spend the night in a tent under the endless starry sky. It's a constant lottery, a constant adrenaline rush.
Before I went on a trip, my salary was enough for exactly a month. All the money went to food, paying for an apartment, and educating his son. When I wasn't working, I stood on the stock exchange and did odd jobs. And then it turned out that living on a trip is cheaper than in Moscow: on average, we spent 10-15 thousand rubles per person per month. With this money, we could rent a hostel, rent a motorbike, buy a bunch of fruits, go to the museum, buy the necessary clothes.
The main thing you save on when hitchhiking is travel and accommodation. You can live in a tent, in hostels (very cheap in Southeast Asia - an average of 250-300 rubles for a double room) and couchsurfing. Using it is simple: you send requests to the places of your trip and wait for a response. Wherever we didn’t have to spend the night: starting from a room under the stairs of a young homosexual Muslim in one of the most dangerous provinces of Thailand - Pattani, to a luxurious hotel in the center of Beijing. But the most important thing is not where you sleep, but who you communicate with: you will never see and learn so many interesting things if you do not immerse yourself in the life of the locals.
It was difficult for me to stay at the hosts for the first time. It seemed that I owed them something, and they wanted something from me. But then I realized that people do it disinterestedly, and it was in tune with what has always been in my soul: if you can help another, help.
During our trip to Southeast Asia, we visited four countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam). We returned to Russia through China: we drove through it and crossed the border near Vladivostok. In total, we were in Asia for seven and a half months, although initially I planned to return much earlier. We spent the most time in Thailand: this country became our starting point, we always returned there - in addition, in Bangkok we had a close friend thanks to couchsurfing, and he was always glad to see us. Southeast Asia impressed me: it is an amazing region that has everything - amazing sights, mountains and seas, hospitable people, rich culture and advanced technologies.
We visited as tourist places, and in areas where a person of European appearance aroused genuine interest in the entire village. We have been in dangerous areas of Thailand, where armed conflict is smoldering with Muslim separatists from the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat: they are fighting for the creation of an independent Islamic state or the entry of provinces into Malaysia. In the north of the country, we lived in a Buddhist monastery, observing all its rules, meditating and working.
This trip gave me an experience that I would never have been able to get around in a different way and live in expensive hotels. It was a concentration of all kinds of sensations, meetings, trials, overcoming oneself.
With my travels, I want to show everyone how you can be both self-sufficient and needed by others. Many people think that traveling is a way to avoid loneliness. But the opposite is true: it makes you even more alone than you were before it began. You meet so many strangers that it's hard not to close in on yourself, not to build a protective wall between yourself and others. I have met many other hitchhikers and the vast majority have become closed systems, unable to accept anyone into their world or open up to anyone.
I never imagined that it was possible to travel for free, to hitchhike, to communicate closely with the local population, to find friends where I had never even planned to visit. I have always been independent, supported myself, and here I had to allow myself to depend on the uncontrollable situation on the road - for me it was overcoming. But this is an important experience - it makes you more open, teaches you to accept the situation as it is.
I was glad to be back: thanks to the trip, I suddenly fell in love with my hometown. Everything that used to irritate or depress me has become insignificant and unimportant. I learned to love my compatriots in a new way, especially after traveling from Moscow to Vladivostok by car with my son. But the more you travel, the more blurred the concept of "home" becomes. I used to think that a house is walls, a roof, a ceiling. Comfort is furniture and soft pillows on the sofa. But home and comfort is where your heart wants to be and the people it wants to be with. My home is inside me.
(1300 km), which took me 25-odd hours. For comparison, a direct Eurolines bus takes 22 hours and costs about a hundred euros. And for sure, there are not so many adventures with the passengers of this bus.
Well, immediately the first rule of hitchhiking: get on the road as early as possible. Especially if you plan to cover a distance of more than 500 kilometers. And second: Before you set off, look at the map. Very carefully. And then again. Better on Google, but if there is no network at hand, then the paper version will do. On my way, I met stuck unfortunate hitchhikers who did not really understand where they were and where they needed to go. What is there, I myself got it. More on this below.
I left , completely scoring on the first rule and partially on the second. To get into a good place to stop, you had to take a train to Albee station (with a crossed-out “O”). The ticket is quite expensive, about ten euros, and it's a fifteen minute drive. You can take a chance - the controllers did not check me personally.
In the end, you need to be here in this place (just in case, maybe it will come in handy for someone, there is a second option to go south). Here it is appropriate to recall the third rule. A good place for hitchhiking is determined by several factors: low speed and high traffic density, good visibility, the ability to stop easily and safely. The location was good and I had to wait no longer than ten minutes. The guy who gave me a ride turned out to be very talkative and drove past the place where he wanted to drop me off.
"Nothing, we'll go all the way to the port," he said.
The fact is that the easiest way to get from eastern Denmark to Germany is by ferry from the city of Rudby to Puttgarden. For the driver, this detour to Rudby probably took an extra forty minutes, but he drove me with a smile and told me how he stopped himself in his youth. In parting, he wanted to give me money, but I refused.
“But I know that when you travel like this, you don’t have much, here, take it,” he still handed me a hundred bill.
— Yes, I'm not broke yet, thanks. — We said goodbye, and I wandered to the cars in front of the ferry.
In the ports you can engage in ferry hitchhiking. It's pretty easy - you just need to approach the drivers and explain that up to five people can be carried in the car for free. As a rule, the second - third driver agrees to take you with him. Everything turned out much more fun for me. The first car I approached was an older Ford van.
“Listen, this is such a thing - I need to get on the ferry, and since you have a car, and you are alone in it, can you take me?” It will still be free.
I don't understand, please repeat again. The driver said in sloppy English. I repeated it, of course. Now he was actively gesticulating and slowly pronouncing the words.
- Still no. The man spread his hands. - I don't understand.
— Where are you from anyway?
— From Georgia. he replied.
- Judging by English, hardly from the state of Georgia, - I said in Russian. - And I am from Moscow.
The Georgian name was Ilia. In fact, we were namesakes. He bought old trucks and shipped them to Georgia for sale. He was going to the Netherlands, which was exactly what I needed.
“Only this van is really bad,” he told me. - Something is knocking in him, and in general he is unlikely to trample on more than a hundred.
- All right, let's go together. “I shouldn't have said that.
It would be right to walk along the ferry and ask around the drivers of cars with French or Belgian numbers. Although, on the other hand, it turned out well. When we had already traveled through Germany, I understood what Elijah was talking about. The van rattled so loudly it filled your ears. Accelerating to a hundred was simply dangerous. A couple of times we were stopped by the police and checked the documents. Everything was clean.
The sound got louder with every kilometer. Closer to Bremen, under the bottom, something sharply crunched. Elijah swore. Apparently, the cardan crunched. At a speed of about five kilometers per hour, our van dragged along the roadside to the nearest gas station. There we called for help, but the tow truck could only arrive by the morning of the next day. I had to say goodbye. It was getting dark. I raised my hand as I exited the gas station.
European drivers also stop late in the day. At night, the following pattern works: the chance that someone will stop is lower; but the chance that this someone will travel far - higher.
The next driver was a jailer from the Swedish city of Malmo. He was taking his dog for mating to the city of Enschede, two hundred kilometers to the southwest. This is where I messed up, of course. The fact is that I myself had no idea where this city was and on what highway it was located. And another rule that I scored—Better to stay where you are than go to God knows where. But his direction was correct, and the distance was decent.
— It's okay, I know there's a great place for hitchhiking. But my dog’s grandfather… — He kept telling me what a cool offspring his bitch would get. I yawned and occasionally agreed.
The place where the jailer dropped me off was the gas station "In the middle of nowhere" - in some wilderness. It was two in the morning. On top of that, the highway I was on ran from southeast to northwest. I wanted to go southwest. All that remained was to freeze, swear and ask rare, rare drivers where they were going.
I cuckooed at this gas station for four hours, cursing everything in the world. Everyone I asked went either to the north or to the city of Enschede itself. It was getting light. By the way, at gas stations you can pester the carriers. After a couple of jokes, everyone usually starts smiling and explaining where they are going and how they can help. If there is almost no traffic, then you should approach everyone without exception.
About six o'clock, a car with Italian numbers drove up to the gas station. The driver, not even refueling, turned to me.
- What are you doing here?
- Well, I went to Paris, but here I got stuck.
- Well, I'm going to The Hague, and there is already a direct route to Paris. Sit down.
He had been traveling from Italy for eleven hours without stopping, so we talked, yawning.
“Look, from The Hague the highway goes straight south to Belgium and France. E19 if I'm not mistaken. I'm going to drop you right on it, somewhere at a gas station.
- Thank you. Otherwise, I would still be cuckooing there, under Einschede. Maybe start a family at that gas station, and so on.
Near The Hague I was about seven o'clock. Early morning is probably the most problematic time for hitchhiking.—huge traffic, but everyone goes to work.
There was now a direct road to Paris. There were four hundred kilometers left, and I did them in six hours. The only problem with hitchhiking in France and Belgium was the language barrier. So, if you decide to stop in this region, learn a couple of phrases in French in advance.
The last drivers, two Negroes from the Ivory Coast, drove me straight to the Champs Elysées. I exhaled and went to look for a hostel. He was found in Montmartre. The price of 25 euros per night was justified only by the fact that I was alone in the room. I could not fall asleep, and I found the strength in myself to walk around the city. Dawn met in the company of street musicians.
Finally, a few more tips that could not be found above:
—Dress appropriately before you go out on the road. Modest but neat—perfect option. Nobody wants to ride with a homeless person.
– The ideal places for hitchhiking in Europe are: gas stations, barriers on toll roads, ferry exits and, if available – traffic jams. In traffic jams on the highways, it is most convenient to stand with a sign.
By the way, about the plates. Personally, I hardly ever use them. They are very rare. For example, if the road to a small town separates from the highway, where you need it and if the place where you are standing is very uncomfortable.
