When I was younger I used to hitchhike. At the age of 17 my friend Havana and I spent 10 days hitching from London to Scotland and back again. I’ve hitched from England to the South of France, all over Malta, Holland, Central London and would frequently hitch from my parent’s house in Shaftesbury up to Bath. I loved the randomness of who would pick you up and the stories they would tell. Long distance lorry drivers were particularly good fun as they obviously enjoyed having people to talk with. In all those times I never felt in danger or threatened in anyway whatsoever. It always seemed to me a really great way to travel around….it’s such a shame that, at least in England, it’s a dying art.
Though not in Mongolia and Kazakhstan 🙂
It’s really common to hitch a ride both in the countryside and in the cities. People stand by the side of the road and, rather than a thumbs up, you raise your arm to hip height and (optional) wiggle your hand a tad. If a car wants to pick you up they stop, you tell them where you’re going and, if it’s in the the same direction, they pick you up. The slight difference is that usually a small price is paid for the ride. You might think only people in need of money would pick hitchers up but you regularly see really expensive looking cars drawing up who certainly don’t look like they need some extra cash.
On the way into Almaty on Sunday evening all walks of life were lining the busy road: old, young, families, friends, singletons, smartly dressed folk and not quite so – all catching a ride into town. Another thing to note is that you often see single girls hitching and getting into cars with a single man. So it seems to be a really safe, efficient and economical way to travel around – not least because there’s one less car choking up the roads.
So, in the words of Morrissey…….”unite and take over.”