hitchhiking

Rules of Thumb: Tales from the Road

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 15:12:50 +0000

“This is a good spot,” I said to Lauren. The long, straight road that stretched out before us was lined by trees but still had plenty of space either side for vehicles to pull over and stop. A steady succession of vehicles crawled along the road through the still air. Bumper to bumper festival-goers all on their way home.

Tea, Anyone?

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:24:36 +0000

While hitchhiking from St. Petersburg to Moscow, one of our drivers left us in this tiny Russian village along the highway: five small huts with bored women, each supported by a hot, cooking samovar on front.

Thick As Thieves

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:52:34 +0000

The hills are filled with rust and gold.
It’s funny how one has a tendency to become the other, in a roundabout way.

Hitching to Zion #4: After the Prairie Dogs

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:38:11 +0000

Not only were my hosts on their way to join the New Zion Army, they were also stopping in Charlie’s hometown, Minneapolis, so they could live with his mom, get jobs, and save some money.

Hitching to Zion #3: Volunteers For The New Zion Army

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:53:43 +0000

A man going to work took me to Cedar City, a town in southern Utah. I could see I was going to spend a lot of time trying to hitch out of there. A car would go by no more than once every five minutes traveling north on the near empty interstate which lead to Salt Lake City.

Hitching to Zion #2: Las Vegas Welcome Wagon and a Ride from a Cowboy

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:42:11 +0000

The pickup truck, that had whisked me across the California desert, dropped me off on the strip in Las Vegas. In those days the casinos were smaller, many open to the street.

Hitching to Zion

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:29:52 +0000

I sat in the back of the speeding pickup surveying the desert in the direction the other hitchhiker was pointing. “There’s water in those mountains,” he said.

I wasn’t so sure. There wasn’t anything green as far as I could see. The truck was approaching a gas station where the guy wanted to be left off.

“You see this green part on the map? That means there’s water out there.”

Will Ferguson Updated: Winter Hitching in Japan

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:06:09 +0000

A ridiculously inexpensive flight from Milan to Tokyo and back, my backpack, a fluent-Japanese-speaking girlfriend wwoofing on a tropical island in southern Japan who is waiting for you (while Europe is buried in snow), and a copy of Will Ferguson's book "Hitching Rides with Buddha" [1].

The Importance of Border Stamps

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:05:32 +0000

Still filled with happiness in our hearts from the last ride, we walk up to the Ukrainian border guard. Hmmm, we could have known better. We give him our passports and as he flicks through them he says: "Where is your arrival stamp for the Ukraine?"

"We didn't get one", I answered.
"Impossible", was his simple reply.

Summer Solstice Above the Arctic Circle

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:29:49 +0000

I was on a mission - I wanted to see the midnight sun as far North as I could make it during its solstice, when the position of the sun reaches its northernmost extreme in the sky

Some journeys (thankfully) just don't end.

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:34:05 +0000

This morning should have been an omen. But I was too eager to leave, to be back on the road. And so I stood at a forgotten truck-stop staring out from Poland on to The Czech Republic wondering why, and how.

19 200 Litres Of Jet Fuel

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:49:24 +0000

I have just flown from Barcelona to Amsterdam in 60 000 kilos of steel speeding through the sky. It took three hours. When I boarded, it was 28 degrees, when I arrived at my destination: 13 degrees.

We Never Shared Names

Anonymous Hitchhiker — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:50:24 +0000

It costs 29 euro to take the train from Heerlen to Amsterdam, which seems reasonable, especially since I want to support the efficient, comfortable and comprehensive Dutch mass transit system.