THE REALLY EASY HITCH-HIKING GUIDE

                  G'day and welcome to the Really Easy Hitch-Hiking Guide  :))

    Probably your first response would be:

    1  "I'm not getting into a strangers car!!"

                            or

    2   "I value my life!  I don't want to get done in by some crazy wacko!!"

               These are the first 2 instant comments or thoughts people always say. 

     A quick question for you.

     Q.  Is there ANYTHING anywhere that won't cause injury or death?


                     Anyway,  lets quit that hypothetical nonsense and get on with the fun,  the need to do,  the freedom held within ...  lets talk about the art of hitch-hiking.  :))

      One of the major bonuses of hitch-hiking is ... it's free!  Yep,  you got it.  It doesn't cost you a cent,  a franc or a rupee ... absolutely zilch!  :)   I once kept a dairy of my first hitch-hiking expeditions when I quit working in London from point A to point B,  from the bottom of England all the way to the top of Scotland,  oh, and I shouldn't forget Wales too.  In the first 6 months I had covered nearly 11,000 miles.  Yeah that's right almost 20,000 kilometers!!  Since then I have hitch-hiked 3 times around Europe.  Hitch-Hiked in Australia and have hitch-hiked almost the whole length of Japan.  And bit and bobs in South East Asia when the buses broke down etc.  :))

      Why is it an art I hear you ask? 

      Sit back,  relax and let me explain.  You can have a good day where it takes you much too long to get to where you want to go.  Or you can have a great day and cover half a country from dawn to dusk.  Of course depending on the size of the country.  From my experience,  the adventure of hitch-hiking depends on a number of very important factors.  That is,  when performing,  there is a knack to all art wouldn't you say!?

      So hitch-hiking starts with a place you want to go to.  Standing by the side of the road,  slightly extending your arm while at the same time giving your hand the "yeah" sign with your thumb pointed at an angle.  Stance is an important factor too.  One shouldn't stand looking at the other side or the road.  This will cause confusion with the drivers and possibly they will think you are just trying to cross the road.  Stand facing the traffic so that your whole body can be seen.  This has a number of advantages.  Firstly,  your appearance, and very importantly,  your smile can be seen by the oncoming traffic.

      When a car,  truck,  bus or in my case once when I was in England,  an electric milk cart stopped for me at about 4am,  always greet the driver with a smile.  Smiles do go a long way and since the car is taking you towards your destination,  or only part of the way,  for free,  the least you can do is offer a smile and a good chat. 

       That's a little about etiquette,  now lets look at a "Time Frame".


       A "Time Frame" is the amount of time it takes to hitch-hike to your destination from door to door.  For example:  to drive from Dunster in Somerset to London takes an average of just under 4 hours depending on the traffic.  For a hitch you need to include walking to you hitching point,  standing around time -- standing around means how long it takes with your thumb out -- plus other situations like the weather or maybe it's early evening and night is about to fall.  I've added 2 hours to this as an average,  so to hitch to London takes 6 hours or so covering roughly 230 miles.  Depending on the distance you want to hitch-hike then the time frame will change. 

       A "Hide" is when you and a friend ,  possibly even 2 friends do a hitch together.  It's certainly not impossible to hitch with 3 people it's just the time frame will definitely be longer.  Now,  you have your hitching point,  it's practical at this stage to have a bush,  fence or buildings close by as this is the place your friend will hide.  They will need to be within shouting distance because if they are too far away and a car stops they will have absolutely no idea when to come out of hiding.  When a car stops,  it will be just you standing there,  the door is opened or the window comes down,  the first thing you do is wear that really nice smile,  ask where he or she is going to then change to the slightly worried look of "My friend is just taking a pee over there,  is it OK for him to get in the car?" Most likely the answer is yes and then you shout over to your mate who is doing a "Hide",  "Oi!!  You finished yet?"  Which is the cue to get over A.S.A.P.

                    A couple of really useful items to take with you when hitching are:

                                               Road map of the country you are travelling in.  It's good to have details in the map of by-roads and dirt roads if possible.  Hard back is not good to have as it can't fold into the rucksack that will be on your back.

                                                A good powerful torch, ( or as you say in the Sates ... a Flash Light ),  is a must!!  Getting stranded does happen and you need to look at your map for the by-roads or dirt roads and even the food and drink in your bag.  :))

                    Some parting words from this are ... " we only live once " ... "if you don't try you will never know" ... I have had so many amazing experiences from hitching all around the world,  have met some cool people and on the occasion have met a couple of dodgy ones too but if you look for trouble it will find you.  I never looked for it and only found heaps of fun ... memories of places that I will always think about and can never be painted or captured in a photograph!! 

               Enjoy yourself for a change even if it's just down the road ...

                                                          ...  getchya thumb out!!   :))