In the Corner of the World – Where hitchhikers are welcome

by Grant Martin on

Over the next few weeks here at Gadling, we’ll be bringing you updates from our recent travels across New Zealand – in the process, we hope to offer a range of perspectives about what visiting this truly unique and fascinating country is all about. You can read previous entries HERE.

We picked up Kevin near Springs Junction, nearly 200 kilometers southeast of Picton, New Zealand, standing on the side of the road with a backpack in the middle of nowhere. Like us, he was headed to Christchurch, so he tossed his gear into the back seat of our Mitsubishi Colt and jumped in behind it.

Among travelers, you always start with the same hour of conversation: Where are you from? Where have you been in New Zealand? Where do you think that we should go next? Kevin was traveling across the entirety of both islands on a series of hikes carrying his tent, sleeping bag and stove on his back and using the kindness of others for transportation. He was probably a few years younger than us, clean cut with a standard hiking fleece and khaki cargo pants. I could have confused him with the cashier at Whole Foods.

As a recent geography major from Canada, in fact, our friend had bounced around to a few jobs after finishing college, but had never found his groove. Eventually, he saved up enough money to voyage to New Zealand. Maybe to find himself. Maybe to stay. He never said.And that’s how most conversations went between Kevin and his drivers. Light fluff, catching up, swapping travel stories and talking about the beauty and luster of New Zealand. Amazingly, he didn’t have a bad experience from his entire weeks of hitching across the country. The longest wait that he had ever experienced was before we picked him up – a total of fifteen minutes. Among his worst stories? An art dealer in a Land Rover who talked a little bit too much.

We all agreed though: hitchhiking isn’t something that we would try in most other countries. Something about the friendliness and the culture of the Kiwis makes New Zealand perfect for backpacking – the warmth of their characters, the trust of another person, the wanderer buried in every single driver. It fosters a sense of security and altruism among hitchers in this corner of the world, and the resulting experience, especially in Kevin’s case, is definitely worth the risk.

Would he recommend it to anyone else traveling through this corner of the world? Absolutely. While not for everyone, hitchhiking is a unique experience. One meets random characters, saves a ton of money and opens oneself up to the improbability of mishaps on the road – in one of the safest countries of the world mind you. Isn’t that a core fundamental of adventure travel?

Before long we found ourselves in front of the hotel in Christchurch, Kevin with his backpack headed towards his hostel and our paths diverging. The phone number that we scribbled on our Gadling.com business card was wrong, I now remember — it went to a phone that had stopped working days ago. But it didn’t matter. Our service as drivers was done now, the exchange complete, two travel worlds briefly merging for a road trip to Christchurch.

Two guys, two thumbs, one week and no money. Hitchhiking across the U.S.

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a line in the “The Hitchhiking Movie” that made me laugh. Ryan Jeanes, one of the two guys who decided one fine day to hitchhike across the U.S. from New York City to Berkeley, California in one week to test out the kindness of strangers says, after one car dropped them off at what looks like the middle of nowhere, “Three miles further and only 3,000 miles to go.”

There are the rides one takes when hitchhiking because at least a short ride means going further in the right direction, and who knows when there will be another chance to sit down again?

It took Ryan and Phillip Hullquist 23 rides to make it across the U.S., although, I don’t know if they made their deadline. If they didn’t make the deadline, they would have missed their flights back to NY. Ryan had purchased the tickets before hand to add some motivation.

After reading the text on the movie’s website and watching the trailer, I became intrigued about the unfolding of the journey. There are the people they talked with about their trip who thought they were nuts, and the stories of the people who gave them rides. All are woven into the narrative while the scenery adds the backdrop and also highlights the diveresity between the coasts.

Whether they made it from New York City to Berkeley, California within their self-imposed time period is almost beside the point. Having a goal did influence the outcome. People altered their own trips to help Ryan and Phillip out. Because these two vowed not to use any of their own money, their success depended upon others’ generosity.

Their success also depended upon their willingness to stick out their thumbs to see what would happen. Sticking out their thumb took effort. According to Ryan, they “piddled around for awhile” in New York before they actually hit the road. Starting seemed to be one of the hardest parts.

Last spring, there was a story about three friends who were driving through 48 states in less than a week. Some states meant a quick trip through one small section, and in one case, in and out on the same road. At Four Corners, they checked off Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, for example. “The Hitchhiking Movie” reminds me a bit of that story, except Ryan’s and Phillip’s success involved others’ efforts. In the case of driving through every state, it’s a matter of getting the geography, gas, and bathroom breaks just right.

The “The Hitchhiking Movie” was released on DVD this week. Watching it seems like it would be a great boost to fuel the traveling spirit. Here’s the trailer to get you in the mood. You can buy the film on the 11 Visions Website or pay to watch it online.

My Bloody Romania: The hitchhiker’s guide to Romania

by Leif Pettersen on

One of the things that I love about Romania is that there’s still a sweet naivety in many aspects of life. The largest peasant society in Europe still thrives in the northern Maramure?? region (though EU membership seems destined to squash it), even the die-hardiest urban resident has a close relative in the countryside who routinely provides them with eggs, cream, milk, cheese, onions or potatoes and access to a lightning-fast, wide open file sharing network (where one can freely download software, games, music, TV series and movies, sometimes within hours after they hit the theaters in the US) still comes standard with all internet service. Is this country cute or what?

Among these facets is the enduring, widespread practice of worry-free hitchhiking. Virtually every Romanian has done it, including little old ladies and even children on the way to/from school in the next village. With dirt-cheap and surprisingly reliable trains, buses and maxitaxis crisscrossing the country, in truth, there’s usually little need to bother hitchhiking, but some truly arresting areas remain inaccessible by public transport and if you’d prefer not to expose yourself to the ass-tightening milieu that is driving in Romania, there may come a time during your visit which calls for polishing up your thumb.

Actually, posing Fonzie-style by the side of the road will do nothing except cause drivers to wonder why the crazy foreigner is pointing at the sky with their SMSing finger. If you want to hitch a ride in Romania, you need to do a pat-the-dog-like gesture, arm extended, about waist high. Furthermore, hitchhiking in these parts isn’t like traditional, goodwill hitchhiking. Drivers expect that you will spot them a few lei (Romania’s currency) for the ride, usually the equivalent of bus fare for the same distance. Other times, particularly in the deep rural areas where you’re more likely to get a ride on the back of a horse cart, proffering a few cigarettes is vastly more appreciated. If you, the wealthy foreigner, are the driver, you may only get a nice thank you (and maybe have your car blessed), as it’s assumed that anyone who can afford to travel for fun must be stinking rich and therefore doesn’t need a few piddly lei.

I’ve mostly had good experiences picking up hitchhikers in Romania, with a few notable exceptions. Apart from breaking up the interminable monotony of long, slow drives, taking on passengers affords all kinds of wacky opportunities for getting a singular Romania experience, like rigorous training on all the curse words that Romanian drivers use on each other. And let me tell you, when a foreigner cuts loose with those words, Romanians can’t believe their ears (followed closely by them getting super pissed off).

My one and only truly scary experience with picking up hitchhikers was the time that one almost leaped from my moving car. But first a bit of back-story…

There’s a regrettable past in much of the former Eastern Bloc with girls being kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. Not long ago, northeast Romania was one of the hottest zones, as such TV and radio ads warning girls about this possibility still air today. Typically, the kidnappers are foreign men that lure the girls into leaving home with the promise of a lucrative job abroad, before shoving them on a flight to Amsterdam or a bus to Tiraspol. These ads have opted to err on the side of caution and paint a picture that no male foreigners are to be trusted under any circumstances (which probably explains why Italian guys stick to the south and Black Sea coast when they roll into Romania looking to hook up).

I can attest that these ads are quite effective. Women were wary of me the entire time I lived in Iaşi. The girls that served me pizza five days a week never warmed to me even after months and months of seeing my face. Whenever I tried to push the conversation beyond “how are you?”, they would noticeably stiffen and excuse themselves. Seeing as how my breath is delicious, I was assured by friends that this behavior was a result of the ongoing ad campaign.

So back to the Romania/Moldova border, which, incidentally, was often the first leg of many ill-fated girls’ unspeakable journeys. I’d just cleared Romanian immigration (guards still laughing and pointing at the stupid American that bought a Dacia 1310) when I was flagged down by two college girls. They jumped in, said they were heading for Iaşi, and off we went. A few moments into our casual conversation they realized I was a foreigner. They looked at each other in a panic and my ass tightened to walnut-crushing tautness as one girl made to open the door and presumably jump out of the moving car. Fortunately for everyone, getting the doors open on that effing car was no easy task and with an extra few seconds to consider the situation she thought better of her flight impulse. Not making the connection between their behavior and the probable cause – a friend patiently explained the situation to me later – I cautiously asked what the problem was, but the two had settled into a state of quiet terror, refusing to look at or speak to me as we drove the mercifully quick 15 minutes into town.

Once at the center, I dropped them off at the first piaţa before anyone could hatch a new suicidal extraction strategy. They quickly climbed out of the car, closed the door and, once safe, reached in through the window to hand me a few lei.

Leif Pettersen, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-authored the current edition of Lonely Planet’s Romania and Moldova. Visit his personal blog, Killing Batteries, for more tips on how to instantly repel women around the world.

Hitch50 Comes to a Finish

by Adrienne Wilson on

Remember Scotty and Fiddy? They started off about two months ago on a mission to hitchhike their way to the state capitals of all 50 states in 50 consecutive days. (Yes, even Alaska and Hawai’i.) Erik gave them some link love early on in their adventure and now that they’ve completed their fantastic voyage from state-to-state it’s time to recap. On October 10, 2006 the two young men headed off into the cold, dark, unfriendly land we know as the United States… Okay, that’s not true. They did head off on October 10, 2006 and I’m sure part of the whole thing was not only set up to score some free travel, but to show that there is a little kindness in the hearts of Americans everywhere for two men with extended thumbs. Now, whether or not they stuck out their thumbs or just prearranged every single ride, you’ll have to find out on your own by visiting the Hitch50 site.

They did spectacular job blogging the whole shebang which includes photos and video. I kept tabs on the fellas by text messaging, hoping to give them a lift at some point in their journey, but they moved a lot faster than I imagined they would. Their mission was successfully completed the mission on November 28, 2006. Way to go guys!