It takes a woman and a simple decision to travel alone. That pretty much sums it up.

The rest of the text is here to make you feel a bit more prepared for what’s coming if you’re planning your first solo trip and happen to read these lines.

Here is the list of situations you can expect, written to the best of my ability at this given point of time while hitchhiking from Croatia to French Polynesia.

This is certainly my own experience and yours may or may not vary.

So, let’s begin.

1. You’ll be told it’s very dangerous for a woman

That’s one of the most annoying lines and you’ll hear it over and over and over again. Don’t get spooked. Hitchhiking alone is NOT more dangerous for a woman than it is for a man if you adjust to the culture you’re in and pick your rides wisely. Staying in your comfort zone and only lurking at the world through a TV or a computer is more dangerous as it gives you that feeling of a false security while spooking you out about the real world...which only makes you stay right where you are, on your sofa in front of the TV consuming the messages that are directed at you. But that’s the whole other topic, so let’s get back to the present one.

This traditional view of a woman seen as being fragile and someone who needs the man’s assistance to go through life is still very present in many countries and it might be one of the reasons why people will try to help you rather than harm you. Thank them for their concerns, but follow your path.

Soon you’ll realise there are people like you and me, EVERYWHERE. There are no hordes of psycho killers just cruising the streets and looking to kill you. You are not in a movie.

I’m not saying that hitchhiking alone doesn’t come without any risk. I’m saying you shouldn’t give your fear a power. You might be weaker psychically, but not mentally. Be prepared and don’t let your fear in a way of your life. You will be all right.

2. You’ll be told it’s impossible

The locals will approach you on the street while you’re trying to hitchhike and tell you that you won’t get a ride, because it’s impossible. Don’t get discouraged. You will hear that from the people who have never hitchhiked before. Your ride will come. Be prepared to hear the same (impossible) line from your driver and again, you will only hear that from a person who has never hitchhiked before. Make sure to ask why did he/she pick you up if it’s so impossible to hitchhike.

3. You’ll be told it’s much easier to hitchhike for a woman than it is for a man

The truth is no one has it easy. While men might need to wait for their ride to come a bit longer, once they get it there is (usually) no need for questioning, double-questioning and triple-questioning driver’s intentions. Women will (usually) get a ride without much waiting, but then starts a process of making the right decision whether this is a safe ride and letting it go if it’s not. I repeat, no one has it easy.

4. You’ll be told it’s very easy to hitchhike when you’re a pretty girl

Being pretty has nothing to do with hitchhiking. Being (reasonably) clean, (reasonably) smiley and sane while hitchhiking will take you further. Playing an instrument or juggling by the road won’t harm either. Being pretty won’t help you much if you look grumpy or scared shitless while standing by the road. And pretty by whose standards? I hitchhiked through China looking like a pregnant woman after massacring a candy store and I’ve never hitchhiked so many sports cars in my life. Tall, small, skinny, fat or whatever you look like, just remember that your ride will come.

5. You’ll be told it’s very easy to hitchhike if you wear skimpy clothes

It might be true and it might get you in trouble, but that’s not my area of expertise. I like to keep more covered while hitchhiking and that’s my personal choice. I rarely wait for the ride more than 15 minutes, so skimpy clothes are definitely not determining factor in hitchhiking.

6. You’ll be told how brave you are

In my case that can’t be any further from the truth. There were days and the countries where I didn’t feel 100% confident and I was actually shitting myself from the inside. Does putting a brave facade from the outside make you brave? I don’t think so, but I know I’m very determined and I love hitchhiking. Hitchhiking alone makes you mentally stronger, not braver, because there will always be a situation when you will shit yourself a little and it’ll make you stronger in the long run... and that’s a beauty of hitchhiking, too.

7. You’ll be told how confident and strong you are

Damn right, because you are. Both, confidence and strength will skyrocket with the experience.

8. You’ll be asked why you are alone

As if you were missing a body part, you will be asked why, why, WHY are you traveling alone, where is your friend, your boyfriend or a husband? As if you were completely incapable of breathing without anyone’s assistance. The truth is you will never be completely alone. There will be the locals that will approach you on the street, the drivers that will give you a lift, the travelers you will come across in a hostel, a bar, a street or via Couchsurfing or some random passengers/expats you’ll stumble upon when least expected. Traveling alone comes with a freedom to choose your way and change it in a split of a second just to have another change of a heart 2 minutes later only if you want it so and it’s mad brilliant!

9. You’ll be asked what does your family think of you traveling alone

It’s no one’s business what do you do with your life, because that’s your life, but it’s a great mental relief if you enjoy the support of your family. I’m lucky enough to have a great and supportive family in everything I do, but that also didn’t come over night. It was built on years and years of trust. Yes, they are worried and many times they miss me and want me home, but they also trust my judgement and they are very proud that I’m strong and persistent enough to do what feels right for me. If I could give you one single piece of advice I would tell you to get off your ass and chase after your dreams even if you don’t enjoy the support of your friends and family. Their support will come by time and even if it doesn’t, it won’t matter much as you won’t regret living your life the way YOU wanted.

10. People will try to feed you

Whether is it because you are a single traveler on the road and you happen to be a woman so their traditional protective upbringing kicks in OR is it because of their natural motherly feelings... I don’t know. Sometimes they just want you to try the food you’ve never tried before and your reaction makes them happy. Sometimes they are so worried of you dying out of hunger that they will pack 3 bags of food even though you clearly said you were not hungry explained how you have already gained 10kg during your journey did both of the above, plus you showed them the stash of food in your bag for the road.

They won’t care and will feed you no matter what you say. My honest advice to you is to always hitchhike on more than half empty stomach with few pieces of fruit stashed in your bag and a small bottle of water. Why only a small bottle? Read the lines above and change the word "food" with "drink".

First you might think such treatment of the single woman traveler only applies to Balkan region, then the same will happen in Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos.... 20 plus countries and 10kg later you’ll figure out that some parts of the world kind of function like that and you will remember all the travelers/hitchhikers that you hosted or picked up before you went on your trip and surely you didn’t leave them hungry either. I guess that’s a humane thing to do and it makes me really proud to live in such world.

11. People will offer you money and ask for nothing in return

I’m not joking. People will offer you money because of a common misperception of a broke hitchhiker and they will try to help you. The truth is that not all of the hitchhikers are broke. Personally, the money (or a lack of it) is not a reason why I hitchhike and I don’t accept any money that’s being offered to me. Please keep a great hitchhiking legacy and don’t accept any money if you’re not in a serious need. Taking advantage of generous people is not what hitchhiking (and humanity) is about.

12. You’ll be asked about your money/religion/virginity/married situation

In some cultures it’s perfectly acceptable to ask the questions that would be considered more private in other cultures... and sometimes you’ll simply stumble upon some very curious people. Just because they ask, it doesn’t mean you have to answer and if you do, remember that the humor is probably the best way out of a delicate situation. Be aware that religion is a big deal in some countries and claiming that you don’t have a religion can get you in trouble where being irreligious is still illegal.

Especially if you are holder of EU passport that happen to travel in some of politically and economically more unfortunate countries. A simple ring around your finger and a convincing story about your husband that is waiting for you in XY city should get you out of (all of the above) trouble.

14. People will offer you jobs

It happens quite often and it’s a nice feeling that someone likes you enough to want to keep you in their country a bit longer. Most of the jobs I’ve been offered (out of the blue) were the teaching jobs.

15. People will show you their penises

Whether you are just walking on the street, hitchhiking or actually sitting in a car with a driver, you will get flashed in some countries, just like that. I’m not sure if that happens due to enormous amount of porn and a very stupid hitchhiking stereotype, but what I’m sure of is that you can get out of the situation with no consequences if you keep calm and explain loud and clear they misjudged you and the situation. Important thing is not to freak out as you might freak them out and then they might do something stupid out of the panic.

By the look on their face you’ll notice they don’t really know what the hell they are doing. It’s the look that’s saying "I’ve seen this ones on YouPorn and I wonder if it works... I’ll let my penis out for few minutes and see what happens". Tough news amigo, nothing will happen. So far I came across such situations in Muslim countries only – with Malaysia ranking as No. 1.

I actually hitchhiked a guy who has never picked up a hitchhiker before and the line "Once I’ve seen this on YouPorn" was his answer to my question if he knows what the hitchhiking means.

16. People will try to touch you

Your hair, your hand or your leg just to test the situation. Make sure to stay calm and point to your fake wedding ring on the finger with a very clear and loud disapproving statement. That will be pretty self-explanatory in many countries even if your driver doesn’t speak any English. If that happens in a very religious country, make sure to bring some God(s) to the whole scenario by pointing to your wedding ring as well as saying God’s name and pointing to the sky – as if saying HIS God wouldn’t be very impressed with his behavior.

Make sure not to bring up Buddha’s name in Muslim country as it obviously won’t work. If the touching continues, get out of the car.

17. People won’t let you out of their cars

It happens very rarely, but it happens. Even though it’s a freaky situation, make sure to stay calm. If your driver speaks English, communicate clearly that there is a husband/brother/father waiting for you and he will go bananas if you don’t arrive safe and on time. It helps a lot if you show your driver a snap of his backside driver’s plates on your phone (that you have taken right before jumping in the car) and lie (if you have to) that you messaged the photo to your husband/brother/father that is waiting for you. He will pull over.

If your driver doesn’t speak any English, or if the tactic from above doesn’t work, show him your pepper-spray in one hand and count down 5 seconds with your other hand in front of his face, so it’s clear you will pepper spray him if he doesn’t start pulling over. Don’t hesitate to spray him if he shows no reaction to your countdown. He will stop the car, because he’ll be unable to breath. (The same as you, so be prepared.)

18. People will try to trick you

There are so many traveler scams in different countries that I could write another article to sum it all up. My best advice is to keep your heart and eyes open for the people, but if something feels dodgy – that’s because it probably is. Do a little research before going to a new country and trust your inner self when something doesn’t feel right.

19. You’ll be asked if you’ve ever hitchhiked a paid transportation

The longer you hitchhike the chances are you’ve probably done it all – taxies, buses, tuk-tuks, ferries... you name it. My personal rule for hitchhiking paid transportation is to get off the ride in case it’s getting crowded and I’m about to take someone’s place. Always have in mind that your drivers feed their families with their driving job. Be mindful and kind. Surely you’ll find another ride with all that positive energy in you!

20. People will invite you to their houses, dinners, birthdays, weddings, funerals, parties...

One of the most beautiful facts about hitchhiking is that you’ll be around locals all the time and get a great feeling of their culture, how they live, what they think... etc. Of course, you can pay and see all of that through the touristic arrangements, but you will lack that sincere feeling that you’ve been invited from their heart and not because of your wallet. These are the people you will most likely become friends and stay in touch with.

21. People will laugh at you and your plans

Don’t get discouraged. Laugh with them and carry on.

22. People will give you some great, helpful tips and their knowledge

Anything you can think of – from the history of their country to the latest happenings, the best ice cream in their city, the cheapest accommodation... and sometimes they will just share a laugh with you and that’s beautiful too.

23. You’ll be given gifts

One downside of solo or any kind of hitchhiking is that people you meet will often give you small gifts as a memory or a lucky charm for your travels, but you’re very limited with space. It’s a very memorable and nice gesture, but there is only so much you can carry in your smallbackpack. Most of the things I receive, I give away. A memory of a great people you meet is life-lasting and enough.

Sometimes by accident and other times because answering "I don’t know" to your question is simply not part of their culture. Multiple-checking and having a smiling heart in tough situations usually eases the stress. In my case, swearing in Croatian does the trick.

25. People will talk to you even when you clearly don’t speak their language

They will and I think that’s such a beautiful thing! They will speak in their own language, they will use the translation app on their smartphone, they will try the sign language, they will draw on paper, call a friend who speaks English... I even hitchhiked one Chinese guy who thought I might understand him if he whispers to me in a very gesticulate way. He kept on doing that even though I was pissing myself laughing as whispering in Mandarin was not much of a help.

26. People will take you to the bus/train/taxi station even though you told them you’re HITCHHIKING ONLY

There are countries where hitchhiking is not common and people don’t quite understand the idea of hitchhiking. Your "knowledge" of their language won’t help much either. You will get dropped off at the bus/train/taxi station only to be picked up again and taken to another bus/train/taxi station. After you get tired of riding in circles, you will find a person who speaks English and tell him/her to write you a letter in a local language explaining what exactly you are trying to accomplish. You’ll show this letter to your next driver and that will be the end of your riding in circles. Hopefully.

27. People will try to hitchhike for you

Whether they are Chinese cops, Burmese kids or half a village in Kurdistan, people will try to help you by hitchhiking FOR you. It’s kind of help you really don’t want, because there is nothing worse than 10 people standing around you with their thumbs up. Drivers won’t stop to pick you up because they will get spooked by bunch of people by the road with their thumbs upthink you are safe and sorted because there are locals that are already "helping you".

If you find yourself in that situation, try to explain you have much better chances while hitchhiking alone and if it doesn’t work, simply walk away from the people. (Yes, they will follow you, and yes, they will give up if you walk far enough.)

28. People will try to hitchhike with you.

They will pick you up, fall in love with your story, leave their car and join one part of your travels. It happens and it’s beautiful.

29. You’ll be asked "What’s that thing around your neck"

It’s a "rape whistle" which is nothing else than a (very loud) whistle that might come in handy in case you get attacked on the street, accidentally lock yourself in a bathroom or against wild monkeys if you hike alone through the forest. Monkeys can be real bitches sometimes.

30. You’ll be asked if you carry any weapons and if you know kung fu

Personally, I don’t carry any weapons with me, but I also never reveal all of my secret "weapons". Make them wonder.

31. People will ask you money for a ride in certain countries

Just because they ask for it, it doesn’t mean you have to give it to them. Make sure they understand that you are hitchhiking BEFORE you get in the car. If they request the money, thank them for stopping and let them go. Your ride will come.

32. You’ll be asked where you are sleeping tonight

If you are a bit like me and not a fussy sleeper, there is a good chance you’ll have nothing sorted for the night, because you know that the possibilities are endless. From the hostels, guesthouses, Couchsurfing hosts, terraces, parks, mosques, temples, gas stations, cars and trucks of your drivers to the houses of the local people who invite you in. It doesn’t really matter where you sleep as long as YOU feel safe.

33. You’ll be asked if you ever get lonely

I think that greatly depends on what kind of character you are. If you are a bit of an extrovert, you might get lonely after travelling alone for a while. If you are more of an introvert like me, the chances are you’ll love your free space. I find it very hard to get lonely with so many people around me all the time. From the drivers that pick me up, the travelers on the street, in the hostels, in the bars, always curious locals, Couchsurfing community, random expats... the list goes on and on. Even in the crappiest places, you will always find yourself a company if you want one.

34. You’ll be asked if you’ve ever rejected the ride

Sometimes you will get a bad feeling about people who stop to pick you up. There will be something about the way they talk, act or stare at you. Something about it just won’t feel right. Don’t be scared to turn down the ride. Do it politely, but without much (or any at all) explanation. Another trick to get rid of (unwanted) drivers is to tell them you’re going to the city that’s in the opposite direction. They will tell you that you made a mistake, that you should stand on the other side of the road and they will drive off.

35. You’ll be asked whether you are scared of the police

There are some more closed down countries, like Turkmenistan and Burma where I wasn’t sure what the police reaction was going to be on my hitchhiking through their territory. In general, the police should protect people, so if you’re not doing anything bad-ass they will probably check your passport and leave you alone.

In China, they’ll pick you up and take you to a better hitchhiking spot and in Iran they’ll get so worried about your safety, they’ll take you to the police station and 5 (wasted) hours later they’ll find a translator who will tell you "Don’t worry Miss, you are safe now".

There are few countries in which it is illegal to hitchhike on the highway and the police will come to warn you about it (or give you a ticket), just remember that a smile and a polite & positive attitude goes a long way. Police should be the least of your worries.

36. People will ask isn’t it very dangerous for a woman to hitchhike alone through (more strict) Muslim countries

From my own experience, you should definitely be more careful, but it’s not impossible. Keep in mind that your presence and attitude is also influencing their culture and changing their opinion about women. Make your presence a worthwhile. Very old women’s trick for hitchhiking through strict Muslim countries is to always wear a period pad even if you are not menstruating. If you’ve been attacked and you’re about to get raped, this pad might be your life and health saver as most Muslims restrain from the intercourse during women’s period.

That’s all I can think of right now. If you have some more questions, feel free to message me HERE – I’ll be happy to help any way I can.

You’ve already seen ALL of Facebook inspirational, traveling memes and quotes, seen ALL of National Geographic documentaries, read ALL of the traveling books and blogs, secretly and publicly stalked other travelers on Facebook and Instagram. It’s time you stop living through other people’s experiences and make a few on your own. Timing will never be right, so you might as well start now. If you really want to do it, you will always find some way. Spare yourself another excuse and – go girl!

—

The author of the article and all photos is Ana Bakran.

The article is taken from here.

Last month I hitched 400 miles from Glasgow to London, an eight hour drive that took me twelve. I had read a review that The Land had published of Beyond Flying, a book to which I had contributed, that explores alternatives to aviation.

"Sadly", Simon Fairlie wrote, "the book fails to mention the only motorised form of transport that entails no carbon emissions and is the most challenging and rewarding of all, namely hitch-hiking. It is missing because nobody hitchhikes any longer."

I hitch-hike, I thought. I have hitch-hiked for half a lifetime since I first stuck out my thumb on Long Island at the age of 16 and a Cadillac with its top down pulled to a stop five minutes later.

Aftter thousands of miles on four continents, despite being able to afford the train these days, and although Megabus could get me there for ten quid, I've never got sick of it.

"The sudden disappearance of the hitch-hiker in the Thatcher years is a sociological mystery that remains unexplored", the review continued. It felt like something worth exploring.

The Glasgow to London route is one I have taken many times. I have my spots I like to stand, the roads I know I must avoid, my favourite service stations. I have been picked up by bands on tour, by truckers, by soldiers, by canoe instructors and canal boat enthusiasts and by plenty of travelling salesmen.

I have squeezed in amongst families and I have kept lone drivers company and I have tried to act calm and cool as two mechanics felt the need to show me that their car could reach 160mph. I have heard stories of the most personal nature, of family breakdowns and of secret love, and once I was dropped at my front door. I have never bumped into another hitcher.

It is voyeuristic, educational, tedious, addictive. It feels like a relic of a bygone age and it feels revolutionary. I know of few forms of transport that give you that, few forms of transport that feel like accomplishment upon arrival, and all without costing you a penny.

"Until human nature changes for the worse", Chapman Milling wrote in 1938, "rides are going to be given to decent-looking people who ask for them."

And still they stop

There is widespread belief that no one stops anymore. I have been told it by car drivers who have picked me up ("none of the other bastards will stop for you"), told it by former hitchers who believe that the world has moved on, and told it by the media.

When the Automobile Association, in 2011, announced that 91% of drivers would not pull over for a hitcher, the headline writers seized upon it. The end of the road for hitchhiking, they said. Thumbs down for hitchhiking. That one in ten drivers consider stopping is actually fantastic odds.

Only one percent of drivers, the survey continued, said that they would definitely stop. The game lies in that eight percent, the undecided, who really believe they might stop when answering a survey, but who need a bit more convincing when confronted by an actual situation.

"The signal, which includes the whole movement of the body", writes Georges Limbour in La Chasse au Merou, "is so vital that you can say it's as often the hitch-hiker who picks the driver up as the other way about." Like fishing, you choose your spot. You employ everything that you know about the habits of what you want to catch, and then you leave the rest up to chance.

The term 'hitch-hiker' blew in from across the Atlantic and arrived here in the 1930s, though there were people flagging down wagons and lorries long before there was a word for it. During two weeks of a General Strike in 1926 the culture momentarily flared, and when it ebbed again the Daily Herald was moved to write:

"Civilisation must, if it has any reality, any value, make us ready to give anyone a lift in any way possible, not only at moments of crisis, but in ordinary humdrum times."

But it took another crisis, the Second World War, for hitching to truly become commonplace. Servicemen hitched home on leave, parents visited their evacuated children and commuters thumbed to work five times a week. It was part of the war effort, sanctioned by the Ministry of Transport. But as with the General Strike, goodwill faded along with the Fascist threat.

"In November 1945", recounts Mario Rinvolucri, "an airman hopefully thumbed a large Buick saloon - the driver cowed down and shouted through the window: 'Don't you chaps realise the war is over?'."

Fear of the stranger

The post-war boom created a new sort of hitcher. "Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me", Kerouac wrote, "as is ever so on the road", and with his writing stuffed into a backpack, the next generation thumbed their way into a Europe still torn by the war, but suddenly without boundary.

The coming decades were fuelled on the twin benefits hitching provided, travel on a shoestring and guaranteed adventure. The road is a ripe candidate for metaphor, and a form of travel upon it that defied order and regulation was particularly potent.

Since then it has been downhill. There is still the occasional pocket in some remote parts of Britain where the public transport is creaking or non-existent, but they are few. I often feel like a relic, as likely to get photographed as to get picked up.

The reasons given for the decline are predictable enough: the rise in cheap cars, the gap year and the budget flight, the stigmatisation that the stranger has undergone. The stranger is a wild and uncertain concept, and hitch-hiking, when two strangers are placed in an enclosed and intimate space, is a particularly good situation to gauge current attitudes towards them.

Fear of the stranger, the paedophile or the terrorist has grown pervasive, while the slasher films of the 80s, targeted Public Service Announcements, and media focus upon the occasional tragedy have all contributed to demonising hitchhiking.

And yet despite all that, I always get a ride. There is no shortage of those that once hitched who are looking to return the favour. Many are eager to invite me in and relive something of their youth, to hold up the other end of a bargain they made when they were hitching forty years ago.

If there is a decline in trust, a rising fear, then it is most prevalent in my generation, in the hitchers. The AA survey bears this out. It is the 18-24 year olds who are least likely to have hitchhiked, followed by the 25-34 year olds. It is us who have grown up in a society more ordered and controlled than any that has gone before.

Maybe we like our travel more predictable, our strangers kept at arm's length. With rising petrol prices and record youth unemployment, along with a need to cut carbon emissions, I have long thought it time for a renaissance, but hitch-hiking steadfastly refuses to make a comeback.

Clicking a ride

But whilst some of us sit about pining for hitching's heyday, BlaBlaCar, the leading car share website in Europe, has been gathering 10 million users. Last month they secured another $100 million of funding. Drivers post their journeys, passengers search for journeys and contribute to the petrol costs.

A million journeys are made every month, from which BlaBlaCar pockets €2 per ride. It's not possible to offer a journey for free. Along with many other websites and apps now proliferating across every continent, it's being called 'digital hitch-hiking'.

The sharing economy is hip right now. Airbnb, Zipcar, Taskrabbit, Poshmark, the internet is awash. Sharing bikes, sharing rooms, sharing skills, sharing cars, sharing, as the New York Times has reported, illegal handguns.

The industry is valued at £15 billion, much of it little more than platforms that allow users to rent out and cash in on the excess in their lives. Their manifestos buzz with words like 'community' and 'trust', of cutting out the middle man.

"It's like the UN at every kitchen table", said Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO. But as his company floats on the stock market and Zipcar is bought by Avis, it becomes harder to suspend disbelief that this is not just capitalism dressed up, once again, in sheeps' clothing.

Breathless editorials speculate that the sharing economy has the power to do anything from liberating workers from the nine-to-five bind, to creating a slow-burning revolution that could overthrow the current economic system.

But it could also be seen as the free market par excellence, as we work 24/7 with no contracts or safety nets, branding ourselves in order to market every aspect of our lives, whilst the companies that provide the platforms sit back and rake in the billions. Wasn't hitch-hiking better than that?

Going digital, London to Bristol

I tried hitch-hiking digitally for this piece. I thought I should. I was feeling somewhat curmudgeonly, like I was longing for the days of steam. I found a ride for £9 from London to Bristol. A train would have cost me £42. Even getting the tube out of London far enough to stick a thumb out would have been more than a fiver.

I waited in a car park in Stratford and a woman turned up and took me where I wanted to go, to arrive at the time we had agreed upon. Money changed hands, few words were spoken. Did I feel the same thrill of adventure? No, I manifestly did not. I felt like a consumer paying for a commodity.

If my arguments for hitch-hiking are environmental, social, economic, perhaps even anti-capitalist, then such transactions make good sense. Not only does a car get taken off the roads, the structured nature of the trip opens it up to those who do not have the time or inclination to wait for hours by the roadside in the rain, which, let's face it, is almost everyone.

Last year 61% of car journeys in the UK had just one occupant, and this is one step to reducing that.

I once wrote an article for The Ecologist making the case for a resurgence in hitchhiking couched in environmental arguments, but I conveniently ignored this boom in car shares to make a case for something which, I realise now, I felt sad about on a more personal, poignant level.

If it's about adventure, well that seems like it's no one's concern but mine. And yet, as I looked out at the M4 rolling past, I realised that, for some reason, I still didn't feel quite ready to let it go.

HitchBOT or Hitchcock?

Over the course of three weeks this past summer a robot named HitchBOT, standing the height of a six year old child, thumbed its way 3,500 miles from Halifax to Vancouver. Frauke Zeller, one of its creators, speaks like a concerned but loving parent of letting their offspring fly the nest.

They left it at the roadside outside Halifax Airport, followed the updates it posted on Twitter, and went to meet it three weeks later on the other side of the country. "We said well, we give it freely. We couldn't do anything really. We never once thought about stopping the experiment. All we wanted to see was it arrive safe and sound in Victoria."

HitchBOT is made from a beer cooler and has rubber gloves for hands. Speech recognition software and a link to Wikipedia allow it to keep up a conversation. There are pictures on Instagram of drivers taking it camping, to weddings, to football games.

When Zeller met up with it in Vancouver at the end of its journey she described it as looking a little like a shuttle after re-entry, its speech somewhat garbled, but being otherwise unharmed. I have returned home in a similar state after several weeks on the road.

The experiment was conceived as a way of exploring whether robots can trust humans, and hitch-hiking seemed an appropriately vulnerable situation for their creation to enter into.

"The cultural perceptions, notions like security and safety, all that is very closely connected to the discourses around robots. That's why we thought it might be interesting to bring those areas together."

"When we had the welcome party in Victoria we met someone who had just hitchhiked across Canada who was just a couple of days behind HitchBOT. He got at least five rides from people telling him that they only stopped because of HitchBOT. Before HitchBOT they would never take hitchhikers with them."

We can only suppose how this human hitch-hiker must have felt. Probably grateful. But also perplexed that a three foot high machine with a smiley face, cobbled together with junk from a dime store, had cleared the way before him of cultural stereotypes many years in the making.

That a robot was able to change attitudes in five people is heartening, if not irrational. The ways that we choose to trust, or not, are curious: because some money has changed hands, or a profile on the internet, or a good experience with a robot.

Is letting a stranger into our house through Airbnb inherently safer than picking up a stranger from the kerbside, or has there simply not been a horror film about the sharing economy yet?

When the journey is the destination

Maybe I grew up reading too much Kerouac, and maybe I'm getting old. But I do think that there is something important about hitching that the carshare websites miss. At its heart it is an exercise in trust, of challenging what we thought we knew about people.

Putting ourselves in a position of vulnerability and seeing what happens; those unplanned interactions between strangers where anything is possible. I am writing this as a man in my thirties, and I realise that other people will have their own approaches to risk. But there seems to me benefit in making our own choices, learning for ourselves, rather than outsourcing them to a company and paying for the privilege.

Hospitality does entail risk, but it is no less worthwhile for that. By subjecting it to the treatment of screening and profiling, by attempting to eliminate that risk, we end up by eliminating the hospitality itself.

Being able to rely on strangers, on communities, on trust, are values that are worth preserving, and if we destroy them we are perversely destroying things that can truly keep us safe. As one driver put it: "I wouldn't pick up hitch-hikers either. I'm not nuts. I do that to protect myself. But protecting myself has no value to society."

I worry for hitch-hiking's future. If we don't hitch then the next generation of hitchers will have no one looking to return the favour.

If 'sharing economy' websites continue to thrive then we may come to the idea that any bit of kindness that we might once have offered has monetary value. It will still be easy to get from A to B. Travel will become cheaper, more environmentally friendly.

But I will arrive in B exactly the same person as when I set out from A, and it's worth remembering, sometimes, standing by the side of the road with a hopeful thumb out, that it could be about more than that.

—

Text taken from www.theecologist.org. 
Originally published on The Land Magazine.

Being a female independent traveller is the same as being a woman generally in life – use common sense. You can do everything that men do, but with two doses of extra precaution.

Luggage

The first thing to bear in mind when going on an independent trip is how to pack. Don't take a suitcase you can't even lift, and then use your big eyes on the nearest man to help you with it. Pack a small amount of clothes in a backpack and bring a little bag of detergent. Be aware that going on an independent trip doesn't mean going on the catwalk. However, it is very important to have enough clothes for different weather conditions. You don't need different wardrobe combinations for uploading pictures on social media.

Wardrobe

You need to take care that your clothes are in accordance with the local customs. That doesn't mean that you need to put on a burqa upon entering an Islamic country, but longer sleeves and shirts without cleavage leave an impression of respect towards their tradition, and shows that you don't want any male attention which is more than friendly. Yes, we know women should be allowed to dress as they want and that female clothes are not an excuse for intrusive male behaviour, but these are advices for safe and comfortable travelling, and not a sociological and philosophical debate on the rights of women.

Hygiene

When packing, you need to take care about the hygiene as well as about your wardrobe. Again, consider the culture of the lands you'll be travelling to and the length of your travel. You won't be able to easily find pads and tampons in some countries, so it is better to bring them from home. Except for daily pads, you can also buy disposable, which will seem more valuable than gold to you when your monthly cycle starts somewhere in the Saharan desert and the nearest restroom is some 354km ahead.

Also, always bring 3 tampons and 3 wet-wipes in single packs for you-know-which-part-of-the-body. Carrying extra three grams doesn't make a big difference, but can help a lot, if the need be. There is an alternative for longer trips – silicone cups. They can last for years, are washable and don't contain any chemicals. You can get them in pharmacies. In Croatia, they are sold in bio&bio stores and cost around 30 euros. (Please, contact us with information about other sellers and their prices) If you are on the pill, make sure you have enough for the whole journey.

Behaviour

Slowly, we are approaching the most important topic, which is how to behave on a trip like this. We assure you, you don't need any supernatural talents to keep safe – common sense and rational decision-making are enough. Dangerous situations on trips are similar to the ones you could see at home, so you will be able to use tested techniques for avoiding them.

Try to be as discreet as possible in confronting unwanted comments and provocations instead of retaliating. A big number of uncomfortable situations could be avoided before they really get serious by not showing any interest, by not responding or starting any discussions, by just ignoring some things or just leaving the place where someone sees you as a target. Some girls carry a deodorant with alcohol, which is, unlike self-defence sprays, legal in all countries. That depends on you and on what gives you the feeling of safety.

Hitchhiking

Although here at The Travel Club we tend to have strong positive feelings about hitchhiking, and we know many females who do it alone, we recommend the winning boy-girl combination: boys will get a ride easier because they are accompanied by a girl and girls will feel safer in the presence of a boy. If you find yourselves in a tricky situation, you can always improvise a fake wedding ring from a can of Coke and say you two are married. That should be enough in most cases to immediately stop inappropriate offers from others.

What if you can't find a travel companion but still don't want to stay at home and you decide to go hitchhiking on your own? As we previously said, both men and women face the same dangers, but we recommend women to double their measures of precaution. If you don't have any hitchhiking experience, we recommend all beginners (regardless of their sex) that they first "feel the road" in a group and then decide to take it up on their own. It is very important to "feel the road", as some things just can't be explained in textual or illustrated guides.

When you go hitchhiking for the first time (you probably won't be able to fall asleep the night before due to excitement), it is important for you to feel ready and self-confident, but with eyes wide open. If you don't like the driver offering transportation, don't get into the car. Think of an excuse, even a lame excuse such as "Sorry, but I need to use the restroom immediately." or "My friend just texted me that I should wait for him to continue the trip." or "I planned to study during the trip, but I left my notes at home, I need to go back and get them." It doesn't matter if they will believe you and how stupid your excuse sounds, it is important that you don't get into a car with a person who doesn't have "a good vibe."

If you got into a car with a person who seemed to be OK at the beginning, but you start doubting whether it was a good decision, here's a couple of tricks:

• Direct the conversation on talking about family. Ask the person if they have any kids. Try drawing parallels with yourself, such as comparing them to your parents and comparing yourself to their kids. If the person has no children, he/she must have nieces and nephews or something else. Aiming at their compassion works.
• Direct the conversation on talking about your life goals and dream, friends and family. Let the person know that you have something to live for, someone who you live for or who lives for you. Again, we repeat: aiming at their compassion works.
• Ask the person when you'll be arriving to a destination because you promised your mother/father/friend to pick you up somewhere. (Of course, never go hitchhiking without credit on your cell phone).
• Make your answers determined, but never argue.
• If you are hitchhiking in outside of your language area, learn some basic phrases in the language of the country you'll be hitchhiking in. One of them has to be "I texted my father with the number of your registration plates". Just in case you need it.

Our editor Nikolina said that she encountered uncomfortable situations three times in so far four years of hitchhiking experience. Once the driver only had bad vibe and she and her friend used the above-mentioned tactics of evoking compassion and called a friend on his cell phone, so everything went totally fine. One truck driver offered her sex, but she refused it, whereupon the driver apologized and said he just wanted to ask. 

Bon Voyage

Don't allow the fact that you're a woman to be the reason why you spend your holidays watching passers-by from a café in the neighbourhood. The idea of the world being a dangerous place where maniacs, murderers and rapists lurk from around the corner, waiting for the chance to turn you into a headline at the black chronicle is as big of a nonsense as the idea of the world being a fairy-tale where everybody has good intentions and acts friendly.

The only way to figure that out is to go out and see for yourselves, but with a well-thought plan and acting responsibly. We wish you a safe trip and successful exploring.