Hitchhike

Being in the Couchsurfing community, you get to meet so many hardcore independent travelers who swear by hitchhiking as their favorite mode of transportation. And I have massive respect for them, especially women who hitchhike solo.

The first time I attempted hitchhiking was in Australia. I was broke as hell, and was trying to hitch a ride from Melbourne airport to the city center. I didn't have a cardboard with me on which I could have written down my destination, so I simply stood on the roadside, and very self-consciously stuck out my thumb. After two cars passed me by, I gave up. That was too much rejection for me to handle in one day. In the end, I walked back to the terminal and took a bus.

I gave hitchhiking a wide berth after that incident. Apart from the obvious safety concerns, I was also extremely embarrassed about standing alone on the roadside and facing the oncoming traffic. Then there was the problem of not knowing what to do and how to behave if I did get a ride. What should I talk about? Where do I look? What do I do with my hands? What if the driver doesn't speak my language? What if he/she finds me boring? I don't know why, but I always feel awkward about being in an enclosed space for an extended period of time with another person, even if it's a close friend, which is why I avoid taking the elevator if I can help it. I don't like being a passenger in anybody's car for the same reason. I feel like there's this pressure for me to keep the driver entertained in return for giving me a lift. So, although I was still intrigued by the idea of hitching rides with strangers, I let my social anxiety get the better of me.

Nope, not hitchhiking. Just posing for the camera.

...Several Years Later...

Of all the places that I could think of for my next attempt at hitchhiking, I never thought it would be India. Because let's be honest. Although I have met many kind souls in India, we can't ignore the fact that it's not the safest place for solo women to travel, let alone hitchhike. But that was where I had my first successful hitchhiking experience, last month. Well, actually I don't know if you can call it that, because I didn't exactly wait around and stick out my thumb.

I was going to Auroville from Chennai, and the bus driver had dropped me at a junction, where I had to walk the rest of the way. It was only around 4 kilometers, so I figured I might as well just walk. Waiting for a ride could probably take as much time as it would take me to walk the 4 kilometers, if not longer. So, walk I did.

Less than a kilometer later, a tractor slowed to a stop ahead of me. The driver turned around and asked me if I was going to Auroville. I shouted, "YES!" And he motioned me to hop on. I was practically jumping up and down. Not only was I hitchhiking for the first time, I was doing it in India, and on a tractor! The driver introduced himself as Kannan. It was not the most comfortable ride, I had to hold on to his seat to keep my balance, what's with my backpack and my scarf and all, but boy, was it fun!

 

I stayed in Auroville for one night.

The next day, I walked on the same road to go back to the highway and catch a bus to Pondicherry. It was baking hot. I was hoping that I might bump into Kannan again, but luck didn't seem to be on my side that day. None of the other cars stopped either. After about two kilometers, when the traffic had thinned out a little, a motorcycle passed by. A few minutes later, he was back, and asked me where I was going. I said Pondicherry, and he said he was going the same way.

With Tamil

To this day, I'm still touched to think that he had turned around just to give me a ride. He didn't simply drop me at the highway; he drove me all the way to Pondicherry and dropped me right in front of my hostel. To get there, we had got lost, and gone back and forth a few times before we finally found the place. And yet the driver, whose name is Tamil, refused any payment. He even offered to take me sightseeing that day, all free of charge. What an amazing man. What an amazing experience.

Now I'm beginning to see what the hitchhikers are talking about when they talk about hitchhiking.