A Practical Guidebook for Free Travellers. Translated from Russian by Peter Lagutkin

You have several gestures to choose from: 1) arm extended parallel to the road, thumb sticking out – common in Europe and vigorously promulgated by Valery Shanin in Russia; 2) arm bent, open palm facing the traffic (this is how long-distance lorry drivers greet each other on the road); 3) arm simply extended parallel to the road, «blocking» it like a boom barrier.

But it isn’t what gesture you make that matters; what matters is, it must be done vigorously and appeal specifically to the driver you’re addressing. It must look compelling and not like begging (as if whining, «pick me up, ple-e-a-a-se!»).

Beggar gesturing; Traveller gesturing; Western Traveller gesturing

Make whatever gesture you like. But avoid half-facing or not facing the driver. Never raise your hand thinking something like, «oh boy, this one won’t stop, I don’t know why I’m doing it.» Don’t let your mind wander: do it with belief you’ll succeed. If you don’t believe you’ll succeed, better let a vehicle or two pass, and eat a candy.

Don’t freeze with your hand raised – don’t try to blend in with the other lamp-posts in the landscape (that’ll soon make your shoulder tired, too).

Many drivers don’t stop but try to justify their behaviour in gestures. Some will draw a line across their throat, indicating that the car is so full you won’t fit in. Some will point their finger sideways, showing they’re about to take a turn. Others still will make more gestures to the effect that, you know, would love to pick you up, mate, but, sorry, can’t do it, mate, not me! Finally, no reaction from the driver means that the hitch-hiker is doing something wrong.

There are ways to urge the driver to change his mind. If he cites not enough space, show with your hands you’ll make yourself small. If the driver indicates he’s about to turn, you can point in the same direction and nod (maybe your current spot is bad and you want to escape anywhere, even if it’s until the next junction) – or gesture that you want to be taken far. If you can tell by the number plates where the vehicle hails from and that’s also your destination, point to the plates. If you see the cargo area’s empty, indicate you want to get in there, etc. – so, do all you can fit in those five to seven seconds that you have to communicate with the driver. And if he doesn’t pull over anyway, don’t be upset, stay where you are and pick up another vehicle. At first, only one vehicle in thirty or fifty will stop for you – but that doesn’t mean hitch-hiking doesn’t work, it means your skills have room for improvement.

Don’t wave down cars while walking, because when you walk, you are facing forward, and when a car appears, it does so from behind, and it’s uncomfortable to wave to it facing backward – you’ll end up turning back and forward all the time. So, if you choose to walk, walk, if you choose to stand and wait, stand and wait (and don’t forget to wave), but doing both is not productive. Most of the time, your destination will be hard to reach by walking and you will hardly at all gain by trying.

With considerable traffic present (say, three or four vehicles every minute), quickly occupy a decent spot, don’t waste time and start waving. When the traffic is lighter (say, one in five minutes), choose the spot more carefully and get ready to become a fixture. Of course, when the traffic is close to zero (like one in an hour) and a curve or an inhabited locality lies ahead (along with the possibility of more vehicles), then walk, pricking your ears for surprises coming from behind.

Signs. Some Europeans use signs with the destination written on them. Don’t do it in Russia. Remember that: 1) a sign is worth less than a good spot, because nobody will bother reading it while driving fast; and 2) if you wave a sign mentioning Irkutsk or some other faraway locality, you will «filter out» vehicles headed to closer destinations which might turn out very quick and useful. Hitch-hiking sages almost never use signs.

Western hitchhikers

How long will a typical wait take?

There is no fit-all answer. Waiting time depends on your experience, equipment, spot quality, traffic, time of the day, season, region, country… and some randomness thrown in. Experienced hitch-hikers have got stuck for two or three hours in the daytime, at good spots; beginners have escaped from bad spots quickly. Don’t think about waiting time; thing about average speed. It is quite predictable and should be about 600 or 700km (370—440mi) per twelve hours spent on a well-paved highway in Russia.

How To Behave In The Car

To get the car to stop is just half the work; what remains to be done is to get it moving with you inside – and make the driver happy with his decision. Many beginners want to know: what to say to the driver? Here is one option:

«Good morning, can you give me a lift down this road?»

You will usually hear: «Get in» – or: «Where you wanna go?» I usually name my final destination: «Well actually I want to go to Moscow, but any place in that direction is okay.» The faraway place you name usually arouses interest and can become the subject of your conversation. Or you can say: «Could you take me some distance in the direction of Moscow?» The driver will drawl, expressing doubt: «To Moscow? I’m only going to Tuymazy» – or refer to any other obscure, nearby locality. You accept, and the conversation goes on with more incredulous drawling: «Moscow? Ain’t that takin’ you, like, forever?» – and so on.

If I know that the nearest good spot is ahead of the city N, I say:

«Good morning, could you give me a lift to the city N?»

When you are in a city, or in the Caucasus, or in Central Asia, or in some foreign countries, or anywhere else where you worry the driver might be a cabby in disguise (which is how we call those who ask for money after giving you a lift), you say:

«Good morning! Could you give me a lift down the road? I’ve nothing to pay with.»

Or, after finding out where the driver is headed, say:

«Can I go with you? No money!» (Or: «For free!»)

And they will say, with a funny accent: «What money, schmoney, what’re you talking about! Get right in, my friend!»

Or you can say: «Good morning! Are you headed straight? Can I go with you? – I’m a hitch-hiker!» – or: «Good morning! Could you take a hitch-hiker in the direction of Chernyshevsk?»

«Who’s a hitch-hiker?» – the driver will possibly say. You explain, and there you are.

Many people want to know what else to talk about with the driver.

Avoid extremities. Some hitch-hikers will talk their heads off, spouting jokes and funny stories, some act out Silent Bob. But the true wisdom lies in getting the driver to do the talking. Sage hitch-hikers will calmly digest incoming information and ask questions, letting the driver go on and on and be happy to have struck upon such an interesting conversationalist (you).

Conversation subjects can be different. Ask the driver where he is going, and then say you want to know more about the place. What’s worth seeing? Is it a historic place? How’s life for the locals? What are the living expenses? How long will it take to get there? If you’re talking to a lorry driver, ask if he’s been to the places you are interested in recently. And how long has he been hauling stuff around? And where was he employed before that? Let him tell you at length how spectacularly that particular Soviet industry collapsed (doesn’t apply to the younger ones any more).

If it’s a used western car just purchased in Europe, ask about life in the West. Remind that life in Russia is better. If it’s a fancy brand, ask about its advantages. Ask how often the traffic police become an annoyance. In a word, make the driver talkative.

If you like music, bring your favourite records and offer to play them, especially if both of you are tired of the tracks most heard on the road.

Drivers are an invaluable source of information about road features, passing cities, and sometimes about local places of interest. Don’t miss the opportunity to extract all this from them. You’ll learn more in this manner than if you keep telling one and the same life story to everyone. And if the driver becomes interested in you – then you’ll be even more pleased with your conversation.

If it’s night time, the driver has probably picked you up just to keep awake by interesting conversation. So don’t fall asleep in a moving vehicle!

Many beginners are worried about paying the driver. It is easy to observe, however, that most drivers in Russia and many ex-Soviet countries don’t demand (or expect) any payment! Even in vicinity of big cities (such as Moscow and St. Petersburg), only some 10% or less ask for money. A «cabby,» as we call them, will say immediately: «How much will you pay?» If that didn’t happen and you’re getting in, the issue will likely never arise again. (However, if you are inside a city, it can be the silent implication that you pay your fare, so warn the driver immediately!)

If you manage establish rapport with the driver, he won’t even think about money. Of course, there are «cabby countries» like Tajikistan where hitch-hiking is the only transportation available, and so travellers usually do pay – well, that makes it all the more important to reveal your nature as a free traveller. But in Russia, Europe, China, and many other countries drivers make their money by other means.

You yourself must try to take care of the driver. If you are carrying foodstuffs, or water, or chewing gum – you must offer some to the driver. They usually refuse, but it’s important to show gratitude. Present the driver with a copy of this book.

But what if you become friends with the driver, he takes you where you wanted, then you’re getting out, and all of sudden you hear:

«Hey! What about some cash for the fuel?» – then what?

Does that really happen? Well, in Russia – very rarely.

It happened a couple of times to me. And since it is a sign of improper behaviour on the part of the traveller (was too lazy or too meek to explain what he was doing), then, if I have the money, I donate some of it to the driver (the approximate price of a bus ride of comparable distance). Some people say you ought to lie that you have no money at all. But then if you haven’t warned the driver and do have the money – it’s stupid to be frugal: trying to use less money is like trying to use less air. Anyway, if you really don’t have the money, you should have said so. Whenever in doubt – give a warning!

In general, if a driver has given you a lift and is asking for money, he is not «bad» – you are foolish. When you are in faraway countries of Africa or Asia, always warn the driver as you get in the car. Learn how to say in the local language: «No money!» – or: «Straight – for free – possible?» In many places, it is implied and expected that you pay; in many places, ordinary cars and lorries are the only public transport available.

While travelling, you will learn to determine the driver’s expectations just from the appearance of his person and his vehicle. If it’s a posh car and the driver asks questions about hitch-hiking, and offers you a meal, and you two are generally having a nice conversation; or if it’s a huge lorry with expensive-looking (and homogeneous) load and it doesn’t stop for other (local) hitch-hikers – then it’s clear you’ve been picked up out of curiosity, not out of greed. But if it’s a shabby jalopy, the driver eats separately from you, keeps silent all the time, picks up other hitchers, and accepts money from them; or if it’s a dilapidated lorry or a bus transporting a bunch of blokes and a heap of bits and ends – and you forgot to give the no-money warning, better do it before it’s check-out time!

All of the above is addressed to hitch-hikers. If, O reader, you happen to be a driver and not a hitch-hiker, please take the following advice.

Single and coupled, in bright overalls and in plain clothes, sporting big backpacks, standing along the road waving their hands – these people are hitch-hikers. Most of them are completely safe and harmless fellows. If you have some unused space in your car, give them a lift. They won’t pay for your fuel but can help you kill time and learn more about roads, cities, and regions; some of them have travelled to very faraway places. Some have music records with them. They will keep you awake at night, watch out for hazards, and help avoid accidents. Some of them are from abroad and can have interesting opinions to share. In a word, most people who have hitch-hiked a lot are very interesting chat mates.

Some of them, though, can at first be too shy to share their valuable information about road conditions, passing cities, errors in your road atlas, and, sometimes, local places of interest. Make them talkative: ask how long they had to wait, and what their parents, friends, and the police think about what they’re doing.

Strangely, hitch-hikers rarely meet each other on the road. Some of them don’t know about hitch-hiking clubs or methods, or that you can get free lifts from trains, boats, etc. Tell them all you know yourself. Present them with a copy of this book.

The Wave. Hitch-Hiking At Night

Traffic varies greatly between day and night. Most cars head out of cities between 7 and 9:30 a.m.: we call this phenomenon the wave. It is more pronounced on weekday mornings. Between 6 and 7:30 p.m. there is another, smaller wave.

The wave travels down the road at an average 60kmph (37mph), fading gradually. It is very convenient to «ride» the wave: vehicles are plentiful and wait times tend to be short. The best time to start a hitching tour when leaving a big city is around 7 a.m.

Hitch-hiking gradually becoms worse as night sets in. Between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. vehicles are scarce, so it isn’t the worst idea to go to sleep.

Around big cities like Moscow, some night traffic exists at all times, but smaller, remoter roads are practically deserted. Try to pass the less-inhabited parts of your route in the morning or day time.

Night-time hitch-hiking has its own nuances. First, traffic is usually lighter as most drivers go to sleep, silently hinting that we should, too. From insignificant, minor roads traffic can disappear completely.

Second, much to the surprise of an experienced daytime hitch-hiker, drivers «stop stopping» in darkness. But it happens simply because, with not enough light, they notice you too late and don’t have time to act accordingly! For safety reasons, don’t throw yourself under the wheels figuring you’ll be «more visible!»

In Central Asia, India, and other warm regions, day-time weather in summer can be so hot that many long hauls happen in the night time. On some roads in the North, drivers prefer the long night to the short day with its dazzling white snow. Learn such things before it’s too late, and you won’t miss your cars.

Trained hitch-hikers travel very efficiently in the night time, using bright, light-reflecting overalls, reflectors, head lamps… A man in bright overalls, holding a blinking torch, can attract the driver’s attention even in a dark place, even at hundreds of metres’ distance. Lots of outlandish images will swirl through the driver’s mind («Greenpeace? Paratroopers? Cops? Cosmonauts?»), making your chances for success soar. Better still if there are two of you, wearing identical suits.

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