Yinj Tan — Hitchhiker Spotlight 🔦

On Fridays, we put a hitchhiker in the *spotlight. This week it’s Yinj Tan! Scroll down to read hitchhiking stories from her journeys. This spotlight first appeared on the 2nd of October 2020 in the NOMADS – Hitchhiking Club About Yinj First hitch: I guess it was 2014, back when I was still working in Singapore. I went to a walk with a friend and a couchsurfer, we got really tired to walk to the bus stop and the couchsurfer saw some other people hitchhiking, so he also tried and a lady driving a Mercedes sports car stopped and gaveContinue reading

Sarandë to Vlorë: Albanian Coastal Hitch

Goodbye Sarandë and hello Vlorë! Though this road was desolate and there was only a little bit of shade left to stand in at noon, I caught a direct ride with a truck driver from Berat on this amazing coastal route. Tea and Tears But before I caught a ride to Vlorë, I had to walk along this road in the sunshine. It was quite a long walk. With the heat getting to my brain, I made a stop at a building on the south-west side of the road that I hoped would be a shop of some kind. IContinue reading

Durrës, Albania: Teaming Up with Another Hitchhiker

After a beachy freecamp in Durrës, I picked up this hitchhiker from Austria. By ‘picking up’ a hitchhiker I mean that I talked to another backpacker and he joins my plan to also hitchhike. He told me he was not traveling by hitchhiking in Albania because of the scary stories going around. But he generally had hitchhiking experiences. Good. Even better was that he didn’t have a fixed plan. So he joined me hitching back to Tirana (pictured, holding my beautiful hitchhiking sign at a road in the city that was under construction) from Durrës and then onward to Elbasan.Continue reading

Split, Croatia: Reading a Book at the Riva

At the Riva (promenade) in the old town of Split, Croatia. In this lovely town, I got my tan on and went for the book reading beach life today. I’m only in the first chapter, but it seems like Simone de Beauvoir and I have a lot to agree on. A course – one of the few I didn’t hate – I took at university hadThe Second Sex as suggested reading. I’ve been looking for the peace of mind to read such a staple of feminist philosophy. I think I’m ready to read a thick one. To clarify, the beach I went to is Plaža BačviceContinue reading

No-Budget Travel: Why I Can’t Be Arsed to Budget

Long-term travelers receive the same questions all the time about this dreadful topic called “budgeting your trip”. I am the last person to have solid advice for you because I practice no-budget travel. I cringe upon hearing the B-word and the following nonquestions: “How do you fund your travels?” “What’s your daily budget?” “(How much) Do you save for your travels?” My answer to all of them is either “I don’t know” or “who cares?” This is absolutely the most boring topic of travel, and that’s why I’m usually reluctant to share my views. So here goes nothing: First ofContinue reading

Transfăgărășan Highway: Does Jeremy Clarkson Pick Up Hitchhikers?

Now that he’s fired from Top Gear, perhaps Jeremy Clarkson has some free time now to pick up a hitchhiker at the Transfăgărășan Highway in Romania? I mean, he does say that “this is the best road in the world”. I’m also accustomed to hitchhiking with problematic people. So… I basically hitchhiked to the start of the Transfăgărășan Highway just to take this photo (and make this joke). A month ago, Jeremy Clarkson still worked at Top Gear. I’d hoped to put out a little call to action to hitchhike with the crew of Top Gear. It’s a program IContinue reading

The Hitchhiker’s Wishlist (2014)

This year’s hitchhiker’s wishlist for Christmas and in general is as follows: 1. Colorful markers to make ultra-cool hitchhiking signs 2. Hiking socks. There are never enough new unsmelly, hole-free hiking socks 3. Rip-proof, dirt-proof, and smell-proof backpack. Preferably with an anti-food explosion feature too (I have traumas) 4. Leather hiking boots with cool laces 5. Zero-mass tent with zero-mass stakes. Why is this so heavy? 6. (Related to number 5:) Magic mattress and sleeping bag with spontaneous ‘my own bed’ feature that makes it as comfy as home. A little like that scene in Harry Potter when they enterContinue reading