Hitch hiking has been my form of transportation whenever I have no limited time to travel and there are like-minded friends to go with. It's free, fun, ecological, and reasonable. As every time you travel, the transportation is always one of the most expensive expenses. And while there are so many cars, lorries, trucks, or whatever other vehicles going to the same direction as you, so why shouldn't we try to ask for a lift?
I've tried hitch hiking in most parts of Thailand, Laos from Vang Viang to Vientian, Malaysia- Cameron Highlands. It was all just fine and I arrived my destination safely. While hitch hiking, many conversation and ideas were exchanged and shared. Some drivers used to hitch themselves during the teenage or uni time. Some gave us a life because they were curious why we didn't take public transportation. Some thought we didn't have money, some were very happy to see hitch hikers are still alive, etc.
In Northern Thailand, I was offered to stay over night and got fed dinner and breakfast at the house of the old couple who gave us a lift. Many times, the drivers also bought us some food. In Laos, the family who gave us a lift stopped by at their relatives' houses and even at a wedding. So there, I could get to observe the local wedding which was quite a beautiful and interesting ceremony. Songkran, Thai New Year's, in 2010, it was perhaps the craziest hitch hiking trip as I was hitching along the western part of Thailand, down from Mae Hong Son. The whole day from morning, I started to play along with the water war while hitching. Some part we got dry from the sun and once we started to go along narrow roads inside some villages, we got slashed with water again without any excuses. The end of the day, we felt like heat was coming out from the surface of our skin. But the best part of the day was we got to see sunrise, sunset, stars and we also got a life by some minority people and even shared the stuck with some other hill tribe hitch hikers.
Many times, I also met other travelers or activists who hitch hike because of political reasons, personal reasons, ecological reasons and what not. So do find your own reason to hitch, courage, and stop finding excuse not to.
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