Dritchhiking Hunk [Hitchhiking Drunk]

After spending a few days in a small Slovakian village, I should have learnt what it means to drink with a Slovakian. Unfortunately, I was not prepared. My good Slovakian friend had caught us up in Bulgaria as we continued on our hitchhiking journey towards Turkey and that meant that there were now three of us travelling together. We waved a fond farewell to Sofia and another newly found friend, then hit the road once more. This time we were armed with a box of wine.

Once in Japan, I tried to hitchhike from Kyoto to Hiroshima while under the influence of alcohol because I had missed my bus. Despite being a funny story, it didn’t turn out too well and I only made it three hours down the road to Kobe before having to pay over a hundred pounds for a very fast train ride that I slept through. My second experience turned out both more and less successful than the initial attempt.

Start as you mean to go on; my Slovakian friend pouring an early morning cup of wine

Start as you mean to go on; my Slovakian friend pouring an early morning cup of wine

To Save Money, Buy Nothing But Wine

What amused me at this time in my journey, was our financial priorities. In the whole of the world, I had but a tiny amount of money to my name and spent almost nothing on a day-to-day basis. Yet with the little I had and spent, I still managed to purchase boxes of wine. Admittedly boxes of wine in Bulgaria cost the equivalent of a bottle of wine in England, but it seemed that wine had become my primary, almost sole expense. Good quality, boxed wine at that! Without wine, I realised I could survive with only pennies instead of pounds each day. I am quite capable of surviving without wine each day, but while it’s available, I am more than happy to drink it.

Part-time hitchhiking

Part-time hitchhiking

Standing on the side of the road, the three of us were in great spirits and happy to be together. We cracked open our latest box of wine and started to drink it from a small metal cup while occasionally hitchhiking as cars passed us. Even with our lacklustre efforts and the fact that we were three people hitchhiking at the same time, it wasn’t long before we picked up a ride with a long haired Bulgarian guy. We chatted with the friendly driver and he drove us to the last city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv. We had somewhere to stay, but by the time we arrived the wine had somewhat gone to my head. All I wanted to do, was sleep. When you’re in a big city, needing sleep is far less than ideal. We got shoed away from the bank for practising round-offs (flick cartwheels) outside their front doors and set-up a little day camp in a quiet corner on the sidewalk.

Filling Up the Wine Cup on a Bench

Filling Up the Wine Cup on a Bench

While I was ‘resting my eyes,’ haircuts had also taken place. Those few hours on the sidewalk had seemed like the perfect time for one hitchhiker to cut another’s hair. With a shortened attention span, half a haircut was complete and the next day it had to be finished.

"Do you think you could just cut it here?"

“Do you think you could just cut it here?”

All in all, it was quite an eventful box of wine. If you ever wish to try hitchhiking drunk, I advise taking a video camera. It will result in some hilarious and terrible videos, as well as some funny stories. I have shared with you a couple of the stories but I think I’ll keep the videos to myself. I am also keeping several stories to myself!

You can always spot the terrible tourist by the bottle of alcohol that they carry in their hand. For a day, we were those terrible tourists. I bet you’ve never seen the terrible tourists hitchhiking before!

This post is part of a bigger story and adventure that involves hitchhiking through 24 countries in Europe. To read more about it, click here.

By | 2013-12-21T22:06:28+00:00 March 23rd, 2013|Euro Hitch 2012|2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Daniela 24/03/2013 at 11:23 - Reply

    I admit you looked terrible. But you were also really sweet and funny guys. Moreover, you even made me think of going hitchhiking myself. Great stories Jamie. Take care.

    • Jamie 24/03/2013 at 12:21 - Reply

      Daniela, thank-you ever so much for looking after us. We had a great time with you. Apologies for our arrival state! And I hope that you get to try hitchhiking. If you hitchhike to Turkey, you are always welcome to come and stay with me in Istanbul.

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