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[[Jo_hannaaah]] ''hitchhiked almost the entire length of India in the summer of 2018 and this is a short recap of her experiences: Hitchhiking in India is easy, although people do not understand what the heck you are up to. If you're white, they'll think you're very very rich and they won't understand what you are doing outside an air-conditioned taxi or bus or train. Almost all my rides brought me to a busstation rather than allowing me to stay on the highway. Apart from that , hitchhiking in India is amazing! People are curious and kind and inclined towards helping you. I have to add here that I am a blond, white female solo traveler, not extremely unappealing. If you're not, your experiences might slightly differ from mine. Remember; everything in India moves slow; busses, trains , but cars as well. You won't be covering the distances you're used to in other countries maybe. 250 km is a good distance for a day. Trucks offer great long-distance rides and high views, but they mover extremely slow. Sometimes the truck drivers got a bit sexual, but not on a dangerous level.. just slightly uncomfortable. The Roadhouses next to the highways offer the greatest food I had in India so far.
I started in Madurai and Hitched all the way up to new Delhi. In the south, people are generally more friendly and less money-driven than the people in the north (Rajasthan and Delhi). The hitchhiking itself became easier further up north, as the private cars slowly appeared. In the southern states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Karnataka) I hopped on every vehicle I flagged down, but the greater variety of available cars in the north (Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi) allowed me to be picky and to stop thumbing up so many trucks. If you are alone, motorcycles offer great rides, although some of them were slightly uncomfortable in a physical sense. The roads were surprisingly alright , apart from the occasional dead cow or dog! The highways are the best for hitchhikers, since you can just stand on the actual highway, and people just stop for you. It's very normal to park your car on the middle of the highway to chat you up or let you in (love it). In short: hitchhiking is easy and safe, although people don't understand it. It is slow, but remember that everything moves slow in India.. hitchhiking is probably one of the fastest options to reach your destination. Please make sure for yourself to be comfortable with what you are doing. It is simply not for everyone.''
Hitchhikernick - Visited for 5 weeks in sept-oct 2018. hitching via motorcycles were very easy in the cities. Hitching in busy areas like New Delhi and surrounding cities/towns just isnt worth the effort (took me 8 hrs to get from southern New Delhi to Agra with lots of walking between rides). Best thing to do is go general class on train as no ticket inspectors check this carriage (lowest class) as it is so packed with people, i did this 75% of my time in India. i visited all over and the best area for hitching was in kashmere, followed by the far south. i entered first time via plane (as evisa requirement) and re-entered overland from Nepal in Darjeeling region. beware of kid/opportunist pickpockets if you sleep on the train. this is definitely the most challenging country for a hitchhiking traveller as it isnt easy to find camping spots in a lot of areas, and there is so many people and much rubbish/human waste everywhere, definitely one of the smelliest countries i have visited. food was very cheap and very tasty, lots of dal bhat and one driver took me to a restaurant where i had some delicious tandoori chicken 😋
== Border crossings ==
