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'''Pierre Elliot Trudeau''' was a hitchiker in [[Canada]] who later became Prime Minister. Among other countries he hitched around Indochina and the [[Middle East]]. He was also known to hitchhike sometimes while he was Prime Minister, much at to the horror chagrin of his bodyguards.
'Pierre Elliot Trudeau: The Fascinating Life of Canada's Most Flamboyant Prime Minister', is a [http://www.amazon.com/Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau-Fascinating-Flamboyant/dp/product-description/1551539454 book] that also deals with the former prime-ministers hitchhiking adventures, in the Middle East. An excerpt:
''It was May 1948, and Palestine was convulsed in war over the new state of Israel. Amman was the second Middle Eastern stop on the hitchhiker's trek towards the Far East. It was a tempest of foreign press and frightened Arabs. He was glad to leave it behind and decidedly pleased with his ingenuity regarding transportation. Travel as a foreigner without proper documents was risky, but the 29-year-old student didn't care.''
Trudeau left university in 1948 at age 29 to tour [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]]. He hitchhiked with a knapsack and rode a motorbike. He visited [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], and [[Germany]], and after that he traveled to [[Eastern Europe]]. Then he went to [[Pakistan]], [[India]], [[Myanmar|Burma]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Indochina]], [[Thailand]], and accordingly also to [[China]]. He returned to [[Canada]] in 1949.
As a Prime Minister he also advised young Canadians to hit the road and see their country. "Hit the road. Drive or hitchhike and see what Canada’s all about", is what he [http://www.crossculturedtraveler.com/archives/JUN2002/Lead_Story.htm said] in 1970.
