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There are some people out there who hitch hike LONG distances with no money such as the infamous Tom Thumb, who hitched from England to India with just his rucksack, 2 loafs of bread and £0.00. There are also not so famous hitchers like [[User:Aaronishappy|Aaronishappy]] who hitched from Norway to Morocco, with just €2 arriving in Norway and his rucksack (and coming back with 20NKR, 5EUR, 4SF and 2GBP, which is 20NKR, 5EUR, 4SF and 2GBP more than he had when he left!).
While completely crazy it is certainly possible, but not necessarily fun. You will ask yourself several times a day "what am I going to eat", you will, and regret ever leaving your house, but knowing that no matter how bad things get they can only get better is a certain comfort.Don't forget though, that while you see all these fancy backpackers with their expensive train tickets and those posh tourists stuffing themselves with cakes at the hotel restaurant, they're only seeing the plastic, fake, tourist side of a country. You in your desperate efforts to survive get to see the entirety of a country, "warts and all"!
How do you do it then? The easiest answer is that you don't think about it, and just do it. The easiest, and probably the only way of survival is to come into contact with people and with hitching it's of course inevitable! After sticking your thumb out and finally getting that lift you've been waiting for, this is it. This is your time to shine and score some food. Most of the time you never need to show to their faces you have no money (but you may look like it) and they will give you something, ranging from clothes to joints to a dinner at their house. The trick is to be as social, open and friendly as possible! They wouldn't have picked you up if they didn't like you after all. If you've really tried to give the best impression you could, then the only choice to resort to is the pity game. Basically tell them you have no money, but not so bluntly. Be "covert" about it and ask questions such as where can you eat for free, use the internet for free, or "Hey do they have homeless shelters here?" Most of the time they'll ask why and then bingo! "Because I have no money, sir/madam" They'll usually be surprised that you really are skint and will be happy to give a hand to the weary poor traveller, usually in the form of money or food. Often in the afternoon, they will invite you back.
