10 Essential Tips: The Hitchhiker's Guide

"Sane is boring." ― R.A. Salvatore

Hitchhiking to Amsterdam was crazy. It wasn't my first time hitchhiking, but it was my first time doing it over such a long distance and doing it with other people. It might also have been the wildest thing I've done this year... Or indeed, ever.

Hitching for 56 hours teaches you lots of valuable skills about hitchhiking and trying to get a ride from others; these are 10 of the best tips I learned.

#1 Dress properly.

This seems like common sense, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to be dressed right. The last thing you want to do is to be stuck in clothes that aren't warm enough when you're by the side of the A1 at 2AM in the morning in a drizzle and wind. (Yes, that actually happened.)

You'll want gloves, waterproof jackets, a good hat, and most importantly good walking boots. Wear something you know you'll be comfortable in even after hours of wearing, and dress in layers because you never know what the weather will be.

Reindeer and dinosaur Primark onesies aren't the smartest attire to go hitchhiking in.

#2 Get a signboard.

This is really useful because people know where you're headed before they decide to stop and pick you up, making it more likely that they'll pay attention to you if you happen to be by the side of an expressway. Having a signboard also shows that you're serious about hitchhiking and that you've put effort into it, which makes you seem more trustworthy. I recommend an erasable whiteboard, which lets you rewrite your destination point depending on where your next major stop is.

#3 Smile!

Everyone wants to be around happy people, and in hitchhiking someone is doing you a favour by picking you up. The least you can do to reciprocate is to show that you're thankful for the ride. People are always friendlier when they smile, and this helps you win the trust of the next person who's going to give you a ride. Hitchhiking is tough work, and you'll need to keep your spirits up anyway.

#4 Ask proactively.

People these days aren't as sympathetic toward hitchhikers because it's not as common as it was 20 years ago, but if you ask nicely you'll still probably be able to get a lift if they're going your way. The key here, though, is for you to ask - if you wait for people to notice you, you might be stuck in one spot for ages.

People will likely think of you as a curiosity rather than volunteering to pick you up themselves. You know how when shows ask for volunteers, people never do, but always have to wait for the performers to pick people from the crowd? Same thing. Which brings me to my next point...

#5 Ask to be dropped off at service stations, not the side of expressways.

Apart from the fact that standing on the side of expressways aren't the safest thing in the world, being near service stations lets you catch people where they're forced to acknowledge you, as they're filling up the tank of their car or taking a quick break. (Refer to #4 on why you need people to acknowledge you.) Service stations are also much safer - at least when nightfall comes, you'll be in a place where there's light, and there are washroom facilities available if you need them.

If you find yourself in the middle of a city, make your way to the edge of it before you try hitching - it's extremely difficult to get a long-haul hitch in a city centre, where most people are only travelling for short distances. Your best chances at getting a hitch will be truck drivers, who will often be glad for the company over a long-distance drive.

#6 Know when it's time to take a break.

Hitchhiking is tiring, especially if you've been at it non-stop for hours and you don't seem to be going anywhere. There's a fine line between being determined and being stubborn, and you have to know where that line is. You aren't likely to get a hitch anywhere in the middle of the night, for example. If you've been at it for 15 hours straight, maybe it's time to take a nap, or take time to figure out what your next step should be.

Don't be discouraged if no one seems to be going your way. On several occasions I asked people if they were going southward, had them answer "No sorry I'm headed north," and then two minutes later see them turn onto the lane going south of the A1. In other words, many of them lie just to get out of it. People do get scared of hitchhikers, and although it's frustrating to have them say no to you, accept that that's just the way it is. Another hitch will come along at some point - patience is a virtue.

#7 Balance speed and safety.

You're more likely to get a hitch if you go in smaller groups, but at the same time remember that there's safety in numbers. Male groups of hitchhikers may find it difficult to get a hitch because drivers may be wary; female groups tend to find a bit more sympathy, but you'll want to make sure that everyone is capable of defending themselves if you get into tricky or dangerous situations. Remember that it's okay to decline rides that seem dodgy - even if you're desperate to be going somewhere, never accept a ride that seems dangerous.

#8 Travel light.

Don't lug around massive suitcases - a backpack that contains only your essentials is all you will want to carry. It's also difficult when you're in someone else's car; you never know how much you'll need to squeeze your luggage. Your luggage will be with you 24 hours a day for the duration of your hitch, so you want something that isn't going to weigh you down or give you sore shoulders by the end of it all.

#9 Be prepared.

Take along little things with big purposes - Swiss Army Knives, umbrellas, maps. Swiss Army Knives are all-purpose handy little tools that come in useful in a myriad of situations, and you will be thankful that you brought your umbrella if it begins pouring. Maps are absolutely essential; they tell you what routes you should be taking and where you are. Torches and high-visibility vests are useful in case you find yourself on a dark road.

There is nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of nowhere and not knowing where you are. Trust me on this. My tip: prepare for hitchhiking as you would prepare for camping.

#10 Speaking the local language helps.

When I was in France, I was speaking almost exclusively in French because nearly no-one spoke any English. Speaking French allowed me to break down the barriers between the locals and myself, letting me take and follow directions from the locals. Being able to communicate in the local lingua meant help was more readily given because they stopped seeing me as a foreign threat, which took away the element of being a stranger.

If you can't speak the local language, at least have some phrases that you can use to express yourself with.

*

Remember, hitching is all about trust. People would often tell me that over the years, horror stories of hitchers turning into murderers started emerging, which made people become a lot more wary of hitchhikers. If you can gain a person's trust, half the battle is won in making your way to your next destination.

And if anything, always remember that the answer to any question is always 42. ;)

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Don't judge a building by its bricks

I have to admit, when I walked past Oslo's City Hall for the first time, my reaction was... "What?" What is this big red brick factory-looking building doing in the centre of Oslo right next to the Nobel Peace Prize - and more importantly, why on earth would the Nobel Prize Committee award a prize that prestigious in a factory?

So despite all my reservations and assurances that going in would not be worth my while (I mean, come on - there wasn't even a queue to go in or anything, so clearly no-one is interested right?) I went inside anyway, but mainly because it was free and I had time to kill.



As you can see, I was clearly wrong about them awarding the Nobel Peace Prize in a factory.

Oslo's City Hall is a place out of a fairytale - beautiful coloured wall murals, lush thick draperies and tapestries, pictures of the Royal Family, all done in the most beautiful Scandinavian design style.



I walked in to a massive entrance hall, with murals filled with depictions of Norwegian life - musicians, farmers, seamen, families.



The hallways reminded me of palaces - grand, old palaces with a million rooms, and it also reminded me of the Von Trapp Villa from the Sound of Music. The tall ceilings seemed to swallow me up, making me feel tiny and placing me in awe of the sheer amount of workmanship that must have been put into this building.











I learned a very important lesson: just as they say never judge a book by its cover, never judge a building by its bricks. You may be surprised by what you find!

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In the footsteps of the great

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." - Elie Wiesel

There is something special about the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo. Everyone's heard of the Nobel Peace Prize at some point; it was founded by Alfred Nobel, bequeathed in his will, and is the only one of the set of five Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo (the others are awarded in Stockholm).

No one really knows why Nobel chose Oslo as the place to award the Peace Prize - no one even knows if Alfred Nobel even ever visited Oslo.

The pale yellow building of the Nobel Peace Centre stands out in an understated way against the rest of the city - a small singular building with arched windows. The entrance hallway isn't anything spectacular, either, and at first when you stand inside you might start to wonder what the big fuss is all about.

But you know, you've come all this way, so you buy your ticket (adults 80 NOK, students 55 NOK) and go inside anyway. And that's when the magic starts.



I went at 1PM on a weekend afternoon, which is when the Centre holds free guided tours for visitors - at all other times, you explore the exhibitions inside on your own. "Mahatma Gandhi," my tour guide tells me, "never was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize but he is connected to the Prize in so many ways." I was surprised - I always thought he had been. She continues, "He was nominated several times but was never awarded it."

We walk up the stairs and go to the first gallery: Sheroes, dedicated to the three women who jointly shared the Nobel Peace Prize of 2011. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen have each been nonviolent activists of ending the wars in their home countries.



The exhibition is small, but filled with information and interactive sections. I suddenly found myself embarrassed that I had never heard of these women before going to the Nobel Peace Centre. I watched sections of their acceptance speeches, at City Hall just across the road.

There was something that stuck with me about Tawakkol Karman's speech, which she gave in Arabic rather than English, the reason being that she found it more important to be heard and understood in her native Yemen than around the world. Little things which don't seem terribly significant suddenly mean a lot more - here she was, Tawakkol Karman, with the opportunity to let the fame and glory of all the world shine on her for one evening as she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead she chose to use it to shine the spotlight on Yemen and let herself be heard there.

Inspiring people have a way of making you feel that way.



We walked through the Nobel Field, an exhibition with the concept of a garden - that you would walk through the lit LCD screens and fibre optic cables, discovering or rediscovering people you never knew had been awarded the Prize.

Returning to the section of the Centre that focused on how intricately Gandhi was involved with the Prize, I started wondering why it was that Gandhi never was awarded it. Certainly he was nominated for the prize several times, and by so many different people - previous laureates, academic departments, world leaders - and certainly the people at Nobel are proud to be associated with him.

Somehow, even though we were in Oslo, Norway, and a very very long way from India, it was like we had entered into his life - from birth in 1869 to death in 1948. Born in India, married at 14, trained as a lawyer in England, father to four children, leader to all of India, shining example to the world.

How curious a man he must have been in his life, when one discovers that on the occasion of India's independence from the British his way of celebration was not to go out and party with everyone else, but to stay at home and spin his charka-wheel.



One of the nonviolent things Gandhi did as part of his work was to lead the Salt March, a protest against British salt tax laws - simply by producing salt on his own without needing to pay tax for it. On his 24-day march, Gandhi was joined by more and more of his countrymen. I got to join in, too.

I didn't really walk 24 days just to produce salt at the sea coast of Dandi without needing to pay tax, of course. I just stood in front of a sensor while my movement was recorded by a camera and my image was added to that of others who had also time-travelled to March 1930 to join the Salt March. You can try spotting me in the crowd of people, if you would like.

I guess I like to think that a little part of me has stayed at the Nobel Peace Centre, eh?



Aung San Suu Kyi, The Lady. Who, who has been listening to the news in the last five years, has not heard of her? So much has been written and said about her - films, books. Awarded the Prize in 1991, but only got to collect it in person in 2012, eleven years after it was awarded to her. Under house arrest for some 15 years, yet unfaltering and steadfast in her commitment to work towards democracy of Myanmar. How much strength would it take for someone to hold that sort of dedication?



I left the Nobel Peace Centre feeling I had been thrust into the awareness that the world is so much larger and scary than we often realise. We are caught in our little bubbles, with things like the radio, the internet, TV and newspapers the only avenues of our learning about the rest of the world. And even then we don't always pay attention - we can shut them off if we want to, turn off our computers or choose not to read newspapers.

But for people in war-torn places, there is no such thing as turning it off if they want to. They cannot choose to switch off the gunfire, bombs, or armies of soldiers marching into their towns; it is ever-present, a part of their lives, things we cannot ourselves even imagine, living in constant fear and unrest.

 The Nobel Peace Prize is double-edged: it recognises and pays tribute to those who have worked for peace, and yet the very necessity to work for peace presupposes the existence of violence. These people and so many others continue to fight, every day, to end it and to achieve harmony and peace. It can be tiring work, stretched out over an extremely long period of time and seemingly endless.

Perhaps it is because of this that things like the Nobel Peace Prize exist - to celebrate these individuals who continue to work for peace and to make the big world a much kinder place.

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Foodie paradise

Mathallen, which is Norwegian for Food Hall, fulfils the very definition of a posh upmarket setting where you can sample and buy well-sourced, fresh, delicious grocery foods (albeit expensive, but then again everything's expensive in Norway).

And boy oh boy do the Norwegians know and love their food.





Those cheese samples are just asking to be eaten. (I did have one, or a few, samples - and they're every bit as delicious as they look!)

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this, but fruits and vegetables in little wooden crates like this? Wouldn't look out of place on an episode of Heston Blumenthal at all. Every single fruit and vegetable polished, ripened and shined to perfection.


The Vulkan Oslo Mathallen is really new - it only opened in October, but already it was really crowded when I went there.



Of course, this being Norway you can't go to a food hall and not try their seafood. It is, after all, what the Norwegians are known for.

I love that even though this is just a market, essentially, it's so upmarket and posh that everything looks pretty much perfect - even the way the seaweed is carefully stranded on top of the fish that lays on beds of ice! It really struck me how proud everyone was of the food they were selling, everything carefully done up to display only the best.



Plus it made all my pictures come out really pretty :p







I tried a salmon platter, and it was amazing. Three different ways of prepared salmon and a variety of sauces. It's a really simple dish if you think about it, but who knew that food that simple could taste that good?

Vulkan Mathallen Oslo
Tram: Trams 11, 12 or 13 stop at Schouss Place. From here it's a short walk to the North Gate and over the bridge to Vulkan.
Bus: Buses 54 and 34 stop at Møllerveien. Then go down Mills Road and turn into the Dance House.
T-bane: Mathallen is a 15 minute stroll from Jernbanetorget.

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You won't find frogs here

Morning hikes through wild lands with well-trodden walks, with fresh snow from the last snowfall still caught on the sides of paths, illuminated by golden sunlight. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a more beautiful way to start your day!



I found the name Frognerseteren really amusing, because, come on. FROG-nerseteren? That's one hell of a memorable name.

Frognerseteren really is a place for walking through nature. It's a popular starting point for hikes and trails, so you won't find yourself alone for long even if you get lost - trails are marked out in paint marks by the sides of trees.





Just the thinnest layers of ice were beginning to form on the surface of ponds and lakes; the puddles had already frozen. I found myself wishing everything would freeze up faster so that I would be able to go ice-skating!

I found myself loving the sheer untidiness of it all - the leaves, ferns, roots and branches caught up in each other, the way it was sculpted by everything and yet by nothing. The remains of snowfall still lying there gentle and unshaken, like icing sugar on a cake.





I love this strange twisted gnarled tree root - it looks like a rabbit hole, almost as if I would have fallen into Wonderland if I had climbed through it.

It was then that I knew that truly I must have lost my heart to the Norwegian wood.

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Gifts for the travel-bug bitten

The biggest holiday season of the year is coming up soon, and that means soon we'll be shopping for gifts for everyone we know and love. Here are some cool picks and travel essentials for the travel buff in your life. (Or even yourself, because hey we all need some self-love now and then!)

1. Scratch travel map

If you're travelling, you've got to have a map. How else are you supposed to keep track of the cities you visit? I like this one because it lets you keep track of where you've been - plus, it seems humans have this strange obsession with scratching things, like picking scabs and scratching insect bites. So we might as well scratch places off maps while we're at it.

Luckies Scratch Map, Amazon.co.uk, £10.49

2. Travel size toiletries

One of the biggest headaches about flying is the 100ml liquid/gel rule - you can't take liquids and gels in containers over 100ml on your cabin carry. It's a pain in the arse, because this leaves you with two options: put your favourite soaps and lotions into a million tiny containers, or bring the full-size in your checked-in luggage and worry about the bottles exploding and spilling out over all your clothing. (Just a tip - if you do pack your full-size in your check-in, chuck it all into Ziplock bags. Please.)

My skin always gets dry on planes, and on board I always appreciate having a nice hand cream for when my hands feel really dry. Thankfully almost everything comes in travel sizes these days. This kit smells amazing, and it's got a great hand cream included for those nifty situations. Just try not to keep sniffing your hands after you've moisturised.

Crabtree and Evelyn Pomegranate Argan and Grape Seed Little Luxuries, Amazon.co.uk, £9.40

3. Passport organiser

Passport organisers are handy for keeping things organised; fumbling around with multiple bags, boarding passes and booking references, travel money and your passport is not fun. These things put everything in one place so you can find them quickly and easily when you need to - and they're great for keeping things like ticket stubs and fast travel money on the go, too.

SWT Travel Wallet, Amazon.co.uk, £5.60

4. Travel luggage

Depending on your airline, you may or may not find yourself worrying about whether your luggage exceeds dimension limits. I find it easier to just work with a bag that already works within these limits, which means it's one less thing to worry about.

My own CabinMax has followed me to six countries since I first got mine three months ago, and I can quite safely say I'm extremely happy with it. The cushioning doesn't compress to nothing, and with the compression straps on the side help to further squeeze your bag. Plus, because it's a backpack you can easily carry it with you even when you're in territory that isn't so accommodating for wheeled luggage - you won't have to worry when trekking countrysides.

CabinMax Backpack, Amazon.co.uk, £24.95

5. Great Adventures by Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is probably the first thing everyone thinks about when they think 'travel guide', and for good reason - these guides are informative, well-researched, up-to-date, and easy to use. Great Adventures takes you on a photographic journey of some of the most breathtaking things to do in the world. Adventures are separated depending on what catches your fancy - whether you reckon diving, caving, or wildlife watching is more your thing, Great Adventures has you covered.

Amazon.co.uk, £15

6. Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2013

Need inspiration for your next trip? Another Lonely Planet guide, this list of top travel destinations is a great way to scout new places you never thought you'd want to visit. For 2013, Lonely Planet lists Sri Lanka as the #1 place to visit - and having been there myself, I'll say that they're bang-on right about that. But Sri Lanka's another story for another time ;)

Amazon.co.uk, £5.89

7. National Geographic Magazine

A gift with a dual purpose - not only does it feed the wanderlust in all of us, but the proceeds go toward funding National Geographic projects. It was on the wings of NatGeo that my passion for travel was born in 2001 (I kept every issue until my mom threw half of them away without telling me, a dastardly criminal act for which I was extremely upset for a very long time). Insightful stories, gorgeous photography, and hauntingly beautiful places.

Warning: may cause desire to quit job and travel the world.

National Geographic (USA), from USD15
National Geographic (international), from £15

8. Micro 4/3 camera

I'm no expert in photography, but I do know that everyone loves a well-taken photo. Full-size dSLRs can be bulky, not to mention attention-grabbing (and sometimes that includes the attention of pickpockets). The mirrorless SLR system, micro 4/3 cameras are an excellent compromise between image quality and size. The interchangeable lens system and often inclusion of manual functions gives you much greater control over images than regular point-and-shoots in a very small package. Several companies make these, so do your research.

Olympus E-PL1, Amazon.co.uk, £231.99
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3, Amazon.co.uk, £288

9. Swiss Army Knife

The ultimate in handy-dandy, the Swiss Army Knife is made by several companies these days. Victorinox is the most well-known manufacturer of these, and they're essential for those situations where you find yourself needing a pair of tweezers, a pair of scissors or a knife and you didn't think to bring one along. These are great because so many tools are packed into such a small space. Swiss Army Knives come in several combinations with different tools available, so take your pick.

SwissTool, from £15.35

10. First Aid Kit/Medicine box

This one makes it to my list of absolute travel essentials. I can't even count the number of times I've needed a plaster or an alcohol swabs for a cut, or Voltaren gel and Danzen for sudden inflammation, and I've been so thankful that I brought my first-aid kit and medicine box with me so I have these things handy when I need them. You know what they say, better to be safe than sorry!

In my kit I have plasters, Danzen, Voltaren, ibuprofen, melatonin, Gaviscon, antacid, Tussils 5, Lemsip, alcohol swabs, gauze, surgical tape, ultracarbon, Actifed, Po Chai pills and medicinal oil. Everyone will probably need a different set of things depending on the kinds of situations you think you'll get into, but first-aid and medicine boxes are one of those things I think it's best for you to put together yourself.

If you're going to give someone a first-aid kit as a gift, just put it in one of these nice little bags that make it seem a bit more fancy.


What will you be getting your friends this holiday season?

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Vigeland Sculpture Park

Contrary to its name, you don't need to be an art aficionado to be able to appreciate the beauty that is Vigeland Sculpture Park. It's currently rated #1 of TripAdvisor's things to do in Oslo, so you know when TripAdvisor tells you to go, you gotta listen.

Do you remember I showed you this picture?



Yup - that's Vigeland. It's gorgeous, and it's like a setting out of magic. The russet leaves mirrored in the calm water, the golden sunlight amplifying the colour of fire. I'd say that that one scene is all the reason you need to be in Vigeland.

But of course, it is a sculpture park, so there's more than just beautiful trees and lakes for you to see.



One of the first things you'll probably notice about the 192 sculptures in Vigeland is how they're all naked. At first it's a little bit surprising but then again the Greeks used to make naked marble statues of people all the time right? I didn't think I would really, but I found that I really liked how the statues froze moments in time.

They allow us to look on things with an understanding that brings new thought to our world. Even a stone statue of a man kicking away babies caught my eye and made me wonder how men are societally socialised into relegating a large proportion of parenting roles to mothers; in Norway which is a society so equal it's mindblowing, this was particularly interesting.





The cold had also frozen the morning dewdrops on the grass, like little crystals of glass on green blades. They would delicately crunch under my shoe if I walked on them.



It was late afternoon when I went, so I loved how the sun hung low in the sky and swathed the land in sheets of gold. I promise you, I have never seen the sun as beautifully as I did in Vigeland.





In the centre of Vigeland Park sits a massive stone monument of sculptures, figures hunched in every position, sometimes alone and sometimes with another, whispering to each other like stone angels. (Sorry I couldn't help the Doctor Who reference, ha ha!)



That huge stone column in the centre is carved out of a single block.



Although it doesn't really seem like much if you think about Vigeland as a place, there's a strange otherworldliness - the multitudes of statues frozen in time, where they meet the hoards of people who visit the park every day.

You know how sometimes you visit a place that really isn't anything at all, yet is something? That's what this park was. There's nothing really remarkable about it, yet people remain intrigued by these 192 sculptures, sitting on stone steps, picnicking and walking their dogs, taking photographs.

And then there's the wilderness that keeps cropping up again and again in Norway, the unkempt trees, the rich forests and the lakes that mirror them.





Perhaps it is that these frozen sculptures could find their place in this living, changing natural setting that captured my intrigue.

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