Thumbs up or thumbs down? Travel writer Kayleigh Chan writes about the difficulties and downfalls of  hitchhiking.

Last Easter, I hitchhiked from Cardiff to Morocco along with a couple of friends in aid of charity. Whilst it was a great experience, and the generosity of strangers restores your faith in humanity- there were moments when we began to question why on earth we┬áweren’t┬ájust flying.

Family and friends were a bit apprehensive before I started; the main concern being that IÔÇÖd end up in the boot of a crazy guyÔÇÖs car and never be seen again. Fortunately this┬ádidn’t┬áhappen, but itÔÇÖs easy to see why itÔÇÖs a valid concern- itÔÇÖs why weÔÇÖre told as children not to talk to strangers.

We got picked up a girl returning from a ÔÇÿholidayÔÇÖ. Minutes later she was pulled over by the police as part of a routine check. However, we realised that something was amiss when our driver had been gone for ten minutes and when we next saw her, she was in tears. Turns out she was high on amphetamines and that this ÔÇÿholidayÔÇÖ was a mad rave. You just donÔÇÖt know who will pick you up, although against our better judgement, we stayed in the car with her for another couple of hours.

Something to be aware of whilst hitchhiking is sleeping. Cities are really difficult to get out of; if you donÔÇÖt want to wait hours for a lift the next day, itÔÇÖs best to have alternative sleeping arrangements to city centre hostels.

In hindsight, a tent would have been the perfect solution for us, but we didnÔÇÖt bring one. This led to us sleeping in the back of a truck one night ÔÇô the coldest night of my life- and in a childÔÇÖs play pen in a service station for another. The play pen had a really soft foam floor which was a lot comfier than having your head resting on a table.

I donÔÇÖt like not knowing where IÔÇÖll end up the next day, or having to spend seven hours on the side of a road and then make awkward conversation with a driver who has limited English. The uncertainty of hitchhiking means that I wonÔÇÖt be doing it again anytime soon.

Written by  Kayleigh Chan