“Where you headed? I’ve been trying to get a ride for two and a half hours. Good luck, man …”

Most recently, in kiwi land, I was told this by a man wearing a shirt stained with McD’s grease and cutoff jeans, sporting an unkempt beard, bracing himself against an 80L exterior frame backpack, and holding a dirty piece of cardboard with his destination scrawled in black ink. It was hard for me not to laugh; I had been hitching at this particular location off and on for six weeks, and had never had to wait more than twenty minutes for a ride.

What’s the secret? How can you ensure a free ride down the road?

#1: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Clean shaven, clean clothes, and no traces of blood (yes, really) or sweat on your skin. I suppose lack of facial hair is open to debate, but I have a suspicion that drivers are more likely to pick up men who look like they’re on their way to officer training school rather than those who emulate ZZ Top.

#2: Lose the Sunglasses

Whether you’re sporting a cheap pair of frames you purchased an hour ago from a shady character downtown or a trendy set of Oakleys, it’s best to set them aside and let motorists see your face.

#3: Be Neighborly

This tip depends on the living situation, of course, but if you happen to be residing and hitchhiking in the same area, take heed of your presence in the community. Do you ever go for walks or runs in the morning or evening? Wave at motorists as they pass; perhaps they’ll remember you if you need a ride to the bus station later on.

#4: Limit One Bag Per Person

Try not to carry more than one piece of luggage. If you can’t travel without a full 60L backpack so be it, but the ideal hitchhiker is supporting a simple day pack or none at all. Your light load saves the driver the hassle of clearing out the back seat or popping the trunk — you can just rest it on your knees.

A Particularly Bold Approach © lanuiop

#5: Have a Creative Approach

I’ve seen all kinds here — people wearing fake casts on their arms and legs; dressing up in costume; girls showing off their legs (classic); some physical gimmick like chasing after cars that hesitate or performing some gymnastic stunts. If you think anything will help you stand out, even the absurd, then go for it.

#6: Choose Your Location Wisely

If you need to start your journey from a major metropolitan area, consider walking or arranging transportation for the first 20-30 kilometers, ensuring you’re delivered in a rural area and less likely to catch people running errands and going to work.

Motorists need room to pull over; don’t assume they’ll just stop in their lane and halt incoming traffic to pick you up.

Check local hitchhiking laws. For instance, it’s illegal to hitchhike on the motorways of New Zealand (though not highly enforced).

#7: Make a Sign

Fifty-fifty shot here. Carrying a cardboard sign with your destination written in sharp bold letters might make it easier to find one driver willing to take you the full distance, but could also discourage those going only a few kilometers from making the effort to stop.

If you’re traveling in a foreign country where English is not the native language, it would definitely be a good idea to write “I can speak ____” in the local tongue. Drivers might want more than simply, “Roma? Ok, ok … (3 hours later) here … bye bye.”

#8: Consider the Time of Day

Rush hour traffic (7-9 AM, 4-6 PM) can leave you aggravated even if you’re not stuck behind two hundred cars and a construction zone. A parent who might enjoy conversation with a traveler in the middle of the day is less likely to let a stranger enter her car with her 10-year-old son, fresh from school. Blue and white collar workers usually want to get home and chill immediately following a long day of stress.

Hitching, Taiwan © prufrock27

#9: Looking Pathetic Helps

Pity rides are all too common in the world of hitchhiking.

Somewhat of an exception to the luggage and cleanliness rules is playing the proper role of a hitchhiker — a traveler displaced and alone in this uncertain world of ours. Now imagine such a character in the pouring rain. Along a rural highway in the dead of night. Wearing a t-shirt and shorts when the outside temperature reaches zero degrees Celsius. A combination of the three would be ideal. Pity rides are all too common in the world of hitchhiking.

#10: You Are Not Special

Finally – never, never assume you are entitled to a ride. I know it can be frustrating to sit outside for hours in the rain or glaring sun watching car after car after truck … after horse-drawn carriage pass you by. However, if you start thinking “Why didn’t she pick me up? She’s going the same direction, and her passenger seat was empty,” then that resentment will simply build until you lose hope of making it to your destination, stop wearing a smile, and only stick out your thumb at every fifth vehicle.

Strangers grant you a privilege by taking the time out of their busy day and escorting you further down the open road. Don’t forget it.

In your experience, what are the best countries for hitchhiking? Share your tips and stories with us below!

The post 10 Essential Tips to Improve Your Hitchhiking Game appeared first on Vagabondish.

A craft brewer’s dream of delivering beer to customers by airborne drone have been dashed by federal regulators.

Lakemaid Beer had a working model of an unmanned delivery drone that successfully performed a test flight, delivering a 12-pack of beer to a group of Minnesota anglers out on Lake Mille Lacs.

Once the Federal Aviation Authority got wind of the innovative alcohol delivery system, the Wisconsin brewery received a significant volume of paperwork, including a document that describes how the commercial use of drones is banned in the United States.

Check out more about this on CBC News.

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Ann Arbor, Michigan is set to become a hotbed of driverless vehicles. The Mobility Transportation Center at University of Michigan plans to create a fleet of 2,000 autonomous vehicles.

The Michigan city has nearly completed a project testing radio transmitters at intersections and a 32-acre test site is in the works before the vehicles are deployed on public roads. The fleet is expected to hit the streets in approximately eight years.

Find out more about this on strombo.com

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The video spot features two Japanese men in ANA uniforms musing over how to enhance the image of the airline. One of the men states, “Let’s change the image of Japanese People” while his counterpart agrees and suddenly appears sporting a large artificial nose and a blond wig.

The airline has not yet decided whether to pull the ad. No word yet on why on Earth they ever thought it was a good idea to begin with.

Find out more about this in The Telegraph

The post Strange, Racist Ad Creates Controversy for ANA appeared first on Vagabondish.

Heads are rolling at Panama City Airport after an astounding $7.2 million was found in suitcases at the airport. Thirty two airport employees have been suspended pending investigation of suspected ties to a drug cartel.

The cash was mostly in $100 bills and was found in secret compartments in eight different pieces of luggage. Find out more about this on Gadling.

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A Southwest Airlines flight crew has been suspended after making a teensy, tiny mistake. They landed a Boeing 737-300 jet at the wrong airport.

In a move that Maxwell Smart would approve of, they missed it by that much, landing at an airport seven miles away from their intended destination. The flight from Chicago was supposed to land at Missouri’s Branson Airport, but landed at nearby M. Graham Clark Airport in Taney County instead. The smaller airport has a much shorter runway and serves corporate jets, charter flights, and general aviation.

The 124 passengers aboard the flight were transported by bus to the correct airport and had their airfare refunded. An investigation is underway into how the incident occurred.

Find out more about this in USA Today.

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There’s no such thing as Boxing Day bargains in the United States. Nevertheless, it seemed like Delta Air Lines was getting in on the discount shopping bonanza on December 26th when its website offered all kinds of flights at rock-bottom prices.

Transcontinental flights could be booked for as little as $25 and some short haul routes were going for only $5, plus applicable taxes and surcharges.

Delta soon realized that a huge mistake had been made somewhere along the line, and swiftly took its website offline to prevent further bookings while the error was fixed. The airline will honour the tickets booked at the erroneous fares.

Find out more about this in The Wall Street Journal

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Canadian airline WestJet’s latest feel-good publicity stunt has blown across the internet like a blizzard.

Though the word “miracle” is being bandied about rather haphazardly here, there’s no doubt that the Christmas spirit is alive and well at WestJet.

The airline set up an interactive digital santa at airports in Toronto and Hamilton, where passengers about to board two flights were asked to scan their boarding passes and young and old alike talked to Santa Claus about what they wanted for Christmas.

While the flights were in the air, WestJet employees volunteered their time to race around procuring the items required to fulfil all of the passengers’ wishes, which ranged from mundane sundries like new socks and underwear, to luxuries such as a big screen television and airline tickets.

When passengers arrived at the baggage carousel in Calgary to collect their bags, they were beyond surprised when the carousel started up and wrapped presents came out of the chute instead of suitcases and they discovered that their wishes had been granted.

The heartwarming stunt also served as a valuable lesson in the importance of dreaming big. Everyone’s talking about the guy who got socks and underwear.

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Tom Wagner was on his way to visit his sister when he dozed off during the first leg of his journey. Instead of catching his connecting flight, Wagner awoke to find himself locked in on a empty plane with no lights or heat.

The flight was operated by United Express partner ExpressJet and none of the flight’s cabin crew noticed that Wagner was still asleep in his window seat after the flight landed and all of the other passengers had deplaned in Houston.

Trapped in the locked plane, Wagner used his mobile phone to call his girlfriend who in turn contacted the airline and he was freed after about half an hour.

Find out more about this on CBC News

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At first Ellen Richardson was so shocked at being denied entry to the U.S. that she didn’t clue in to the massive breach of privacy that had occurred.

Richardson, who has paraplegia, was flying to New York to embark on a cruise organized through The March of Dimes. When she arrived at Toronto’s Pearson airport to begin her journey she was denied entry by U.S. border officials who cited her history of clinical depression as grounds for denying her entry. Richardson was hospitalized in 2012 and received treatment for her depression, which is now being cited as evidence that she poses a danger to others.

Now Richardson is out the $6,000 she paid for her trip, and Canadian authorities are mystified and concerned how an individual’s private medical records came to be accessible by the U.S. government.

Find out more about this in The Daily Mail

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