Thumbs up to hitchhiking

Ensar Sevindik started hitchhiking when he was only 15 years old. He used to go to school in local public bus. The government sold it to a private company. They raised the prices of the ticket. Ensar says “I and my friend decided not to use the bus. I have read about hitchhiking. I thought of trying hitchhiking with my friend. I still remember the driver of the car asking me “Where are you going kids?” We said to him that we were going to school. He said to jump in.” That’s how it began. Everyday Ensar used to hitchhike to school. During the summers he used to hitchhike to beaches. Later on he started to hitchhike to other cities. Ensar fell in love with hitchhiking. “Hitchhiking is undoubtedly a glorious way to experience the essence of wandering. You can make new friends. Exchange experiences, thoughts and stories with your new companions, get to know them. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn!”

Talking about inspiration Ensar says,” It is not about the destination, rather the journey. It gives the chance to meet locals, learn more about their country from their point of view and have a more in depth insight into their culture.”

Ensar found India to be the most Hospitable country. “The sheer love that was showered on me by random people was overwhelming. I landed in India with $2 in my pocket. Our flight company lost our luggage. So we convinced the security guards to let us go out from the airport since the cost of food inside the lounge was expensive. So I played ukulele on the street and people gave me money. One memorable incident was on my way to Nepal. I reached Raxaul at night. The hotel didn’t allow any foreigners. But this one guy in Raxaul was very helpful and rode for 2 hrs with me.”

Ensar feels the driving speed on Indian road is a challenge for a hitchhiker. It’s not good to hitchhike at night.  The most seasoned hitchhikers, when reaching India, often jump on a train. Ensar says that hitchhiking in Turkey is very famous. Children’s in high schools are hitchhiking. There is a Facebook page on hitchhiking Turkey. More of female are getting into hitchhiking.

Ensar’s word of advice for people who are interested in hitchhiking“First start, in your city. Then make short distance hitchhiking. Wear clothes that area clean and decent. There will be times when you wait no more than few minutes, but there will also be times when you wait for hours. Have considerable patience. Give a good excuse to get off if you feel uncomfortable with the driver. Hitchhiking at night is definitely not as easy as during daylight. So try to avoid night time hitchhiking.”

Ensar left his engineering studies. But he considers himself to be a student of University of Life.

For details check these links-

https://www.facebook.com/ensarthehitchhiker/

Ensar Sevindik