A 4-Year Long Hitchhiking Journey

Can you imagine being on the road for 4 years hitchhiking through 44 countries? My Turkish friend Ensar Sevindik did just that, and he’s only in his 20s.

Why hitchhiked? Was it safe? How did he plan such a long trip? How much money did he bring?

Let’s find out!

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B (Bettina): What made you decide to hitchhike in the first place?

E (Ensar): When I was 16, there was an increase in the local bus fares in Turkey. My friend and I decided we didn’t want to pay for that, so we began hitchhiking.

After we realized transportation could be free, we thought: why don’t we visit other places? We started in small towns then went to Southern Turkey that summer. That’s how it all began.

A couple of years later, I went to study in Cyprus where I learned English. I hitchhiked to Georgia, Russia, Armenia that summer. Then another couple years later I started my four-year travel.

B: Did you know how long you would be gone for?

E: No. I just decided to go. I never had a calendar.

B: Was your family ok with that?

E: Not at first, but they became ok.

What kind of parents would tell their kids to travel the world and visit dangerous countries without money? They thought some countries were dangerous but they actually were not.

B: Was it difficult to get people to give you a lift?

E: No. In Turkey it was super easy. Everybody knows the hitchhiker thumb. In Asia, you need to use a different hand gesture, but it was still easy.

Being a foreigner in other countries was amazing. People showed me their good side because I was a guest. I think it’s the same everywhere.

B: How did you plan your trip?

E: I made lots of plans but none of them worked out. I thought I would first go to Georgia, then Azerbaijan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Japan, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. But I ended up in Iran. I planned to stay there for a week before I moved on to India, but I eventually spent three months in the country. I met other travelers and we were having a lot of fun together, so I decided to go to India later.

After India, my plan was to go to Nepal then to China, but then I learned that I couldn’t enter China from Nepal, so I went back to India and tried to go to Myanmar by land, but I also wasn’t allowed to do that, so I ended up going to Thailand.

B: What were the reasons for all the hiccups?

E: I didn’t have money. When people plan their trips, they pay for flights and hotels and everything. I never did that.

I also didn’t do much research so I was ignorant. If I had known better, I would have made different plans.

People say if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Traveling is the same. Don’t make plans. They don’t work.

I cannot tell you one reason why plans don’t work because there’s always something.

B: How did you fund your trip?

E: I had some money when I started the trip in Georgia. I had a lot of friends there and for a month I just partied. When I left the country to go to Azerbaijan, I only had $5 in my pocket.

I had my ukulele and I played music in the street. How much I earned depended on which city I was in. But when you use Couchsurfing and hitchhike, you don’t spend a lot.

In Hong Kong, I made good money selling handmade bracelets. The trick is to not put a price tag on your stuff and only accept donations, then you will have no trouble.

I like the culture of Hong Kong. I miss those days. People were so nice and helpful. I had a good time there.

B: Which other countries do you like?

E: My favorite is Iran. I like the culture, people, nature, everything. I am going to travel the world, but Iran will stay being my favorite. I also like Taiwan and South Korea.

B: Which countries don’t you like?

E: Those where the local people are poor and suffering. How am I gonna have fun when there are dead bodies in the street? Their governments send people to pick up the bodies and burn them. You just can’t say those countries are amazing.

But poor people are nice. Once a truck driver gave my friend and me a ride, and we were on the road together for 36 hours. He didn’t have much but he was willing to share his food with us.

B: Would you say it’s safe to hitchhike?

E: I can only tell you that I have been in thousands of cars since I was 16 , and I’ve never had a bad experience. But I have heard stories about hitchhikers being abused.

B: Are there more men hitchhikers than women hitchhikers? Where are they from?

E: Yes there are more men than women. I’d say 60/40. The ones that I met are mostly Ukrainians, Eastern Europeans, Russians, and Turkish.

B: Any tips for people who want to try hitchhiking?

E: Never hitchhike at night. I made that mistake a lot when I was an amateur. Now that I am professional, I don’t do that anymore.

At night, no one stops. When people can’t see you, they don’t trust you.

I once tried to get to Moscow from St Petersburg at 3am. I waited two hours and no one stopped. In the daytime, I can stop a car in 20 minutes.

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You will never guess why Ensar decided to go on this long journey as a hitchhiker – he wanted to write a book out of it. He’s always wanted to be a writer, and he did it!

His memoir Bi’ Keresi (“Once”) has just been released and you can order a copy (or many copies!) on his website. The book is written in Turkish and is now being translated. An English version is expected to be available in late 2021.