Читать книгу A Practical Guidebook for Free Travellers. Translated from Russian by Peter Lagutkin - Антон Кротов - Страница 5

Every one of us knows this feeling when you want to peek beyond the horizon and see other cities and faraway countries – not on the TV screen.

I first tried travelling when I was 15, using the once-great network of suburban train services covering large portions of ex-Soviet territory. How exciting it was to get off at the end of the route and hop on another train, then another… I could set out from Moscow and reach St. Pete, Kiev, or Minsk if I wanted!

The second discovery I made was hitch-hiking. It turned out that some of the cars I saw driving down the road could actually pick me up and want nothing in exchange. In the course of several years I visited most of the former USSR territory – from Yerevan to Magadan, and then went on to visit some more countries, with warmer weather, and longer distances, involved. I tried hitch-hiking in India, China, the Arab world, many African countries, and I was ever assured of the helpfulness and kindness of the surrounding world; I was assured that the methods of getting lifts, food, and shelter available in my country could be applied nearly everywhere. Yes, you can go to any city in Russia, or anywhere else on the Eurasian continent, or to Africa, and even if your purse is thin, but you know how to love and understand the surrounding world – it will be open for you, drivers will stop their cars for you, local residents will invite you to their homes, everyone will be your brother, and all planet Earth will be your home.

Anton Krotov