Gazik

Nice Russian guy in a former military minivan (gazik). Gave me lots of food and fried fish!

Kamazista

Nice trucker in a kamaz who took me most of the way. His cabin was one of the messiest I've ever seen. Really liked Putin

The guy from Aksay

Took me all the way to the border, which I crossed on foot, and had worked in Aksay all his life. Knew a lot about companies who helped build it and told me a lot of information I would otherwise have a hard time finding out. I was looking for buildings built by my grandpa and he showed me all the ones built by Czechoslovak companies. Even knew Nitra. Drove me to the "Czech… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Old guy in a zhiguli

Older guy in a zhiguli going home from work. Had a good conversation about old Soviet cars.

Longest truck ride

One of the longest rides I've ever hitched. It was a Kazakh guy going to Moscow delivering melons. He was really nice and we talked about so many different things. He was quite religious, but did not mind me being an atheist. We went through an incredibly crappy patch of road where his trailer broke, so we spent some time replacing screws. Once he parked to sleep, I… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Good soldier Švejk

I was wearing my beige, somewhat military looking shirt and this guy pulls over and says "I look at you and I think: Good soldier Švejk!". Little did he know I was from Slovakia :P Nice trucker, quite educated.

Uzbek trucker

Neat Uzbek guy, really friendly. Wanted to go live in the US.

Trucker

Nice Trucker who gave me a Kazakh souvenir (plastic hand). Wanted to give me a giant Crocodile Dundee knife, which I'd really wanted, but considering I'd pass via 7 more border crossings, I politely refused.

Marshrutka takes me for free

I was walking out of the border crossing past the array of eager taxi drivers as I see a marshrutka going to the nearest village. The guy honks at me and says to get in. I tell him that I don't have Uzbek money. He says to get in anyway! Great start to Uzbekistan.

Guy in a Daewoo

First proper hitch in Uzbekistan. He agrees to take me for free (wanted money at first) to the next village. We talk and when he learns I'm going to Khiva (around 15 km from there), he pulls up to the marshrutka stop and pays for my ride all the way to Khiva despite my very loud and clear protests (I wanted to hitch and hate it when people want to pay for my ride)… Also… (Ik wil meer lezen)

SUV

I was hitching with two other travelers I'd met in Ashgabat. After about 20 minutes and 4-5 cars which all wanted money, we managed to hitch a kamazista that was going around 20km and was ok with hitching, but only had space for two. Having the advantage of speaking Russian (and a bit of Turkish), I told the guys to take the ride and I'd keep on hitching. After another 20… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Cigaretostop Insanity

Guy in a mom-van pulls over and says he's going to Darvaza. We have a discussion about autostop, but he doesn't really want to take me for free. I explain that it's a principle and he's going there anyway, so there's no cost to him. I also say that he can drop me off at the main road and I'll walk to the Gates of Hell (which is my destination). He thinks about it and asks if… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Guy overheard offered me a ride

I got out of the border post and there was a group of random dudes standing around cars. They offered me a ride to Ashgabat for money (100 manat) but I explained I was hitching. As I was about to leave and walk to the main road, a guy who overheard the conversation approached me and said that he'll take me for free. We waited for his mother who had also just crossed from… (Ik wil meer lezen)

The Iranian Red Cross

So I needed to go to the toilet. As I'm walking through Dargaz and since my knee was hurting, I tried to find a European one – these can usually be found in hospitals. Once I saw a red crescent and a grey enough building, I walked in and asked about the toilet. They got the director, who made me leave my bag in his office :D They did not have a European toilet… Once I got… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Ride to the Border

Nice guy, wanted to learn English, so he pointed at various things and asked me how to say them in English. Drove me out of his way to the border crossing.

Nice assistance truck

Really nice road assistance guys. Were delivering a crashed bike to a village. Helped me flag down cars with a red stop sign :D

Jordan Peele lookalike

This guy reminded me of Peele so much :D He spoke some English and asked how to say things (in English). He was really nice and drove to Kallat. The scenery was absolutely spectacular and it was a good choice to travel on this somewhat deserted road.

Merchant

Guy in a truck delivering merchandise from Mashad. He first wanted money (as almost everyone does), but agreed for "majane". He hated the regime and kissed a picture of Reza Shah on his phone. Again, spectacular scenery.

Hungarian Trucker

Didn't talk much due to the language barrier, took me to gas a station near Tatabanya. Enjoyed some fine Hungarian rock n'roll. Fairly short wait, so a great start to my trip!

Two Hungarians (who didn't know each other)

Asked the guy (driver) while getting gas in broken Hungarian and he replied in fluent English. Was happy to take me to Budapest. There was girl in the car and I'd assumed they were a couple. We talked in German and she worked in Austria as a pathologist. I was quite fascinated by that line of work so we had a really interesting conversation about her job, while the guy said… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Young Kurds

These guys came out of nowhere while I was walking on a dirt road onto an on ramp. They seemed confused and so was I, but I gestured towards the highway and said Saveh, where I was headed. They just seemed lost, so they said ok and backed away. So I continued onto the ramp and hitched under the unforgiving sun. Eight minutes later guess what – these guys pull over! It turned… (Ik wil meer lezen)

One of the slowest truck rides

Hitched this guy at a peage. Nice trucker, but we weren't able to communicate much due to the language barrier. He drove fairly slow and I understood why once he had to pull over due to steam coming out the engine. We tried to cool down the truck and replace the cooling water but he had to stop a couple more times. Finally, he pulled over next to a repair shop and asked for… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Full pickup truck

Hitched these guys after an interesting adventure on the Iran-Iraq border where we somehow stumbled into Iran and got lucky the Iranians didn't see and arrest us. We had a bit of conversation in limited Kurdish/Arabic and were a bit squeezed inside. One of the guys even went to sit in the back, so we could have more space (I really wanted to sit there tho!). To my surprise,… (Ik wil meer lezen)

Taxi takes us for free!

After an army guy saw us hitching, he asked us where we were going. Pretty soon a taxi pulled up and the guy told them that were going to Slemani so they stopped for us. I explained we were hitching and not paying, which they didn't like at first, but then said to get in. Nice guys, the driver had a brother in the UK, so we talked a bit in English and broken Arabic. Stopped… (Ik wil meer lezen)