Hitchhiking

"Hey, there are these two-port USB things for the standard 12 V socket (the "cigarette lighter") in my closet! Maybe I should actually write a word or two about them on that community!"

So, let me spill out something about useful hitchhiking paraphernalia

• That 2-socket USB. Outside Europe it is still relatively common that the only USB port a car has is used for charging the driver's GPS or phone. I'm carrying a 12 V plug with 2 USB sockets so that I can plug the driver's device to that and still also charge my own phone.
• A small laptop with a 7 hour battery life, plus a laptop charger that can be plugged into the 12 V socket were a wonderful combination! Even in middle of the complete emptiness of Kazakhstan I never ran out of battery on my laptop because I could charge it in every car. Obviously this meant my laptop essentially ran on gasoline, which is not necessarily the most eco-friendly way to charge your computer. But, it's possible.
• A low tent in a dark colour. I had a dark-green Forclaz 2 tent, which is tall enough in one spot to sit upright, but otherwise had just enough space for my legs not to hit the ceiling. It was surprising how easy it was to camouflage it almost invisible! That tent model is now discontinued, but the concept was of a lot of use for me, until a horse stepped on the tent and broke it. Meh.
• A small cooker that can be fed with branches. It produces so little smoke that you can hide in almost any roadside ditch and nobody will know you're cooking with fire right next to the national arterial road!
• Cooking oil, garlic, soy sauce, spice powders. With those, you can make a different food each morning and evening, out of just a few ingredients! Also, cooking oil is good help for starting a fire in some circumstances. It needs to heat up to quite a high temperature so that it starts vaporizing and is able to burn. But once it burns, it is able to help even relatively wet wood start burning hot enough that the rest of sticks will catch fire as well!
• A very thick marker pen. Because there are situations where it is very useful to write a sign saying which way you're trying to go.
• Duct tape. And: They basically don't sell duct tape in Asia! Everything I was able to dig up in central Asia, China or Thailand was of a very low quality compared to what I was used to back home! So, bring enough from back home if duct tape is a necessity for you like it is for me 🤣

And of course: On highway service areas you can very often find food people have left uneaten and clearly untouched. Easy way to stay fed! I kept bringing dirty dishes to the rack where they are supposed to be brought. When the workers see you help them while waiting for leftover food to appear, they don't seem to care of you being in some corner where you don't disturb the paying customers.

Happy travels! 👍