Of stupid, dangerous and illegal activities

I came across this great bit of advice about hitchiking recently that I have fallen in love with -

"We are all aware that hitch hiking is a stupid, dangerous, illegal thing to do. Interestingly, the only people who advocate it are the people who have tried it. Those who don't advocate it haven't done it. Perhaps these things are related and perhaps they're not, but if fear were a driving force in your life you probably wouldn't be traveling at all. Or reading this."

On a related note, I think Couchsurfing.org is a fantastic website. It connects travelers from around the world by offering its members the opportunity to host a tourist in one's home, or request to be hosted by another member. I think this is a fantastic (and cheap) way for people from different regions and cultures to interact and experience a country/city/town in a non-touristy way. Like with hitch hiking, you of course run the minor risk of bumping into a serial killer along the way. But that's the beauty of it: the fact that I have not heard of one person who has had a bad experience couchsurfing just goes to show that the world is not a B-grade Hollywood movie (or the evening news) and this realisation encourages one to try more stuff that you never thought you would do.

Do sign up (it's free) and give it a go. I promise to host you in London/Brussels if you quote this post in your request.