Travel Experiment One

 

Can the scientific method be applied to travel? If so, is it an exact or inexact science? If it can be measured in such terms, why even choose to do so? These are all questions that flowed through my head when I tried to create what I have deemed travel experiments or weekend (maybe later on week) trips meant to simulate the conditions I will experience on the road and how I would react if I ran out of money. As a traveler there are three major things to figure out transportation, accommodation, and other costs that include food, water, and attractions. When it came to my first one of these trips or “experiments” in St. Louis, Missouri many questions flowed through my head. First was such an experiment even possible? What would happen to me on the street (especially in what many people have deemed a dangerous city to be in)? and how would other people, mainly the strangers I ran into on the streets react to my endeavor? This first travel experiment would prove to be above all things a learning experience and tested my abilities both mentally and physically as a traveler but was more than worth the pain I put in.

The first thing I had to figure out was how to get there or find a method to traveling and getting around without the use of money. One thing immediately came to mind but in the terms of travel can sometimes be somewhat dangerous. Hitchhiking. When some people hear this word, they immediately run away but in reality, the only thing that has deemed it “unacceptable” in society is the fact that it goes against the idea that strangers came sometimes be nice. Growing up we were always warned to “stay away from strangers” and “don’t talk to strangers” because they were either serial killers or thieves looking to take advantage of us. But who says this is so? and have you ever considered everybody else was told the same thing when they grew up? Anyways I left a little before noon on Friday and managed to hitchhike all the way to St. Louis with no money purely based off the kindness of strangers. If there was one thing, I learned transportation wise from this experience it was that confidence is key and that as long as you are willing to put yourself out there and at least look like you knew what you were doing eventually some kind stranger would come along and pick you up. Of course, there are other ways to get around both involving money and not. You could always train hop but I think this method is a lot harder than hitchhiking and a whole lot more illegal than hitchhiking. You could take a car, the train, a bus, but the problem with these methods is they cost money; but if you are willing to look past that they are extremely viable.  The next thing I figured out once I got to St. Louis was accommodation. I had planned to use the app couch surfing which allows you to sleep on strangers’ couches in exchange for a good story and maybe helping them out. The problem I ran into when using this however was the initial cost to use the app because couch surfing is essentially free but sometimes will request donations and to be verified (which helps you get hosts faster) comes at an extra cost. Another problem was timing, as I found out you need to make sure you are reaching out to your hosts days sometimes weeks ahead because with a last-minute notice, they are not going to take so kindly to abruptly asking to stay with them. Ultimately Ian, my long-time best friend had drove to St. Louis to join me and I was lucky enough to sleep in his car with him (even though it was highly uncomfortable it was sure better than sleeping outside). Finally, the last major thing to figure out was extra costs that included Food, Water, and things to do as you never want to travel somewhere with nothing to do especially hungry. Initially I thought food and water were going to be a hard thing to figure out, even harder than accommodation this however turned out not to be the case. When hitchhiking in people were nice enough to give me some food and water, a lady even gave me some money, and on top of that there were several hotels that were serving free breakfast even during Covid. I did learn one thing however and it was very similar to what I learned from figuring out accommodation; plan ahead. I realize there won’t always be hotels with free breakfast and kind strangers willing to give me food and water so in the future I plan to make sure I research the area I am going into in order to guarantee this ahead of time. As far as things we did, which should also be researched ahead of time, we were able to find several free museums and attractions to get into. The City Museum of St. Louis was by far my favorite which as if made by a mad man and its own interior cave system, winding tunnels and slides, aquariums of fish, and oddities that would fit in Ripley’s believe it or not. If not for the name on the building one could easily dismiss it as not being a museum. We also saw the War memorial that told the history of St. Louis during the world wars, a modern art garden, and planned to go to the zoo but had run out of time.

Overall, this “experiment” taught me a lot of things about travel and what I will need to figure out when I backpack the world. Not everything went right, I’ll admit it, but some things also went perfect so above all things like I said it was a learning experience. As far as what went right, I was very proud of the confidence I had on the road and as far as getting there and hitchhiking I think I was very successful. As I said people even gave me free food and water because I was confident and willing to put myself out there to succeed in the mission. Actually, the original plan was for me to make it as far as I could then have Ian pick me up and bring me the rest of the way so I’m sure you could imagine his surprise when I told him I had made it all the way. The other thing that I thought went pretty well was my research process into securing food/ water and finding attractions. Although my research process lacked in figuring out accommodation because I was initially more worried about food/ water and finding stuff to do my research in this aspect worked out very well. We got to see several museums, a modern art garden, and did all of this for free. On top of that I was able to get food from people on the road and found some hotels with free breakfast. So, all in all I thought this part of my experience went pretty well. As far as things that went wrong, or more appropriately could have gone better because this was a learning experience, the major thing that comes to mind was accommodation. I had failed to plan ahead in this part and so ultimately paid the price for doing so. Ian and I had been so desperate in fact that we tried to stay in a hotel for free by hiding in the corner but only after a couple hours of sleep were kicked out. Sleeping in the car was cold, uncomfortable, and definitely not worth it. But I’ve learned that with couch surfing and accommodation as a whole that planning ahead is key and hope not to make this mistake again in the future. Overall, I learned several lessons. The first thing I learned was plan ahead, especially for accommodation but also for food/ water and attractions. The second thing I learned was that confidence and networking is key as often times this can guarantee you rides and even free food/ water if you look like you know what you’re doing. Finally, the third lesson I learned was something I learned after my experience and this was to above all things have a good time. It would have been very easy for us to complain on this trip, it took a lot of walking, the car was uncomfortable, and I was even hungry at times but I had chosen to go on this journey so I had no right to complain. All in all, it was a learning experience and I plan to do my next one in a few weeks to Nashville, Tennessee and apply the lessons I learned from this “experiment” to get better and better at the process of travel and maybe even perfect it.

In conclusion travel experiments are a perfect way to test your skills as a traveler and how you react under different circumstances. They are a learning experience for you to apply on bigger scale adventures and as far as this one I did in St. Louis can also be a lot of fun. It definitely wasn’t all easy and was in fact pretty tough during parts but like any athlete you need to go through that pain to find any gain. Travelling I have learned may not be an exact science but by applying the scientific method there is a way to analyze not only yourself but also your skill as a traveler to continue as I’m sure all travelers want, to strive for perfection. Sure, nobody is a perfect traveler but if you really want to get better, by doing this experiment style of travelling you just may be surprised at how you react and what you learn from it. Until then follow your dreams and I'll see you in the next one. Carpe Diem.

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