about me…

I originally started this website back in 2011 to write about my travels. My aim was to encourage other women to travel solo by hitchhiking, hiking and wild camping. I wanted to challenge the patriarchal voices in society that say that women shouldn’t travel alone because it’s too dangerous. Over the years, my views have changed a bit: the world can definitely be dangerous for women. But the answer isn’t to stop us from travelling alone. Rather, we all (yes, that includes you, male readers!) need to seriously challenge men’s behaviour, and to keep doing this until we live in a world that is safe for women. You can read my thoughts on this here.

Having said this, travelling by hitchhiking and walking has made me realise that there’s so much goodness in the world. I am always humbled by the kindness of people I meet. I have been hosted by strangers in Iran, Turkey, England, Australia, Palestine…the list goes on. Travelling has helped me to regain a trust in humanity that capitalist culture stole from me over the years.

Over the last decade I have become aware of the massive privilege that I have as a white European person travelling around the world, and how differently I am likely to be treated because of my skin colour.

I’ve also started to become aware of the impacts that I may have on the places that I visit. Although I think that hitchhiking and hiking are far less harmful than package tourism, I am still not immune from causing problems, especially as I am from a colonialist, rich country (Britain).

Therefore, when I travel I try to do so with my eyes wide open, to see how I might be affecting a place by my presence. I also attempt to learn about the destruction of nature and the repression of communities by corporations and governments. I try to ask myself how I can stand in solidarity with comrades struggling to keep their lands, and with the orangutans who are losing their forests.

I try to live a freegan lifestyle (there’s more to life than consume, consume, consume).  If you want to know more about freeganism,  this website has all the info you need.

For sleeping I usually wild camp in my tent, or use the Trustroots or BeWelcome websites.  My money tends to go on food, though I also dumpster dive (see freegan link!) and forage wild plants, too. 

I am an anarchist, believing that all beings are equal. I believe in a beautiful world where we can come to decisions by talking, a world of consensus, a world where no person has more authority than another, a world without hierarchies, a world where we collectively control our workplaces and houses without an owner or manager giving us orders. I believe that no-one has a right to “manage” other people. I believe in a world of smiling. A world where you chat to a stranger on the street. A world where we check whether each other are ok. I think a big attraction of travelling is that people in other countries are more collective, less individualistic. And strangers chat to each other on buses…

Oh, and I believe that all animals have an equal right to live on this planet – human and non-human alike – so I don’t want to contribute to them suffering. I don’t think any non-human animal should have to die for my taste buds. I talk about travelling as a vegan from time to time.

In 2019, while living in Lesbos, I was followed by a street dog. I ended up adopting her and hitchhiking to England with her. So my new writing will often be focused on travelling with my dog, Bud!

If you want to contact me, you’re welcome to email me at anaimlesshitchhiker@riseup.net
…I hope to see you on the road!

Last updated 2021