Hobo tourism/Overnight stays in long intercontinental journeys/Under the open sky

Staying overnight under the open sky is a well-known method used by travelers since time immemorial. The first to try it in practice were the medieval pilgrims. It is now used by local hikers, backpackers, and travelers, including supporters of hobo tourism.

Preparing for the night stay in jungle with sleeping pad and mosquito net (Eua, Tonga, 2019)

Overnight in three open-air walls, Asuncion, Paraguay, 2015. (Photo from the book:Viktor Pinchuk «Two hundred days in Latin America»)

Places of use

• On city streets, in park areas (in Japan, South Korea and other low-crime countries).
• In the jungle, or suburban thickets (in islands of Oceania, some countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America).
• On the coasts of oceans, seas (in tropical countries, on islands).
• In deserts (in this case implied relatively small deserts, as visiting large deserts requires special preparation).
• On the rooftops of inhabited (with the permission of their owners) and abandoned houses.
• Having joined the street homeless (in some cities there are communes — from three people or more).
• At the cemetery (in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).
• On the Coaching inn (Sudan).

Equipment

• Sleeping mat and polyethylene film twice the size (it is placed under the mat).
• Blanket or sleeping bag.
• Mosquito net (need in the tropics)
• Inflatable pillow
  • The use of a tent is undesirable: having fulfilled its purpose during a rainy night, in wet form, it will become a burden for the owner during hiking. Travel light; adjust to weather conditions, avoid sleeping outside in case of expected rainfall.

Examples from the practice of modern Russian travelers

Anton Krotov, returning from a long trip (1999) that included several countries, including the Sudan and Egypt, writes:

We spent the night on stones on the seashore. We spent the night in the gardens and in the fields. We slept in the desert. We slept on the rooftops of houses. We slept on the grass. We spent the night in villages and towns, visiting people when they invited us .

Viktor Pinchuk: in 2015 left without cash in Cuba (international bank cards are not valid in this country); more than two weeks lived on the street, including a huge thicker, meter-thick weeds wasteland in Havana near the Russian Embassy.