Beijing to Berlin Hitchhiker Speaks

Late last month we did a post about a story in the Chinese press concerning two “swarthy, ragged Chinese guys” who hitchhiked from Beijing to Berlin in order to see the German girlfriend of one of the travelers. We expressed doubts about the story’s veracity, but now we have to eat humble pie. One of the hitchhikers, Beijing-born American Kyle Johnson, contacted the Beijinger and agreed to an interview. Here’s the rundown on his amazing trek west.

Coverage in the Chinese media claims you traveled 16,000 km during your trip to Germany. Did you really cover so many miles?
I used Google Maps to retrace the route we took. It’s almost 17,000 km if you count the back and forth trips I made in Turkey on my detour to Iraqi Kurdistan. It took about 3 months.

What inspired you to hitchhike such a great distance?
The goal was to see my girlfriend who was living in Berlin at the time. I always wanted to make this overland trip. The modern era of buses and trains do not offer the human interaction that I crave – I enjoy the random acts of kindness from strangers and the friendships that often come out of it.

We took a video camera as well to document our trip, and the subsequent documentary screened on the Chinese Travel Channel. But apart from our backpacks and a few pieces of clothing that we got sponsored, the entire trip was funded by ourselves. The documentary was more of a hobby since the fees we got didn't cover the cost of the trip.

Had you ever hitchhiked before you decided to travel to Germany?
My first major hitchhiking trip was in 2000 when a Chinese backpacker and I met in Tibet and decided to hitchhike to the border of Nepal and back. In 2003 I spent 10 weeks hitchhiking and tramping around New Zealand.

What was the most exciting and/or dangerous thing that happened to you during your trip?
In Georgia we got into a car where the driver had had way too much to drink. He liked racing on the winding mountainous road and overtaking cars on bends. In 15 minutes we had more than half a dozen close calls where our car barely missed the oncoming traffic. There weren’t any seat belts in the back of the car either.

He finally stopped when we passed a little village – I lied and told him this was our destination.

In contrast, in Turkey we got a ride 10 km into Elazig at 10.30pm. After taking us on a late night tour of the city’s ancient citadel, our new friend Ebeydullah found out we hadn’t arranged any accommodation. He took us to a four-star hotel and paid $125 per night for our accommodation. He told us that we were his guests and actually apologized not being able to accompany us the next day.

What was your favorite country?
Kyrgyzstan for its fantastic mountain scenery; Uzbekistan, Turkey and Bulgaria for their cultures and hospitable people.

What was it like crossing Iraq?
I choose the Kurdish region because it’s relatively safe compared to the Arab controlled regions, and they grant a 10-day visa at the border for free. When I was hitchhiking in the mountain areas between Amadiya and Erbil I was stopped and briefly detained at a couple of the checkpoints. Kurdish soldiers were baffled to see an Asian man carrying a huge backpack walking on the lonely mountainous road. They let me go after scrutinizing my passport and calling someone on their cell phone. I also had a policeman offer me a wad of cash because he thought I couldn’t afford a taxi. The people I encountered were extremely friendly and helpful. It wasn’t a problem having an American passport – in fact most Kurdish Iraqis praise the Americans for getting rid of Saddam and thus granting the Kurds semi-autonomy.

Did you encounter serious problems at any of the border crossings?
We encountered demands for bribes entering and leaving Kyrgyzstan. Having honed our patience waiting for rides, we played the “who’s got more time game” with the customs officials. Pretending to not understand a word of Russian helped too.

In terms of visas, because my traveling companion Liu Chang has a Chinese passport, we devoted more than two months going to nine different embassies to get our visas before the trip. We had to take an airplane ride to skip Azerbaijan because Chang’s visa was denied.

How did you meet your German girlfriend? Was she aware you were coming to Germany before you arrived?
I met her in Beijing almost four years ago. When she decided to go back to Berlin at the end of 2008 I told her I would go and see her. We kept in touch through emails and Skype over the three months of my trip.

The documentary on Kyle Johnson and Liu Chang's epic trip is currently screening on the Chinese Travel Channel, Monday to Friday at 10.30pm, until March 12th.