WHILE hitchhiking is not a common practice in Malaysia due to safety concerns being a major reason, there has been a rise in foreign travellers attempting the practice.
A Canadian woman was recently criticised for hitchhiking when in Malaysia, however her reasoning was unexpected after claiming she did so following a Malaysian’s recommendation.
A TikTok video by @ericastirling1 showed her at the side of the road attempting to hitchhike as all the buses were “fully booked”, according to the caption in her video.
Malaysians caught wind of the video amassing over 256,000 views and the 24-year-old received a barrage of criticism with users telling her off, accusing her of wanting a “free ride”.
Not only that, they also reminded her that hitchhiking is ill-advised seeing rise in crime cases at the moment and urged her to find safer travel alternatives.
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Some netizens pointed out how foreigners from Western and European countries are seen travelling “unprepared” in Malaysia while Malaysians are “always well-prepared” especially in terms of accommodation and transport when travelling in in the aforementioned countries.
Erica then posted a video update, explaining her side of the story, clarifying that she did her research before hitchhiking.
“I asked around. I got recommendations on where to go, where to stand so it wasn’t completely random and it was a Malaysian that actually told me to hitchhike so that is another thing,” she said in her video.
However, Erica’s explanation further ticked off netizens who accused her of lying about her claim of a Malaysian telling her to hitchhike as most locals do not condone hitchhiking to protect their safety and others.
Users also emphasised the importance of doing one’s research before travelling to another country, once again pointing out how they do so when travelling to European and other Western nations.
