Are you upto any trip now? Everything is ready; all your bags are packed? All set with the money? Don’t forget to get some canned-beers. Because by reading story this will be the reason you can trade it for food and accomodation. On a back-packing venture, traveler Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Marshall hitchhiked, all the way from Edinburgh to Delhi, trading craft beer cans for couch-suffering, travelling and of course, for food. He had 120 cans of Innis & Gunn that was his currency for eight weeks.
Nothing bonds strangers like a friendly conversation over a beer or two. With this in mind, a veteran backpacker was able to hitchhike and couch surf all the way from Edinburgh to Delhi with only beer as his currency. During Manny Marshall’s eight-week, 5000-mile adventure he shared 120 cans of Innis & Gunn craft beer with the people he met on the road in exchange for a free ride and accommodation.

In his blog Manny, before he set out on his adventure, wrote, “Right now I’m setting out from Edinburgh and the big mission is starting. I’m heading off to hitchhike my way across Europe to the east, all the way to India, the spiritual home of IPA.”
The Australian-native was contacted by Innis & Gunn with a challenge to recreate the original delivery journey of Indian Pale Ales during the 18th and 19th century, from Scotland to India. He is pictured at the Acropolis, Athens. Marshall who is 42 is a veteran traveler. He has spent 15 years of his life in exploring the world and for the past four years has run a blog, Raw Safari. Intrepid Marshall gladly accepted his beer-fuelled adventures on social media.
He hitchhiked through France, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Greece before he was flown to India by Innis & Gunn to complete the final 900-mile leg of the trip. But rather than braving the high seas over six months, he’d have to make his way on the road.
Mr Marshall said he hitched a ride with all kinds of people – from high court judges, to convicts, to a mum with her kids on the way to school and families going on holiday. He said: ‘Many drivers just see a guy on the side of the road and they’ve got two seconds to make a judgement but there are some really generous and kind people out there.
As none of the drivers asked for payment they were pleased that their kindness was rewarded with an unexpected token of thanks. When it came to couch surfing, Mr Marshall explained that his hosts welcomed beer to cover the costs of his stay and were thankfully all fairly sociable. As well as making friends with his hosts, Mr Marshall shared his stash of beers (which the company restocked along the way) with bemused locals he encountered.
In Prague he shared a beer with a newlywed couple who happily posed for pictures with him on the river bank by Charles Bridge. He commented on his blog: ‘I congratulated them and like a typical Aussie, slapped beers in their hands.
Other highlights included a drink at the steps of the Acropolis in Athens and hitching a ride on a Tuk-Tuk in Mumbai before his final sip, earlier this week under the India Gate in Delhi.
The adventurer, who funds his travels with his blog and return trips to Australia to do renovation work, said his favourite thing about travelling is meeting new people and discovering the things that they can teach you. He revealed if he has two days in a destination he would rather spend it with his couch surfing host than treking around taking in the sites as, ‘the temples will always be there.’
Mr Marshall added: ‘I’ve been hitchhiking for a long time now, but this was definitely my biggest challenge yet.
‘I was moved by the kindness of the people I met along the way. Language may have been a barrier at times, but this trip showed me that beer is truly a universal tongue.’ Marshall said.
News Source: Daily Mail

Tags: Edinburgh-DelhiHitch-hikingInnis & GunnInteresting NewsMarshallRaw SafariScotland-India

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