It’s That Easy
If I’m trying to save a little extra cash, every 3rd day I’ll sleep that night in a hammock! It’s that simple, it doesn’t matter where you are, you can always hammock. Having 2 days in the hostel gives you aa chance to charge batteries, meet friends & shower. Then you’ll be ready to venture.
I’m staying in a city, there’s no where to hammock?
Well you’d be surprised how many spots you can find in cities. I haven’t tried the big NYC although I’m up for the challenge. Even in most cities you can find a park, then in that park you only need to find one tree. One little hidden spot. Trees are also 3 dimensional (Mind blowing right) so you can climb up and hide away in the foliage.
1000s of people sleep on the street of most cities every night! I really wish I could give them all a hammock just so they could see the possibilities laying around them.
Some cities you may need to walk 3-10km out of the city center till you find something for you. Or in Cape Town where homeless run the streets you may need to climb up a bit of a hill if you want to find a good spot.
Before you try scouting for a spot, think about where you’d like to see the stars from, or watch the sunrise. The world is your oyster you can make your bed anywhere so never settle find the spot you want.
What if people see?
Well firstly no one really cares that much about what you’re doing as much as you think. You may be the ceter of your universe but you’re far from the center of everyone elses. Plus I have been experimenting this as a kid, it is crazy how invisible you are when you’re in a hammock. People aren’t often looking for that shape or that kind of thing. Even if it’s a brightly coloured hammock.
I remember when we setup in the middle of Sydney University Village about 3m up in a tree (We were really drunk so don’t remember actually getting there). Though when we woke there was a couple having a picnic under us! completely unaware of the above head hooligans. So you can imagine it was quite a surprise when we climbed down from the tree.
What if I can’t find a spot?
When I first arrive at a place I’m on the lookout. Actually I’m just always on the lookout though. So usually I have some idea of where I want to go. I genuinely try near nature; Beaches, hills, parks. Although sometimes under bridges, abandon buildings or
Then like when I was skating through Germany If I gave myself an hour to find a hammock spot I’d spend the first 20 minutes analysing and rejecting all spots, and then I’d choose the next best spot. This is called the explore exploit algorithm. Explore options then exploit the information gathered (usually 30% works best).
Isn’t it not allowed?
Isn’t the movie you downloaded illegal?
There’s probably a few places that it may slightly seem banned. I feel they’re more of suggestions personally. Usually I’ll setup hammock at ~8pm and up by 6 watching sunrise and out by 7. No one is even aware of my presence. It’s like if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound.
Is there another option?
Couch Surfing. A site where like minded legends and travellers put up their couch for accommodation. They don’t take money however there is still an exchange of experience and friendship. If you choose to do this it is awesome fun meeting locals and getting to know the city though never take it for granted! .
