Cheap Travel

You’ll need to walk a good deal before you find somewhere safe. Look for the richer neighbourhoods which have less street crime. True, there’ll be better policing but it’s also an unexpected tactic so you’ll often get away with it.

The best thing is to find somewhere unobserved. The less attention from police, drunks and maniacs the better. Parks can be okay but attract late night drinkers – choose somewhere behind bushes.

Graveyards can a serene choice, especially if there is a locked gate. Most are easy to climb into and then you’re guarded from the outside.

Cardboard boxes can be found outside supermarkets and make a great mattress. Then with some newspapers to line your clothes you’ll have a warm sleep (I once used the latter trick when the air conditioning got really cold onboard a plane in Brazil).

In Europe you’ll want to avoid the brightly-lit places at night as that’s where the drunks and the violence is to be found. You can however find all-night cafes and a sympathetic winter might let you stare into your coffee until morning.

If you’re feeling lucky you might want to head to the bars and see who you meet. Getting drunk with strangers gives you a chance of a free bed somewhere with someone.

Some bus and train stations stay open 24 hours but not many in my experience. A good bet though is the local airport for a safe sleep.

If you don’t mind compromising your dignity most major towns have a shelter for the homeless; some kind of salvation army deal.

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