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the freedom to sleep where you want
2008.11.01
church in an abandoned village, Croatia.
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church in an abandoned village, Croatia.
1
300 metres out over a lake in Northern Montenegro. It was pretty wet.
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300 metres out over a lake in Northern Montenegro. It was pretty wet.
2
Stairway, Korcula, Croatia. After meeting some man who said I could sleep on his boat, I had a look around the marina for it (full of hideously expensive white plastic boats and people with polo necks on). After 15 minutes an angry security guard approached me trying to kick me out. After explaining the situation he kindly showed me a hidden stairway above a travel agency he knew of, and came to check on me twice in the night!
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Stairway, Korcula, Croatia. After meeting some man who said I could sleep on his boat, I had a look around the marina for it (full of hideously expensive white plastic boats and people with polo necks on). After 15 minutes an angry security guard approached me trying to kick me out. After explaining the situation he kindly showed me a hidden stairway above a travel agency he knew of, and came to check on me twice in the night!
3
Bang in the centre of the old town, Budva, Montenegro. After 2 nights here I knew quite a few people; the old lady opening up the shop opposite, the kids on their way to school and the nice cleaner sweeping up the rubbish before sunrise.
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Bang in the centre of the old town, Budva, Montenegro. After 2 nights here I knew quite a few people; the old lady opening up the shop opposite, the kids on their way to school and the nice cleaner sweeping up the rubbish before sunrise.
4
Swimming pool of broken glass, near Gradac, Croaia.
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Swimming pool of broken glass, near Gradac, Croaia.
5
Serbia / Bulgaria boarder.
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Serbia / Bulgaria boarder.
6
Right outside the national theatre in the centre of Sofia, Bulgaria. We put the tent up on the marble floor. People came to ask what we were doing and they loved it. We even got a bottle of wine!
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Right outside the national theatre in the centre of Sofia, Bulgaria. We put the tent up on the marble floor. People came to ask what we were doing and they loved it. We even got a bottle of wine!
7
Bus stop, somewhere on Hvar, Croatia. An old lady was shocked to see me sleeping there in the shadows around sunrise. But 40 minutes later we were still laughing and talking, and she gave me some apples!
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Bus stop, somewhere on Hvar, Croatia. An old lady was shocked to see me sleeping there in the shadows around sunrise. But 40 minutes later we were still laughing and talking, and she gave me some apples!
8
Inside the old town wall, Ston, Croatia. Everyone was friendly except the mosquitoes.
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Inside the old town wall, Ston, Croatia. Everyone was friendly except the mosquitoes.
9
Abandoned hotel, Croatia. This place which has over 300 rooms has been abandoned for 20 years and is actually a squat inhabited by 3 people in the winter. We made friends with the locals and they were so kind, coming everyday to help us fix up the room and give tools, food and wine. Not quite the same attitude to squatters in the UK!
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Abandoned hotel, Croatia. This place which has over 300 rooms has been abandoned for 20 years and is actually a squat inhabited by 3 people in the winter. We made friends with the locals and they were so kind, coming everyday to help us fix up the room and give tools, food and wine. Not quite the same attitude to squatters in the UK!
10
Building site, Mljet island, Croatia.
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Building site, Mljet island, Croatia.
11
Shkodër, Albania. Faced with the choice of sleeping in a quiet shadowy area of the park or inside a turreted hedge underneath a bright light, just big enough for a tent, it had to be the latter! A few guys came to shout at us in the morning but after a few minutes they soon warmed to us and insisted on having some photos with us.
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Shkodër, Albania. Faced with the choice of sleeping in a quiet shadowy area of the park or inside a turreted hedge underneath a bright light, just big enough for a tent, it had to be the latter! A few guys came to shout at us in the morning but after a few minutes they soon warmed to us and insisted on having some photos with us.
12
When living on the road you could end up sleeping anywhere. It amazed me how many places people had a problem with you just sleeping in (for example parks, benches, stairways, train stations, fields, beaches, old buildings). The fact that someone just wants to curl up and sleep there, away from noise; i.e to lie down and not wake up till morning suggests that you pose no threat or harm. But there seems to be a taboo or fear of allowing people to sleep in peace, like it's some kind of huge crime. With this in mind I made it a mission to sleep in public and often funny places in order to observe peoples reactions and talk to them about why they thought it was so terrible. This made for some interesting situations, and more often than not the people became friendly and realised there wasn't really a problem at all, just thinking what they were told to think by the Daily Telegraph and ITV. I mean, if it was a drunk person it would probably be tolerated or laughed at...These pictures show just a few of those places. Admittedly their awful photos but I was probably pretty tired at the time. Let's sleep where we want! A sleeper's revolution!
