I have hosted people with couchsurfing. It's a fun community but I was not a full time traveler. These days I am considering to be a part of it again since I am back on the road.

I think hitchhiking only works within EU or US because it's such a foreign idea around Asia. There are some travelers who does that but for safety reasons, I don't really recommend people do that. Basically everything is somewhat affordable so taking public vehicle is fine.