5th of April, 2023.
Hitchhiking in India.
The man who stops is Rabech and he is going only 60 Km ahead but I take it anyway. He is a nice man and drops me off at an intersection.
The next lift is quite funny. Hassina and Raju are travelling with their two boys. Because they were doing a long trip, they have an air mattress arranged in the back seat, so the boys could lie down and sleep any time they want. After we put my backpack in the trunk, I tell them that I can take my shoes off and jump in the backseat with the boys, but the mother wouldn’t let me and does that while telling me to seat in front.
We drive for quite a while, and then stop to have some lunch by the road. I have some food which Manisha’s family gave me but I also have some of the homemade food which the family is having as a sign of respect. After sometime, they drop me off before Nagpur, on an exit towards North.
It is a very quiet exit. By the highway many cars are passing by, but almost none is taking this exit. I am getting a bit worried so I start to write the name of another city, Rewa, on the back of my current sign, because it would be a shorter drive, even though still quite long. While I am writing, a car stops. I come to check with them and ask, honestly without much hope, where they are going. They say Prayagraj. I go nuts! What? Prayagraj is almost 12 hours driving from here! Yay! I almost cannot believe!
Vijay, his wife Gudyia, their daughter Vaishnavi and the little boy Gravit, are going back home. I sit in the back with Vaishnavi, who can speak a good English, so we are chatting on the way. I explain everything about my travels to her and she then translates to her parents. It is so beautiful how happy they are just for being able to help me! How wonderful!
I know it will be a long drive, and we will arrive very late in Prayagraj. But this lovely family already invited me to stay with them for the night. We stop in a restaurant to have dinner and the food is amazing! We have some rice, dhal, chapati and vegetable paneer! I am delighted!
The family lives in a small village outside Prayagraj. When we arrive, the whole family is still awake, even though is after two in the morning. We make the arrangements of where I will sleep, sharing the room with Vaishnavi.
Everybody wakes up quite early. I take a bath and get ready to go. The women of the house divide task and are all preparing breakfast. I am gladly watching them doing everything. Vaishnavi asks if I would like to come for a short walk with her, around the village, and so we go. It is nice here. It is super green with beautiful big trees everywhere. The shades and the brise brought by them help to cool the temperatures down. Many people show sings of surprise on seen me here, of course. But it is in such cute and polite way, that I feel honoured actually. After breakfast, when we sit in front of their house to rest, the same happens with people passing by and coming to shake Vijay’s hand and, of course, asking about me. It is like being in a movie. Laugh.
Such a simple, quiet and calm life they have here. It is so peaceful! Idyllic is probably the best word to describe. This scenery makes me wonder, again, about people who rather live in big cities, with all that noise, cars, buildings and chaos. Why?
Vijay drives me to a road from where I can catch cars going to Sonauli border with Nepal. But before dropping me off, he buys some water, fruits and snacks for me. How kind of him!
10 Years Around the World 