It was the second day of my solo trip. I was in Hampi, sitting in my hotel room, bored. I learned that it was the off season and by the 2nd day evening I got bored of everything. There are two parts of Hampi, a traditional side and the hippie side( no wonder why they call hippie island) . Traditional side can be covered in a single day. So, everything went good. According to the itinerary I had prepared for more than a week, despite of all the research, I've booked my hotel in traditional side. To go to hippie island, there will be a boat ride to cross the river. The last timing of the boat is around 6 in the evening. I had explored enough on hippie island but as it's the off season and a weekday, even that part of the Hampi is too dry. Also it's start of monsoon season and I headed back to my room as it started to drizzle.
Being bored, I got more kinkier and installed tinder, hopping that I would find someone to hang out and kill the time. So I got a couple of matches and found a guy who's interesting - Sumeet. Honestly, am not searching for any hookup, it was just to kill some time. So, coming back, he's from Goa, but mostly stays in Hampi as his friends owns a couple of restaurants and homestays here. Also he's planning for fee businesses in Hampi. I explained my situation and then he asked me to come to Hippie Island. I was really reluctant to go as the last boat is at 6 o clock to return from there and it's already 5 o clock. When I said that this was my situation, he said that they knew people who operate the boats and there will be no problem to return back as they'll make arrangements. Again, am uncertain as this can be too dangerous and can create problems. But, I was too bored and there's still another day to kill the time. So, I quickly got freshened, put couple of important things in my bag( including pepper spray 😜) and started to walk towards the boating point. In the middle of the walk, it started to rain and got heavier. I took halt for few minutes and when rain got lighter, I quickly reached the boating point. Already there were two guys by the looks which I can say they were definitely travelers and a couple of locals waiting to reach that side. We were waiting for the boat to come from that side and again it started to rain. So, we call came under a temple and one of that traveler guy came and introduced to himself. He's pratik, from Mumbai. They were traveling to South India for a couple of weeks and were here in Hampi for coming two days. He also introduced his friend, Dhanraj and in no time we three started to share our experiences. In mean while the boat was about to start and I was still reluctant to go that side. So, I've explained the whole situation to Dhanraj and Pratik and they said that it's a good idea to go, but assured that they'll come to me if anything wrong happened. So, we exchanged our numbers and got into that boat. I was sitting beside Dhanraj and don't know why, I felt too comfortable with these two guys. They were cool and like minded people.
After reaching to hippie island, Pratik and Dhanraj hired a scooty and left. I started to walk as it was just a 5 minutes walk to the cafe which Sumeet asked me to come. In my way, a guy came on a scooty and told that Sumeet had send him to pick me up. I went to the cafe - Nargila, met Sumeet and introduced ourselves. I was literally terrified to be there with those guys. I had never kept my bag away as there's a pepper spray in it and so attentive to grab that pepper spray in my bag. He introduced to his friends who owns that cafe and ordered some food for me ( free! Free! Free!!! 😛). After an hour he said that he'll take me to his place and show me that place as it's more beautiful than this homestay and also there were couple of things for him to pick. I said yes, even though am scared to hell. It was around 20 minutes ride with breathtaking views. We reached there and he introduced me to the owner of that homestay. Surprisingly, Pratik and Dhanraj were there at that homestay which I got to know later.
So, coming back to the story, i felt totally uncomfortable there, as there were no people around expect us. So, Sumeet got to know my feelings, got freshened quickly, took few of his belongings and brought me back to Nargila Café. It got dark by the time we reached. He said that there's a secret place where his friends( nargila owners) are boozing. Again, many stupid thoughts came into my mind and am afraid as he said it's their secret place. But, took some courage and went with him. It was really beautiful. There's a place we can sit, enjoy the starts, surrounded by beautiful crops and plants. It's around 7.30. Breeze in my hair, chilled weather, star gazing!!!! Beautiful moments to be cherished. Yet, am feeling uncomfortable and and seeing me, they said that it's totally fine to be here and assured me that Hampi is their hometown and they'll not do anything stupid. After fee minutes I got comfortable, they shared their amazing stories, how they started the business, about their travels, about their love lives. They had arranged me a boat at 8 o clock, but it's totally my call whether to go or to stay for the night. After a war between my brain and heart, I decided to stay and they called the boat people and asked them to leave. They boozed for an hour and then we reached the Nargila café where they cooked amazing chicken curry. They kept music, and we all chilled there for couple of hours in café. They arranged me a room to stay for that night and everyone left for their home. Morning I got up, freshened and by the time I left, they all came to send me back. Later that day, I again came back at afternoon to bid good bye to them as I was leaving for the Hyderabad that evening.
Two days later, I got a call from Pratik saying that their next stop was Hyderabad and asked me to meet if interested. But we couldn't meet as I was leaving Hyderabad. Am still in touch with everyone.
The photo is with the owner of the café. I didn't get a chance to take pictures with others. Rather, I've decided to enjoy that moment instead of clicking selfies 😊
That's the story of my #StrangerToFriend
