LOST IN INDIA
Getting lost in India. Something I really didn't want todeal with. Meh, **** happens..
After a few days spent in Munnar, I considered going to Vagamon. I asked to my guide in Munnar how to get there. He told me that I would have to take a bus to Nedumkandam, then another one to Ramakkalmedu where I could spend one night since this city was "nice and interesting". The following morning there would be a bus for Vagamon.
He dropped me to the bus station and I waited for 1 hour. It was 3pm and in the morning I had walked for 7 hours in the mountains. So, no need to tell that I was quite tired..
The bus arrived and 2 hours later I was in Nedumkandam where I had to catch the 2nd bus to Ramakkalmedu. After another hour waiting, the bus arrived.
Unlike Europe you don't have any sign with the name of the bus station, so either you know when to get out of the bus or you have to ask to someone. This is what I did. Unfortunately the person I asked some help tricked me and when I got out of the bus I realized that I was in the middle of nowhere. It was just a road with nothing around.
It was 7pm, and I was alone and lost.
I knew that freaking out was useless. I needed to stay calm and to think with a clear mind. I was on a road so at some point someone would come. A road without drivers is not a road, right ?
Less than 10 minutes later, a man driving a bike arrived. I waved my hand with my best smile and he stopped. I asked him whether I was in Nedumkandam and of course he replied that I wasn't.
-This city is 5 miles away from here, he said
-5 miles away ?? Well, looks like someone gave me some wrong informations. It's quite far from here and it's getting late now, I replied
-No problem, get on the bike !
-Nice thanks !
Less than 10 minutes later we arrived in Ramakkalmedu.
Good news is that I had reached my destination, the famous "nice city" where I would spend one night before catching the bus to Vagamon the following morning.
Bad news is that Ramakkalmedu wasn't at all as described. It was just a road with 2 shacks on each side. Nothing more. Again, I was finding mysef in some no man's land :
what a lovely place to spend some holidays !
It was almost 8pm, I had been traveling for hours, I was hungry, lost, alone, had nowhere to sleep, didn't know how to reach Vagamon, and no one there talked English.
Besides, there was no bus stop, no tuctuc, no taxi, I was stucked in this place and had no clue about how to get out.
One shopkeeper came and in some very bad English proposed me to rent a room for 800 Rs. Not only this was overpriced, but it wouldn't resolve my issue : the following morning I would still be stucked there with no idea about how to get out and reach Vagamon. Therefore, renting his room wasn't an option.
Again, it would have been easy to freak out or get pissed. But what for ? How could it help me ? I remained calm, quite confident that life would send me a sign, some help, something.
But for now I had to drink something. It was a good 91°F inspite of the late hour. The shopkeeper was insisting that I rent his room. I just told him :
- Sir, I don't think I'm gonna rent your room, but I wil be very happy to buy you this wonderful cold Pepsi !
He didn't find it amusing and mumbled something while giving me the drink.
I looked around still trying to find a way to get out of this place. Then I saw a cop talking on the phone.
Ponch from "Chips"
Five minutes later, surprised to see a westerner in his town, he came to me.
- What are you doing here ? he asked
I explained him the full situation and that I needed to reach Vagamon. I had been told that I could catch a bus from here.
- There is no bus here. You can catch a bus to Vagamon in Thookupalam.
- Where is it ? I asked, ready for the bad news
- 6 miles away from here.
Now I had to find a way to go to Thookupalam.
- 6 miles away ? Not that close ! I replied
- Where are you going to sleep tonight ?
- Probably on the road. Unfortunately it is late and I am too tired to walk to Thookupalam right now.
He looked at me for maybe 10 seconds then told me :
- Ok come, I have my car, I will drop you there. Tomorrow morning you will have many buses to Vagamon
- Thanks a lot, that's really nice of you.
We got along quite well during the ride and he asked me many questions about me, why I was traveling in India, if I was married or had children etc. I also asked him many questions about India and Hinduism, and he was very happy to provide some insights to someone showing some interest to both his country and religion.
We arrived to Thookupalam but there was just 2 hotels and he wasn't sure I would find a room for the night.
As about the buses to Vagamon he then told me that they were coming there from time to time only. In short, good news is that I had found a way to get out of Ramakkalmedu, bad news is that I was now in another city but with probably no bus to reach Vagamon.
Seemed like my struggle would never end. It was more than 8:30pm now, still had no place to sleep and no idea about how to reach Vagamon.
Then an old indian shop keeper who was around arrived and asked to the cop the reason of my presence there. The cop explained him the situation.
The shopkeeper then looked at me and talked to me in Hindi. At some point he repeated "Kattappana". I looked at the cop, silently asking him for some translation.
- Yes, he is right. You can also go to Kattapana and from there you will get a bus to Vagamon.
- How can I go to Kattapana ? I asked, ready for another not so good answer.
- By bus.
- Tomorrow ?
- No, now, he replied checking at the clock.
A bus arrived. Timing couldn't have been more perfect, it was a true miracle !
The cop went talking to the bus driver, and then told me to get on the bus. In less than 1 hour I would be in Kattapana.
I thanked him warmly for his help and got into the bus. I was the only westerner with no one besides me :
Then some indians got into the bus, all staring at me. Not in some evil way, just because they were curious.
45 minutes later I reached my destination. I was in Kattapana. It was almost 9pm and now I still had to find both a place to spend the night and a restaurant to eat. Since it was a little town, many shops were closed and I couldn't find any hotel.
I saw a man in uniform, (another cop ?). I asked him where I could find a cheap hotel and without saying a word he just pointed his finger in one direction. I thanked him and walked there. After 5 minutes I stumbled across a sign "lodges".
The door was open and a young man was there, standing up behind the counter and talking to another indian. I asked if there was any room available and he replied that I could spend a night there for 350 roupies. It was a great deal and at last I had found a place to spend the night so I paid for the room.
Noting fancy but more than enough, and at least I wouldn't have to sleep on the street :
After dropping my things, I looked for a place to eat and found a nice restaurant full of locals :
I ate some nice indian food there :
Long story short, I slept like a baby. The room was very simple, smelled curry and others spices, I could hear all the noise from the street and the corridor, but it was fun !
The following morning I woke up very early, drank some Chai teas with some others locals there as well :
Then I took the bus. 3 hours later I was on the patio of my hotel room looking at the mountains :
Stories like this one are very common amongst travelers. You get lost, it's night time, you're tired, hungry, alone, don't know where you are, where to go, where you're gonna sleep.
I shared this little anecdote to show you that even when a situation is bad, it is never fully bad. There is always a solution.
Being lost at night in India could seem scary but keeping a positive attitude goes a long way. Besides, it is also part of the journey.
Wanting to have control over everything is a waste of both energy and time. You have to accept that sometimes, things won't go as planned. What you have to do then is just go with the flow and let go. This is also where you can meet great people !
Never forget that we're never alone when traveling and as long as we remain confident and open to the people around, we'll be just fine.
Every person you meet in life is a possible opportunity, a possible gate keeper holding a key to open a door.
This is what this little story taught me.