Countries Visited: 12 (Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, India)
FRIENDS
# old Friends I ran into: 15 (Manila: Shyama, Saigon: Van, Mae Sot: Geoff, Singapore: BX & Sajni & Lillian, Mumbai: Avanti & Shivani & Nikita Manilal & Mrinal, Hyderabad: Vaibhav & Saraswati, Taipei: Cindy & Edward, Chennai: Jean)
# friends I tried but failed to meet with: 9 (Manila: Tiffany Qua, Bangkok: Papkori, Hyderabad: Sonia Sethi, Kuala Lumpur: Harn, Calcutta: Shuli, Goa: David, Mae Sot: Emily Setton, Mamallapuram: Natasha & Holly)
# new friends of friends I was referred to and I sought out: 6 (Calcutta: Tanmay, Bangalore: Vineet & Sap, Chennai: Arjun & Supraja, Surabaya: Harn’s park ranger friend at Gunung Bromo)
# new friends of friends I was referred to and I successfully met with: 4 (Calcutta: Tanmay, Bangalore: Vineet, Chennai: Arjun & Supraja)
# new friends I’ve made on this trip that I eventually reunited with: 5 (Varanasi to Jaipur: Rebecca, Hampi to Bangalore: Natasha & Holly, Hyderabad to Singapore: Nikita Bhalotia, Hampi to Mamallapuram: Jamie)
NIGHTLIFE
# times I ate out alone: 7 (Hanoi evening, Singapore lunch, Calcutta dinner, Jodhpur dinner, Bangalore lunch 2x)
# hookah sessions: 16 (Manila, Saigon, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore 4x, Jakarta, Bali, Udaipur, Hyderabad 3x, Goa 2x, Bangkok)
# collisions: 2 (motorbike in Saigon, bicycle in Bangalore)
# tanning sessions: 2 (Bali, Goa)
# sunburns: 3 (Batad, Halong Bay, Bali)
# times went swimming: 5 (Halong Bay, Luang Prabang, Bali, Goa, Mamallapuram)
Longest without a shower: 3 days
Longest without doing laundry: 4 days
THE PROFOUND
# moments when I shed a few tears: 2 (Golden Temple at Amritsar, ending my trip in Singapore)
# moments when I took a leap of faith: 4 (Halong Bay diving 2x, Luang Prabang swinging, Beng Melea roof jumping)
# moments when I had a profound spiritual moment of self-awareness: 2 (Varanasi evening pooja, Golden Temple at Amritsar)
# moments when I felt like I was working for National Geographic: 6 (Batad Rice Terraces, Halong Bay, Goan waterfalls, Goan monsoon, Luang Prabang lagoons, Gunung Bromo)
ROUGHING IT
# times woke up at an ungodly hour and cursed to myself, “FML!”: 9 (Siemreap sunrise, Singapore all-nighter, Amritsar dawn, Borobudur sunrise, Gunung Bromo sunrise, Bangkok 5am arrival, Jodhpur 5am arrival, Udaipur 5am arrival, Singapore 5am arrival)
# things lost: 7 (Manila: small Canon camera & rain jacket, Hanoi: Cell Phone, Halong Bay: Watch, Saigon: Hand towel, Bali: Silver bracelets, Singapore: Nikon LCD plastic cover)
# times almost lost my Nikon DSLR: 2 (7-Eleven in Kuala Lumpur, Taj Palace Hotel in Mumbai)
# things broken: 1 (one pair of convertible pants — the zippers broke in Singapore, thus they remain as shorts)
# thieves caught in the act of stealing: 1 (Hanoi with Corinne’s yellow backpack)
MONSOONAL INCIDENTS
# times witnessed a heavy rainstorm: 23 (Hanoi 2x, Siemreap, Luang Prabang, Singapore, Varanasi, Mumbai 10x, Goa 6x, Calcutta)
# times actually caught in a heavy rainstorm and getting soaked to the bone: 5 (Luang Prabang, Singapore, Goa 2x, Calcutta)
TRANSPORTATION
# capital/larger cities where we used public transportation: 10 (Manila, Vientiane, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Yogyakarta, Singapore, Calcutta, Jaipur, Penang, Chennai)
# capital/larger cities where we did not use public transportation/public transportion was not available: 9 (Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Jakarta, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore)
# local buses used: 7 (Manila, Vientiane, Penang, Singapore, Yogyakarta, Jaipur, Chennai)
# subways used: 4 (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Calcutta)
# skytrains used: 2 (Manila, Kuala Lumpur)
# boats used: 1 (Bangkok)
# times in an auto-rickshaw: 100+
# times I genuinely liked my auto-rickshaw drivers for not ripping me off: 3
# times on a motorbike: 2 (Udaipur 2x)
# times on a regular bike: 0
# times used a personal driver: 6 (Phnom Penh, Siemreap, Surabaya, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore)
# planes: 28
# long-haul buses: 20
# trains: 3
Longest transportation: 50.5 hours on 3 buses from Hanoi to Saigon
Longest transportation on a single vehicle: 16 hour bus from Udaipur to Mumbai
Longest layover:6 hours in Shanghai
Longest delay: 4 hours in Vientiane, waiting for Laos Air flight to Luang Prabang
BRAGGING RIGHTS
# new stamps in the passport: 31
# sticker one-page visas on arrival: 5 (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia 2x)
# World Heritage Sites SEEN: 10 (Batad Rice Terraces, Angkor Wat temple complex, Hampi, Borobudur, Prambanan, Luang Prabang, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Penang, Mumbai’s Victoria Train Station)
# World Heritage Sites MISSED: 6 (Monuments in Hue, Huang Long Citadel in Hanoi, Mumbai’s Elephanta Caves, Churches of Goa, 5 Raitas in Mamallapuram, Jama Mantor in Jaipur)
MONEY
Total Traveling Expenses (includes all airfare, trains, buses, public transportation, taxis, and autorickshaws): $3972.45
Total Lodging Expenses (includes all hotels, guesthouses, hostels, and paying back friends for their hospitality): $793.99
INTERNET
Slowest Internet: Laos
Fastest Internet: Thailand
Longest time in an internet cafe: 7 hours (Taipei)
THE NIKON
# pictures taken: 10,195
# pictures deleted: 5,854
# pictures kept: 4,341
Video taken: 47 minutes
- At time of posting in New York City, it was 26 °C -
Humidity: 40% | Wind Speed: 7km/hr | Cloud Cover: n/a
If it’s not already playing, press play. And then start reading.
The echoes of Jeff Buckley. An autorickshaw roars by an airport runway. I came in as a stranger, left as a friend. I came in unsure what I was looking for, I left knowing what I needed to search for.
It’s not about sights I’ve seen or places I’ve been. Those play second fiddle to the countless unfamiliar beds, floors, sleeper buses, trains, flights, and bathrooms. Second fiddle to the countless moments of loneliness and ephemeral relationships, to the countless hassles and bargaining touts, to the countless tricycles, rickshaws and taxis, to the countless faces and conversations.
It’s not about the destinations.
It’s about that note you slipped into my hand at Calcutta Airport asking me out to coffee,
how you let me feet rest on your lap at 3 in the morning before my flight to Varanasi,
how we laughed into the late nights of Singapore,
the dinner we enjoyed under the shadow of the Golden Temple in Amritsar,
the 3 hour history lesson from WWI to the Israel-Palestine conflict while overlooking the Ganges at night,
the nod of your head to accompany me from Jodhpur to Udaipur since you couldn’t speak a word of English,
the weekend trip to Mamallapuram you let me take you and your friends,
the old friends and new friends of friends in Mumbai,
the silent cab ride we shared to Varanasi airport,
the delicious desserts we shared at a lounge in Delhiairport,
the undying hospitality of an acquaintance and your family in Hyderabad,
the undying hospitality of an old friend and your family in Mumbai,
the random conversation between strangers on a Hyderabad bus that led to 2 surreal days in Singapore,
the lunch you invited me to after 2 minutes of introductions at an internet cafe in Amritsar,
the familiarity of a school dorm and lecture hall at the Indian School of Business,
the sheesha puffed into our mouths on Arab Street,
the sheesha puffed into our mouths in Hyderabad,
the dance-off we had in Mumbai,
the home-cooked meals in over 15 cities,
the 5 days together starting from a quick question about Hampi temples to being roommates on the beaches of Goa,
the reunion handshake while waiting for the bus to Mamallapuram,
the reunion hug in Jaipur after 3 days apart,
the reunion hug on a rooftop bar in Bangalore after a week apart,
the reunion hug in Singapore after 2 weeks apart,
the reunion hug in Singapore after a month apart,
the reunion hug in JFK Airport after a few months apart,
the reunion hug in a Chennai hotel after a year apart,
the way you came out from your GRE class just to hug me before I left for Hampi,
the way I looked back at you in the cab,
the moment I asked to give me your hand in saying goodbye,
…and the way I say all my goodbyes: the kind of embrace no one forgets, the three seconds of wishing you could say and do more, the final look in the eyes before life moves on, the turn of the back that you wish could just mean “see you soon.”
Well, friends, see you soon. Kuch bhi ho sakhta hai.
