India I

India hit me hard.
It was another universe – loud, intense, and overwhelming.
And it would take a lot of energy to get through.

I had just landed after a long, draining flight.
Spent three days in Delhi.
Didn’t see much.
And honestly, that was fine.

It was loud.
Dirty.
Packed with people.
Suffocating in its own way.

Still, I did the typical route –
Taj Mahal, then Jaipur, taking in the colors and culture.

In Jaipur, I met a tuk-tuk driver who told me about a guru.
He took me to him.
A strange, intense experience –
one I’ll write about separately.

From there, I continued to Pushkar,
a small, sacred city where I ended up staying for several weeks.
Met incredible people.
Tried to understand India –
but I couldn’t.
Not yet.

Leaving Pushkar was hard.
So many stories.
So many encounters.

My next stop was Jaisalmer – a desert town near the Pakistan border.
There, I stayed with a warm-hearted family who ran a hostel.
They welcomed me not as a guest, but as one of their own.
I spent Christmas with them –
a memory that still stays close to me.

One night, I slept out in the desert,
and witnessed a sunrise painted with falling stars.
A once-in-a-lifetime experience that left me in awe.

What I didn’t know then:
a decision I made there would change the course of my journey.
But I wouldn’t realize that until much later.

Then came one of the longest rides of my life –
over 30 hours on trains and buses.
Destination: South India.

Bangalore first.
I spent New Year’s Eve on a rooftop
with a group of kind, nerdy locals –
laughing, eating, surrounded by the city’s chaos.

And then – Kodaikanal.
In the cool mountains, I met a group of friends
who reunite every year to stay in each other's lives.
They took me in when I needed it the most.

From there, I made my way to the west coast.
Boarded a flight.
And landed in a place that would give me more than I expected.
Sri Lanka.