When I sit and plan a vacation, much like everyone, I open a bundle of tabs to look for pocket-friendly luxury hotels, cheap flight options and must-visit attracts. I also wonder, will this vacation go exactly as I plan it to be? You see, the best part of travelling is that it never turns out as we expected it.
A holiday is more fun when you go with the flow. You make memories, you meet new people and most importantly, you get a lot of stories to tell. So, here are a few travel stories we found on Quora that’ll make you want to travel the world more often.
1. The one where he found his best bud!
Anonymous answers on Quora: “I was travelling from Howrah Railway Station to Yeswantpur in Duronto Express. I had a ticket in AC third class,” says the traveller.
He added that as he entered his compartment a family with a small kid and two middle-aged men were already sitting there. As he sat, he suddenly heard someone swearing. As he turned, a guy in his early-20s was swearing about how he had to travel in train to his friend who had come to drop him off. The guy looked like a brat to him, he says.
After some time, they struck a conversation. “He started ranting about his life and how he got dumped by so many of his girlfriends. (The introvert inside me was feeling really WEIRD!) But I acted as if I was interested so as to prove to myself that I could travel and have a conversation with a total stranger.”
After two years, the traveller bumped into him in Bengaluru. And after an OMG moment and some conversation, they became best friends. The traveller revealed, “I still call him a rich jerk though. 🙂 Destiny, eh!”
2. The one who had her first encounter with a lesbian couple!
Pushpalata Prasad answers on Quora: Pushpalata shared that the most interesting thing that ever happened to her while travelling on a train was the company of a lesbian couple. It wasn’t a big deal for her until the couple started making out in full public view of the coach full of Army and Defence-men. “Praise the Lord,” someone on the coach said.
Pushpalata was trying to act all cool initially, but had to hide under the stinky railway blanket as the viewers of the scene were many.
“Obviously, I couldn’t fall asleep amidst all the clatter of excitement around; plus my ears and face were all a deep shade of red. I asked the audience to leave the coach as I had to sleep and pulled the curtains. People still tried to ‘accidentally’ brush past the curtains for the scope of some sneak-peek,” said Pushpalata.
The couple was unaware of the attention they had amassed. They eventually stopped to have dinner. After Pushpalata told them about the drama, they were humoured. But they loved each other so much, they didn’t care. Pushpalata added, “The ‘girly’ girl giggled and announced this is the 21st century and people should be used to it by now, after which (yes, you guessed it right) they started all over again.”
3. The one who met a young (almost) sadhu
Harsh Snehanshu answers on Quora: “I met this guy in orange robes with a huge backpack when I was at Belur ghat (Swami Vivekanand’s Math) and waiting for a boat to Dakshineshwar, a renowned Kali temple on the other side of the river Hoogly in Kolkata. He was an Indian – around 26-30 years, with a little stubble and curly hair.
Whenever I see a young person in orange robes, I get fascinated about what drove that person to monk-hood or sainthood. Much like always, I got really intrigued by this man. We were waiting for the boat when I initiated my talk with him.
I asked him, ‘When did you become a monk?’
‘Sorry, what did you say?’
‘When. Did. You. Become. A. Monk,’ I reiterated.
‘I’m not a monk,’ he replied, amused.
‘Then what about this orange robe of yours?’
‘Oh, this is just to avoid undue attention of thugs and beggars,’ he smiled.
‘Look, what I carry,’ he said and opened his backpack to unravel his gadgets. The bag contained an iPad, an SLR camera and a big pack of Marlboro.
‘Nobody bothers me after seeing my attire,’ he smirked.
‘What do you do then?’
‘I am an IT engineer from Bengaluru. Take my card.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, grabbed his card and left with a weird grin, tickled.”
4. The one who met the cutest Amma ever!
Vinay Chittora answers on Quora: Vinay, while travelling to Zanskar valley Leh, stopped at a small cafe to eat. The owner was a 40-something man and his 70-year-old mother. The place was a small, minimalistic house with two rooms, two cats and a small signboard that declared, ‘Homestay’. He decided to spend the night there.
The old lady seemed busy all the time. Vinay asked her, “Amma! Can I get one more cup of chai?” She smiled and said, “Okay, bye!” Then she walked out of the room and while Vinay thought she was annoyed with him, she returned with a cup of tea in her hand and carefully handed it to him. Vinay again politely said, “Thank you, Amma.” She again replied, “Okay, bye”.
Vinay thought she wanted him to leave the house but, he later figured that she thought all the travellers are foreigners. She didn’t understand Hindi or English, and only knew that the universally correct words to greet someone were, “Okay, bye!”
5. The one who discovered something new about life!
Deepika Gumaste answers on Quora: Deepika was traveling to Hampi, Karnataka. She was coming back from a trek with a bunch of friends when they decided to drink some coconut water. One of the friends was a travel blogger and hence, was quick with conversations with the lady vendor. The lady and her friend were having a conversation in Kannada, and the woman was so glad to have them over that she refused to take the money for the coconut water, even after insisting.
When Deepika was confused about the woman’s generosity, her travel blogger friend insisted and handed over money to the vendor. As a reaction to it, she then gifted a bunch of bananas to Deepika and said, “Here for you and your friends.”
Baffled by her generosity, Deepika and her friends discussed it after getting back to their car. And that’s when her friend quoted a writer saying, “On your travel, you’ll meet real people.” They observed that unlike people in cities, people in small towns might be poor, but they are content with life.
Ready to explore the world yet?
You can read the full Quora thread here.
GIFs: Giphy, Tumblr
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