Is it weird or a coincidence or simply fate that 2 strangers you meet in Hampi by accident (simply by asking “is that temple closed?”) end up heading in the same direction as you to Goa via the same train and staying at the same hotel with you for the next 5 days?

Or 2 more strangers you meet in Hampi by accident (“how long have you been in India?”) end up reuniting with you on a rooftop bar a week later in Bangalore and then 3 days after in Pondicherry?

Or a stranger you meet in Varanasi through another stranger staying at your guesthouse (“where’s your next morning flight heading out to?”) ends up reuniting with you a week later in Jaipur?

Or a stranger that you meet at 6am in the morning at a Jodhpur guesthouse you didn’t plan on staying in (“Anya hah say yo!” “But I’m not Korean” “Oh sorry. byebye!”) ends up traveling with you on the same bus to Udaipur and spends 2 whole days with you there, even though you two were never able to communicate in the same language?

Or a stranger you meet waiting in line at the airport in New Delhi (“Is this flight still delayed?”) ends up meeting you for dinner and breakfast the day after in Amritsar?

Or a stranger you meet at your hostel in Singapore (“Want a smoke?”) ends up almost meeting you in Mumbai and then again 3-4 weeks later in Singapore?

Or a stranger you meet at a random birthday party in NYC (“Nice to meet you.”) ends up contacting you for the first time a year later via a facebook status update and then a day later becomes one of your best hosts in Hyderabad?

Or a stranger you meet at a random birthday party in Mumbai (“Meet a mutual friend of mine.”) ends up contacting you for the first time 2 years later via a facebook status update and then takes care of you immediately afterwards in Calcutta, Hyderabad and Bangalore?

Or a stranger you meet on a shuttle bus to Hyderabad (“I don’t know how these signup sheets work, but here you go.”) ends up forming this profound connection with you that you might reunite 2-3 weeks later in Singapore?

This is the kind of traveling you can find in India. This is the kind of traveling I could not find anywhere else on my adventure. This is what I was looking for.

http://monsoon.lzinc.net/friends/

—

Now heading out to meet Natasha and Holly, two British girls that I befriended when I was in Hampi last week, at a rooftop bar in central Bangalore. Bars here now close early because of new drinking laws that intend to reform this region into becoming more “morally pure”, so every minute counts!

–EDIT–

I went to Skyye Lounge, a rooftop bar in Bangalore where 3 of the recent Miss India winners were hanging out (we had mutual friends, I would later discover).  Too bad all bars really do close at 11:30pm here.

- At time of posting in Bangalore, India, it was 69.8 °F -

Humidity: 89% | Wind Speed: 9km/hr | Cloud Cover: Light drizzle