I parted ways with my homestay family today. They were good to me. The father gave me a local hat as a parting gift. I had what I hope to be my final massive travel day.
The engine coughed under the weight of dozens of hungry and tired men. The bus puffed slowly uphill, starved for gas. The driver reached back for the long shifter and threw it into first gear. The clutch spat it back out with a shrill grind, and he reached back once more. He slammed the shifter down hard and let off the clutch with his hand in place, force feeding the machine. This time the gear caught, and the bus jumped forward with new vitality and ambition. We climbed the steep mountain road in the dead of night. The headlights rolled through villages and towns and briefly displayed scenes of night. Those on the bus were rough riders, loners, forgotten, wayward. The bus station was severe. There were vagrants and drunks. I was told the next bus heading to my town would be at 10:30pm. A bus was gearing up to leave the station for some other nearby town and the men told me to get on. They said they’d show me the way to Dharamshala, and I gave them my trust. We arrived at a dark deserted corner in some dormant town, and they told me to get off. They assured me another bus was coming, and to wait. I trusted their word. They drove off, and I sat in the darkness waiting. I started to warm up to the reality that I would likely have to hitchhike into town. Before I decided to stick my thumb out, in the distance, two massive and blinding headlights came roaring towards me – my bus to Dharamshala. I’m completely at the mercy of the world, I’ve given up all control. It works fine.
Gottas get one of those hats!
“I’m completely at the mercy of the world, I’ve given up all control. It works fine.” 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎬