One of my favourite parts about travelling is stranger meetup. I prefer to mingle with people than visiting historic monuments. No matter how much we travel alone, we get connected with some people somewhere during that journey. Meeting someone for the first time is very exciting for me. And my personal travel experiences taught me that strangers are much more helpful and polite. As we travel, we see changes in the environment, culture, and people in different places. And we will never know about their culture unless we mix with them.

I have made great connections with different people at different times in different places, including Nagaland, Pondicherry, Sikkim, Assam, on my nearly one and a half year journey. Later I may not have any direct contact with them, but I still feel that emotion when we met first. I can meet you on my next travel?

Also Read When I met little God In Shantiniketan

Also, Read The Little Yak Master Did Not Give A Damn

The Lady And Her Tea stall In Guwahati

One afternoon I was waiting at the bus stand in Guwahati to catch a bus to Jorhat at night. Due to travel, I was exhausted, and I fell asleep. The shop where I came to have tea was owned by an Assamese woman. She offered me a cup of tea with some warm concern “did not you sleep last night? Please have it, we will feel better”. More than the tea, her kind words charged me up. Then I told her my travel details, she kept quiet and said “do you want to sleep? There is a room next to my shop where you sleep and rest”. Before I would say yes or no, she told me “don’t worry, it is a clean bed”. I wanted to sleep so I took the offer. When I woke up after two or three hours, she smiled and made me a very good evening snack. She asked me to wait there until my bus arrives. I thanked her, paid for my meal, and headed towards my bus. But she stopped me. She handed me a small packet. The kind woman said “it is your dinner with bread and vegetables.

Also, Read The Dreamer Of Ghoom

Facebook Friend In Jorhat

In Jorhat, I met my social media’s friend. When I was in Nagaland through my Facebook profile I got connected with some locals from Jorhat. I had a conversation with a gentleman named Deepak. He lived with his family in Jorhat. Deepak assured me that he would arrange an auto for me from Jorhat bus stand to Majuli ferry ghat. Early morning I reached the Jorhat bus stand, Deepak’s called at the same time as the bus arrived. And I saw him waiting for me in an auto-rickshaw. He came to pick me because his auto driver was late for the day. By profession, he was the staff of a government school there. Deepak gave me a lot of information about Jorhat. We had breakfast together and he dropped me off at the ferry ghat to go to Majuli. I have very little time with Deepak but unforgettable.

Belive In Strangers

It’s a simple incident. When I reached Majuli Island in the morning, I needed to go to the toilet badly. I asked some people about the location of the washroom. They showed me a place, but I could not go with my heavy backpack. They were strangers to me, but still, I had no option but to believe them at that moment. In there, I was worried about my backpack, as it had all my important documents and money. I was regretting my decision, but when I came out, I found them guarding my belongings. I was so relaxed. They ordered tea for me. It seemed that believing in people might be a little difficult, but sometimes we have no choice but to trust strangers, who might give a lifetime memory to cherish.

When Unknown People Become Good friends In Nagaland

Also, Read My Extended Naga Family In Nagaland

The world is full of good people. And in Nagaland, the fact was no different. Before travelling to Nagaland, many people warned me about Nagaland. Their culture, eating and drinking habit does not match with people like us. But the experience that I had is completely different. In Nagaland, I spent time with a beautiful Naga family. And their whole family helped me tremendously to get around Nagaland and took care of my other things.

As I was touring the Hornbill Festival, I met some young Naga people. And in a short time, they became very close friends. We went out together, sang songs and ate different foods. For the remaining four days I stayed with those new friends at their home in Kohima. They gave me tours in their car to different places in Nagaland. In my last 4 days in Nagaland, they never let me feel that I am not in my own house. And the warmest thing was that they cooked various famous dishes of Nagaland in their home and fed me.