Night Buses, and a 5-Hour Coffee Chat

Wow—Rajasthan is way different from Uttar Pradesh. The landscape, weather, people, traffic—all of it. It’s also extremely clean. I just got to Udaipur this morning after spending five days in Jaipur, and I feel like I’m not in India anymore. I’m still trying to wrap my (non-veg) head around the differences while eating my way through this killer headache.

I’ve completely given up on having a normal schedule during my travels. It’s truly a blessing, though—to be humbled by a country that continues to amaze me. Man, I’m so hungry right now.

What’s incredible about India is how easily one can maneuver around the country. My favorite way to travel India is by night bus. It’s so damn different from the USA and so much more fun. My bus left Jaipur last night at 10:15 PM and arrived in Udaipur at 7:00 AM. The owner of my hotel called me at 6:45 AM and already predicted my bus drop-off location change. I stepped off the bus, and within several minutes he picked me up on a scooty and off we went.

I slept for a couple of hours on the bus but needed more rest. I went to bed this morning around 10:00 AM and woke up an hour or so ago, around 6:30 PM. I’m currently up to date with posting cringe videos on Instagram, but I’ve neglected my writing. One mocha cappuccino and two regular cappuccinos should keep my fingers jumping until I’m asked to leave or the caffeine takes my feet elsewhere.

Some of my posts on Instagram have gone viral, and that really means a lot to me. People watch and comment, and for the most part they’re so sweet and kind. I do struggle with social media, though, because I grew up with the original Instagram, which was only pictures and reflections of static moments in time. I remember when we used to stop on a picture and actually read the caption—reflect on this certain person’s writing and perspective. No one reads the captions anymore, and I feel like we’ve lost a little nuance as a civilization. We’ve also lost the ability to communicate with each other, but that’s just a lot of Americans and doesn’t concern India. Indians communicate with each other—that’s for damn sure.

Oftentimes people comment that I’m generalizing India and get offended. I totally get it and I hear them. If you’re reading this and one of my videos has offended you—I’m sorry. One day I hope to be in a place where I can offer longer and more nuanced perspectives via video. At the moment, though, I’m bound to the modern-day social media contract: every post has to be short enough to capture your regressing attention span alongside an entertaining script.

One of my most recent videos of contention was a thought piece I captured at the top of Amber Fort in Jaipur—one of the most beautiful self-guided walking tours I’ve accomplished during my time here so far. I said Indians are lazy and poked fun that many of them didn’t want to walk to the top due to their laziness. On my way down, many of them were asking me, “How far was it to the top?” This made me laugh because I’m a foreigner. It makes me feel good when Indians ask me for advice about their own country. I think I’m truly starting to assimilate here and look like I know a thing or two.

India moves fast, but it also moves slow—being in the moment and not getting ahead of yourself is ingrained in their everyday spirit. The only reason I know that Indians are a little lazy is because I’m lazy too. Game recognizes game, and I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on this unless I was taking breaks too. I wish people would cut me a break sometimes, but that’s just the world we live in. I’ll continue to post videos and accept the blowback, but I’m truly a man of the people.

A lot of foreigners come here and see one side of India—whichever side they want. I’m a different cat with a different mission. I want all of India and to live like a local. This means I’ll indulge in momos, smoke some cigarettes, have a chai break or two, as well as eat clean and practice yoga in Kashi one day. I have the spirit of a yogi as well as the spirit of a roadside Romeo (you know what I mean). I’m an Indian addict and will try everything the country has to offer me.

Now for the subtitle—I spoke to my younger self. I had one of the most intellectually stimulating conversations yesterday at a coffee shop in Jaipur. I met a 19-year-old young Muslim gentleman who reminded me of my younger self. Not really—this kid was doing much better than I was and seemed to not only have a good head on his shoulders, but an actual head compared to the pumpkin with brains that I have.

He arrived a little after me with a nice young lady, and after his lady friend left, he came over to my area and sat down. We spoke with each other for the next five hours about life, love, familial relationships, and gave a warm embrace at the end of our time. Sometimes I get bored speaking with people even after a couple of minutes, but I was on the edge of my seat with this young man.

I’ve made many mistakes in my life, and with how crazy the world is these days, I feel it’s my duty to impart my wisdom upon the younger generation. By no means does this mean to preach or gloat in my few accomplishments. I impart all of the bad and wrong things I’ve done and all the mistakes I’ve made. I need to take care of myself, but I’m also a human being.

This life we live feels so normal and justified that I think we forget that we were either made by God or we’re like aliens or something. Regardless of whether everything is preordained or not, we still have feelings, and I sure feel a lot. I want our civilization to last as long as it can. Being alive is awesome, and it’s only a flash in the pan compared to how old the universe is. I have so much fun sharing all my wrongdoings with a teenager so he can live his best life possible.

I learn a lot from the younger generation too, and one thing I’ve noticed about them is they want the same things us millennials want. Us millennials want the same things our parents (boomers) want: safety, financial security, love, and to live a happy life. There’s so much going on in the world that it’s easy to fall into the trap.

When the young man sat down, I was a little peeved as I was trying to keep up with my blog. Now, a day later with fingers to keyboard, I have the opportunity to continue to live in the moment and reflect on one of the best conversations of my life. I’m still here, still learning, and can’t sit still— should I have another coffee?