The Day/Night I Travelled Alone




In all my 22 years of existence the only time I have ever travelled alone was maybe when I was born…but that too I doubt would be counted considering I was still tied to Mom by the umbilical cord. So last night was the first time I could put to use the “don’t talk to strangers, don’t put your hand outside the window” rules. I was travelling from the steel city of Odisha back to its capital trough the Naxalite-infested jungles (pointed out rather helpfully by a friend). My parents never let me play with fire but put me right into the frying pan I say!

My father had made it clear that the seat in the bus beside me was to be strictly occupied by a female. So all dreams of me drowsily dropping off on a handsome lad’s shoulder & then we falling in love were shattered. Least of all I wished that seat remained empty so I could use the extra leg space. But of course the seat had to be occupied & occupied by a 60+ year old.
Now no offence meant to any elders but trust me, they want to know everything about you! What college I went to, why was I in Rourkela, where are my parents, where do I stay in Bhubaneswar…boy CID could use a new officer! At about 11:30pm I finally decided to nod off to sleep & avoid her. But as usual I never have much luck in my endeavours, for the bus suddenly came to a halt in the middle of the jungle! The lights switched back on & a rather puny man came up & asked everyone to get down. I could feel my heart thumping rapidly. This was the end. The Naxals had taken over this bus & we’d be in tomorrow’s news! The lady next to me had woken up too or was already awake I guess. She turned to me & asked-“soi chu?” (asleep?) I was too dumbfounded to speak. Then she slowly bent down & removed  something from her bag. “Here eat this” she offered me a Lays! Hello, lady we are being kidnapped!!! I wanted to scream out. But then I noticed others getting down the bus calmly & soon it dawned on me. This was an opportunity to answer Mother Nature’s call.

I opened that packet of Lays & shoved two in my mouth before the “don’t accept food from any stranger” flashed in my head. Too late I gulped, trying to make out anything funny in the taste of the chips. Yes, this was definitely too salty. Oh God she’s gonna sell my kidneys now! I quietly shove the packet down the seat without her noticing & pretended to fall asleep again. The fact that my mobile had no network didn’t help me either. And so I spent the better half of the journey in between pretending to be asleep & actually sleeping until 6:30am when I was safely back in my good old home. Now I’m not going out ever alone in a bus/train/plane/ship until & unless I obtain a license for a gun or a pepper spray at least!

Comments

Ankit Mahapatra said…
What did they do after asking you to come down out of the bus ?
u r just too paranoid :P seriously..!! she ws offering u chips n u thought c ll kidnap u? :D
Cloud Nine said…
lol! really funny...So, when is ur next trip?:P
Rinaya said…
@Ankit: ermm it was for men only.. :P
@Lipi: In my defense,I was just being cautious!
@Cloud Nine: Trip alone?:-D Hmm in the making :P
A Fineapple said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shail said…
Lol, that was funny. Of course it pays to be cautious always :) So good luck for more solo travels in the future! :D
Rinaya said…
@Arpitha: Hi,welcome to my blog:)
Yup I'll surely post bout my future solo travels if I get to go again..
@Shail:Thank you for agreeing with me.. I swear the Lays tasted bit funny :P
suraj said…
first time you are travelling alone? wow! to that... and journeys always give you a lot of funny stuff to write about... nice one...as always:D
hmm first trip alone at 22 for gal not so bad.. mine was at 20 ... and that also not in Naxalite-infested jungles...though such opportunity I got latter and that was in NE Jungles ...

Happy that I am not watching you on news for abduction reasons ;)

any how as a friend I would say even if a Prince Charming offer U food never forget rule "“don’t accept food from any stranger”" ..

saying coz I dont wanna the good writing I keep reading of this gal now n then be just become part of memories only... :) hehe
Giribala said…
Nice write up, Rinaya!! On your next trip please complete the dream for us :D
Rinaya said…
@Suraj: yeah journeys are fun & even better when alone so you actually notice people around you & their antics :P
@Vivek: thanks dude for your concern..advice noted!
@Giribla ma'am: thanks for dropping by & even I'm looking for another opportunity to travel alone & dream some more..
ravindra rajput said…
Nice write up.. Came for the first time on your blog and lemme me say I made the best choice..
Well written.Keep writing :)
Saikat said…
humour is best when it is raw 'n revealing. Guess u hav both amply mixed in ur writing.
Rinaya said…
Thank you so much Saikat & Ravindra for dropping by...I'll work hard to ensure you keep visiting :)
Biswabrata said…
Hey ,nice post girl.....But I think you still should give another shot rather many number of shots of travelling alone.. It would increase your experience and would increase our comments on your new posts...
Rinaya said…
Hi Biswabrata, welcome to Wandering Thoughts!
Will u please meet my Mom & repeat these lines to her...I'll give u a treat if you manage to convince her about it :P

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