A Hard But Good Day in India

A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those days where nothing majorly bad happens to you, but a bunch of little things add up and you end up feeling pretty bad about yourself.

I spent the last 6 weeks traveling across India and before arriving I received a lot of warnings and was instilled with a lot of fear about traveling to this country alone. And while I still practice all of the usual solo-woman-traveler travel guidelines, I was greeted and treated with nothing but absolute kindness, generosity, curiosity, and warmth by the people and the lands. I recognize this is not the case for everyone, but I feel grateful for it as my experience.

The aforementioned roller coaster day was made more than OK by the kindness of the Indian people. For every single little mistake I made, a local person sprinkled some absolute magic on my heart. I started to write them down in a note on my phone because I just couldn't believe it, over and over again.

Ugh* + Magic (in order)

*my chosen word for the silly frustrations of the day. Obviously, none of the following things are objectively that bad; it was the compounding events and me being hard on myself that added up. I’m a human will feelings and pesky internal narrative at times... and I am grateful for the people around me who unintentionally pulled me out of those negative thought loops.

Ugh 1:

I had been feeling a bit run down and under the weather and overall like a giant booger.

Magic 1:

As I was leaving to try and go surfing, my host handed me a flower. I asked him what kind it was, and he said, “it’s you” 💜

Thank you, Manu.

Ugh 2:

I got yelled at in the water while surfing. Yep, I had made a mistake, but their reaction was pretty aggressive and upsetting. There was no apologizing to this person in that state.

Magic 2:

Someone saw the interaction, paddled over to give a pep talk which included a, “let it go and then have chai.”

It is that simple. Thank you, Sebin.

Ugh 3:

Due to a brain fart, I majorly mixed up my logistics and realized a little too late I needed to I needed to leave early the next morning and not the following day (as I had thought). This meant I needed to scramble to book a train—which is notorious for being an absolute headache and hot mess in India. Can confirm. They fill up months in advance, and the websites/apps for foreigners are a huge headache.

Magic 3:

A couple sitting next to me at lunch noticed I was on the train app with a very furrowed brow and asked if I needed help. I had been trying for 3 hours to book a train to no avail. An hour later, my train was booked using their Indian phone numbers because apparently, you need one to make an account. Angels. They took the time to do this on their vacation, despite me saying to go enjoy the beach.

Thank you, Sukanya and Utiyo.

Ugh 4:

I was running late to a yoga class due to getting lost and called the hotel to let them know in hopes they might let me come into class late.

Magic 4:

Funny enough, I had been late the day before and in the same boat. The receptionist hopped on a bike to come find me and take me to class on time. He remembered me and could tell how much a yoga class meant to me. Thanks to his scooter skills, I made it to class on time.

Thank you, Munkuti.

Ugh 5:

I had to go to an ATM to pay for my hotel in cash, and the host’s nephew kindly offered to take me. When we got there, I realized I had forgotten my debit card (like the stupid little idiot I had already been calling myself all day), so we had to go back. Oh man was I embarrassed and frustrated with myself at this point.

Magic 5:

He could sense I was really beating myself up about having forgotten, and as we were driving, he said, “relax, cool down, it’s ok.” To which I said, “thank you, yes, it’s just been one of those days where I can’t seem to do anything right.” His response?

“It’s ok Annika, you are human, just enjoy the breeze. We love to help you.”

Thank you, Ravi.

Ugh 6:

Due to the ATM debacle, I couldn’t get to dinner until 9:30 PM. When I asked how long the food would take, the waiter said at least 30 minutes, to which I sighed and thought “it is what it is.” He could tell I was already sad coming in and hungry.

Magic 6:

Five minutes later, my thali comes out, and my waiter says, “I gave the chef Red Bull so that he cook the food fast.” 😭😭

Thank you, Shonil.

Ugh 7:

To top it off, I got to the airport the following week only to find out that my flight was booked for March 27, not February 27. Freaking classic hey? You would think I’ve never done anything on my own before…

Magic 7:

One of the airport guards took me under his wing and ensured I got my flight changed and could be on my way. Thanks to him, I made it on a plane that same day.

Thank you, Anjit.

During my final week in India, a man at a street market watched as I observed someone helping a man without a leg cross the street. He said,

“We’re Indian… We take care of each other.”

And boy do they.

May we all not only feel this cared for and taken care of, but provide it to each other.

Kindness is everything. Be generous. Pay it forward. It matters. I am so grateful for all of these acts of kindness that kept me afloat amidst the chaos and swirl of travel and inevitable mistakes.