Welcome to India

It was better to say "Welcome to India." Instead he tells me "It's 10 rupees." I look incredulously at such request. It is the first time someone asks me for money to put the luggage in the compartiment of the bus. My passive “latinity” does the math and ultimately pays the rupees. With that task accomplished, I go into the bus and start the journey that would lead me to Hampi.

Inside - and after a failed attempt to find the numbers – I ask "Where is my place?"

"This is it!" Says the reviewer pointing to one that is occupied by an Indian.

"What?" A question that was more "Ok... There is one person there..."

"This, this!" And by this time he was angry at my insistence. Very reluctantly asks the man to leave and I occupy my bed. I lie down extended to stress that this is just for me. Once the journey starts, the reviewer asks me if someone else can sit on the bed. My first instinct is to say no, but I see no reason to deny. To avoid misuse I continue to occupy the whole place.

I realize the ridiculousness of my position. In fact, in this place, fits two people. The most that I achieve is to let someone else in an uncomfortable position. I tell him, by gestures, to sit at ease. He responds with a smile of gratitude and surprise. Perhaps because of the time spent in Goa, this type of situation no longer bothers me.

I sleep the rest of the journey until an audible "Hampi Bazaar" awakes me. Look at my watch in disbelief. We arrive one hour earlier. It could be seen as good news, but it was five in the morning. And at this time the guesthouse was still closed.

I put a foot off the bus and I am attacked by rickshaw drivers. "Rickshaw! Rickshaw! Rickshaw! Do you want Rickshaw? What do you want? " At this hour is still easy to ignore them.

After five minutes, I am again approached

- "What do you want?"

- "Nothing"

- "What do you want?"

- "Nooothing"

After a few repetitions:

- "What do you want?"

- "Sunrise"

- "I got it" I look astonished

- "Yes .. yes ... I've got it "

- "You've got sunrise?! How do you have sunrise? "

- "I take you to see sunrise ..."

And with my curiosity satisfied, I tell him that I don't want it. Just want the sun to rise in order to go looking for my bed. I decide to wait near the food stalls.

Enough time to be aproached by another driver. He gives me a card with the guesthouse I booked. I smile to myself and think that after all I don't have to wait anymore. I develop the conversation and finally agreed to go with him. We were close so he tells me that I pay what I want. Five seconds later and I'm already at the door.

He insists that there are other cheaper and better guesthouses. Also speaks to another woman who insists on seeing her home. I thank them but explain that I already booked Padma Guesthouse. The driver insists to show me others and I see what is happenning. I wait to the guesthouse to open. I have given my word.

After speaking with the driver, the woman of Padma tells me that there aren't rooms with air conditioning. I explain that I had booked with, but I don't mind getting one without. She increases the price that she had said on the phone.

I get tired of this situation and decided to return to the terminal. The driver then asks me the money - which by this time I had been expecting - and I give him the 10 rupees with the assurance that it would be the last he received from me. He offered to take me to the terminal, but I was not interested. I arrive to find it empty of fellow travelers. I am alone among the locals. I decide to sit next to a street food stand that just opened.

I ask for a tea to kill time. Drivers came and went. Always wondering who I was, if I had room, and giving the insistent availability to go with them. I choose to follow the example of the Buddha, and just keep sitting in this place. I explain to them my Buddha Style, which confuses them enough to leave me alone.

With the sun in sight, I decide to start the search. I start walking sure that the peace of Goa was past and I was about to enter a very different reality ...