Posted on September 6, 2009 - by Janice

Traveling Alone on an Indian Bus

I am pleased to welcome Alex Budak as a guest blogger on Solo Traveler. This summer Alex traveled India and experienced solo travel for the first time.

There’s something exhilarating about being completely on your own in a place far from home. I don’t pretend that my solo travels are among the most extreme out there, but for me it’s both thrilling and scary to be setting out by myself, not exactly sure how to get where I’m going, and certainly without any idea of what will happen by the time I return home.

I recently took off to travel alone to Bhuj, India to visit a friend who is working at an NGO there. I took a bus (air conditioned this time, but to be honest, I kind of preferred the last bus I took that lacked it), that headed due West from Ahmedabad.

The stressful thing about bus travel in India is that there are no signs to tell you where you are. And, surprisingly, the street scenes of cows, food carts, and people milling about on dusty roads have become normal for me. I, therefore, have no idea where in India — from Delhi to Calcutta– I am when I see that scene out of a window. I have never seen Bhuj, I don’t know where on it is on the bus line, or, to be honest, the correct pronunciation of the name. Add to this my inability to speak either Hindi or Gujarati, and you can imagine that finding the correct stop was a huge challenge.

This aspect of solo travel opens one up by forcing you to rely on the people around you for information, for help, or just for a friendly face. I ended up sitting next to an 18 year old boy who became quite enamored with the fact that I was his “first American friend” (a fact he reminded me more than once on the trip). He proudly showed me his report cards (which, for some reason, he was carrying with him in a portfolio), making sure to note the HIGH HONORS and MERIT designations.

Talking with him was a refreshing reminder of how things we take for granted in the United States can have little bearing on people elsewhere in the world. I showed him pictures of my life in California and in Washington DC on my iPhone. I  showed him my friends, my schools, and other parts of my life. I showed him pictures of Barack Obama’s inauguration — photos that so far in India have been met with comments of “Barack Obama…very good”, or “Barack Obama — strong man.” However, when I showed my friend the pictures, he responded “Who is that?” It was a jolting reminder of how different the worlds we live in can be, even on the same planet.

In befriending him, I was hoping to rely upon him as a personal stop indicator, but unfortunately he got off well before reaching Bhuj. Fortunately, I spotted another friendly face who seemed anxious to speak with the White guy on the bus. I motioned to him to come over, and he did.

We chatted for a bit, and I understood around fifteen percent of the words he said through his heavy accent, nodding constantly, and laughing as if it were a broadcast delay as I followed his lead when he chuckled. He spent a good five minutes explaining to me how an area near Pakistan is shaped like a tea cup because there are mountains surrounding it (or, perhaps something totally different; I don’t really know).

Despite our communications barrier, I’m happy to say I got the digits of a forty year old Indian man (a new first for me) as he was incredibly kind to say that if I had any problems getting to, or while in Bhuj, to give him a call. He told the driver what stop  I wanted, ensuring that I didn’t somehow end up in Pakistan because I didn’t get off the bus in time!

Traveling solo is humbling and certainly leaves you vulnerable to the rest of the world. But, this vulnerability, ironically, is exactly what allows you to open up to new experiences and the people around you. I’m looking forward to traveling again with friends next weekend, but heading out on the road — just me and my backpack — brought on all kinds of new experiences and interactions that wouldn’t have come about organically had I been surrounded by my Georgetown friends.

Alex Budak is a recent graduate of UCLA and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy at Georgetown University, with a focus on Technology and Social Entrepreneurship.  Follow his travels at http://thebudak.com, and http://twitter.com/Budizzle