How It All Began: Changing Journey Plans from India to Nepal with Unexpected Surprises

When I was getting ready to take a long leave from work and start my journey, I focused on my main route: India-Sri Lanka-Thailand. I wanted to be in India for the Holi festival and in Thailand for the Songkran festival. After contacting the Indian consulate in Turkey, I found out that since I lived in Greece, I had to apply there. But the consulate in Greece said I had to apply from Turkey because I am a Turkish citizen.

My main plan was to visit some key places and then meet my friend Sanky near Hyderabad, travel to Kerala together, and then fly to Sri Lanka from Chennai. After many failed attempts and some negative feedback, I decided to change my route to Nepal. As you know, once I get to Thailand, I have a hard time leaving, so this time I wanted to add a other trips before and after Thailand.

My friend Serpil wanted to join me in Nepal, but our schedules didn’t match. A few days after buying my ticket and finalizing my route, Serpil called me. She said a friend of hers wanted to join me in Nepal. Honestly, the idea of traveling with someone after so long scared me a bit. But when she assured me her friend was easygoing and curious, I couldn’t say no.

Soon, I was planning for two people until the person who was supposed to join me called and insisted on bringing another person. Between anger and calmness, I couldn’t refuse and found myself preparing to travel with two people I had never met. You can imagine how challenging this was for my patience. The last time I traveled with someone, I had to escape from a hotel in Bodrum because my friend wouldn’t leave the room for three days. Yes, you read that right, I actually escaped. I didn’t even answer my phone all day. It wasn’t because I’m stubborn, but because everyone has different desires while traveling.

Sometimes, I want to explore a whole city and visit every museum, but other times, I can spend hours in a roadside café. Sometimes, I skip all the historical sites and just walk around. Finding this balance while traveling with others is hard and can test many friendships.

So, with a mix of excitement and nervousness, a few flight cancellations, and re-planning, we met for the first time at the airport. Just a day before our first stop in Kuwait, we learned about the strict Ramadan rules. Not knowing what to expect, we landed in Kuwait. Since we didn’t need a visa, we had 17 hours to explore. But guess what? It rained in Kuwait, where it rains only twice a year…

 

Part 1: 19 March İstanbul to Kuwait