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I was barely recovered from a several week bout of amoebic dysentery in India (which I recommend to no one), had lost 20 lbs, was incredibly frail, and feeling more fragile and vulnerable than any single traveller would ever prefer. As luck would have it, I needed to leave my safety bubble of a hotel room to use a pre-bought train ticket to meet my boyfriend in a town 18 hours away. Although I had to get to a nearby town to catch it, I could not miss this train; the ticket had to be bought over a week in advance. To make matters work, having not been able to leave my bed for weeks, I only had $3.50US cash to my name (credit cards were not widely used). While attempting to not pass out at every turn, for hours I searched for a bank machine that would accept my cards. But to no avail, the bank machine gods had frozen me out. I had no choice but to abandon mission, as I had a small window to catch the bus-train combo. The transportation gods were also not smiling, because I now had to travel on foot for an hour to the bus station due to a transportation strike that day. But I knew that the show must go on (someone who was clearly not in my situation coined this term). I managed to make it to the bus station, almost ready to collapse, and asked the attendant to point me towards my bus, to which he replied "24 & 27". I ran to these numbers, during which time I saw 2 buses: 1 completely empty, 1 completely full. After 3 months of travelling India, I knew full well that the empty bus would only leave once it was packed like a sardine can (and I would definitely miss my train). I asked the other bus driver if he was going to my town, to which he replied an emphatic and slightly angry "No!". Oh boy. A kind stranger clearly noticed my helplessness, and indicated that the full bus was indeed going to my town and that I better get on it NOW. When I told him that the bus driver himself disagreed with this conclusion, the stranger simply gave me the Indian 'head bob' that I only knew to mean "maybe yes, maybe no". As the bus was hurriedly pulling away, a stranger at the door inexplicably reached out his hand to me. What do I do? 1) Wait for a bus that will surely have me miss my golden train ride out of destitution and vulnerability, or 2) jump on a bus which on strong authority (which is how I would describe a bus driver) is likely going to another destination, leaving me stranded at night with no cash? I believe it's called a leap of faith...