Perfect Penguins

by Gaurav Dubey (India)

I didn't expect to find India

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As soon as I finished with my examinations in chilly winters of December I decided to go out from Delhi ,which is one of the most poluted city in the world, on an unplanned trip to Rishikesh the land of seekers, spirits and yoga. I took the bus at midnight and on the way to Rishikesh, I decided to stay in a hostel for the first time. I reached early morning at 4am and the moment I came out of the bus a breeze of fresh and cold wind touched my face, as it was the only exposed body part, and realized I am at the right place. I took a three wheeler auto autorickshaw, more common in South and South-eastern Asia, to the hostel. I entered the dorm room hesitatingly and excited at the same time, everyone was sleeping so I quitely arranged my bed and went to bed having a strange feeling of sleeping in the dorm full of unknown people. I woke up feeling someone staring at me but it was not the case, everyone was packing, unpacking and greetings all around. A girl just in front of me welcomed me and introduced herself and I felt a bit relaxed. She was from Israel, a country always fascinated me historically and politically as well. Then there was a Scottish boy with his acsent full of energy and enthusiasm just above the Israeli. On the left of Israeli, there was a women from USA and I noticed a bag written IRONMAN on it and I was like how amazing it is. Also there was a French man above my bed who was sitting quietly and meditating for almost an hour. I felt like whole world surrounded me. We together went on to a four day trek and I learnt a lot from them in such a short time that I couldn't imagine learning from books.