Meeting different people when travelling is an overlooked part of any travel experience.
Before leaving for your trip, it is easy to get distracted by visions of visiting the Eiffel Tower, or walking through Times Square. Those memories are amazing, however the most memorable experiences you remember are often shared with people you meet along the way.
In this article, I explain why a chance meeting with some random strangers in a pub in Kathmandu inspired my new travel journey.
Let’s dive in.
Meeting Travellers on the Road
‘Hey man, I’m Maverick from California’
The short man with baggy shorts and a goatee read my face perfectly. He had seen the quizzical look on my face before.
‘Yeah, it’s my real name. My Mom loves Tom Cruise and Top Gun. I love the movie too. Worse people to be named after, right?
I laughed out loud, nodded my head and we shared a couple of drinks. Maybe a few more. Maverick was cool. I never saw him again after that night – Maverick was a travel friend. I’ve met hundreds, if not thousands of people like Maverick.
“Travel friends are different. They are people you meet on the road. Sometimes they are friends for a couple of hours, some become friends for life. The bonding factor about travel friends is they are away from home too.”
When you are away from home, everyone has a degree of vulnerability about them. Being in an unfamiliar environment makes most people vulnerable. When you meet someone in the same position as you, in this case travelling abroad alone, there is an immediate curiosity. Starting a conversation becomes easy.
Even for introverts like me.
Life in Kathmandu
It was my first full day in Kathmandu, Nepal. In a jetlagged daze, I spent the day wandering through Thamel (Kathmandu’s trekking district), eating Momos and trying to avoid random scooters on the footpath.
Trying to acclimatise to Asian cities takes more time than most. The impact on the senses from the loud noise, chaotic traffic and air pollution takes a while to get used to – Kathmandu is no different.
“Kathmandu attracts a more diverse range of travellers than many places I have visited. A former haven for hippies back in the 1960s and 1970s, Kathmandu has moved on and now attracts travellers from all over the world.”
The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu is a thriving city of art, culture and festivals. Throughout the city, you can visit ancient palaces, temples, monasteries and religious monuments.
In my case, I was one of many travellers who visited Kathmandu for only a couple of days on either side of a trekking adventure in the nearby Himalayan mountains.
A Night Out in Kathmandu
After immersing myself in Kathmandu, I needed to stop for a bit.
Stop somewhere and kill a couple of hours before getting an early night. There is no better place to do that than a local bar somewhere. Find a place to fill out my travel journal, relax for a bit, have a bite to eat and maybe meet some people.
I didn’t want to go far, so headed into the pub next to my hotel. An old, dark wooden building called ‘Everest Irish Bar.’ As I climbed the stairs and entered the room, I saw a light haze of cigarette smoke in the room, hovering above the bar.
“The ‘Everest’ beer was served up to me by a smiling Nepali man who was immediately keen to have a chat.”
‘Ah, New Zealand!, Edmund Hillary!’ he beamed excitedly pointing to the famous image of his climbing partner Sherpa Tenzing summiting Mount Everest on the label of my beer bottle.
I had been sitting at the bar for no more than ten minutes, before a young backpacker type, pulled up a stool next to me.
He was English and here on his own as well. He had arrived that morning and was on his way to the mountains too. We immediately started chatting and clicked as we shared our own unique experiences of Kathmandu so far.
At the table behind us, another guy joined the conversation.
He was a tall slim guy, with black dreadlocks and an unbuttoned vest with patched hippie pants. This interesting bloke was from Turkey and had been in India travelling solo for a year. It looked like he had as well. As he joined the conversation, he theatrically entertained us with his India travel stories, waving his hands around like a magician.
Meeting New People
Before long, our bar of three became a bar of nine or ten people.
Each of us sat on stools, stretching around the bar as the conversation got louder. It was like the United Nations. We had people from Ireland, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, and me from New Zealand. This was before Maverick from California had even turned up.
All of us, on our own and all with different life experiences. The laughter did not stop as we shared our stories and learned a little about each other.
“I sat quietly at the bar sometimes, just taking it all in. This environment of different nationalities and voices was an environment I had been away from for years. It was a lifestyle I used to love.”
Everything was on the table as we discussed the politics of Trump and New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, to a heated debate over whether Ronaldo or Messi was the better footballer.
As the night started to drag on, my Norwegian friend would flash a mischievous grin as he put the odd shot of whisky in front of us all. My new friends and I would down it together before giving each other a high five as the laughs got louder and louder.
The loudest was Maverick, who was usually in the middle of it.
The Beginning of a New Travel Journey
Tiredness soon got the better of me.
After a few hours, it was time to leave. I dragged myself away from my new friends and gave my farewells before heading back to my hotel. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling with the biggest smile on my face. Not so much from the unexpected night out, but the laughs I had shared that night.
The night had made me feel alive again.
Being part of a traveller community had been part of my life for years. That was a long time ago now. Times change and life moves on. That night in Kathmandu reminded me that age and time are no barriers to being part of that traveller community.
“It is your willingness to be part of that community that matters. It is a choice.”
I was in Kathmandu for three more days before heading into the mountains for three weeks. I popped into that bar a couple of times before I left. The smiling Nepali barman was there every day and gave me a big hug both times.
I didn’t see any of my new friends though. I would struggle to remember them well enough to recognise them now.
The influence of that night, just another busy night in a Kathmandu pub, subtly shifted the compass of the direction where my life was heading. The challenging trekking experience I shared over the following weeks with other travellers from around the world, only reinforced the change I needed to make in my life.
A New Mindset
Thanks to Maverick and this diverse bunch of travellers, I was reminded that this travel community still exists.
I had only forgotten about it.
A world still exists where life experiences, adventure and happiness are the most important things in life. Not the routine of Monday to Friday and career focus that society demands and expects of us.
I learned a world continues to exist across borders that is very different to my own. A world where we can all learn from each other to make our own lives better.
That evening in Kathmandu awakened a spirit inside of me that I had long forgotten about. The spirit I felt that night in Kathmandu has taken me on more adventures than I had ever dreamed about.
“That is the beauty of travel. Those moments can’t be captured at home.”
I reflect on that night often. As often as I do as seeing Mount Everest up close. It was the moment I rediscovered my passion for life and adventure. Those moments are out there for all of us. Sometimes they are hidden in plain view.
You just have to dig a little deep to find them.
Now it is over to you. This period in my life started a transition. A new journey.
What moments or times in your life have given you a new direction?
Let me know in the comments.
Pingback: Once in a Lifetime: The Nostalgia of Travel Memories - Life Went That Way
You are so right! Those fleeting meetings with other travellers are often the moments that I treasure when I reflect on my travels. I have made friends in the moment, friends for days, and friends for life.
Thanks Lyn! Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it. Travel friends are so special. I’ve lost count with how many people I’ve shared some of my most emotional times with on the road. The beauty is, as long as we keep travelling there are always more to find, right?
cheers
Marc
What a sweet and sensitive post this was. Thank Marc for letting us be part of your experience. To meet people along the road and finding camaraderie in them enriches the whole traveling experience. We might not see some of these individuals again but boy they leave an undelible mark that could last for a lifetime. Happy travels to us!
Jan – https://flyingbaguette.com/
Thanks for reading, Jan! Apologies for the delay in responding to your kind comment.
Happy travels to us alright. It was so much fun that night. I remember thinking in my half boozy/jet-lagged mind what a special night it was. It will be one I’ll always remember.
Safe travels
Marc
It’s the people that help you remember the places. And their perspectives change everything.
As an introverted travel lover myself, I agree that there’s something special about being people on your travels. I’m not one to take up conversations with people in my home town, but I find a like-mindedness to the people I meet while traveling. When I went to hike in Scotland last year, I found myself talking to people often along the way.
It’s a unique sense of camaraderie you don’t find anywhere else. It’s also the perfect way to hear new perspectives and about lives and cultures much different from your own.
Great post!
Thanks for reading Cheyenne! Apologies for the late response to your kind comment.
It’s strange, I’m very much an introvert too but when I’m travelling I come out of my shell so much more. I don’t know what it is, I’ve referred in other articles I’ve written about becoming this other person almost.
You are so right about the unique camaraderie you have with other travellers, I guess everyone is in the same boat. It’s a connection you make.
Safe travels, Cheyenne 🙂
Marc
I absolutely love this aspect of travels. It is fascinating to learn about new places from different perspectives. I have friends on fb that I met on vacations a decade ago and new ones as well. You were spot on when you wrote about reflecting on memories shared with people you meet as often as the adventure itself. Well done 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it, Peggy!
The human connections we make are often more memorable and long-lasting than the photos of our bucket-list, right?!
Thanks for reading, safe travels to you!
cheers
Marc
Pingback: The Travel Files #5 - Sharing Spanish with the World - An Interview with David Chinea - Life Went That Way
Love this article, Marc! Totally agree meeting people on trips is a blast. Side note: Love Momos!
Pingback: Teacher Travels: A Teacher’s Journey Across Asia - The Footloose Teacher
Pingback: Why Travel is Overrated (but why you should do it anyway) - Life Went That Way