The prickly barriers didn't intend to let me pass without souvenirs. They lightly scratched my hands, ensuring I wouldn't forget about this path. Approaching the guys, the first thing I said after greeting them was:
Do you have any water? Or better yet, an empty water bottle?
The guys gave me water and cookies, offered breakfast and tea, but unfortunately, I couldn't stay long. Anastasia and the couple from Kazakhstan were waiting for me below, and I still had to finish the ascent.
I told them about my relatively easy route to this point, and I was shocked by how they managed to climb such a steep and loose surface with their backpacks. Even without a load, some parts were challenging for me, but I had a slightly different trail. I descended along the path they had ascended. It was somewhat easier, but still not an easy task to conquer such an ascent with a backpack.
After chatting with the guys, we exchanged contacts and Instagram handles so that I could follow their journey, as I was interested in how they traveled hitchhiking. I continued upward with an empty water bottle that had clearly seen better days.
That's how I met Masha and Andrey, who saved me from thirst on that scorching day in the mountains and, less than a month later, provided me with shelter and support during a difficult time for me.
Now, let's go back to Kazakhstan.
October 1st.
In the morning, as planned, we all started filling out the visa application for India together. This time, like everyone else, I applied for a one-year visa instead of five years. Masha had money on her local card, so after completing the application, she tried to pay for the visa along with Andrey. The payment was accepted for both of them on the first attempt without any issues.
While Masha and Andrey went to visit Masha's relatives, Vitya and I headed to the ATM as soon as we finished filling out the forms. We needed to deposit the required amount into Masha's bank card to pay for our visas.
After depositing the money onto the card, we went home. As we walked through the courtyard, we stumbled upon a group of ten-year-old kids. They were sitting on the ground in a circle, energetically playing with chips. I couldn't believe my eyes. The chips they were using were exactly the same as the ones I played with in my childhood.
Seeing our interested faces, they proudly showed off whose chips were cooler and who had more than the others. It felt like I was immersed in my childhood during those few minutes spent with them.