To go or not to go was always a big question. There were so many permutations and combinations whether should I go and do I have budget for it. But finally made up my mind, when I was promised a good time and new friends. The day may have not gotten off to the best start, what with the Novocaine wearing off, the effects of the previous evenings root canal could now be felt, and with your friend cancelling his plans to join, after he got caught in an unseasonal rain. So almost thought of going back and just go ahead with a normal weekend. However, since I was already down decided to go ahead and spend time with friends.
Well spending your weekend in a shipping containers and sleeping on bunk beds, sharing your container with strangers who would soon be friends, ladies too ( of their own choosing), then Zostel is for you. Well the journey was pretty eventful, through trains and buses and trek to zostel, and to making new friend.
The experience of staying in Zostel is something else. Staying in bunk beds and containers that overlook the mountain range (well not quite in the way of Leh) can always be a unique experience. Yes you had share your containers with people you didn’t know but if you are able to adjust and make new friends then it can be one fun experience. So once you’ve settled in (even if it’s just for the night) then it time to soak in the Zostel experience.
So we headed to common room to join the other residents (if that’s the right word to use here) and if possible to mix and mingle. But not before we clicked pics (yes those DPs and cover pages needed to be updated), and yes there was a birthday to be celebrated, and cake to be eaten and wine to be drunk. Once that was out of the way it was time to be social.
Reaching the common room we first sipped on some tea and played a game that was of a drinking game but played by sober people. Once done then was time for some Fossball, quite the FRIENDS style. By now people started to streaming into the common room. So if you kept to yourself it could one very boring experience (like I kind of thought I would experience being my normal unsociable self). But if you were able to make friends then you were in for a quite a fun night. So we went from foosball to Zenga to darts and caromboard, culminating to full on dancing session. So you played foosball and zenga with strangers who would become friends and then you would dance with friends both old and new.
So here you have strangers coming together, introducing themselves, dancing with each other whether they knew the steps or if they knew to dance at all, enjoying each other’s company, not actually socialising, but just having fun. So as the music played, people danced and sang and drank and got sloshed but always having a good time. So you didn’t really care if you knew the person dancing with you, you sang and danced and jumped and even did a garba (seems like I have been doing quite a bit of it lately). The music played and you danced, forgetting what afflicted you, a perfect melting pot of people from varied backgrounds, culture, gender, preferences. The common room changed to a dance floor cause you were not allowed to just sit around and watch, you needed to dance, and how hard was it to just move your limbs to the beat, it didn’t matter whether you knew or not how to dance, you just let the music take over you and just dance like mata chad gayi. So it didn’t matter if you were sober or totally sloshed, the night was meant to enjoy yourself, the moment was yours to make the most of.
So the night ended with the ushering birthdays of the friends who celebrated it, eating cake and singing the birthday song(rather melodiously cause by then most were too drunk to care if they sang in tune or out of it). So once these were out the way it was time to head to your bunker. But then there were those who continued to eat out in the dark, engaging in animated conversations till the night away. And then some who sat with sloshed friends to hear them out, keep them company, not wanting to leave them alone, and then tuck them to bed.
Now next morning I had planned to go out for a run (yes no Sunday can ever be complete with out it). However, the exertion of the previous night had me sleep a little longer. But once up decided to go on short run no matter the time ( which was around eight, so pretty late by runners time). As I made my way up I could see new friend that I made the previous night, greeted them, and headed off for my run. So after a quick warm up it was off down the the winding road with the deep valley on one side and the the road the mountainside on the other. So vie was breathtaking, and since the it was downhill was easy. But on the way back, the sun shone brightly, making me pull my cap a little lower to shield the eyes from the sun.
Reaching back it was time to pack and get ready to check out or at least get your baggage’s out. A bit of panic did set in when I couldn’t find my lock and my house keys. Luckily it was found and kept aside in the common room. So once the bags was packed and the breakfast was eaten it was time to capture more pics and make more memories. So we posed and we clicked and teased and had fun. So after having a quick lunch, even admiring and then participating in a choreographed routine it was time to head back home, rush to catch that bus which we would have missed by a whisker and then train, metro, and back home.
So the weekend was sure a wonderful experience, a well spent and fun one, filled with moments that would become a beautiful memory that would stay with me forever. So here’s to new friends and new experience and memories for all time.
Hey do give Zostel a look up, not just in Panchgani but in other places around India. Wonderful place, beautiful ambiance, great food and an awesome concept. If you like staying at youth hostels, you will surely enjoy it. Note this is a youth hostel so you may not enjoy it if you huger your entire family, but you can always spice it up with your spouse, age no bar.
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