In the morning, I got acquainted with a stranger named Vitya. He is 25 years old and slightly taller than me. He doesn't drink or smoke and has never used anything like that, a sporty guy. We bonded over this topic since I myself am not interested in such things. The only thing I occasionally allow myself is to have one or two cans of beer, and I used to smoke a hookah occasionally, once or twice a month, but it already feels like a past life to me.
Neither Vitya nor I have ever used any form of drugs. Mainly because I knew myself and understood that what I like would be very difficult to quit. So I decided not to start that game.
Vitya and I took on the responsibility of cooking and buying groceries since we were staying with the guys for free. Thank goodness, I knew how to cook and enjoyed it. After breakfast, Vitya and I went to the Centralized Service Center (CSC) to obtain Individual Identification Numbers (IIN), and I hoped that I would succeed on my second attempt.
After we finished submitting the documents, we walked around the city with the guys during the day, and in the evening, we watched a movie together and smoked a hookah, everyone except Vitya, of course.
After the movie, we discussed our future actions. I shared my thoughts on where and how I planned to travel and asked Masha and Andrei about a hundred questions regarding hitchhiking since they had been doing it for a while. The guys told us about how they communicate with drivers, where they look for accommodation, and which mobile services they use.
I was confident that I could travel by hitchhiking alone, but an internal feeling told me that it would be better to travel as a pair, so I offered Vitya to join me. He agreed without much hesitation. It was his first trip abroad.
On that day, Vitya asked me to call him Richard instead of Vitya, although he didn't want to explain the reason. It was very strange and incomprehensible to me. A person hiding behind someone else's name and unable to explain the reason didn't inspire trust, and it was the first sign of concern for me.
Masha and Andrei were also considering warm countries in Asia, particularly starting with India. We began planning our trip that evening. First and foremost, we focused on the price of plane tickets, and the best price for a ticket to India was from Tashkent on October 30th. This meant we still had a whole month before the trip to India. Before purchasing the tickets, we needed to apply for visas and pay for them. Knowing the approximate date of departure, we decided to start submitting visa documents the next day.
If nobody minds, I would like to introduce you a little more closely to Masha and Andrei and also tell you how I met them.
In late August 2022, my colleague Anastasia and I flew to Kyrgyzstan for about a week to explore the nature and countryside of the country. In Bishkek, we rented an SUV for our mountain trip.
