Backpacking

The most annoying thing about losing the bike is that for the rest of my trip, I’m just a typical backpacker. And I hate backpackers.

There was one on my carriage of the Kalka-Shimla Railway who ticked every box:

Long ethnic patterned skirt, and sandals with little bells on

There was nothing specifically Indian about these clothes. They were just generically faux-ethnic. Do they buy these sorts of items in their home country in preparation for going backpacking, or do they turn up in-country without enough clothes and have to buy more from the crappiest markets they can find?

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