An adventure to remember

 This is a recount of my initial journey with my friends to Kasol, a place that had been greatly hyped among teenagers, primarily due to its association with a particular substance (cannabis). Ironically, none of my friends indulged in that, as we had just completed our 12th standard. However, being from Delhi, we did bring a hookah along.

This marked our first time venturing so far from home, and the excitement was palpable. Our adventure began with the hotel we booked in Chalal village, which was still under construction. Consequently, we secured our room at an incredibly low price.

The first day of the trip went splendidly as we explored the village, encountered numerous hippies and Israeli tourists, and came to understand why it's often referred to as the "Mini Israel of India."

On the next day, we whiled away our time by the banks of the Parvati River, enjoying our hookah and playing music on our Bluetooth speaker. As the day progressed, around 8 in the evening, we decided to set up our hookah in the hotel's garden, where a bonfire was blazing. We sat there, savoring hookah and sipping on soft drinks.

Around 10 pm, a guy from the neighboring room approached us, asking, "Who smokes hookah in Kasol?" He offered us a drag from his joint, which we all decided to try. He joined our group as his friends dozed off.

Later, he returned to his room, leaving the four of us at the table, all feeling as high as kites. We hatched a plan to explore the jungle at night, and it was already 1:00 am when we set off.

Sometime later, one of my friends went missing, and we were gripped with fear. It was our first outing, and we had no idea what to do. We sought assistance from the occupants of the room next to ours, but our friend was not there. Overcome with anxiety, we woke up the hotel staff and confided in them about our missing friend, though we were unsure whether we should disclose the fact that he had consumed something potentially illegal.

Throughout the night, we searched for our missing friend and eventually decided to approach the police first thing in the morning. As we waited, I went to the restroom, and to our astonishment, I found my friend passed out with vomit all over his face. It was rather unpleasant, but the relief of having found him was overwhelming. We woke him up to ensure he was alive and, having confirmed his well-being, left him in the restroom while the rest of us finally got some much-needed rest.