Shadowing Practice: What 6 Months In India Taught Me About Life - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello from New Delhi!
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Ah, bah!
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Many people think of India as the most chaotic and polluted country in the world.
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I can't even hear myself thinking right now.
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But in this video, we're gonna find out exactly what it's like to travel here.
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This is my eighth trip to India, and I've seen a lot of this country over the last decade.
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I have visited the most remote tribes.
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She likes my beard, she keeps feeling it.
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Experienced the craziest festivals.
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Ah!
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And nearly died in a bus crash.
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On this trip, I'll be heading to the largest gathering in human history called Kumbh Mela, where 400 million pilgrims will take a holy dip in the sacred rivers.
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In the few days leading up to that, I'm gonna be giving you my honest and unfiltered opinions on India.
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As someone who's experienced more of the country than 99% of tourists, we're gonna hear the good, the bad, oh my God,
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I'm exhausted, and everything in between.
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And so let's get right into it as I try to find some street food here in Delhi.
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Okay, so the first thing you have to know about India is this is more like a continent, not a country.
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When you travel around India from north to south, east to west, it is so different.
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The faces are different.
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The languages are different.
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The food is different.
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The nature is different.
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What you will find in one place, you will not find in the other.
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That's why I like to refer to India as a subcontinent.
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Right now, I'm literally at the southernmost tip of India.
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When you see the coconut trees behind me, it feels like Thailand or the Philippines.
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We have mountains in the distance, the Indian Ocean's right there.
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In the south, the people have darker skin, but here in the north, they have lighter skin.
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They speak Hindi, unlike a lot of places in the south.
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And the food is way more hearty, and it's actually like the Indian food that you'll find in international restaurants.
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They're talking about North Indian food.
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Traveling around India, you will learn more about yourself than any other country, and I really recommend everyone to visit India at least once in their life.
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And come solo.
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If you come solo, you'll discover things about yourself that you never knew existed.
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Oh, it just feels weird.
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They like grab onto your legs.
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It'll push you to learn, and your true colors will come out because you'll be in situations that make you figure out how to escape, how to navigate, and how to deal with people.
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Ah!
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Jesus Christ!
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I'm quite like I'm sorry.
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You'll get a lot of attention here as a tourist, but it's not bad attention.
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It's great attention.
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People are very happy.
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Welcome, India!
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Nice to meet you, bro.
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Love you.
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I got a heart from him.
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They're curious.
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They want to know what you're doing here.
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They want to know what country you're from.
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Even though they might not have the same concept as personal space that you're used to, they all mean well.
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All right, as I'm walking through this food market here, I got to talk to you about Indian food because it is wonderful.
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Growing up, I didn't like it so much.
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I thought the curries didn't taste great.
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But as I came here more and more, I realized that the food is fantastic.
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So good, man.
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Every curry is different.
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Every flavor is different.
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They have amazing soups and stews, butter chicken, naan, dosa in the south. So freaking delicious.
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I could go on and on, but the food in India is wonderful.
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It's one of my favorite parts about coming here.
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It's crazy to think I've been coming to India now for exactly 10 years.
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My first trip, I was 22 years old, exactly 10 years ago.
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I did a three-month backpacking trip solo, started in Goa in the south and made my way all the way up to Rishikesh in the north, taking buses, trains.
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I was on a super tight budget of like $800 per month, including everything, including accommodation, transportation.
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Pretty amazing that I was able to do that.
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I visited all through Karnataka, Goa, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, all throughout Rajasthan, even in Uttar Pradesh.
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And then throughout the years I've just been coming back.
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I've gone to the northeast to the Seven Sisters to film some story with tribes up there, Arunachal Pradesh.
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Then I went to Chattisgarh for another tribe story.
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This man is the last guy to have his full body tattooed from head to toe, even his ears, every single part of his body the top of his head.
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I did a whole road trip in the southern part of India, from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, and stopped in every town and village on the way.
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I've been to Delhi more times than I can count, where I am now.
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I've also been to Chennai.
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I've been to Kolkata.
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I'm in a human walking traffic jam with Chukchuk's bicycles, rickshaws.
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I'm Ritzar in Punjab.
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Varanasi is one of my favorite places in the world.
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These guys are carrying a dead body right next to me on the streets.
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Wow.
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I just can't get enough.
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This country has so much.
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Even though I've had some stressful times here.
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From a cut from like a tree, it just got infected and it turned black.
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And some of my worst memories like food poisoning, like getting in a fatal bus crash where two people died.
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I'll get into that story later.
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It keeps pulling me back.
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There's so much to do and see here.
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There's considering that India is the most popular this country in the world.
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1.4 billion people that just passed China.
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I have been to 17 of the 24 states, so I will always be coming back.
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More stories to be told.
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I have a love-hate relationship with India.
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Feeling really sick.
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Trying my best out here.
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When I was younger, on my first trip, I got in a severe bus crash where two people died on the bus.
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It was two in the morning.
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I was going from Udaipur to Jodhpur, a 10-hour overnight bus.
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For some unknown reason, while we were on the freeway, the bus driver slammed on the brakes, turned the wheel, the bus flipped over, all the windows shattered, and I was sitting on the top bunk.
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It was a double-decker sleeper bus.
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I had glass all over me.
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I remember checking my pulse to see if I was still alive.
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Kids screaming and crying, blood all over the bus.
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Thankfully, I only had a bunch of glass in my foot, which I was able to pull out.
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But two people on that bus didn't make it out alive, and that was just really the scariest travel moment of my entire life.
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Scariest moment of my life.
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But for every bad experience, there's been something amazing that's happened.
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And India does that to you.
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I'm telling you, India is a drug.
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It keeps pulling me back.
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I can't explain it, and it's so far away.
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It's on the other side of the world from Arizona, where I live.
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But who am I kidding?
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I actually came to this market to eat.
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So let's eat.
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Let's find some good .
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This is madness, dude.
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So many honking horns.
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I've had this before, it's really good.
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Two.
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Mmm.
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It's like spongy ice cream.
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It's like soft and chewy ice cream.
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Mmm.
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One thing I love about India is it's really a country of hustlers.
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Everyone's an entrepreneur.
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They have their own businesses on the side of the road.
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They sell stuff.
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Like, yes, there's a lot of poverty, but people aren't just on the roads begging.
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They're actually out hustling, trying to make a buck, trying to make money so they can survive.
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That's something I really actually enjoy about India.
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And in so many other countries around the world, people just beg, the homeless people, they don't have any motivation to go do stuff or to do work, but that's not the case here.
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It's why I love seeing the hustle and bustle.
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Whoa, it's like painful, but in a good way.
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Wow, he's digging his fingernails in my scalp.
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India really is a great backpacking country because it's cheap and it's easy to get around.
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The train system here is immaculate.
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The flights are really easy to get around as well.
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Yes, it's a little bit daunting to get around.
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It's actually a great place for budget travelers.
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If you're on a shoestring budget, if you're worried about finances, then skip the Norweys and Switzerland of the world.
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Come to India.
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There's something for everyone.
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I never booked my hotels here in advance because there's literally guest houses on every single corner in this country.
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And super cheap.
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This thing is so good.
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It's like creamy, cheesy, peppery, and fried, all in one ball.
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Paratha, man it's good. Since 1875.
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Melted cottage cheese and it's spicy.
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India is full of amazing architecture, like the Taj Mahal, I mean look at this.
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Last time I was here was exactly 10 years ago this month and it's just as magical as I remembered it.
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All over this country you can find beautiful architecture through Rajasthan, castles and the temples in Hampi.
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Right now behind me you can see the beautiful pillar.
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It's basically 2,000 years old and it's super detailed.
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You have the ghats in Vaeranasi, which are like steps that go down into the holy Ganges river.
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You have all the different temples.
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So many religions here, mosques, mausoleums, monuments, pilgrimage sites.
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You see behind this one?
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It's like it's a place where culture is the most important thing.
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It's a temple just in the wall.
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Yo, what is this building behind us?
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It's called Nakoda mosque.
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It's very important.
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And most people are Muslim here.
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Yes, in this area actually.
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There are temples everywhere, like every tree, every little crack, every underground passageway.
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As I said, India is like a continent.
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There's so much to see here.
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But it really comes down to this being the most beautiful, the most pristine, the most epic building in the freaking world.
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It's almost like an out-of-body experience to be here right now.
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Honestly, I could spend all day soaking up the beauty of the Taj Mahal, but it's time to hit the road.
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I'm on my way to the largest gathering of humanity ever recorded.
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It's called Kumbh Mela, and they're expecting over 400 million people within a 30-day period.
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That means I might be up against one of the biggest traffic jams in history.
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So if I don't leave now, I might not make it.
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All right, the journey to Praegrad starts now.
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It is 12.40 in the afternoon.
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I'm currently in Agra, which is, Google Maps says eight hours and 41 minutes to get there.
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It's probably gonna take 12 to 15 hours considering the traffic I've been told.
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I've been hanging out here in Agra with my friend Bryson DeChambeau at the Taj Mahal.
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It's been an incredible time back at the Taj, but now my mind is focused on Kumbh Mela, the world's largest gathering of humanity.
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Kumbh Mela is held every few years and rotates between multiple sacred sites.
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But this year's gathering in Prayagraj is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration
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because it coincides with a rare planetary alignment that happens once every 125 years.
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Pilgrims will gather at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Sarawati rivers to take part in amazing rituals where Hindus immerse themselves in the waters to cleanse their spirits.
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With an expected crowd of 400 million people, the event requires massive infrastructure, including temporary camps, roads, and medical services,
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making it both a religious experience and a major logistical operation.
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Hi, hi.
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Indian style, namaste.
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Yeah, namaste.
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Here we go.
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Man, this is gonna be a crazy adventure.
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What's your name?
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Jeet.
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Jeet.
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Nice to meet you.
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All right, me and Jeet for the next 10 to 15 hours.
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Okay.
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Alright, time check.
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It is 4.45 and we're just cruising.
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We're somewhere random.
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I have no idea where we are, but there's people everywhere.
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Fun fact, Uttar Pradesh, the state that I'm currently in, if it was its own country, it would be the fifth most populous in the world.
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That's how busy it is out here.
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But I could just stare out the window all day.
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Garlic.
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Garlic.
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The garlic man.
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I like garlic and mutton and I like it.
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Me too.
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Garlic and mutton.
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Yes.
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Alright.
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Stomping for a cup of chai.
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Oh man.
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Beautiful sunset.
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Love the feeling of being in the middle of absolutely nowhere India.
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All alone.
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Got the sun poking out right there.
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Cheers.
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Cheers.
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Very good chai.
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Delicious.
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If you've never had Indian tea, it's hot milk tea, sometimes spicy.
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It always hits a spot every time.
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Latte tea.
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Lovely tea.
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In classic fashion, the car is broken, so we're pulled over.
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And the hood is up, and the driver is doing something, talking to someone, paying him something.
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In moments like these, you can't really do anything.
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You're just kind of stuck.
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At least he speaks like 20 words of English, so we are able to communicate.
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All good?
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Yuri is full.
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No problem.
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Yuri is complete.
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No problem?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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We got it fixed.
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Heading to Praia Graja.
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Alright guys, update.
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Bit of an unfortunate situation.
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It's now just during 8 o'clock PM.
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and all the roads are blocked.
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I mean, all of the roads are blocked.
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There's like policemen guarding the roads.
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My driver just got out and he's talking to the policemen and telling him that I'm staying at a camp, which I am, but I don't know if we're going to be able to get there.
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I really don't.
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I'm going to get out and see what the deal is.
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This is absolutely freaking crazy and this is kind of what I expected.
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I even tried speaking to some officials, but no luck.
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We have the camp.
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I need to get to my camp.
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No going to camp.
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Yes, please.
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My friend is there.
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My driver suggests another route to reach the festival, but if that doesn't work, I guess I'll be sleeping in the car tonight.
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Your camp, 24 kilometers straight, then left, you turn.
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24 kilometers?
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24 kilometers.
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No, we need to go here, much faster.
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No, no, this is not cut out.
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Not tank.
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These roads are also closed, full close.
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Are you sure?
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Yes, 24 kilometers.
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Okay, alright.
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We're gonna go 24 kilometers out of the way.
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I'm so tired because I'm jet lagged.
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And we haven't moved in about 45 minutes.
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I'm very hungry.
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Yeah, me too.
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Okay, let's eat now.
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I think I'm going to have to cancel.
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I don't think I'm going to make it.
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We're going to get some dinner now.
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Yeah, luck, luck.
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Lots of traffic.
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Lots of traffic.
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Also traffic is jammed.
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Root is divided.
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Okay, sir.
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Yeah, this is a big problem.
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At least my driver is cool.
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We can hang.
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We can hang.
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He speaks enough English.
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We're going to find some food here.
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Hello!
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I'm so exhausted.
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I'm jet-lagged.
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I'm in a daze.
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But now the adventure is...
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Well, it's like...
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One, how do we get food?
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Two, how do we sleep?
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And three, how do I make it all the way to Varanasi to catch my flight to Syria?
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Sure as hell gonna document this whole journey to do it.
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They like to use the horn in India.
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What is this?
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Friday Chomin?
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Yeah, chame is good.
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Just a couple of homies on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere eating some dinner.
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This is about an 85% chance of food poisoning, I would say.
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Very good.
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Wow, it's actually really tasty.
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But I'm totally gonna be f*ing everywhere later.
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We're probably sleeping in the same car tonight Dude no joke this is super spicy It's like full of chilies Are you good?
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All right, so here's here's a tricky part My friend Jason Wang is there right now.
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He sent me this insane drone shot He just got I wish I could be there right now No. My friend Gautam, who I'm always in India with, is here.
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If you want to sleep in the car, it's no problem.
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Are you still in the car?
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Yeah, we're still in the car like 12 hours later. From where? From Tashmahal?
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Yeah, from Tashmahal.
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Oh my God, why?
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So I've got to sleep in the car with my driver because there's too much traffic.
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Wait, how long is it to go before you can go back? heading to your destination?
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The ride is supposed to be 8 hours but so far it's been 12.
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And the traffic is not moving.
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How more to go?
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We're like, it's still going to take a long time
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so we're going to have to sleep in the car because of traffic.
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Kayla, I love you.
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Thanks for calling.
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Love you.
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Love you.
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Bye bye.
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update is 1 40 in the morning I'm dead right now a driver is still driving
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but I think he's about to fall asleep we're gonna have a nice slumber party yeah
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meanwhile my friends are gonna send a driver on a motorbike to pick me up later
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because we can't move we're stuck it's been like 13 hours
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since we left yeah no problem okay okay yeah good night good night
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dude what the hell man it's 4 57 a.m sun's coming
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out my back is killing me from sleeping like this
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and my friends just told me that people got injured
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and they can't and like it's blocked off it's been like an 18-hour journey and it has come to an end.
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Yo.
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Hello.
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Are you alright?
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Yeah I'm walking out I'm trying to have to walk three kilometers to get to the nearest bridge.
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Dude I'm gonna dip out bro I can't get in I can't get in.
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Stay safe.
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Thanks.
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Yeah.
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Alright.
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Alright dude.
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Hope you can catch your flight yeah.
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Yeah.
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All right, man, see ya.
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Bye.
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Okay, let's go to Lucknow.
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Oh, my God.
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They're saying 14 or more people got injured at the same time, and they've canceled the procession.
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We can barely get out.
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Ambulances everywhere.
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I just jumped over two cars and a fence and three pushing crowds.
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Finally made it to the main road and heading back to the bridge.
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Yeah, I'm out.
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Are you okay?
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Okay, okay.
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I'm so very happy.
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I'm going to back.
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Lucknow.
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Okay, sir?
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Yeah.
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You sleep three hours?
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Two hours sleep.
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It's okay?
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Okay, no problem, sir.
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It is my duty.
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Duty perfect.
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God is work.
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Thank you.
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Welcome, sir.
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Driver is the best.
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I'm so sorry.
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I can't make it, but too many people.
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We go Lucknow, Lucknow, Lucknow.
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Yes, Lucknow.
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Beep beep beep beep Alright time check it is 6.35 a.m.
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And the sun is coming out.
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You know this is turning out to be a disaster
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but At least this is a unique opportunity to share with
387
you guys a little bit behind the scenes of my life as a full time Kata creator, YouTuber, traveler.
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Not everything goes your way and it sucks when it happens.
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I've literally been planning this video for over one year.
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I've been planning to come here and shoot this story
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And this event only happens once every 144 years
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so I won't be alive to ever do it again
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Which is a tough pill to swallow
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but now you can see some of the hardships
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that I go through to make these stories and I'm
396
so persistent on getting the video
397
and I have been since day one I just I love
398
to be the person to document to be the messenger to
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share cool things around the world for you guys to watch Your enjoyment at home for free on YouTube
400
and other social media platforms but it's just not meant to be right now and gotta suck it up.
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It's good to be vulnerable.
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Well, as you watch me continue to fail to reach Kumbh Mela, I think now is a great time to continue sharing some personal journeys through India.
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And the first lesson I learned is patience.
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India has taught me to be very patient.
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Not only this experience that I'm onto right now with waiting, I mean, I've literally been in the car for 19 hours to try to reach this gathering, which I failed to reach.
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You're stuck in a situation where you just can't do anything.
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You have no power, you have no authority, you are stuck.
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I think it's a great life lesson for everybody to learn.
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It's just a lot of personal growth stuff being in India.
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It's like more than any other place.
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You just learn how to deal with situations.
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You learn about who you are as a person, what things you like, what things you don't like, how you react in conversations with people, when things are thrown your way.
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You just got to learn how to deal with it.
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There's one pillar There's something missing in this story about India that I would like to share with you right now.
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And I was hoping to cover it at Kumbh Mela.
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It is spirituality.
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Ram Ram.
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Ram Ram.
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It is the home of so many faiths, religion, thoughts, leaders, Gandhi, the great philosophers,
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yoga, meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, the Baha'i faith, you name it.
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They're all centered around this country.
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Is that human ashes you put on my face?
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Yeah.
424
Oh no!
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I think it's a really amazing thing.
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I really do but someone who didn't really connect to religion or spirituality on a deeper level.
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Being in India has helped me be more spiritual, have more meaning of life, more purpose, being more of a thought leader.
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And that's been through going to these communities and meeting people, asking them questions.
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You don't eat the rest.
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No, no, no, no, because these are my family.
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Observing, seeing how their lives are, especially Buddhism.
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Like, of course, a lot of people think Buddhism is only in China or in East Asia.
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Actually, the Dalai Lama lives in India.
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Like, India is a huge center of Buddhism.
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And I've learned a lot from the monks and the Buddhists up in Arnachal Pradesh and the Seven Sisters in northeastern India.
436
It's fantastic.
437
I'm just a little delirious right now.
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I've only slept like two hours in the backseat of that white van.
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I'm just all turned upside down, but there's definitely a hot cup of chai brewing.
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I can smell it.
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It's also one of the best things about India, tea.
442
I've learned to love tea from traveling this country.
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Cheers!
444
Cheers!
445
Another thing I forgot to bring up about India is the hospitality.
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Everyone's just lending a hand, trying to help you out if you're lost, if you need something, or just to...
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Oh, he kissed me.
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My driver is a perfect example.
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Like, he's so determined to get me to the place I gotta go.
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In other countries in the Western world, like try going on in Western Europe.
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I guarantee your driver would not be so caring to sleep in his car
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and literally go through hell to make sure that you're okay.
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But in India, you just find it to be their duty, their respect to make sure that you're okay and safe and happy.
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And I really appreciate that.
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I'm probably going to give India a break for a while.
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I've been here so many times in the last few years and it's been amazing.
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As someone who breeds efficiency, it's very hard to be efficient here.
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And even though I have learned patience, it's just hard for me to travel here.
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So I'm gonna take a little personal break from India probably for two years
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Come back whenever I feel ready to shoot the next videos
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But I feel very happy that I was able to spend six months in India
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and go a lot of places
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and shoot a bunch of stories I really do appreciate you guys for tuning in
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and listening to me just talk from the heart about India I think these kind of videos are super important to tell.
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Please comment down below your thoughts on India If you have been here before, what do you think about it?
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What are your favorite places?
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What are your least favorite places?
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If you want to come visit here Let me know
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and I'll recommend some things in the comments down below Let this be a safe place
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that we can all talk about India openly.
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Love you guys.
472
Thanks a lot.
473
See you in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 473 sentences and 4159 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:36. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gather verb | /ˈɡæðɚ/ | To collect normally separate things. |
| garlic noun | /ˈɡɑɹlɪk/ | A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking. |
| temple noun | /ˈtɛm.pl̩/ | A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith. |
| cheers | /t͡ʃɪəz/ | A common toast used when drinking in company. |
| spicy adjective | /ˈspaɪsi/ | Of, pertaining to, or containing spice. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| adventure noun | /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ | A feeling of desire for new and exciting things. |
| architecture noun | /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/ | The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated. |
| suck verb | /sʌk/ | To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). |
| nowhere adverb | /ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/ | In no place. |
| scary adjective | /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ | Causing fear or anxiety |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| humanity noun | /hjuˈmænɪti/ | Humankind; human beings as a group. |
| sacred adjective | /ˈseɪkɹɪd/ | Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy. |
| patience noun | /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/ | The quality of being patient. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. | |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. | |
| cut out verb | To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something). | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 138 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, eighth /eɪtθ/, northeast /noːˈθɪjst/, northeastern /ˌnorˈθiː.stɚn/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/, humanity /hjuˈmænɪti/, spirituality /ˌspɪɹ.ə.t͡ʃuˈæl.ə.tɪ/, temporary /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like gather, garlic, temple.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been coming · I've just been coming · I've been hanging |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you come solo, you'll discover · if that doesn't work, I guess I'll be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've seen · have visited · I've gone |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be told · I've been told · is held |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.