Couchsurfing is a great website for finding travel partners. But for Ramesh, the site was an opportunity to meet white girls traveling in the country. He diligently checked the local forums for tourists who asked questions about India, or wanted to go somewhere, and needed travelers.
One such post popped up. It was a German couple, and they were asking how to get to a hill station. He checked out their profile. The guy looked like a dork. The girl was hot. Ramesh slid into their DMs.
"Hey there Lara and Jorgen, I'm headed to Mandi myself. When are you planning to get there? I have a car, we can pool together!"
Their response was prompt. They were keen. Ramesh and the couple arranged to meet the next morning, outside their hostel.
Ramesh drove to their location early the next day, in his sleek BMW. He'd paid a fortune for the car: but it made a great first impression. Especially when meeting tourists - who were generally wary of opportunistic Indians - he liked to flex his wealth. They became more amenable to friendship.
He spotted the couple by the roadside, outside their hostel, a popular tourist lodging. The guy Jorgen looked even dorkier in real - tall and lanky, he wore big horn-rimmed glasses and had the aura of a man who didn't go out much. The girl on the other hand was an entirely different league. She was a petite woman with gorgeous blonde hair billowed around her head and shoulders. She was dressed modestly in a long summer dress, but it accentuated her curves. She had a fine set of knockers that strained against the fabric of her dress.
Ramesh rolled down the window and waved. "Hey, it's me, Ramesh!", he called out. The couple waved back, and got in the car.
"So nice to meet you, Ramesh!" said Jorgen, in a thick German accent. Ramesh turned around from his seat, and shook hands with both. "Lara, Jorgen, super nice to meet you guys too! Welcome to India!"
"Thank you!" both chimed and settled in.
The drive was two hours long. Ramesh put on his charm, chatting with the couple, feigning interest in their travels. They were from a small town in Germany, and this was their first trip outside of Europe. They were both 21 years old, on their gap year, and wanted to explore Asia, starting with India.
"Good choice," Ramesh said, "but India is massive, there's so much to see, and I'm not sure a month is enough."
"I know," said Lara, "but we want to experience as much as we can. It's just been a few days, but I love India already!"
The drive was scenic, and Ramesh played tour guide to the couple, pointing out notable locations and regaling them with fun stories about the history and the culture. He could tell that the couple really enjoyed this, and they kept ooo-ing and aaah-ing as Ramesh entertained them.
Mandi's climate was cooler than in the city, and it was a perfect blend of breezy winds and sunlight. Ramesh parked his car at the small town square. "Do you know where you want to go?" Ramesh asked of the couple.
"Not really," Jorgen said, "we figured we would wander around, and see what fancies us."
"Happy to show you around, if you'd like. I come here often, and there are some places that most tourists don't know of."
"Oh, we wouldn't want to bother you, you've been kind enough already," Lara said.
Ramesh insisted, "it's no trouble at all, I take it as my god-given duty to show tourists the best of what my country has to offer!"
Ramesh knew Mandi like the back of his hand - he had done this several times with other tourists he'd met on Couchsurfing, and he knew exactly what new European travelers wanted to see.
First he took them out for breakfast. Avoiding the regular tourist traps, he herded them to a small hole in the wall which had the best breakfast food. If it's one thing that white people want when traveling in India, it's quote unquote authentic places. Lara and Jorgen hadn't had much experience with Indian food, so Ramesh made sure to tell the waiters to dial down on the spice.
"I know you think Indian food is super spicy, but there's more to it. I've told them to ease up on the spice, and bring out the natural flavors."
The food was of course excellent. "This is so delicious!", Lara exclaimed, licking her fingers. "You're welcome," said Ramesh, stealing a quick glance at her bust.
Ramesh then took them to the temple on top of the hill. A massive edifice that's been around since the 8th century, it was bustling with activity - worshippers offering prayers, priests milling, hawkers selling their wares and trying to catch the eye of the two firangs, hoping to make money off of them.
Jorgen took pictures of everything around him with his bulky camera. Lara observed the bustle with wonder. This was exactly the picture of India they had in mind. Ramesh took them all the way to the altar. One of the priests recognized him, and waved. He knew the drill.
With the priest's help (and a discreet exchange of money), Ramesh got Lara and Jorgen into the inner sanctum. The couple got draped with saffron shawls, and were ushered into the inner chamber. Three giant stone sculptures of the local gods stood before them, resplendent in flowers and surrounded by oil lamps.
"Oh my god, it's so beautiful!" piped Lara. Jorgen asked if he could take pictures. The priest assented. Ramesh knew this wasn't a thing for the locals: this was a show for firangs only, the Spiritual IndiaTM the westerners were sold on. This was how Ramesh racked up goodwill points with foreigners.
They spent a fair bit of time in the temple grounds, taking in the sights and sounds of the activity, and the scenery. They talked a great deal: Ramesh learned that they had friends who had been to India before, and the stories they heard were wild. Ramesh picked up on the fact that Lara and Jorgen were curious about narcotics.
"Haha, yea there's a big drug scene here, it's not out there in the open though," Ramesh said, "you have to be discreet about it. The law tolerates it here, but you have to be careful."
Ramesh paused for a while, and then winked at them, "why, do you wanna try?"
Jorgen stuttered, "oh I dunno, we're not sure. We don't want to get into trouble or anything." Lara not-so-subtly nudged him. "I mean," he continued, "if there's a safe way..."
"Say no more," Ramesh winked again.
They hung out at Mandi, trying out more food, walking around, until late afternoon. On the drive back, Ramesh said, "sooo, Lara, Jorgen, can I trust you?"
"What do you mean?" Jorgen asked.
