Do you have that one travel memory that sticks with you? Is it a sunset, the joy of making a new friend, or the possibility of running into the unexpected? In a distant time I once lived in New Delhi, India. It is a chaotic city full of life, it is one of those places in the world you will either love or hate. The feeling depends on the day…

I had packed unprepared thinking the weather would be warm for all of the seasons. I was wrong, it was the end of the November, and the evenings were bone-chilling.  I knew it was time to invest in some warm clothes.

I headed to the market in search of the perfect wool sweater. I came across one merchants table, looking up admiring a lovely green one hanging on the wall. I stepped closer, to get a better look.

The Snake Charmer, Mewar Style, by Mr. Gopal

I then looked at the merchant “Kitna?”

The man looked at me “For you only 200 rupees!”

I looked at him “Without the white man tax?”

He replied, “150!”

He assumed I was an easy target. It was then I got swept up in the moment, “Ne! Ne! Ne! 50 rupees!”

“125!”

“No. I’ll go somewhere else!”

He started to exclaim “Wait! 110!”

I looked at him backing up “75!”

And with that I heard a man exclaim “Snake!”

I thought for a second that wasn’t part of the deal! I turned around,  looking down, and I saw a man crouched next to the corner of the table.  My brain registered and I gasped with the realization that I almost toppled over  backwards on top of a  snake charmer.

He once again exclaimed, “Snake!”

It was there I saw his beady eye snake peering at me. I  was within less of a foot of a cobra. I screamed, and jumped fifty feet away. I screamed again, and only mildly recovering!  My heart was racing the thought of being  that close to a snake unbeknownst to me sent shivers down my spine.

I have always had a  phobia of snakes and this one was within striking distant of my covered calf. My heart was racing, I blushed, everyone within the distance of the commotion was staring at the crazy white woman who almost walked into a snake and screeched like banshee.

In order to save face I  recovered from my panic attack, ” 80 rupees! And you have a deal.”

Have you ever been startled by the unexpected?