This Friendship Day, popular travel creators recall the strangers who became friends, the connections that stayed with them and the moments they’ll cherish. Travel has a way of bringing strangers together. A shared meal, an unexpected act of kindness or simply hours spent navigating a new place can turn a chance encounter into a friendship. This Friendship Day, your favourite content creators share the people they met on the road - from fleeting connections to bonds that have lasted long after the journey ended.Different destinations, different stories, but one common thread - the unforgettable people they met along the way. (Vidit Taneja, Mahi Sharma)Shenaz Treasury (@shenaztreasury)For Shenaz Treasury, travel friendships are often fleeting, but that doesn’t make them any less meaningful.Shenaz Treasury recalls a memorable encounter with French travellers during a trip to Bali“When you travel, it’s transitory. You meet people, it’s nice to chat, and then you go your separate way. But the nice part, especially when you’re travelling solo, is that you get to meet people from different places and with different beliefs. I remember I met these French girls once in Bali, long ago, pre-Instagram, and they were telling me about how, when they go on the beach, they don’t wear tops, and that’s just very normal in their culture. I was very shocked, but that was how it was. They were topless, and I was like, okay, this is their culture, this is how they are. So, you tend to be more open and more understanding. You tend to ask questions and you also learn about different cultures. You learn that there are a lot of other people, beliefs, cultures, and that’s the most beautiful thing about making friends when you travel.”Shivya Nath (@shivya)For Shivya Nath, one of her most memorable travel friendships began with a simple act of kindness on one of the world’s most remote islands.Shivya Nath shares the story of the local family who welcomed her with a vegan birthday cake on Robinson Crusoe Island“On Robinson Crusoe Island, one of the world’s most remote islands, 700kms off the coast of Chile, I spent a month there living with a local family. I travelled there around 2022, just as COVID-19 was easing off, as part of a work assignment. We had to quarantine and I ended up spending my birthday in quarantine on this really remote island. The family had looked up my details and found out not just that it was my birthday, but also that I was vegan. They found a recipe on YouTube and experimented with baking a vegan cake for the first time. I still remember opening my door to find a whole bunch of islanders, including this family, singing with their guitar and giving me a slice of this vegan cake. That’s where the friendship began. It’s been one of those fleeting friendships, but despite all odds, we’ve managed to stay in touch."Savi & Vid (@bruisedpassports)For travel duo Savi and Vid, a stay in Bali turned into something far more personal.Vidit Taneja, of Savi and Vid, with Wayan in Bali“One of the most special friendships we’ve made through travel is with Wayan, who owns the villa we stayed at in Bali. What began as a stay slowly turned into a friendship with his entire family. We found ourselves being invited to local festivals, sharing meals and experiencing everyday Bali with them, almost as though we were living there rather than simply visiting. That sense of being welcomed into someone’s world is what cemented our bond. We stay in touch, and every time we return to Bali, it feels less like going back to a destination and more like going home to friends."Rashmi Chadha (@rashmichadha)Sometimes, you don’t come home from a trip with just one new friend. Rashmi Chadha found an entire circle on a Japan trip, where 18 women from different walks of life went from strangers to a close-knit group in just a few days.Rashmi Chadha shares a glimpse of the Japan trip that turned 18 strangers into a close-knit group of friends“One of the most special friendships I’ve made through travel wasn’t with just one person, but with a group of 18 women from different age groups, professions and backgrounds who joined our Japan trip. We started as strangers, but within days, we felt like lifelong friends. Some of my favourite memories are exploring the streets of Kyoto and Tokyo together. Even after returning home, our friendship didn’t end. We stay connected through social media, celebrate each other’s birthdays and milestones, and continue cheering one another on. The best part is that we’re already looking forward to planning more trips together."Sayan Nath (@sayannath)For Sayan Nath, a trek in Nepal didn’t just lead to a friendship - it eventually led to love.Sayan Nath with his fiancé Shanti, whom he first met on a high-altitude trek in Nepal“The ‘stranger’ I’m talking about is my fiancé now, but it started off as just a friendship. Shanti and I met on a trek in Nepal, somewhere around 15,000 feet. Eight days on that trail, no phones, no distractions, just walking, talking and surviving together - that’s what sealed our friendship first. You see their flaws and perfections back to back, sometimes on the same day. And weirdly, that’s when you actually start liking someone for who they are, not who they’re pretending to be. That’s how our friendship turned into something more. Since then, we’ve kept that going. Every year, we try to do three or four proper adventures together - different countries, different terrains, but always chasing that same feeling from the first trek. It’s become our thing.”Mahi Sharma (@maahieway)A croissant and one sentence in French were all it took for Mahi Sharma to strike up a friendship in Bali.Mahi Sharma with her friend Margaux, in local thrift stores in ParisI met Margaux, a French girl in Bali in December 2024. We met while having a croissant and I spoke one sentence to her in French, asking her if she liked the croissant. That became our ice-breaker. We connected on social media, and then after six months I went on a solo trip to France for my birthday, and asked her to help me with an itinerary. But she went above and beyond to plan an entire itinerary for me, making me experience everything local, and even hosted me at her house in Paris. I felt truly at home. I am so inspired by her, also because she is a sailor. We’re still in touch and planning another trip.