North-East-Trip-2014 on Sauvik Biswas

Day 12: The Finale

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Indian Railways as a viable sleeping dock #

In Dimapur, we ended up spending the night at the railway platform waiting room. The actual sleeping time was spent in a 3-tier AC compartment of Intercity Express between Dimapur and Guwahati. We reached Guwahati at around 5:10 am. It was dark outside unlike Kohima which receives the first bursts of sunlight at around 5:00 am. The waiting room at Guwahati was less than ideal place for us to spend two hours time. I ended up finishing my morning chores even though the toilets were dirty and the basin was clogged.

Day 11: A glimpse of Naga lifestyle

Sun, 21 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

An identity card can be used as a cutting tool #

In Kharagpur, the collage competitions had a strange rule. No cutting instruments were to be used. That included scissors, knives or identity cards. The last example of a cutting instrument made little sense until today. We felt hungry and the breakfast wasn’t ready at 8:00 am[1]. Nandy had a pound of local cake and we decided to have some slices. We did not have any sharp objects in our bag owing to airport baggage regulations. Instead, we used my identity card.

Day 10: Heritage of Nagaland

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

A really cold night indeed #

Yesterday was a very cold night in Kohima. The blankets provided by our Hotel (Galaxy) were insufficient. By 2:00 am in the night, the temperature had fallen to about 5 degrees[1]. There was a time I was shivering underneath the blanket even with my hoodie, tracks and socks on.

We couldn’t stay in that hotel for another day. The check out time was 12:00 pm. We decided to pay a visit to some tourist spots nearby.

Day 9: From the heat of Dimapur to the darkness of Kohima

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

A short walk around Dimapur’s commercial area #

We took a small walk around the New Market and Hong Kong market area of Dimapur. The market area is just like any other small city. The shops give away the fact the Dimapur residents have good purchasing power as compared to their neighbours. There are roadside, nondescript shops, too that sell more affordable stuff.

A busy and narrow alley at Hong Kong market, Dimapur.

Day 8: Finding the cheapest and the most comfortable way to Nagaland

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

On the move #

Staying in Shillong was expensive. We had already decided to move to Dimapur. There were a few buses that could take us from Shillong to Dimapur but we decided to forego them in favour of a more comfortable train journey from Guwahati. For that, we had to leave Shillong early. We bid adieu to Gowri Shankar, took a shared taxi out of Shillong and made our way to Guwahati.

Day 7: A tourist trip in Sohra and back to Shillong

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

How much mod can a Maruti 800 take? #

I had written earlier that Shillong and Sohra practically commutes in Maruti 800. Gowri Sankar pointed out that the following vehicle, which belonged to Heprit, is actually a Maruti 800!!!

This is a Maruti 800!!!!!!!!

Heprit’s scooter is as colourful as him.

Tourist spots in Cherrapunjee (Sohra) #

There are quite a few tourist spots in Sohra. These are well maintained. The access points to these places, as well as those inside, have been re-landscaped in order to allow the tourists to enjoy the views. Before leaving for Shillong, we decided to stop by two spots as tourists and not like backpacker-travelers. Bit, the same guy who took us to the concert earlier, escorted us to a viewpoint for Nohkalikai Falls and Arwah Caves. Nohkalikai is nothing more than a stream during the winters - a distant shadow of its monsoon form that one can find plastered on a tourist helpdesk or a hotel in Sohra or Shillong. During our stay in and around Sohra, we often came across groups of school students who have come to visit these places as part of an excursion. These kids often come in buses and dance to really loud music. Next time if you hear loud music and cheering inside a bus that passes you by on the streets of Sohra, you know who they are.

Day 6: Eat, sleep, meet travelers and do nothing

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

It was too much exercise for my knees #

I have been trekking non-stop since Day 4. First it was from Tyrna to Nongriat, then from Nongriyat to “Paradise” and back, followed by a trek to caves and back and finally the ascension from Nongriat to Tyrna.

My knees were killing me. I could feel the discomfort initially that was a sure shot sign of ligament pain. By the time I was at Lumsomphie (the village before motorable road at Tyrna), I could no longer bend my right knee. As a result I was climbing slowly while Nandy and Gowri Sankar had moved ahead. Unfortunately, we took two different routes to Tyrna and we all wasted a lot of time and energy looking for each other. It was good that I had this photograph from yesterday.

Day 5: Narrow Caves and Narrower Stairs

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The roads were paved by their ancestors #

The valley has an amazing network of concrete and stone stairs that connect distant villages. Today’s trek took us through two villages. Our destination was a small network of caves. The mean elevation of the trekking route is 60 degrees with small burst of regions having elevation of 75 degrees as well.

It is astonishing to find how meticulously the roads were laid up. Each generation builds a bit of the road in a place that is not easy to traverse. Slowly, in many years, the entire stretch gets paved. In olden days, the steps were laid using stones. Long stretches of our today’s climb was via these steps. The regions near the villages have been repaved using concrete. Yesterday, on our way to uncharted falls, we even came across an unfinished concrete flight of stairs.

Day 4: Nongriat and Paradise

Sun, 14 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

3000 reps to failure? #

A nice hand drawn schematic map of Cherrapunjee was given to us by the backpacker’s hut owner, Haprit. One of the places was about 18 km from Sohra (local name of Cherrapunjee) and required a descent into the valley via concrete steps. Gowri Sankar joined us for this leg of the trip and we left on a shared cab after our breakfast.

By The Way backpacker’s hut had this map showing the key areas in and around Nongriat.

Day 3: Finding a way from Shillong to Cherrapunjee

Sat, 13 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

And you thought Maruti 800 was dead? #

The entire Shillong runs on Maruti 800. Refurbished. Repaired. Re-repaired. But they are Maruti 800s. It appeared to me that all the Maruti 800s that had been decommissioned by the factory and disowned by their owners, landed up on Butcher Road in Shillong, and started their new life as shared cab service in and around Shillong. For a mere 10 rupees one can travel from anywhere to anywhere in Shillong.

Day 2: Exit from Guwahati and entry into Shillong

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation options from Guwahati to Shillong #

We got to know yesterday about the unavailability of buses between Guwahati and Shillong. However, there are abundant private vehicles that leave from Paltan Bazaar and cover a distance of about 120 kms in about 2.5 to 3 hours. The larger SUVs can carry about 8 passengers while the smaller sedans carry about 4. The latter is a bit more expensive but the rider pays for the comfort.

Day 1: At Guwahati, the access point for North East India

Thu, 11 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

An accommodation in Paltan Bazaar #

Paltan Bazaar is an important transportation and commercial hub. While we were hunting for a double room to stay, we found that there are three kinds of rooms in and around this place.

The first group of accommodation consists of the sub-600 hotels. In most cases, these will have rooms with one shared bathroom / toilet for every four or five rooms. Most of these places are very poorly maintained. In one such place the mattresses were torn and dirty. Nandy was sure that there would be bedbugs to haunt even our nightmares.