Back to Delhi

On touching down in Delhi, the temperature felt at least 10 degrees warmer and the sheer volume of people and traffic let me know immediately that I was back in the capital! Delhi often gets a bad rap, but to be fair this is a city in the middle of a phenomenal transition. I was only here 4 months ago, and development continues at relentless pace in the run up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The new metro system is one of the best I have experienced, and sometimes I forget I am in India. It is spotless, punctual, efficient and air-conditioned (a problem we still seem to have in London!). It is reckoned that this will ease traffic congestion on Delhi roads by 30% and of course reduce pollution.

Anyway, I had booked a Delhi tour for the following day and immediately India's fascinating and turbulent history became apparent. Outsiders from all parts of the world have at various times tried to get their hands on India's riches. One can see how dynasties and eras have overlapped with Hindu, Mughal and British influences in the architecture. Many of the old buildings in Delhi are remnants of the Mughal era, such as Red Fort and Qutab Minar. I also passed via the 'Rashtrapati Bhavan' (the Presidential House) and India Gate, a majestic arch similar in appearance to Paris' Arc de Triomphe, dedicated to Indian soldiers who had lost their lives during World War I.

After that we went on to Raj Ghat, the place where Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was cremated. A black marble platform sits in the middle of a serene garden, marking the spot where Gandhiji was cremated on 31 January 1948. Opposite Raj Ghat is the Gandhi National Museum which proudly displays Gandhiji's life, his philosophy and struggle for India's independence.

I stopped off for lunch at Lodi Restaurant, an excellent outdoor restaurant with a great ambience, and then rounded off my Delhi tour by visiting Akshardam Temple, the world's largest Hindu complex. It is a truly breathtaking structure intricately handcrafted from stone without any use of steel in its construction. As the lights came on, I watched the impressive musical fountain show followed by an inspiring boat ride through a model village depicting 10,000 years of India's rich heritage and culture. It was the perfect end to the day.

- Rahul

Days 41, 42, 43 and 44: Majuli, Lakhimpur and Tezpur

So I rented a bike for the final day in Majuli and rode out to Uttar Kamalabari Satra in the morning, about 5 kilometres away from Garamur, the village we stayed in. This was a smaller Satra with about 100 monks. I was given a very friendly welcome and some tea, then shown around by various monks, being passed on like a baton. When I reached the central prayer hall they were just starting their prayers so I was ushered in to join them, and we sat in a semi-circle around the monk with the heavy cymbal. The monks chanted and clapped, and I was amazed with the range of sounds that came from the cymbal - deep, soothing and entrancing. When one section would end, a voice would come from the other end of the hall, leading the next section to which a chant was replied from our semi-circle. The whole thing was very beautiful and I felt very privileged to be able to participate, carefully watching how I timed my claps. I spared them my vocals! I was intending to cycle on when the thunder in the not too distant sky dictated I return. But I was not quick enough and the rain caught me. It was funny passing the locals cycling with their umbrellas and already being soaked through I started to enjoy the rain, and do a little singing of my own. Those that passed looked at me in wonder, possibly wondering where I'd escaped from. The rest of the day was spent reading outside the cottage, being brought tea at regular intervals. This research can be tough at times!

The next morning it was time to leave. This was a bit of a rough journey, a shared jeep, a ferry, a bus, another ferry and another super-crowded bus with only standing room, and not even that as I had to tilt my head to stand up straight. The road was pretty bad and my head hit that roof on plenty of occasions. When I finally arrived in Lakhimpur, I met up with our operator from Itanagar and we went through the plan we had for the itinerary and a few other issues. He was happy, and made a couple of more suggestions too that we will have to look into. Then it was dinner and bed.

Yesterday was a lazy day in Lakhimpur, eating, reading, relaxing, watching the Last King of Scotland on an Indian Movie channel. I did check out the cobra temple. It's not quite as exciting as it sounds, just a temple with a kitschy cobra coiled around the spire.

Today the plan was to go to Guwahati, so after an early breakfast and shower I was on the bus. I was told the whole trip would take seven, maybe eight hours. After seven hours we were in Tezpur, and it was two o' clock. Knowing there were at least another four hours to Guwahati, and it would be dark by then, I decided to stop in Tezpur to see what was happening for Holi, the festival of colours, one of India's biggest and best loved. Within minutes I was set upon by a gang of unruly middle-aged gentlemen who covered me in powders of every hue, then giggled and posed for photos!

In the hotel I just met some employess of Grameen Bank, co-workers of Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner from 2006... who are looking to set up a similar micro-credit scheme in Assam. Very nice and interesting guys. They've just gone for dinner but I have agreed to talk to them some more later on.

Tomorrow on to Guwahati, a little business to take care of there, then fly to Delhi, take the Delhi tour that Rahul has hopefully organised for me, and then back to London. It all seems to have happened so quick!

-Dave

Days 38, 39 and 40: Sibsagar and Majuli

It's a quarter to ten in the evening and I just realised it's Paddy's Day when I checked the date to write this blog. Woops! It's easy to lose touch with the outside world out here. Anyway Happy Paddy's Day to anyone reading, no Guinness this year but did have some rice beer earlier. Otherwise I will have to content myself with some Kila on my speakers.

So Sibsagar was nice enough without being mind blowing. The main Shiva temple is pretty impressive with a 33m high dome and a line of sadhus (India's spiritual wanderers) as you enter. The market was quite colourful too, otherwise there was not a lot to see or do. So yesterday I left for Majuli, the world's largest river island in the middle of the Brahmaputra, again on public transport. One bus, another bus, then a very overcrowded ferry (for 2 hours! This is some river!), and finally a taxi the last 7km over potholed roads to arrive at the accomodation of choice, some traditional style bamboo huts. That said there wasn't exactly much in the way of choice but this place is nice, bamboo everything, but electricity, hot water available and mosquito nets. After a tasty Assamese dinner, I arranged for a jeep to take myself and a French couple, who have been on the road for 15 months, to explore a little. They were the first foreigners I had seen for a week. The lodge owner also agreed to be our guide.

So this morning after breakfast we hit the road. Majuli itself is very picturesque, full of rice fields and smiling faces. The first stop was Auniati Satra. A satra is like a monestary for Vaishnavism, a branch of Hinduism where Vishnu, particularly in the incarnation of Krishna, is the main focus of worship. This satra has 400 monks, who were very friendly and happily posed for photos whatever they were doing. After visiting the living quarters and the prayer hall we went to a Shiva Baba next door, which was essentially a very small room with an extermely wiry old man (ninety we were told) with hair that was matted and several times his length sat surrounded by piles of fruit, a basin of milk, ganga (marijuana) and his chillum (an Indian pipe). Apparently he subsisted merely on fruit, milk and ganga! He blessed people who came and they supplied him his three essentials. We were told that he didn't allow photos but when our guide asked he agreed so you will be able to see what I mean soon enough!

From there we visited a mask worshop, where we were shown how the masks used in the dramas performed here are made. Next we visited a village where everyone was involved in the production of pottery urns, and they showed us again the process involved including heating them en masse over a great fireplace, where people took turns to keep watch. Then we went for lunch in a nearby Derry village (no connection to the city in Northern Ireland that I could fathom). The Derry are one of the tribes from Majuli, and the people again were very friendly and the food was very tasty, and served with rice beer. After lunch we visited one more village, this time a Mishing village, where one young child turned and fled when he saw me, and could not be consoled by his amused mother for quite some time. Tired after a long day we came back to relax for a while, then had dinner and showed the French couple some photos of Arunachal, which I believe has now sneaked into their planned itinerary! Ok bedtime, goodnight.

-Dave

Days 35, 36 and 37: Jorhat and Sibsagar

So on Wednesday it was on to Jorhat. Another short bus journey made long by plenty of faffing about. But it was not all bad as I got talking to a young guy on the bus (in my shaky Hindi), and when his brother called him I was put onto him and invited to their house in Mariani, an oil town near the border to Bangladesh. I accepted and took his number, planning to go yesterday. In te evening while waiting for dinner to be served, I checked out a nearby bar, where I was the only customer. So I sat at the bar and chatted (in Hindi!) with the two Nepali-Assamese behind the bar. It was a great feeling though I'm sure the beer helped!

Yesterday after trying in vain to contact my invitees to Mariani, I managed to organise a visit to a local tea factory and gardens for this morning, and eventually also a taxi to go there.

This morning I went out to the tea factory, where I was met by the estate manager, and then shown around by the factory manager. It was very interesting seeing how many stages were involved and what kind of issues there are in the fields from Red Spiders spread around by tresspassing cows to worker protests particularly around bonus time... didn't sound that unfamiliar! Then after breakfast it was on to Sibsagar, where nobody seemed to know where my hotel of choice was, so I settled for another, which is actually very nice, has BBC World and a quick internet cafe across the road... am I still in Assam? Tomorrow I will check out the old temples of Sibsagar, remnants of the mightly Ahom Dynasty, many dating from the 1700s.

-Dave

Days 32, 33 and 34: Shillong and Tezpur

It's beginning to hot up here. I had to put the fan in the room on for the first time on the trip, and it's been on since. After a couple of lazy days in Shillong, enjoying the cafes, visiting the bustling Bara Bazaar market and relaxing by the picturesque Ward's Lake around which the city is built it was time to make a move again. So it was on to Tezpur, starting with a helicopter ride (my first) to Guwahati, which was quite fantastic, all the more so as I was the only passenger. It was quite remarkable watching the forested hills of Meghalaya suddenly give way to the flat plains of Assam. Then after a short taxi ride to the bus station and a seemingly never-ending bus journey I arrived in Tezpur, had some dinner and went to bed. This morning I went to check out the sights of Tezpur, mostly a series of parks, where I chilled out and read some of a book I picked up in Shillong, Strangers of the Mist, an account of War and Peace in the North East of India. It's quite an interesting and enlightening read.

Travelling alone in India can be an amusing experience. Today I was approached three times by Indians who wanted me to be in their photos with them. The first group stood behind me giggling for a while before one of the ladies finally came over and asked. My basic Hindi is certainly being put to the test here too, as there are very few people who can speak English in Assam. Time for a little study now. Tomorrow on to Jorhat, the heart of Assam tea, where I will visit the tea estates from the days of the Raj.

-Dave

Days 29, 30 and 31 - Meghalaya (Shillong and Cherrapunjee)

So I have fallen a couple of days behind on the blog. We arrived in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya on Wednesday. It's a very pleasant town, with a lot more amenities than anywhere else we have been so far on this trip - widely available internet, cafes, bars, restaurants and a wide selection of hotels. Despite this there are few Western tourists. The vibe is very relaxed and friendly. We spent a lazy half day, eating well, drinking real coffee and generally taking it easy. Then we hopped in a shared jeep and were on our way to Cherrapunjee, the wettest place on the planet - well a little lodge outside Cherrapunjee, where we met Dennis, the manager, who was very friendly and a mine of useful information about the region and things to do there. After dinner we sat around the fire outside the lodge and chatted.

Yesterday morning we got up early and set out for the living root bridges. After a gentle downhill walk for about an hour we hit the steps. The steps are very steep and there are about 2,500 in the main stretch of them. At the bottom ours legs felt like jelly. After a few more twists and turns we came across our first root bridge. The tree's roots have been teased and trained to cross the river and attach to the opposite side by the "War Khasis". The gaps are then filled in with stones and pieces of wood. It is estimated to take about 15 years for it to be of use, but they can last up to 600 years. These bridges are about 120 to 150 years old and are growing in strength by the day. It was an incredible feat of patience and ingenuity. We passed a couple more before seeing the supreme achievemenet, a double decker root bridge, with 2 bridges on top of each other, both made from the roots of the same tree. Tolkien couldn't have imagined anything better! The steps were quite a different propostion on the way back up, and with each turn we prayed for an end in sight that never seemed to come. It was a tough day's walking but easily worth it. The Khasi people we met en route were amongst the most friendly, inquisitive and helpful of any we have met.

Yesterday evening Rahul left for Shillong and after a helicopter ride to Guwahati this morning flew on to Delhi, so I will do the rest of the trip in the North East by myself. This morning I did an easier walk to another root bridge on the other side of the lodge. It was tough enough all the same as my legs were still suffering from the previous days walking. after lunch I got a taxi back to Shillong, stopping at various waterfalls and viewpoints along the way, allowing me to appreciate the variety and beauty of Meghalaya. The fantastic thing about this trip has been its variety and Meghalaya has been no disappointment, also being completey different from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. My friendly taxi driver spoke pretty good English (unlike AP and Assam, more people speak English in Meghalaya then do Hindi), and explained about the places we visited, and the election in the State whose results were announced today, as was evident by the numerous celebrations, people dancing in the streets and various party flags waving from most vehicles. We got stuck in a massive jam a few kilometres outside Shillong where a huge number of people and vehicles were gathered outside the house of the winning Congress candidate. Impressively the turnout in the election was over 89% but the full Statewide results will not be known until tomorrow morning, though it seems Congress have done well.

- Dave

Day 28: Kaziranga

Had a bit of a lie in today... woke up at 6am, as we were off to Panbari Forest Reserve, the home of the hoolock gibbon (a rare primate) and other wildlife. Entering the forest is out of bounds at the moment, but as the forest guards hadn't turned up as yet, our enthusiastic guide sneaked us in. The forest floor was decked with leaves of all colours, the air thick with humidity and the sound of birds was overwhelming at times. However, before long we caught a glimspe of the gibbon. A female gibbon had recently been introduced to the forest to help boost the dwindling gibbon population. We didn't get to hear their peculiar cry, but nonetheless there was a thrilling moment when it hung from the tree and stared down at us for a few seconds. Our excellent guide tried in vain to show us some other monkeys, so after 4 hours of walking we headed back to the hotel where we had a much needed 'brunch.

Since we were so pleased with the guide we headed on with him to the Western Range of Kaziranga in the afternoon. The terrain was mainly grassland and soon we saw herds of deer drinking from the vast pond along with wild elephants and buffalos. The highlight was the rhino stand off we witnessed. One rhino appeared to taunt another rhino which was partially submerged in the water. He suddenly emerged from the water and both rhinos then engaged in a heated stand off. Initially they growled at each other, stared at each other in silence and then the male chased the female into the thick bush. After ten minutes we were about to head off, and then they suddenly re-emerged running out of the bushes. Believe it or not, this was part of their mating ritual! Finally the male conceded defeat (for the time being) and returned to the comfort of the water. There was also a heartstopping moment when we thought we could see a tiger perched on its haunches by the roadside, but that proved to be a false alarm, and turned out to be some grass! The jungle can play tricks on your eyes at times (honest)!

We returned to the excellent Jupuri Ghar, enjoyed a superb Assamese meal fit for 6 people and then lumbered off to bed... tomorrow is another early start for the next Northeast state, Megahalaya, dubbed the 'Scotland of the East'... so maybe haggis on the menu, or maybe not!

- Rahul