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