Day 22: Tawang

Woke up under three layers of blankets, scarf and woolly hat... there's no doubting how cold it is here! We started the day at the stunning Tawang Monastery, perched majestically on a cliff edge overlooking a bowl of snow-capped mountains. Unfortunately we had missed the Buddhist Losar Festival, but the monastery was still adorned with colourful decorations and various offerings from devotees. We had a brief tour of the museum which contained artefacts brought over at the time of the Tibetan migration to India, some of which dated back over 500 years. We also caught a glimpse of the young Buddhist scholars reciting various prayers and the national anthem at their outdoor assembly.

Next stop was Ptso lake which is situated at an altitude of 14000 feet... our jeep only made it part of the way there, so we ditched the driver and our 'guide', and walked on for a few kilometres in the snow. Despite our best efforts it seemed to be further than we had thought so reluctantly turned back. Nevertheless it was just incredible to be out in the mountains surrounded by snow-covered trees and occasional prayer flags waving in the chilling wind. The 'genuine' North Face jackets seem a bargain now, even if some of the feathers seem to be popping out already! From there we proceeded on to Ani Gompa, a small nunnery also quaintly situated in the mountains.

After breaking for lunch (veg chow chow, which was the best lunch of the trip so far), we visited the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama and then stopped off at the very impressive War Memorial commemorating the Indian soldiers who had lost their lives in the 1962 Indo-China War. The time was 4:45pm and a bugle sounded followed by the lowering of the Indian flag as a 'salaam' to those who'd sacrificed their lives for this great nation. Even more humbling was the fact that the same ritual is carried out everyday by serving troops all over India.

- Rahul

Day 21- Dirang and the road to Tawang

Finally we have reached our most far flung destination, Tawang, home to the 2nd largest Buddhist monestary in the world, only superceded by the one in Lhasa, Tibet. Unfortunately it was getting dark as we arrived so we haven't yet really had a chance to see the town or the monestary, though in the fading light we could see the monestary out of our hotel room window so we are hoping for a nice view in the morning.

Yesterday, on paper, was not a great day. Our trek suffered various misfortunes - overcast weather, our inability to contact the real guide, the failure of the monkeys we hoped to see to appear and the fact that the "guide" we did use was the closest to a monkey we got to see! He was clueless and had to stop everyone we met to ask for directions. Nonetheless it was nice to get out in nature and walk through the forests for a few hours, and get some exercise ahead of today's drive.

This morning we started off at about 7, after breakfast. We drove slowly through the heavy fog. Then suddenly there was a clearing and the sun came out revealing stunning mountain scenery. Peaks appeared above a sea of clouds, snow-capped mountains behind the colourful Buddhist prayer flags that hung between trees. The fog came and went as we drove, hiding, then revealing stunning pine tree forests clinging to the mountain sides. Towards Sela Pass (4400m) our car struggled through the ice but we made it to Sela Pass, where our imitation North Face jackets came into their own... it was damn cold! We stopped in a little hut restaurant (the only one there) and joined a group huddled round the fire. It was very cosy, and we had some tea and noodles.

From there the road meandered down through the valley. We got stuck in the mud at one spot but thanks to some locals managed to extract ourselves and were headed on towards Tawang. We stopped briefly in the very picturesque village of Lhou for tea and a wander, then on into Tawang where we are staying in a very nice little hotel. Tomorrow we leave here at 7.30 to catch the morning prayers at the monestary.

-Dave

Days 19: Bomdila to Dirang

First stop was the bazaar in Bomdila for some emergency shopping. This was probably our last chance to purchase warm clothes before Tawang. We each bought North Face jackets. Somehow doubt they are genuine as mine has a special pocket designed for people whose right hand bends backwards, but nevertheless it's warm!

Only a 90min drive from Bomdila, Dirang lived up to its hype. Our hotel is perched on a hilltop overlooking Dirang Valley... this is Monpa territory, where the people mainly follow Buddhism. We walked around Old Dirang which is a very picturesque village with an old fort set amongst the hills and a small river intersecting it. Feeling a bit peckish, we went on to New Dirang, which had a good selection of small village shops. After wandering down to the river we headed back to the hotel, which has easily been the best we have stayed in. It felt like a place for fellow travellers, and this was also the first time we had come across groups of other foreigners, one group being a team of hardcore birdwatchers from the US.

Tomorrow is our first proper full day trek... the plan is to go to Sangti Valley which has a yak breeding centre, small villages, apple gardens... how we get there, we don't know yet, but we'll figure it out in the morning.
Night night.
- Rahul

Day 18 Bhalukpong to Bomdila

So on to Bomdila. After the officer required to let us cross the border finally arrived, having apparently had too much to drink the night before at some local festival and thus needing a car to come to collect him, we were back in Arunachal Pradesh. This side however is quite different. Instead of Doni-Polo and jungle, this side is charachterised by Buddhist temples and prayer flags. The scenery too is quite different, the forests are more sparse, there are more birds and there is definitely a more serene atmosphere. We even spotted some form of jungle cat before it scampered up a bank and disappeared into the forest.

We stopped at a couple of impressive temples before Bomdila and visited Shergaon, home of the Sherdukpen tribe but there was not really much to see though people were friendly, and we were met with looks of wonder. We arrived quite late in Bomdila and after trying a few hotels, finally found a nice one with an excellent restaurant. It's pretty cold here though as we are at around 2600 metres, so we will have to buy some more warm clothes tomorrow, particularly for the route to Tawang, which runs through Sela Pass, at 4400 metres. Tomorrow we will look around Bomdila and then move further north to the supposedly very scenic Dirang.

- Dave

Days 16 & 17: Itanagar and Bhalukpong

It was Arunachal Pradesh state day (Feb 20), so went down to Indira Gandhi Park for the cultural event in the morning. At first we were standing way back in the crowd unable to catch a decent view of proceedings. We then went to the VIP entrance, explained we were intrepid entrepreneurs looking to promote the state, and suddenly we were whisked to the front with the journalists and photographers! All of AP's tribes performed their native dances and then we bought a few local souvenirs from the exhibition stands. It was a very nice event. The afternoon was a bit of a write off since everything was closed, and in the evening we met up with Aruna and Komkar again to discuss business. We are really confident that we can work really well together, but the finer details are yet to be ironed out.

Today was an early start. We stuck with our reliable driver, and met up with Aruna and Komkar again, before starting the next leg of our journey. The drive was very good... plenty of nice scenery, without being too spectacular, mile upon mile of tea estates, and lots of busy market life on the roadside. The contrasting landscape between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was never more apparent than when approaching Bhalukpong. Having driven for 4 hours along flat road, we could see the silhouettes of Arunachal's imposing mountains across the state border. We're staying at the very impressive Bhalukpong Tourist Cottage, which has fantastic views of the river and mountains.

Tomorrow it's onwards through more villages to Bomdila.
- Rahul

Day 15 - Itanagar

A pretty good day. We slept late, until 9, that felt good, then after some Internet frustration (half an hour to log into Google), we met with the operator and used their much faster Internet. From there we hit the museum which had exhibits on all the 26 major tribes of Arunachal, their dress, their customs and their homes. It was fantastic to be there with Aruna as she had such detailed knowledge of the tribes. The sheer quantity was a bit overwhelming and it was hard to believe that this all comes from one near-forgotten Indian state.

We looked at some of Aruna's photos of the tribes when we got back, then had some food and discussed the plan for the next leg up to Tawang in Western Arunachal. We leave the day after tomorrow as there is a student union strike tomorrow - protesting about the governments lack of action in the face of Arunachal students being forced into terrorist activity by neighbouring Nagaland terrorists - which unusually means that the roads will be closed until 5pm.
-Dave

Day 14: Along - (North Lakhimpur) - Itanagar

Finally, clean clothes!! After 2 weeks of wearing the same clothes, we were finally able to get our clothes washed! Dave still smells, but not as bad!
We'd gone out for dinner the previous night to a traditional tribal home, arranged by a unscrupulous guide who had got our contact details from the hotel. It was a really good night and we were served the local brew 'Apong' made from rice, along with rice and veggies on banana leaf. The guide then turned up at 7:30am complaining that we hadn't tipped him!
After getting rid of him, we set off with the intention of staying the night at North Lakhimpur (Assam)... maybe we had been spoilt by the scenery so far, as there was nothing special to see on the way. We did stop at an archaeological site en route where remains of an old mandir have been excavated, but were very disappointed, as clearly the government/state has not spent any money on maintenance.

We finally got to Assam, only to find out that there was going to be a strike on tomorrow, so all major roads would be closed. Therefore, we had to drive on to Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) the same night. We stopped off at North Lakhimpur briefly to check out a hotel and continued on to Itanagar. We finally made it to Itanagar 14 hours later!
We've been really lucky with our driver, Ratul (not a typo and no relation!), as he drove the whole day, never complained and was always polite. He's definitely someone we'd like to use on future tours.
We were left with food for thought, as we may need to change the order of our itinerary because in 2 days time we leave on the next leg of our journey to Bomdila which is also going to be a day's drive.

I'm knackered, so more later!

- Rahul

Day 13 - Around Along

Another great day! We woke up and headed out to Kabu village, a few kilometres from Along and got out of the jeep to walk to Paia, about 3km along the river. The first obstacle to navigate was the spectacular, and rather unsturdy feeling bamboo bridge. The thing was amazing, a fantastic design that can supposedly carry 20 people comfortably. It felt a little hair-raising with just two of us though. Then we stopped for a break by the river bank and drank in the scenery, a lovely moment of serenity.

Then we got a bit lost, but eventually found our way to Paia, where apparently cars could not enter, so we had to find our driver as we had agreed to meet him in Paia. We eventually found him, and famished stopped at a little shop to inquire about food. They offered to make us food, and in the meantime he showed us his orphanage, and school for disabled and disavdantaged children. It was exactly the kind of grassroots project we had been hoping to find. We chatted more and found that he had land we could construct a local style house on, something we had already considered, and then lease it back from him for the tours, with the profits going to the school. Obviously there are plenty of factors still to consider but it looks very promising.
This evening we are to eat in a local house, something we arranged through an intermediary in the hotel...

-David

Day 12: Daporijo - Along

Had our first taste of Indian bureaucracy today. We were staying in an 'inspection bungalow' with a great view over the village of Dumporijo and were quoted one price before checking in, however on check out, the rate suddenly doubled for tourists. Anyway, we ended up reaching a compromise, but were nonetheless left with a bitter taste in our mouth.
It also spoilt a great start to the day. A local gentleman, by the name of Kali Paja, had spotted us walking around the evening before, and had kindly invited us for breakfast. We were treated to delicious sweet potato, roti, aloo and fruit. He showed us his family photo album and gave us some tips on Tawang, where he had spent 5 years. He came across as a very gentle and sincere man. He's promised us food traditionally cooked in bamboo next time, so we hope to be back soon!

En route to Along, we noticed scars of brown deforested mountains in amongst the lush green ones. It was clear that the scale of deforestation was for commercial purposes with timber going beyond the villages of Arunachal Pradesh.

By sheer coincidence we bumped into the tour operator we had met in Delhi. He was escorting two Americans on a tour of AP, and we had a few drinks with them. The guide came across as very passionate about Arunachal, and we picked up some more useful tips on how best to conduct our future tours. More food for thought.

- Rahul

Day 11 - Daporijo, Dumporijo and back towards Raga

We got up early again and drove back along the route towards Raga that we had done in the dark on the way. It was a beautiful sunny day and the scenery was superb. Lush green forests and layer upon layer of mountain backdrops. It was breath-taking. We stopped off in a couple of litle villages and wandered around greeted by smiling kids who were filled with giggles seeing their photos on our cameras. We headed back to Dumporijo, and wandered around a bit before being invited in by a Galong man who spoke excellent English and showed us his bear skin and ancient sword, and explained more about the tribes of the region and how the Chinese were encouraging the locals to cross into China with the lure of good jobs. He also told us that the Chinese had reached as far a Dumporijo in the 1962 war. We agreed to come back again for tea at 8am as we had to decline his offer of dinner as ours was already arranged. We headed back up to our scenic hotel for some excellent veggie dinner and a beer to cap off another day on the road.

- Dave

Day 10: Daporijo

Definitely the worst hotel of the trip for me. Windowless room with a dingy bathroom, that had a huge hole in the wall providing plenty of entertainment for anyone caring to watch! Daporijo is a must for the trip because of its stunning scenery but there are only two 'hotels' in town, both way below acceptable Western standards. During the day we crossed the river and entered the small village of Lida where there is a beautiful Donyi Polo mandir delicately balanced at the top of some rocks in the river. I told Dave this would make a great picnic spot, and that's when Dave had his eureka moment. Even better, this would be an unbelievable location for camping... it had everything, it was cut off from the noise of the main town, on the bank of the river, a waterfall, stunning mountain scenery and lush green landscapes. We are both keen that our tours should benefit local communities, and we feel that by purchasing supplies from the local village and engaging them from the start, they too should gain from this. Further on we discovered another perfect lunch spot, a short drive uphill overlooking the quaint village of Dumporijo.
All in all, a very satisfying day's work!

- Rahul

Day 9: Ziro-Raga-Daporijo

I thought visting the Apatani village would never be topped. How wrong I was! On arrival into Raga, we were kindly invited to attend a family 'puja' ceremony. After being offered Poinia served in a simple but beautiful bamboo 'cup', I did my best to avoid eating the local 'mithun' meat. Nothing though prepared me for what happened next. I felt something brush against my back, only to notice two men carrying a large wild pig strung upside down from a bamboo pole. I tried to watch as they lunged into the pig as it squealed in agony. Being a 'fishatarian', it was too much for me and I had to leave the room. Then I saw what was coming next. The next victim, an elegant muscular mithun, was being dragged to a sacrificial area, followed swiftly by a panic-stricken goat, chickens and even a dog! I kept a distance and found the experience too overwhelming and stomach-churning.

It was amazing for me to think that in a mainly vegetarian land which considers the cow sacred, in this remote part such traditions still occur. However despite the brutality of these sacrifices, I was still able to feel the genuine warmth of the local tribe people. This was possibly the first time an 'outsider' had been able to witness a very personal ceremony, and they wanted to share their culture with us. They believe that by offering these animals to God, they would be rewarded with a good harvest and healthy and prosperous family. We shared more drinks, sang each others local songs and even did some impromptu bhangra (Punjabi song/dance)!
It was a day full of confused, conflicting, upsetting, heart-warming and exhilarating emotions, which perfectly sums up this great and fascinating country.

- Rahul

Day 9: Ziro to Daporijo

My God what a day! We left Ziro at about 7 and drove through some beautiful scenery on the way to the village of Raga, a heartland of the Hill Miri tribe. We got out and walked around for a little before being invited in to a family celebration in a local house where some members of the family had come home from as afield as Kashmir to attend. We gladly accepted and were promtly given seats by the fire and bamboo glasses filled with a potent drink made from mustard seeds called Poinia, and offered some Mithun, a ferocious-looking wild mountain cow. We learned that they were having a Puja (prayer ceremony) that occurs only once a year, sometimes less depending on the positioning of the stars. We were not at all prepared for what came next... we witnessed the live sacrifice of a wild pig, a pregnant Mithun, a goat (whose head was lopped off with an axe), some chickens and a dog. There was blood everywhere and I have to admit I felt more than a little shell-shocked!

As they stuffed leaves into the pig and prepared the Mithun liver, we drank down more Poinya and some Polo (a millet-based drink). We needed it! The Donyi-Polo priest sifted through the chicken liver pieces to foretell what fortune the coming year would bring. Our "glasses" were kept topped up at all times and we were treated as guests of honour. We sang and danced along with their songs and even got them to sing along with a verse of "With or without you" and "The Blaydon Races". We toasted with "Hijic", the local word as well as "Slainte". We left a little the worse for wear and whole lot richer for the experience. We promised to send them some photos and we were each given a Donyi-Polo necklace taken from around their own necks. We drove on through the fog and the darkness and reached Daporijo where we slept like babies. Without doubt I have never experienced a day quite like that!

- Dave

Day 8: Ziro Valley Villages

After yesterday's excitement, today we visited some more Apatani villages in ziro valley - namely Hari, Haja and Reru. The houses were similar to those from Hija, though not quite as uniform and we did not get an invite inside today. The villages were quieter during the day as most people were out cutting wood or working in the fields. The locals were friendly nonetheless and those kids that were learning English in school were very keen to try theirs out. Some of the flooded Paddy fields were covered in a red algae-like plant, that contrasted with the backdrop of lush green bamboo and pine forests shrouded in rising mists.

Further along the route we met a guy who claimed to be the general secretary of the region (we later found out he was no longer in the position), who jumped in the jeep to show us some local sights. He talked manically, gesticulating wildly, bursting in to song sporadically... he was plainly quite mad, but very amusing. After a lunch of paratha and potato curry followed by masala tea in a roadside cafe, we turned back for Ziro. Tomorrow we head on to Daporijo, the start of the Tagin tribe region, passing through Hill Miri territory.

- David

Day 7: Ziro

We were up by 6am and walked down to the market... grabbed a hot masala chai and paranta to warm us up. After walking through more windy streets we finally came up on acres of paddy fields where we saw the Apatani tribal people (distinguishable by their facial tattoos and nose plugs) going about their daily work harvesting bamboo and rice. After at least 10km of walking through fields and the market place, we returned to the hotel, took a welcome hot shower, more food and ready for the afternoon. Never in our wildest dreams could we have guessed what was coming next.

Looking for a village by the name of Toku, We took a wrong turn and ended up driving into a village called Hija, a place time has forgotten. Surrounded by a labyrinth of houses made of bamboo, ornate with tribal decorations, and onlooking villagers looked on at us in happy bewilderment. A woman by the name of 'Muni' who spoke broken Hindi called out to us asking if we wanted to see their houses from the inside. Not hesitating we entered the first house with her, where an old Apatani lady was sitting by a fire in the middle of the room heating up a pot of tea. We gladly accepted a cup of tea and listened on as Muni explained more about Apatani traditions and showed us the tools and containers used to collect grain, rice and bamboo. These people may live a simple life and have little money, but their houses were incredibly spacious, tidy and organised. Although when I asked to use the toilet, I never expected to have to share it with a pig and cockerels!

Muni had an incredibly infectious personality and she seemed all too excited to invite foreigners into an Apatani home and promptly paraded us in front of her friends, took us to many other houses and the paddy fields. We must have spent some 3 hours in Hija and we were speechless afterwards. We felt utterly privileged and humbled. We have both travelled and experienced a lot, but nothing comes close to this. Absolutely nothing.

Day 4: Itanagar

Now in Itanagar and there have been some positive developments. Yesterday and again today we have had a few meetings with our first choice operator in the region - comprising Komkar and his wife Aruna - and they have been very good on the whole. They are very experienced and come across as very competent. They have both been in Europe for some time and are also used to westerners. They are also involved in projects to maintain the local culture and their general business practices come across as matching with what we hope to do too. Our planned itinerary they also felt was a good one, and they helped us to organise a jeep and driver for the next week to ten days to discover the loop of Ziro-Daporijo-Along, where we should encounter a whole array of tribes. There is not a lot to see in Itanagar but it is pleasant enough for a stop off and we found a very friendly new restaurant with a local owner who was particularly happy to see an Irishman in the region for some reason! Aruna and Komkar brought us there and they seem to know of good places. The food was excellent.

People here have been very friendly and welcoming though not a huge anmount of English is spoken. The only negatives so far are that it seems accomodation in Arunachal is very basic, and costs are more than other parts of India and more than we had initially expected. We will figure out this more as we continue around the region.

Tomorrow we leave for Ziro, which is at a higher altitude, and from what everyone tells us is a "very cold place"! Ziro is where the Apatani tribe leave, a tribe characterised by tatoos and nose-plugs for the women. After talking to Aruna and Komkar we decided it was best to rent a jeep and driver so we could stop off at various tribal villages which would have been too difficult were we to try to do it by public transport. From here we will most likely have no internet or mobile coverage until we get back to Itanagar.

Day 3: Guwahati to Itanagar

Today the plan was to get to Itanagar one way or the other. We considered bus, train and helicopter, but as we were told the pilot's mood is temperamental, we decided a sleeper train would be the best way of getting there despite the 9 hour journey. Train travel in India is often the best way of observing Indian life and the vast swathes of colourful land in this intensely diverse country.

The Arunachal Express surprisingly doesn't go from Guwahati so we had to catch a train to Rangia (1 hour)... there were no seats in general class, so we ended up in the military carriage, and soon got chatting to a serviceman from Kanpur, who had been serving in Assam for the past few years. We arrived into Rangia shortly after 1pm only to find out that the new scheduled time for the Arunachal Express was 7:15pm! Rangia is a small village with only a few stalls. We quickly located the only Punjabi restaurant opposite the station (Restaurant Sher-e-Punjab). After eating, we found out what travel writing was really about... sitting in the back of a simple village restaurant typing away on a laptop! We spent the next 3-4 hours finalising the structure of the website and putting together content. It was actually hard work! The site will hopefully be up in the next few weeks.

We hoped to get a sleeper, only to find out that there was only one sleeper carriage, instead of the normal three... the sleeper carriage was packed but 4 guys were great and offered to sit instead of sleep to accommodate us. So far everyone has been incredibly hospitable and been genuinely interested in our endeavours to make this region better known. We had the odd altercation with the ticket inspector, and were occasionally woken up by the sound of vendors yelling everything from 'garam chai' (hot tea) to 'joota polish' (shoe polish). At around midnight some guys disembarked, so we were finally able to collapse on the hard slabs that were our beds for the remainder of the night. Neither of us got any real sleep and arrived at 4.30am at Harmuty train station, a small non-descript village close to Arunachal Pradesh... we waited there for an hour along with other passengers until the first sign of light and then trotted off with our luggage along with the others, as if on an early morning military exercise. It was fascinating to see the other side of this booming country... the sound of waking roosters and the silhouette of village huts and cows roaming the dusty streets. From the main road, we finally caught a shared jeep for the 10 minute trip to the Arunachal Pradesh border.

- Rahul

Day 2: Guwahati

Ok so after the first full day in Guwahati we have made some headway. We found an excellent hotel, and after a longish meeting with the manager we came away with a very good feeling about the place - very nice rooms, restaurant, breakfast area, a very impressive lobby, with a glass elevator... and generally an impression of competence and a friendly vibe. We were not able to stay there tonight as it was full (we could see why), but we will definietely stay there on our way back. After that we headed to Kamakhya Mandir, a temple complex out of town, where we got to observe the temple rituals. It was a very colourful affair, and the Pandit that led us around was very friendly. There was a positive bustle about the place. We also witnessed some pigeons being sacrified and saw the blood of many pigeons and goats that had been sacrifcied... it was quite overwhelming.

From there we headed to Uma Mandir on a boat across the Brahmaputra. It was a little disappointing, probably because of the impressiveness of the previous temple complex. We headed on to Kalarshatra, a park a bit further out of town with various cultural exhibits and a little toy train. We did not have time to stay for the light and sound show that is the main activity of the evening, but hopefully on the way back we can catch that. Tomorrow we will take the train to near Itanagar and then a bus from there. It's an 11 hour train ride but thankfully its a sleeper so we should arrive early on Friday morning. On to Arunachal!

Dave

Day one in the North East

Having spent 2 days literally 'chilling' out with my cousins in Delhi... the 'real work' now starts. Early wake up call for the morning flight to Guwahati with Spicejet... we were extremely impressed with the flight and friendly service. As we landed, we managed to catch a glimpse of the greenery and wildlife that Assam has to offer.

Guwahati as a city isn't as nice as I hoped it would be, but then again we knew that this would not be featuring much on our prospective tours. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the city and getting a general feel for the place. The evening was spent checking out hotels, and we were kindly invited for tea at the 'Dynasty Hotel' (the only 4* hotel) in the Northeast apparently! Our hotel is quite close to the mighty Brahmaputra, and we hope to see more of it tomorrow.

Since we are quite tight on time, we have hired a car for tomorrow. There are a few sites to visit, as well as more accommodation.

If anyone has tried to get in touch with us, unfortunately our mobile phones seem to have problems connecting to the local network, so we will be purchasing a local SIM in the next few days.

Until next time...

- Rahul

Arrival in the North East

So, first day in the North East. Guwahati is, well to be honest, not the most beautiful city I've ever been to. Fortunately it wasn't one of our expected highlights. It's kind of dirty, dusty... even a bit smelly. On the plus side we found some pretty decent hotels. Also we spent the day doing chores so we didn't get to see any of the sights. We have organised a car for tomorrow as it looks like being a busy day, mostly because we need to leave for Arunachal Pradesh the day after tomorrow due to the fact that our Resticted Area Permit for the region started today, and so we need to get there sooner rather than later. As it stands we should have 28 days in AP, which hopefully will be enough. The permits are for 10 days and only 2 extensions are possible.
Tomorrow we will finish off our tour of the hotels of Guwahati, and also check out the main sights, as we see them. The main things to see are the "Blood Temple", known locally as Kamakhaya Mandir, the site where Sati, the wife of Shiva, one of the main Hindu Gods apparently left her genetalia to rest! Respecting one of their leading ladies, they sacrifice goats, buffalos and doves to represent her menstrual cycle. The inner sanctum is said to be sticky with sacrificial blood!

Then there is Umandanda Mandir, an island in the Brahmaputra river accesible by busy cruise boats. It is heavily forested and boasts some impressive temples, one or two of which are guarded by polite, and very rare golden langurs, the most loveable monkeys of India.
This evening we found a quaint little bar, and had a few Indian beers and some unexpectedly spicy food, given that Assamaese food is supposed to be bland - by Indian standards.
Tomorrow beckons! First some sleep.

Dave

Delhi

Arrived in Delhi two days ago, and it feels so nice to be back. It's every bit as chaotic and crazy as I remember. Was lucky enough to witness a wedding procession, with its beautifully dressed ladies and intense energy yesterday. Still don't understand how those drummers can keep up their drumming for so long.



We fly to Guwahati tomorrow and then the real trip begins. We are both excited about it.

Dave