I left Nepal immigration behind having been stamped out of the country and joined an army of tuk tuks shuttling people across the Mechi River which forms a definitive the frontier between these two countries unlike some of the land borders which are still being contested as only this week India produced a revised map which hit the news with a bit of a land grab from Nepal.
The bridge ended up in the inevitable traffic jam so it was into Indian driving more with my elbows out and fighting for every inch and honking my horn in unison with the rest of the chorus. What fun!
The process for getting back into India was similar to leaving that the border is pretty much an open road and it is incumbent on you to seek out immigration and get your passport signed. I found customs and asked directions to immigration.
They told me it was further down then asked if I had an import carnet for my bike which I'd never been asked before. This is a document you get by depositing funds to the value of your goods i.e. my bike, with the UK customs. This exempts you from paying import tax when you travel as you can only recover your deposit when you present the goods back in the UK to prove you have not exported them.
They said go to immigration then come back as to see them, yes sure thing, I lied and sped on. I found Immigration which was pretty painless compared with the hour it took me at New Delhi airport.
I noticed I was in Darjeeling district a point that was not lost on me as I rode past some huge tea plantations on either side of the road.
My plan for this next section was to follow the thin corridor of West Bengal between Bhutan and Bangladesh and on to Shillong. From there I would then head south towards Aizawl to use one of only two land borders which are currently open with India that allow onward transit.
My first target was the city of Siliguri and with 15 minutes extra due to the time difference which I had forgotten about I arrived there about 1 30 pm in time to have a late lunch and relax by the pool.
I had a frustrating time at the hoteI. I brought this blog up to date writing about yesterday and me departure out of Nepal but then when I came to save a drop down box appeared to say it had been saved but then the screen seems to freeze and when I refreshed the screen the last 2 hours work were nowhere to be seen!
I repeated the exercise a couple of time and thought it must be a dodgy wifi connection so would have another go in the morning when there might be less people logged in.
I was expecting some work from my client tomorrow and looking at the route ahead there seemed to be just one hotel listed with no further information or reviews. I didn’t want to run the risk of not getting a room there or it not having wifi so after 5 days on the road I thought it would be for the best if I stayed put here for another night.
I tried again with the blog in the morning but this didn’t work so I changed my attention to the bike.
I worked on the stiff links which I managed to free up using the new techniques I had learned but I was missing a pin so was only able to link four together but that was better than what I had at present so I went down to insert them into the chain.
I pulled my bike out of the store room with much fussing from the hotel staff and security then set about checking my chain but was surrounded by five onlookers from the hotel staff. One of them was trying to show me how to split the chain which I was not trying to do just then. I tried to explain that to him but when for the third time he got in my way and started pointing at the split link again I snapped and told him to leave me the flip alone or words to that effect.
The crowd got the message and dispersed leaving me to find a couple of other stiff links that had developed yesterday it must be something with the dust round here. I was able to free those up and then tried to open the split link. This was not moving I did have a short nylon cord which I use to do this but it looks like I had gone and left that at the last hotel which was a pain. ( I actually found at the end in when packing to fly home) I tried a couple of other cords I had but they both snapped. In the end I gave up used my chain splitter and took out a pin to get the four links back in as I was running out of time having a massage booked in the spa at 10 am.
After my massage which was painful on my calfs but my back seemed to have freed up a bit. After some lunch it was tempting to lounge by the pool but it was now approaching 9 am UK time and there was no wifi out there so I retreated to my room.
I passed the time doing some more research into sights to see in Myanmar and also Laos if I decide to take the long cut I am contemplating. I also looked at catching boats down the Mekong River as this maybe a nice alternative to cycling for a few days. All I could find though were expensive cruises which were travelling at half my riding speed which I was not keen on but I think there might be some local boats I could make use of.
I had another go at this blog starting here in India Part 2 which saved OK so thought maybe that was because we had packed so much in the Nepal blog had got too big and that was causing these issues with saving it. So I cut out all the details of my safari trip to another post and tried to add to the page again and hey presto it worked!
I celebrated with a good dinner in the hotel restaurant and when I got back to my room the documents I was expecting from my client had arrived so I spent the rest of the evening checking through these and thought I would get up early tomorrow and finish off my Nepal blog before I hit the road.
This I managed to do and after raiding the consumables in my room and stuffing my face at the buffet breakfast I loaded up and was off.
My hotel was about 3 km out of the city centre so I pushed through heavy traffic for the first half an hour and then got on the ain highway that was fine but soon deteriorated because of roadworks.
This pretty much became the theme of the day with short section of good road followed by diversion onto unmade or badly rutted and pot holed roads.
Despite this I made reasonable progress and with 15 miles to go spotted an engineering place with the guy sat down to decided to have another go at my stand. This guy at least had a go and tried to drill out the broken bolts but these are stainless steel and he admitted defeat.
I took the turn off to Falakata where I planned to stay tonight and the traffic reduced considerably further down the road I saw why as there were signs saying there was a 10 ton limit because of a weak bridge and this was backed up by some heavy duty height restrictors which like Kali wouldn’t take any prisoners.
In the end I rolled in about 4 pm which was not bad for 65 miles from a delayed 9am start.
I was looking at a mural of places to visit at the hotel and saw Cooch Behar Palace which looked impressive this was on an alternative route I was looking at with a ferry ride over the Brahmaputra river. This tipped the balance and I decided that would be my route tomorrow which would total 75 miles to Dhubri where the ferry leaves from.
I was on the back road again at 7.10am as I had a lot to fit in. It was nice and quiet on the road with just the occasional lorry and their showground horns to break the peace of the morning. I crossed a few rickety old bridges and one that had collapsed and had to be bypassed.
I managed to cover 10 miles in before I stopped for some breakfast which was a shot glass of coffee and what was a bit like a vegetable taco.
I then pushed on for the other 15 miles which got me to Cooch Behar at a quarter to ten which was ahead of schedule ast the palace didn't open for another 15 minutes.
So I back tracked as I had seen a Walls ice cream freezer up the road and though this might be the time to end my long Magnum drought.
Alas this was not to be as I had to console myself with Feast which was nice but not the real deal.
I could feel a few spots of rain as I sat in the park and enjoyed my Feast and then made my way back to the Palace on the stroke of 10 to buy a ticket to get in.
Unfortunately they wouldn't let me take my bike into the grounds or leave it next to the security lodge so they could keep an eye on it as whilst I can lock it up. I can't secure shut my panniers so anyone could open them up and help themselves if the bike as left unattended which was not worth the risk.
Regrettable that meant the planned visits had to be canned but I took a couple of photos before I left.
I got my head down and rolled through the miles on good roads but there was a building headwind and the few spots of rain started to merge into more constant flow and the umbrellas came out.
I had a snack after 15 miles sheltering out of the rain then got back out in it but after 5-6 miles it stopped and didn't long before the road started to dry out.
At this point I was overtaken by an electric tuk tuk that was just going faster than me so I tuk the opportunity to tuk (see what I did there) behind it much to the astonishment of the three young lads in the back and got a tow in its slipstream for the next 5 miles or so.
With 15 miles to go I called in for some samosas at the roadside cafe. Will you look at the crowd outside I have some sympathy for celebrities now. The guy in front of me was trying to engage me in conversation with little success. Then a second guy arrived who sat directly opposite me and just stared straight at me whilst I finished my food which was most disconcerting. I didn't hang around once I had finished so fought my way to my bike and was off again.
With the failed visit to the palace I arrived at the finish in Dhubri after 75 miles riding by 3.30. There was only one hotel shown on my map and the price was pretty steep but I had not seen any others on the ride in so I booked in. The room had no towels and the soap dispenser was empty so I went down to reception to get these resolved but after 3 people got involved I waited in my room hot and sweaty for 20 minutes and then gave up and dug my own out.
I later found three other hotels when I walked around the town so I added these to Maps.Me so others will be able to see they have choices. No doubt these will be better value and service than where I was.
I wanted to get a reasonable early start this morning so I headed down to reception at 7 am to find the shutter down across the front and the desk unmanned. I went into the back and opened the rear door but that just led into a short passage with a padlocked gate good job there wasn't a fire eh? There was something moving under a pile of rubbish but I suspected that was a rat and not the night porter.
I sat down on the couch and got out my phone and eventually at 7.30 the receptionist arrived who I gave 2,000 rupees this was short paying but I thought was fair given the lack of soap and towels which didn’t go down well. Calls were made and a second gentleman arrived who insisted I should pay the full 2,240 which I refused as I had not received all the services offered and had been inconvenienced by being made to wait. More calls were made and he came back so say I should pay 200 I told him a 40 rupees discount was an insult and he could shove it.
There was then a stand off which they said they would not open the doors I said I am happy to wait they would have to open them some time but offered 100 which eventually after half an hour of back and forth they accepted with no word of an apology and I was on my way. It’s not just the money it’s the lack of service which they need to recognise and maybe the guy at the other end of the phone will shake things up a bit.
Once released from my incarceration, I made my way down to the beach and could see a boat heading for the jetty.
My app showed two ferry routes going across the river but they were not too far apart so I thought either route would do I pushed my bike through the river and up the ramp to the boat followed by a couple of motorbikes.
We set off for what I thought was going to be a reasonably long crossing and was about to grab an apple when we rounded a sandbank and started heading for a landing stage on in island in the middle of the river. I asked the motorbike rider who I was chatting about my trip does the ferry not go across the river and he said something about a second landing so I thought that’s OK looks like we are taking one some more people and will be off but no my bike was grabbed and hauled off the boat.
I found motorbike man again and he clarified that the second landing was on the other side on this island and I had to follow this road which he quickly disappeared down.
I set off along the road he had taken the island was just a solid grey blob on my phone but I thought this should be quite straight forward I take the route most travelled. There were a steady stream of people coming the other way so thought this flow of traffic would continue across the island.
I got into the central part of the island and realised it was much bigger than I thought with villages, schools, shops and everything.
The route became less clear as there were less people coming from different directions. I had to ask a few times which way the boat was and people were becoming less certain with their answers.
Eventually I made it to the south coast but there was no sign of any landing or evidence of boats arriving or leaving but that was only the bit I could see. I when inshore again and asked at a cafe but struggled with the language barrier so had to fall back on my Point To book and showed them a picture of a boat. Well I might have shown them a spaceship for all the blank looks I got.
I started heading further along the island but stopped to take stock. I could spend the rest of the day playing Christopher Columbus and charting this island by bike with my picture of a boat or cut my losses and whilst it was still fresh in my mind retrace my route and the boat back to the north shore.
I took the second option and was soon in the queue for the next boat ad providing entertainment for the others who were waiting.
The boat back was much busier and I wondered if we were going to float off the sand but with some redistribution of the passengers they manage to pole out the bow into the current and we were pushed off.
I was back on the beach 10.30 am two hour lost 10 rupees spend 10 miles covered nothing achieved. I was pushing my bike off the beach when a much bigger two deck boat came in and I thought maybe that one goes all the way across. I asked one of the waiting tuk tuk drivers were that boat went and he answered my question with a question where do you want to go? I told him Fakirganj on the far bank and he said I needed to be the other side of the stone jetty.
I headed over there but I could see no sign of a quay there was a busy bazaar through which down a flight of steps. I thought I could see a boat which might have been it but there was no way I could take my bike down there without being sure.
After a few failed attempts to confirm I gave up. 11 am two and a half hours lost 10 rupees spend 10 miles covered nothing achieved. ……
I banged Guwahati the next big city I was heading for into MapsMe and it calculated 262 km taking the bridge downstream which was 62 km more than I had planned. This would mean an extra day on the road but the clock was ticking and I was achieving nothing standing here so got going.
I rode hard and despite the waste of most of the morning and managed to clock up 60 miles for the day only 50 of which were in the direction of Singapore. I just kept going until I ran out of daylight and then on my third attempt found a patch of grass and leaves off a path situated behind a shrine which was under construction. This was pretty much hidden from the road so managed to get my tent up unhindered one guy walked past along a path but he just kept going so I was up and running with my first Indian wild camping experience.
The problem with India is that it has a single time zone and in this eastern area it is pitch black by 5,30 pm so I just had some fruit and biscuits then settled down to read my book with my headtorch on but soon my eyes were closing and expecting an early start in the morning got my head down about 6.30pm.
I slept quite well for such and early start but I the place I chose was next to a section of road with ten speed humps so was woken in the night a few times by screeching brakes or lorries with drivers who must be dozing off tearing over them at full speed which caused a riot of noise and a minor earth tremor.
I was up again at 4.30 and thought I might as well get moving so I can go to the toilet before anyone is around. This was a bit early but not much as I had just finished making my porridge at 5.30 when the crowd started to gather to watch me eat it.
What were these people doing up and dressed at 5.3? They must have had some purpose which they had now obviously abandoned to stand there for an hour to watch me!
I headed into the tent for my rendition of “man changes into bike shorts and rubs cream on his backside” I wondered about closing the tent but then I thought well if they are that nosey to peer in good luck to them! I’ve seen the Turner prize maybe I’ll put this in as an entry.
One guy did venture a look but he called a warning to the others that he could never unsee that for the rest of his life!
With the encouragement of my audience I was up and on the road by 6.30 an all time record so with just a 55 mile target to hit today there was a danger of blowing that out of the water. I took a few breaks the first for a second breakfast of a sweet dumplings and some sugar type balls.
I passed a cattle market on route but was not quick enough to get my camera out before I was surrounded so this is a shot of cattle market and gawping man as he wouldn't get out of the way.
I then stopped again another 15 miles down the track for another ridiculously sugary snack whilst I waited for my tent to dry out.
I also passed a couple more festival sites which were being dismantled with impressive gate structures made of bamboo and cloth.
I made the 55 miles by 12 noon and managed to stretch a leisurely lunch until 1 pm then the issue was that if I carried on cycling until say 3.30 I would cover another 30-35 miles and have to camp and with an inevitable early start would be arriving in Guwahat where I planned to stay for about 9 am which is way to early.
There were no hotels listed on my app but there are now as I found two riding about the town. The first one had a nice big ground floor lobby under a sign saying reception. I rode in and lent my bike against the wall, walking over to the desk found I was at the doctors reception “hotel’s on the first floor up those stairs” I was told.
I sacked that off and tried the second which was down a corridor full of freezers as they also ran an electrical store but managed to get my bike down and secured with and en suite room for 450 rupees bargain.
That was that then an afternoon off with a chance to call my sister Naomi on her birthday, dry my tent and will head off early tomorrow.
About 60 miles today but all flat which I wanted to knock off early to get some rest as a big one tomorrow. I was told the hotel would be open at 6 am to at 6.30 I was at the front to find the front locked and a guy leaning on the bell to try and get in. Fortunately there was a sign to say which room the staff were in so I knocked them up was released and was off.
There was a thick mist when I left the town riding through the gates which layered my glasses with moisture as I rode through it but this was soon burned off by the sun and it had the makings of a beautiful day.
I decided to keep moving I would have just two breaks today at 20 mile intervals and the first came at about 8 am which was good going. I called in at a cafe asked for a coffee but they only had tea so I said no I’ll just have some water plus some dall and bread this came along with my water and tea (I thought I said no?).
I polished that off chatting with a student who walked in and having the obligatory selfies taken they asked through the student if I wanted some sweets pointing to the wide selection available. I thought well as I have a tea now I might as well, maybe that was their strategy. I selected a couple which were really nice and having not quite finished my tea I went back for more!
With my sugar levels supercharged I fired off waving at all the kids who were on their way to school on foot ,bikes and tuk tuks. I was catching up two schoolgirls on a bike when they swerved off the road and fell over. I could see as I passed that the sash from the girl on the back had got caught in the rear cog and chain. I turned back and gave them a hand to free the torn and oil stained sash which I handed back to the girl. I then found that the back wheel was out of alignment so I got out my adjustable spanner and reset that and sent them on their way. I was of course watched on by the obligatory crowd that had now gathered with a number of spectators cars and motorbikes littering the roadside.
At forty miles it was pop and crisps time at a small convenience store where the guy gave me some salty beans shoots on the house as well which was nice.
I finally made it across the Brahmaputra River at the second attempt using the more reliable bridge method.
Over the bridge I swung a left into Guwahati hitting the city almost immediately on the south bank and battling heavy traffic for another 7 miles into the centre.
I was thinking why am I doing this would I not be better bypassing all this and closing the 60 miles uphill to Shillong tomorrow but pulling into The Brown Bean Coffee for a cappuccino and a tuna melt convinced me that city life does have its advantages.
After a few attempts I found a reasonably priced hotel for the night by about 2 pm which had a dark and dingy bar. I treated myself to a cheeky bottle of Kingfisher, first of the week and badly needed.
Right big climb today so I skipped breakfast at the hotel and was getting ready to leave when checking my emails saw one from the hotel I was booked in tonight. They were requesting payment online outside of the secure Booking.com process so I replied to say I was not prepared to do that and would pay on arrival.
I got going and missed the rush making much better progress out of the city at 7 am than I had getting in.
The traffic was building but I soon came off the main highway to take the road to Shillong and things quietened down. I made it to the first stop on good time but the real climbing had not started yet so I had my standard breakfast of naan type bread with vegetable dal washed down with a coffee and this time just a couple of Indian sweet desserts.
After this the climbing got tougher I was out of the saddle a few times but mostly the gradient was not too steep so I was able to roll on at a reasonable pace. There were a few downhill sections thrown in which are always bitter sweet as it is nice to give your legs a break but you know you are going to have to make that height up again further down the road.
As I gained altitude I started to hear more of the insects we found in Nepal which make a loud noise. This was like someone constantly running at wet finger round a wine glass amazing sound and that they can keep it up non-stop.
I started passing lots of stalls selling pineapples which must be grown locally as I had not seen these before and thought they would make a great mid morning snack. At at 30 miles down pulled over to buy on then found a nice spot on a bridge where I pulled out my pen knife carved it up. I hope I will find more of these as I head south.
I had lunch at a roadside cafe and was entertained by the owners grandson learning his english nursery rhymes. I noticed that English was the predominant language in this area that the people had started to take on a more east Asian look. Also that Christianity seemed to be the more dominant religion as some of the cars and lorries had God Save Me and images of Jesus rather than other Hindu deities to protect them on the crazy roads.
I started my final 15 mile stretch at 2.30 and after an initial climb dropped down to cycle around then, climb above a large reservoir with some grey clouds forming it looked just like home. They do in fact call this area The Scotland of the East so a deep fried mars bar might be on the cards.
I hit the city limits but could see buildings stretching up above me so there would be no easy drop in to the end but was spurred on and distracted by the acknowledgements and waves from the people I passed along the way.
I eventually made it into the narrow streets of Shillong and twisted and turned my way to the hotel by 4 pm. When I arrived there was a gentleman about my age on reception who when I said I had a reservation just shook his head and said no you don’t we are full. I said yes I do through Booking.com and he replied that they do not use Booking.com and are full.
At this point I snapped, grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him over the desk to better voice my displeasure. I pointed and pointed out that if they do not use Booking.com why did they respond to confirm they had cycle storage and to request alternative payment through that website?
He continued to protest that they didn’t use it as I propelled him back into his seat and waved a clipboard at me showing no reservation. To this I snatched the clipboard off him tore out the sheets and departed thinking well if you are not going to accept my reservation I’ll have all of yours!
We have had this before in India what happens is that Booking.com will take 10-20% of the fee. So whilst they are happy to use the site to promote the hotel and accept booking, if they can fill the rooms direct they will and then when you arrive start this we don’t use act.
I was then having made a hasty retreat from Hotel Grace hearing the guy calling for reinforcements left with the light fading riding around the steep narrow streets trying to find accommodation as the light faded. This is why I booked a room as this was exactly what I wanted to avoid after a long hard climb.
I dropped down a steep hill to try a couple of hotels there one was full and the other just had the suite available at 4,000 rupees which was way over budget. I then had to struggle back up said hill to try again. The next hotel said we have one room left I said that sounds like an expensive answer how much? 7,000 too much the next one I tried printed off a price list I scanned the page and homed in on 1,400 about £16. I thought that would be alright but then reading further worked out that was just for breakfast! The room was 3,500 I said my budget was 2,500. The receptionist said they have rooms available in a sister budget hotel 15 minutes away which their driver can take me to which is 2,700.
It was pitch black outside now so I said deal but I’ll have to follow the car on my bike which I did. We went right past the front of Hotel Grace where I was waiting for the shout of “There He Is!” to set of at high speed but it never came. Mind you it would have been a short chase as I soon came to steep hill I had to push my bike up.
So by 5.30 I was in my budget room which was pretty basic and with taxes and add ons turned out to be 3,200 per night expensive place Shillong.
I had a day off in Shillong which is quite a big city but clinging to the hillside like some Cornish village so hard to get around. I managed to find somewhere to reactivate my sim card so I now have mobile data for the rest of my stay in India which is good as I suspect accomodation with wifi might start to run dry as I get to the more remote parts. I also pick up some sun tan lotions and cod liver oil tablets on the main street which I had struggled to find elsewhere.
Next I headed over to a cycle shop I finally found and managed to buy a new chain some better oil, another puncture repair kit and spare inner tube.
I tried to get a pair of cycling shorts but they were all too small so drew a blank there. I chatted with the owner for some time about my trip and how I managed on the road. He had to go but made me a coffee before he left.
When I got back I got out my slime tube and pumped it up to see if I had any more punctures to fix I was up to four by now. I didn’t see any but I could hear air escaping and my heart sank but it sank further when I discovered it was the valve seal that had gone.
That I was not able to fix so all those the puncture repairs had been a waste of time.
Good job I had bought another tube earlier that day as that one went in the bin.
I did some Christmas shopping for my sister which I won't go into because she reads this blog. I also started working on getting some cards via Funky Pigeon for my nephews and nieces using photos from the trip but it was getting late so decided to leave that to another day and headed out.
I headed out for my last night in Shillong so thought I would agains make the most of being in a tourist city and ended up in an R’n’B night at Irish bar in The Polo Hotel (not the mint) What a mash up!
Despite my late night there was absolutely no chance of a lie in the next morning as a group of guests where up a 6am and making a huge racket shouting up and down the corridor with no thought for any others.
I slowly got my stuff together but pulling out one of my front panniers discovered a hole in the bottom which I suspect was made by a goat as this was the one I keep my food in.
I also found it had taken a bite at my waterproof jacket as well. I have some sail repair tape which is lightweight but strong and managed to effect a repair.
It was a slow start made slower by the night out and I swung by the Cathedral of Mary I visited yesterday before leaving as the photo I took then was not very good.
The resemblance to the basilicas in Lourdes was evident with a grotto in the lower chapel which reminded me of the many trips I had made there with my mother who put me up to this mad caper. She told me to live my dreams and make the most of my life as her life dwindled away in a hospice bed.
I tried to light a candle for her in front of the grotto but unfortunately there were none to be found.
I carried on and could see this was not going to be an easy morning ahead of me as the only way was up!
I climbed out of the city which was difficult with steep roads and heavy traffic slowing me down but so eventually clear and looking back down.
The road ahead was a mixture of climbs and downhills so I made reasonable progress singing Snoop Doggy Dog songs from the R&B night before. You can see why they call this the Scotland of the East there are pine trees as far as the eye can see.
I stopped after 20 miles to buy some bananas and oranges at a roadside stall. I got chatting to the woman and her daughter as I tried to fix my still old chain as I need to clean it before I replace it. They made me a cup of tea whilst I worked. I was educated that this area is known as The Scotland of the East not just for the landscape but because Scottish missionaries settled in the area and converted the people to christianity.
She was saying how she admires the British for being so adventurous and how she would never think of embarking on a trip like mine. Anyway she had three children she as to care for but I said they will grow up one day and she should make plans. I gave her my blog site and told her if she ever decided to visit the UK I would show her the real Scotland. Who knows the phone may ring one day.
I got going again and notices that it was now 1 pm and I had spent an hour chatting at the stall. My initial plan was to try and have a big day today in the hope of getting to Silchar tomorrow but with the late start and my slow progress that plan was now toast.
So after 35 miles I pull up at a roadside restaurant and hotel to have lunch and decide what to do.
The next accomodation was 60 miles away it was 2.30 and it would be dark in 2 hours I didn’t feel much like camping. When I huge plate of chicken fried rice appeared that would immobilise me the decision was made I would stop here.
I had hoped to update this blog and make some progress on Christmas cards and other things but I think the internet was driven by an arthritic three legged hamster on a wheel so after 45 minutes looking at the donut of doom trying to upload one photo I gave up. I think the hamster gave up as well as after 5,30 it was pitch black and the power was off and on so I threw the towel in on reading and it was an much required early night.
The next morning I ate my breakfast to the sound of Christmas songs in the background bloody Scottish missionaries.
I was much more refreshed and raring to get going so it was a continuation of the up and down of yesterday until at last I saw a flat plain in the distance and thought this is a long downhill and then flat for the rest of the day.
I started dropping and entered into a national park taking careful note of all the things that might eat me if I camped out tonight!
Eventually the road bottomed out at the river and I thought I would be following this onto the flat floodplain.
Not long after I came to a bridge across the river and stopped to take this shot of the dark green water flowing below.
There was a young group on motorbikes further down the bridge and two of the girls came over and asked for a selfie with me I said yes as I had stopped and the flood gates opened all the rest of the group then wanted selfies.
Then other people crossing the bridge were pulling over for their turn. This is unfortunately why I don't stop for selfies as you struggle to get away.
I did eventually break free and was soon and at the forest rest house that was my target for the day but it looks a bit basic and it being just 2.30 I had visions of another afternoon with nothing to do. I was out of out of the national park so should be safe to camp (I hope the Himalayan bears can read the sign) so I decided to push on.
I was climbing again which was puzzling but a check of the map made me realise I was not in fact going to be heading for that nice flat plain below as that was Bangladesh.
I had 62 miles in my legs by now and was making slow progress up thinking I'd had very little to eat only in fact two packets of pasta shaped monster munch things in fact. I also needed some water if I was camping. There was very little available by the roadside another big bowl of rice would have gone down a treat but all I could find was a couple of small bags of bombay mix and packed of biscuits and a litre of bottled water.
At 4 pm I thought right I need more water and swung by a spring where a couple of army guys were washing a truck. As I stopped a motorbike pulled in beside me and the familiar request for selfies made. I said yes if they were quick but had to give them a countdown as they were on No. 5 whilst the sun was sloping towards the horizon.
I'd filled my 2 litre bladder which I could filter later and headed off up the road which with steep slopes on both sides I had not see a suitable campsite for the last half an hour and if this continued I'd be putting my tent up in the dark
Fortunately. not far up the road I found a stand of palm trees and dived in there. I found a flat spot at the back that was just large enough to get the tent in and was set up. I took the wild animals precaution of taking all my food and tying it up a tree so if a Himalayan bear did stray out of the national park it would head there not into my tent!
It was an early night again but I seemed to cat nap through it as my palm tree grove was on a sharp corner so all through the night I could hear lorries struggling up from one side or tearing down the other.
I noticed before the sun when down a long bamboo pole propped up by one of the trees near my tent and guessed that was for harvesting the fruits they produce which looked like oranges but can't be as the oranges round here look like limes. There were however a few bumps in the night one quite close which I hope where fruit dropping from the trees and not a leopard or anything else.
In the morning I thankfully woke up without a waiting audience of people or other creatures and got myself ready for the day. The food was recovered but not entirely untouched as a colony of ants had moved in and were attacking an apple in there.
I got my stuff packed away and made a brew by the side of the road as it was safer than setting fire to the jungle floor which was littered with palm leaves and bamboo.
I loaded up my bike then released by second buff was missing. Thinking back I had tucked it under the cord holding my yellow drybag on the back to dry out yesterday, I also recalled a boy of about 9-10 running after me as I pedalled past him up hill and gave me a push. All good natured fun I thought but it looks like there was a more sinister motive.
I only had about 40 miles to do today and was sure it was going to get flat so was not under any time pressure indeed with the early start from camping I was thinking I might arrive too early for a hotel check in as there were a few to choose from tonight.
I set off and climbed again up the rest of the hill I was battling up yesterday and drew closer to Bangladesh again as I crossed back into the Assam region.
At the border there was a police checkpoint and I stopped to get the photo of the plain below when an army officer walked over. He asked the price of my bike and I said "oh about £1,000" He then asked to look at at the camera and I handed it to him. He asked if this was my only one and then started thinking where is this going as I could see the lorry drivers handing cash to the other guards. Was he going to go down the route of import tax and take the camera? I told him it only cost £30 was not very good and had a scratched lens which is the truth.
He handed it back to me asked all the usual questions where am I going, how long has it taken me to get here etc. and thankfully I was on my way.
I lost more height and was soon out of the jungle on the flat and back into the tea plantation country.
At the first stop I demolished a couple of small packets of biscuits with some fruit juice and as I was getting ready to leave spotted a cobbler on the street who was idle so gave him my right training shoe to fix. He glued and stitched the toe rubber back on the same as I had done to my left one in Osh so I again have a matching pair.
I pushed on and in time came off the main highway which forked off the the right and headed straight on for my destination Silchar now about 15 miles away.
As soon as I left the highway the road deteriorated rapidly to a mostly dirt road which I rattled along at half my previous speed breathing in the dust kicked up by the passing traffic.
What I could really do with now is that second buff to put over my mouth and nose which that bastard child nicked! There were some short sections of tarac but in their wisdom someone had added speed humps to these what was the point of that!
Finally as I got closer to Silchar tarmac was mostly restored and having had one disappointing attempt to get food when the guy brought me a tea and when I asked about food offered me eggs or something else. I obviously chose the something else which must have been being ignored as that is what happened for the next 10 minutes and when I finished my tea I though sod this I’ll just get to the end and have some lunch which I did.
I ended up at a pretty brutal concrete hotel on the outskirts of the city as those closer in had surrendered their ground floors to shops and cafes so nowhere to store the bike.
It did have a few redeeming features which were good WiFi and a bath!
It took some time for the water to heat up so I used this to whip off my old chain that was playing up again washed it in my remaining petrol and put it away as a spare.
I fitted the new one I bought in Shillong under the watchful eye of hotel security and the restaurant manager.
I also got up to date with things on the go including paying some bills and my Christmas Cards sorted which was good to get out of the way as looking at the route ahead I think things are going to get a bit remote for the next week or so.
Later I headed into the city to do some shopping and found my first Magnum in East India! I was beginning to think they didn’t exist here just a sea of Feasts. What a great place a bath and Magnums!
The facilities in Silchar and the timings for the next stage of my journey meant I stayed for an extra day as I have a 28 day visa for Myanmar which I intend to make full use of then cross into the border to Thailand and spend a few days over Christmas in the city of Mae Sot before heading south. I used the time to get a very expensive haircut and shave foolishly not agreeing the price in advance and picking up some more food items for this last push as the first couple of days in Myanmar look pretty barren as well.
I got rolling after breakfast and some misunderstanding over payment as I was leaving I thought the waiter said one seventy and I replied I thought this was included with the room? He looked puzzled and repeated one selfie!
Selfie taken I headed off and out of the city seeing different parts that I had not been to on my shopping trip including a KFC which I missed out on.
I had planned a route to take me 60 miles today to the top of the first climb which should be OK as the first bit was flat and would leave about 50 miles and another big climb tomorrow.
I was tempted to load up on bananas bit these looked a bit under ripe.
I was making good progress once I left the city but I could see the hills approaching which would soon become a feature for my last days in India.
As I climbed into the jungle against I saw a scooter stopped in front of me and then saw a shind black snake slithering across the road it must have been about four foot long and I watched as it scaled the near vertical bank on the other side with extreme dexterity. I hope I don't meet one of those tonight! I climbed further and was soon looking out over the hills to come.
I then came across a large military base and training facility which was spread across the next 4-5 miles of the road with all sorts of facilities built wherever they could be accommodated along my route.
It was a roller coaster ride with climbs and drops throughout the day but gradually gaining altitude.
As I went along I saw this sign a few times which was a but of a worry as the travel clinic told me I was not going through and malaria affected areas so I had no treatment.
I must find out what it says.
I also noticed now I was back in the hills that Christianity had taken over as the predominant religion as it was definitely more Hindu yesterday in the city. I must be the the that the Scots are drawn to the uplands.
I eventually stopped for a late lunch about 2.30 and had some fried rice and chicken washed down with a cup of tea and and indian sweet for afters.
As I was paying the woman was preparing a betel nut and explained they were very popular in this area and turned your mouth red which I had notices a lot. She gave me one and told me how to prepare it rolling in a leave with lime and them putting in the side of your mouth to chew on for a couple of hours. With some research later I discovered these were what was being harvested or dropping from the palm trees the other night.
I was offered more rice but said I had to get going as all too soon the sun was dropping and I was at the business end of the climb now so progress was slow but I took time out to take a shot of the reservoir which I could see in the east.
As I progressed I started to feel a bit light headed and almost drunk which I attributed to the Betel nut I was chewing so I spat it out. I was right, my later research threw up that high doses of betel nut are narcotic and can produce cocaine-like effects which is probably what it had on me as a first time user. Maybe I'll stay off them in the future.
I struggled on up the hill but soon it was the witching hour of 4 pm so I grabbed a couple of litres of water from a shop and found a spot just off the road to camp a bit too close for my liking but it would do ok.
I slept OK but a truck pulled up overnight across the road from me and started doing some repairs at four am so I was awoken to the banging and clattering of tools. Still he was off by five so at least I had some privacy from then. I had just over 50 miles of challenging roads to reach Aizawl ( see map at the top) I needed an early start so no brew or porridge before I hit the road.
Annoyingly two and a half miles further on there was a town with a couple of hotels which if I had known about I would have pushed on to get a bed for the night. I have added them now to MapsMe so again anyone else following this route will know.
I continued to climb and looking back down the lowlands there was some patches of mist here and there.
After about 15 miles I found a small town and pulled into a busy cafe for breakfast I ordered rice vegetables and beans but after four parties arrived and got served there was no sign of my food. I got fed up and left to the cafe opposite which just did samosas and sweets but that would keep me going. It was also on the sunny side of the street so I was able to dry out my tent from the overnight dew.
I continued to climb and so did the sun which soon burn off any remaining mist to leave a clear cloudless day ahead.
I seems to be on schedule but it was difficult to judge as the routes was a series of long climbs and descents so time seemed to become elastic stretching out as you made slow progress up and contracting as I sped down the descents.
This next descent was not speedy though the road surface was terrible! I was bouncing across rocks and sand with dust clouds being thrown up by the oncoming trucks.
As I was struggling to navigate my way over this challenging surface whilst maintaining some speed to keep the miles turning. I noticed that the distance travelled on my trip computer and to go on the GPS didn't look right. I looked down to double check again but my phone had gone!
It had shaken free of it's mounts so quick about turn needed and I sped back up the hill to try and find it before a truck tyre did. It was face down in the sand and had suffered another crack to the screen but otherwise OK.
After cleaning it up I checked the route and I had somewhere on the decent taken a left fork onto a minor road five miles back which accounted for the deterioration in the road condition and had added five miles onto the journey. No point heading back uphill then had to just get on with it. I managed to find a shop a bit further on to buy a much needed bottle of coke to wash away the dust and a couple of bags of crisps then continued down until I hit the valley bottom and a nice gorge.
It was then time to start climbing again and with 15 miles to go I got my first glimpse of Aizawl perched high up at the top of the hill and thought that's it I'll be climbing for the rest of the day now.
I ground my way nearer over the next three hours and realised that what I was looking at was the rear of the city and I would have to get over that saddle to reach the hotels which were situated on the other side.
After a battle with heavy rush hour traffic up narrow streets some of the worst though were thankfully closed to vehicles other than motorbikes and scooters.
I managed on my second pass to find a hotel with some ground floor space.
I passed a KFC up the road in my search so I sprinted back for a very late lunch at four o'clock.
I'm not sure when I will see one of these again as it all gets a bit remote from here!
I woke up to see the sunrise over the city which was a spectacular view.
Right the last push to Myanmar begins with 165 miles of lumpy stuff left to go. I was straight into it as I dropped onto the one way system out of the city which had me climbing another lung busting hill right from the get go. I thought I was going to lose my breakfast but made it to the top. It reminded me of that last climb out of Mousehole when we did John O'Groats to Lands End
I then got stuck behind a school bus with one intermittent brake light dropping down which cased a few emergency stops. The bus turned off and I was set free stopping as I descended to take this final shot of the city which looked like the favelas in Rio I visited when over there clinging to the hillside.
My freedom to speed off was short lived as I then caught up with a cardboard lorry with no brake lights at all! The lorries brakes squealed though which gave me an audible warning so I managed not to pile into the back when it suddenly pulled over with no indicator (obviously).
I cycled a circuitous route for most of the morning as I twisted though the hills but never losing sight of the city until eventually I reached the top of a pass and dropped into the next valley. There was a hotel shown 115 miles away and my plan was to try and do 55 today camp out and with an early start the other 60 miles tomorrow. However the miles were clocking up slowly and the time was ticking on quickly but at 3pm with only 40 in the bag I had to stop for some food. I ordered some rice and veg but one of the other diners came over for a chat when my food arrived. Once I had gone through the usual 20 questions given him my blog site and telephone number my food was cold. He did offer me a place to stay but I said thanks but I needed to push on.
In the next village I picked up some supplies and the woman there who had seen me earlier in the day was grilling me also on what I was doing and also offered me a bed but again I declined sensing that as most villages seem to be on the top of passes there was a big downhill coming which would increase my mileage for the day and also mean a climb in the morning making the most of the cool weather.
I was right and dropped for miles down the hill keeping a lookout for any suitable camping spots but there were only shallow laybys by the roadside until at 4.30pm with the daylight fading I came across an abandoned quarry.
I managed to get my tent up in the last remaining light and was reading with my headtorch when a lorry pulled up and tipped a load of stones one the roadside then I saw a light approaching and the shout of "you can't stay here!".
I got out of my tent to reason with the guy but it was not a case of mild trespassing "it's not safe here bro" said the guy concerned for my well being and pointing at the large rocks behind me. He said there is a spot 100 metres up the road go there, I said I would and humored him setting off to look and we said our goodbyes.
Up the road was where I had come from and all I could see were shallow laybys which I didn't fancy sleeping with truck trundling a couple of feet past my head and the danger that if any drunken drivers strayed from the road or pulled over for a leak I might be toast.
In the end I moved my tent to a more central location in the quarry and though I would take my chance with a rock falling on my head it wouldn't hurt for long.
I woke up the next morning in thick mist and packed up a wet tent which I would need to dry out later in the day if the sun came out.
I put on a few layers and made my way down the rest of the decent with the road conditions deteriorating but the sun started to burn of the covering of mist and it was business as usual. The gradient was steep and the surface a mixture of rocks and sand which meant my back wheel slipping or my front bouncing off course. Both of these had me putting my feet down to stop the bike falling over then having to push on to the next place I could try and get going again.
I was only 4 miles in and already I was coming to the conclusion that the 63 miles I needed to cover to get to this hotel was not going to be feasible.
I tried as well as I could battling the road and also had a puncture which took me over half an hour to fix as I had to take off all my bags to invert the bike. With two hours sunlight left I had 30 miles to go so threw the hat in and stopped from a late lunch/early dinner.
I was struggling to communicate and a local english speaker helped me out but not much as instead of the rice and veg I asked for and got the whole menu instead!
I jumped back on the bike and could feel my back tyre was soft again not another puncture I pumped it up and hoped for the best but as I left the town and started to descend again I could feel it going soft. I was desperate to find somewhere to camp before it went completely flat so I saw a small flat spot by the road and went for it. It was not ideal but would have to do.
In the end I'd falled 20 miles short of a hotel for the night but that was OK I think I would have been sick if it had been just 4 or 5.
The next morning my back tyre was completely flat so I took it off and checked it carefully but again could find no cause for a puncture so put another inner tube in and hopped for the best.
Then it was groundhog day again and I started climbing but this time I was above the mist so took a few shots as I went along. Luckily my back tyre was staying up so that was a positive start to the day
I made the 20 miles to Champhai which is another town build clinging desperately to the slopes.
I made my way onto the main street but this was Sunday morning about 11 am and they must be good christians here because everything was closed and they were all walking round in their Sunday best.
When I say everywhere I did find a cafe where a grabbed some noodles and bought a pineapple from a street seller which I would save for later.
I climbed out of the town and was soon on an open plain which was a nice change of scenery after the last five days.
Blimey these Presbyterians are doing good business there were lots of new churches that I passed on the way.
I got the distance down to 25 miles to Myanmar and decided enough was enough. I found a small clearing which was actually too small to erect my tent in. So I did that by the roadside then pushed it in, I carved up my pineapple for dinner and got my head down.
Right the last push, I'd given up hoping for good roads by now and battled up the next climb to see a very steep and rough track which would take me the next 20 miles to the border. I passed a banana tree on the way so picked a couple to take with me which will hopefully ripen along the way.
I was apprehensive as I've been here before when you start following a route on MapsMe and then it just peters out. There were no real alternatives and there was a village shown on the map so I hoped for the best and dropped in.
As I continues to descend I went past many startled farm workers who were using the track to harvest from the forest. I was thinking this is so steep and nasty I'm never going to be able to get back up if this goes wrong.
It came time to climb or more like push my bike up the hill where I eventually found the village and a shop where I stopped for pop, crisps and a selfie of course.
I rode through a mud bath, another serous climb and I could see Myanmar over the river and was nearly there.
Down the hill and I was at the border which was a small bailey bridge. I could find no sign of a money exchange on this side but I guy came up who claimed to be from the Assam army and asked if I needed help. I said I wanted to change some money and he said to follow him and we headed over the bridge.
On the other side I got stopped by Myanmar immigration but said I'd do that later as I've not checked out of India. He said it didn't matter and marched me off to an office. Here I produced my passport and he said you have not checked out of India you have been to many counties you should know to which I responded that's what I told you 10 minutes ago (you prat) the bit in brackets were non verbal.
So back to India I went got signed out by immigration and was off India done.
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