Guwahati - Travelling Through Assam

Turning 40. Sounds like such a big deal. Didn't feel like it though. Just so much left to do and so much life yet to live. But nevertheless, I wanted to mark this occasion. I had decided from a long time that I wouldn't stay home on my birthday. I didn't want to have expectations and then get disappointed. So best option was to run away on a solo holiday. Also, I love travelling alone, so this was a great birthday gift to myself.

After thinking of a few international locations, on my husband's advice I decided to go towards the North east of India. I had never gone that side, it has been on my list for decades and it would also be a great location to plan one of my retreats in the future.

I had a friend I had met on one of my earlier holidays, who owned and operated a beautiful Jungle lodge in Kaziranga. So, Sunny was my obvious choice to help me with my itinerary. I won't go into the details of the planning but definitely into the details of the next two wonderful weeks! Travel through Assam and Meghalaya!

The entry to North east India is mostly through the capital of Assam, Guwahati. I took a flight from Delhi where I had gone to attend a family event. I took an early morning flight as I didn't want to waste the day away. Just as boarding comes close, my excitement starts. I start planning my itinerary for the day. I have never delayed it by so far. I am glad that excitement is taking over the nervousness and the stress of a hectic travel.

I took a nice nap in the flight and woke up fresh before landing. The entry into North East India was spectacular. It was lush with a green carpet of trees on sloping hills. Dotted with bright green fields and far apart houses.

The airport was neat and nice. Luggage came pretty quick and so did my Uber. I asked one of the army personnel where the Uber stand was. As I was waiting for it, a lot of other cab drivers started calling me thinking I was one of the IIT students. Felt good to know people can think I am that young. :D

I chit chatted with the cab guy who told me about the floods that hits that region and also warned me about Chat puja, which is a Bihari festival (there are a large number of Biharis living in Guwahati) and roads tend to get jammed through the day. The city was crowded and the traffic bad, due to a lot of construction work. On my way I saw a restaurant I wanted to go to, and the Kamakhaya temple. They both were quite a distance from the place I was staying and with the fear of Chat puja's crowd, I was completely discouraged from visiting them.

The place I was staying at, was recommended by Indranee who was a friend of our friend in Hyderabad - Swati. Indranee had been really sweet and helped me plan my itinerary in Guwahati too. A floor of an apartment was converted into small guest rooms. Indranee lived in another floor of the same building. The room wasn't great but the view was. I could see the mighty Brahmaputra.

Soon Indranee called and came up to see me. She was just one of the sweetest people I have met. She took my on the terrace showed me the views and explained a lot about the local history. She even took my out on a drive showing all the important spots of Guwahati and then finally dropping me at the museum. Which by the way was shut! Everything is shut on a Sunday in this whole region. I went into Digholi Pukhuri which is a local lake and park. It is a beautiful place and like most parks in India, this one too functions as a lover's meeting point. I wanted to take a walk around the park but felt I would disrupt the activities of these lovers. I just took some pictures, felt awkward and walked out.

I started walking back to the stay and I came across a temple on the way. I would have gone in to look at it, but the heavy crowd deterred me and I continued on my way home looking at some beautiful old houses.

Indranee had invited me for lunch at 2. I still had a lot of time to kill, so I went up to my room, sorted my stuff, chilled for a bit and went down to Indranee’s place. I met her husband and daughter and over a meal of delicious, traditional Assamese food and desserts, we spoke about the local political situation, tourism and art that Indranee is helping build up. She works with rural women who make baskets with water Hyacinth.

I wanted to go for the evening sunset cruise on the Brahmaputra river but was having a hard time connecting with the tour providers. She knew and called one of the owners and got me a booking. I left her house and directly walked to the cruise. I saw people on the street and on the river bank celebrating Chat puja.

I didn’t get a place on the top deck, and as soon as I entered the middle deck, a cacophony of voices welcomed me. Single travellers got a spot at the far end of the deck, and I was one of three. I had a loud Marathi group of senior citizens sitting on one side and a solo traveller like me on the other. The solo travelling girl was in Guwahati on work and we chatted a bit, mainly because we helped each other with our photographs.

The view was incredible but the music and noise on the cruise was deafening. Initially there was a band singing old Hindi songs. There were couple dancing, which slowly turned into popular Bollywood music and the whole deck started looking like a Indian wedding Sangeet. That was not my thing, but I genuinely loved watching all the others having such a great time.

After the cruise as I was walking out, a bunch of college kids came up to me and asked me about my Tree of Life Tattoo. It’s so interesting that I get asked about it constantly even after so many years. The walk back was a whole different scene with the streets full of people out for Chat puja. There was some relief only when I entered my lane. I wanted to eat at Michinga, a very popular restaurant in Guwahati serving local food. Fortunately, it was very close home too. The place was very pretty and decorated in the local fashion. Somehow the moment I entered, I felt I was going to have a great experience.

I ordered a Naga thali and was introduced to how a Naga chilli can set your mouth on fire. My plate came with some rice, two types of pork preparation, a chilli chutney, some fermented veggies and a lot of other condiments. The staff were super sweet and attentive and helped me understand what I was eating. It was to die for! I loved every bite! But then I had to order a dessert to soothe my dead taste buds. It was barely 8:30pm and I was done. Once I reached my room, I realised I had left my sweatshirt at the restaurant. I walked back and was met with a staff right outside who was searching for me.

Back at the guest house, the owner Sangeeta came to meet me and showed me around the whole place. This was so I could bring my guests on the next retreat. She started telling me about the issues in Meghalaya and tried to persuade me to not go. I had been hearing this from a week ago. But my connect in Meghalaya told me it wouldn’t be an issue and I was going to put my faith in him.

I was leaving for Karbi anglong the next day, a location recommended by my friend Sunny. This place was remote and really hard to get to. After a lot of research and planning it was decided that I will take a bus to the next village Nellie and from there someone organised from my stay, will come to pick me on a bike and take me. It was very confusing and frustrating as there was no direct transport to get there.

Well, nothing to do now but to pack and sleep.

To read my adventures further visit https://thefitfoodietravelscom.wpcomstaging.com/karbi-anglong-travelling-through-assam