[BhaskarG]

Destination: Longest bridge (Dhola Sadiya)
Travelling From: Guwahati
Pit Stops: Sivasagar, Duliajan, Kaziranga
Duration: 4 days, 3 nights
Time: Mid April, 2021
Type: Road trip
Vehicle used: Little City Hatch!!
Gang: Me, wife and a mutual friend
Photography: Smartphone and Nikon S9100

“Ouch! My back hurts. Should have brought the Duster, at least.” I said for the 13th time.

“Now look who is complaining.” mocked my wife.

“I am not joking.” I said as I started checking the balance in my account for the money that I might just need to cough up to a physiotherapist.

When?

This travelogue was pending for a long time, almost a year now. Time to pen it down, else it will not happen ever. This is a story of a road trip that took place in April 2021, after the first series of lock-down(s) got over, and just before the pandemic hit Assam for the second(?) time.

By the way, who am I? I am a young professional starting out in life. But again, I have been trying to make myself believe that I am free spirited and adventurous. But in between all that, a thing called life happened. I got so busy in earning money that I started to forget what I was passionate about. I forgot what made me happy. This trip was an attempt to reclaim my senses one year back. Read on!

Pic: Under Dhola Sadiya bridge. This bridge covers stretches of land and water alternatively.

Why?

Why during the pandemic times? No, I didn’t risk my life and get all travel-lusty during the peak pandemic season. I was not that ultra-courageous. I did it because life was about normal here in Assam, with Bihu functions going on in some places. Schools had resumed. It was supposedly a safe slot, April 2021.

Travelling in the times of pandemic was a gamble. Fear of Covid-19 aside, you are in a constant risk of being stranded because of a sudden lockdown. On the positive side, places are less crowded. I got some space in between two lock-downs, and decided to grab it like a crab. Jo hoga dekha jayega.

Where?

For me, adventure always involved the feel of the road behind the wheels. But the pandemic had closed my usual road-tripping routes. Meghalaya, the heaven of a destination nearest to my place, had closed its door to tourists. Sikkim followed suit, and so did the other neighbours.

All I was left with was the state itself to explore. Which was not a bad thing at all. In fact, I had not visited many parts of my state yet. It was time to explore what I should have already explored. I’ll try to put out some gyan about the northeastern state of Assam as you go through this writeup.


A preview of things to come in this travelogue:

[BhaskarG]

The longest Bridge:

“Do you know that the longest bridge of India is in Assam?” I asked my wife.
“I heard”, She replied.
“Well...!” A big grin on my face.

She looked at me sceptically.
“Obviously another road-trip on your mind?”, she said.
“Yes”, Said I.
“Just like that? Do you even realise how far it is?”
“So what?”
“Pandemic, that's what.”
“Mask, sanitiser and we already have two dose vaccine”, I said
“Well…!” A big smirk on her face. Women, huh?

Let me explain the resistance. My wife is working on a startup, and does not like wasting her time on weekends. I am, on the other hand, more of a free spirited kind. You are getting the drift, right? Now the biggest challenge was to get her onboard.

“You know, I’ll ask Amit to join us. Business on the way” I tried to negotiate. (Who is Amit? You’ll know in the next section.)
“Good idea. Let’s go, then” Said she. First and biggest hurdle being over, let me come back to the topic in hand:

Popularly known as Dhola Sadiya Bridge, the Bhupen Hazarika Setu over the river Lohit, Commissioned in 2017, is currently the country’s longest bridge as on date spanning over 9 kilometres in length. It connects Arunachal pradesh to the rest of the country.

Pic: Sign at the start of the bridge (on entry from southern bank)

You may want to take a look at this list of bridges in Wikipedia. Now this list will change with time, as new bridges are being constructed. But this bridge is the longest as of now.

Bridges do fascinate me, as do rivers and mountains. I love the sheer majesty of a big bridge. Such a wonderful creation of mankind that mingles with mighty mother nature, yet stands proudly above her. I can sit in awe and watch for hours, provided the bridge is big enough.

Pic: The other side: I might win some photography contest with this one.
Livelihood of local boatmen had been crushed by the bridge. This old man with his rotting boat no longer in use.

The Route:

Note: you can skip this part entirely, if you are not interested in geography. No effect in the narrative. Promise!

The route that we were going to take would cover a very large part of Assam and take us to almost the easternmost tip of the country. The China border will not be far away. We were to start at Guwahati and travel the width of the state, reach Arunachal Pradesh, and come back to Guwahati.

Let me genuinely try NOT to bore you to death with a little geographic idea of Assam. As a layman, you can divide Assam into 2 segments: Brahmaputra Valley and Barak Valley. Our drive will be limited to the Brahmaputra Valley only. Now Brahmaputra Valley is popularly divided into Lower Assam and Upper Assam. Lower Assam is the part connecting North East India to the rest of the nation, which also includes Guwahati city. Upper Assam is the more scenic part of Assam, with an abundance of tea gardens and oil fields here. Our trip was from Lower Assam to Upper Assam and back.

There were two possible routes: 1. The northern bank of Brahmaputra, which would have been longer; and 2. The southern bank road, the route is shorter, but 4-lane highway construction work was going on at some places, I was informed.

Pic: Two possible routes from Guwahati to Dhola Sadiya. Point D is the bridge.

We decided to take the second route, as nobody could confirm the scale of construction work. And that route was more familiar. But it was recommended to take an abuse-friendly car. But how abuse friendly? How bad were the roads in Upper Assam? We did not know then. We thought, “How bad can it be?”. Oh, we were so wrong! Bunch of naives!!

[BhaskarG]

The People:

1. Me: Petrolhead and the sole driver for the whole trip.

2. My wife: Me and my wife are best buddies, though our interests are completely different. That way, we complement each other perfectly. However, the thing that I cannot comprehend is her apathy towards driving. She just hated it. She hated it so much that I could not get her to learn it in 3 years’ time. Wife of a petrolhead. Oh, the irony!

3. Our friend and business partner, Amit: he was included, so that we could combine some business with the trip. Cool and composed, Amit is our own Rahul Dravid. He is more of a scooter guy and he has just recently learned to drive. Should he be behind the wheel on this trip? No, I guess.

Having only one driver on a long road trip has disadvantages:

1. More stops. Less continuous road-time due to fatigue. Either the duration of the trip gets extended that way, or the trip content gets compromised.
2. Again considering the fatigue factor, the driving needs to be done mostly during the day, we would get limited daylight for sight-seeing.
3. More chai (or sutta for some) breaks.

Yes, there are some bhpians like @LONG_TOURER who can drive a continuous 20 hours without breaking a sweat. But that is not me!

The Places:

Ah, here comes the places of interest:

1. Dhola-Sadiya, at the extreme end of the country. The longest bridge is situated here.

2. Sivasagar: City of ancient/mediaeval monuments and palaces of the Ahom kingdom.

Pic: Rang Ghar, an amphitheater at Sivasagar

3. Kaziranga National Park, home of the one-horned rhino.


4. Duliajan: A oil township. We had to stop there for some business related work. I love to put some business work into my road trips whenever possible. This ensures that money spent on the trip is recovered.

Pic: Tilinga Mandir on Duliajan-Tinsukia road

All of us being busy people, finding a common time for a trip became a challenge. We somehow managed a 4 days common window to do the trip. Now the biggest challenge now was to fit all of the above into these 4 days. So the plan was:

April 16th:

Plan: Guwahati to Sibsagar on day 1 night stay at Sivasagar: Mostly good roads.

Execution: Perfect!

April 17th:

Plan: Sivasagar to Dhola Sadiya on day 2, night stay at Duliajan: Mix of good and bad roads.

Execution: It did not go according to plan. Had to skip Dhola Sadiya.

April 18th:

Plan: Duliajan to Kaziranga on day 3, night stay at Kaziranga: Mostly bad roads.

Execution: As Dhola Sadiya could not be done on day 2, this resulted in a 14 hour drive on day 3, ten hours of which was almost non-stop.

April 19th:

Plan: Finally, Kaziranga to Guwahati on day 4: Excellent roads.

Execution: Perfect!

No hotels were pre-booked, since there were almost zero tourists, but hotels had opened.

[BhaskarG]

The Machine:

I have my “Little City Hatch”, a 2019 Hyundai Santro AMT. But a car of its class is best for use in the city. Ride quality is on the stiffer side though. Stiff is considered to be good on the highway, but stiff will not be great for those potholed roads in Upper Assam. My wife looked for a more suitable car for this trip.

“You need a duster at least. Potholes galore in upper Assam”, said my wife.

“Ok”, said I, and didn’t give a hoot about it. “My car will handle it”, I thought. Oh boy, I was so wrong!!

I calmly decided to take the humble Santro out for the road trip. People have done longer trips in M800s and Altos. I know a Bhpian who takes his SS80 Arunachal, Meghalaya, Nagaland. So why cannot I?

The Preparation:

(You can skip this section if you wish, without any effect.)

The Little City Hatch got prepped up:

• Took the Santro to the HASC for servicing and got the fluids topped up, brakes checked.
• Alignment balancing done.

Already I had installed the following few months back for peace of mind:

• A dash camera: A very important safety device nowadays.
• Portable tyre inflator: Good to have, comes handy sometimes.

Checklist before the trip:

• All lights, electricals checked.
• Wipers checked.
• Tyres, spare checked.
• Basic first aid kit and medical supplies.
• Water bottles.
• Snacks.
• Tissue box.
• Flashlight.
• Clothes, brush, flip flops and towels.
• And most importantly sanitiser, masks and wipes.

You might feel that it is not a very long drive, and you do not need to check most of these. However, I always recommend a little prep-up, specially, if you are travelling with your wife at night.

[BhaskarG]

Day 1: Guwahati to Sivasagar

So, the Little City Hatch it was, that rolled out on the morning of April 16th. It was a pleasant morning, not too hot, not too cold. Sun was shining with a mild glow. Pleasant as pleasant can be.

Pic: Journey starts. First stop to fuel up, and then we hit the highway.

Guwahati to Nagaon:
The road from Guwahati is a fantastic four laned highway. Nice for relaxed cruising, but you can really push your car in this stretch of the road. However, Santro feels strained if you floor the pedal. It is stable at higher speeds, but needs time to get there. Hence we cruised along peacefully. Wish I had some more horses under the hood!


You will find many small shops selling coconut water and pineapples . Second stop there.

PC: HotShot

Nagaon to Tezpur:
Roads were under construction here, with its share of potholes. The 4 lane is not operational till now, and we have to drive on a 2 laned road. We cannot put up much speed here. The suspension of your car gets tested!

Tezpur is a city of rich cultural heritage and historical importance. However, we chose to skip this place due this time.

The Stork tree: A peculiar sight awaits for the keen eyed traveler on this road. There is an uncut tree in the middle of the under construction 4 lane highway that houses 2 big birds. I think these are some kind of storks, but the more experienced persons of this forum can tell us better. This is quite interesting, considering that a lone pair of birds chooses to stay in a lone tree in the middle of a busy highway.

Tezpur to Kaziranga:
Roads are exclusively 2 laned here. However, roads are smooth and of excellent condition here. However, you cannot push your car here. This is an animal corridor, and so we drove responsibly. For those who did not, there were these speed cameras installed, which churned out fines of Rs. 2000. Speed limit is 40kmph inside the corridor.

Pic: Approaching Animal Corridor


Pic: Smooth roads, but Speed Traps

Now comes the good part: Kaziranga. Though I was living in Guwahati, it was my first time that I drove in this part of the country. So super duper excited me!! Deers, elephants, buffalos were all grazing at a distance from the road. You just need a pair of binoculars, and you could see animals literally from the road. My wish came true, as there were some guys standing by the road with binoculars for rent.

Last 2 pics: Park your car and view wildlife from your car!





Last 4 pics: Binoculars!!

“Finish your animal viewing pleasure fast. Long way to go.” said Amit.

“Also, are not we coming back day after tomorrow?” Asked my wife

“Yes, yes.” I said as I handed over the binoculars to the rent-a-binocular guy. Paid his 20 bucks and hopped into the car. I had already made a booking in the government guest house at Kaziranga for our stay during our return journey.

Had lunch at Kaziranga.


Kaziranga to Sivasagar:
Two laned roads. Some were in excellent shape, but as we neared Jorhat, the roads kept deteriorating. No fun here as the route was full of trucks and it was almost sunset.

However, to provide some relief, there is this newly constructed memoir of the founder of the Ahom dynasty in Assam, Swargadeo (coursely translated to Emperor) Chaolung Sukafa at Jorhat:

We reached Sivasagar by eight in the evening and checked into a hotel called Piccolo, which was recommended to us. All Covid-19 protocols were fully observed, hotel was clean, our bags were sanitised. Overall good experience with the hotel.

Pic: Inside Piccolo


Pic: Simple, but lovely dinner

The Midnight Party: There was a huge Bihu celebration going on in the field adjacent to the hotel, however we decided not to join. Were we the only ones concerned about Covid-19 in this part of the country? You would not believe it ever existed seeing the crowd. H-U-G-E crowd partying, singing, dancing in the open field. But we called it a day, and crashed!

Pic: Crowd Partying

Route details:



Distance: ~400 kms
Time: 10 hours with multiple stops
Stay: Hotel Piccolo, Sivasagar
Cost of stay: Rs.2500

[BhaskarG]

Day 2: Sivasagar to Duliajan

Sivasagar, land of the Ahom kings:
However, Covid was prevalent in other parts of the country, as we would be reminded soon. Sivasagar is famous for old monuments, which are regulated by the Archeological Society of India. As luck would have it, starting from April 16th, there was a blanket restriction of visiting monuments all over the country, Sivasagar included. Shiva Dol is a famous temple in Sivasagar, with its ogigin back in medieval Assam. We we took an early morning bath with an intention to visit the temple. Temple was 5 minutes walking distance from our hotel. However, on reaching the temple, we were greeted with this: A notification that it is closed from today onwards. There goes our wish of visiting a centuries old temple just for 24 hours delay!

Pics: Shiva Dol

All other historical monuments of Sivasagar were closed for visitors. However, I could capture a few photographs for your viewing pleasure. All these photos are captured from outside the respective boundary walls.

Pics: Rang Ghar: An amphitheatrer of Ahom kings



Pics: Gola Ghar: A magazine of some sort



Pics: Talatal Ghar: A miniature fort with underground tunnel-ways.

Road to Duliajan, the oil township: We moved out from Sivasagar. We had decided to head for Dhola-Sadiya straight way, via Dibrugarh bypass. However, due to some unavoidable situation, we had to cancel the plan of the bridge, and decided to head straight to Duliajan instead. Some photos along the way:

Pics: Tea Gardens

Route Details:



Distance: 160 kms
Time: 6.5 hours, with a stop.
Stay: Duliajan, forgot the name of the hotel.
Cost of stay: Rs.1400

[BhaskarG]

Day 3: Duliajan to Dhola-Sadiya and back to Kaziranga:

We had arranged with the hotel staff for an early breakfast, so that we could head out latest by 6 in the morning. Time to go to the destination that we had come for! We did not check out from the hotel yet, because Amit had to stay back for some business work. Also, we'd be coming back via this same route route.

To the longest bridge:
Duliajan to Dhola-Sadiya is about 170 kilometres to and fro. Takes about 2 hours in one direction. Hence we were scheduled to be back by 12 noon max, even if we spend 2 hours in the bridge. That way, we could be back to Kaziranga the same day itself.

The roads were 2-lanes, but tarmac was well laid, smooth as butter. As my car was gliding along the scenic roads at the extreme end of the country, I had the feeling that this is the best drive in my life. Stretches of greenery as long as eyes could see. Beautiful Assam at its best!

"Paradise, isn't it?" I told my wife.

Pics: Straight, smooth road splitting the green.

"This is it! Will it be worth?" I was excited to the brim. A Few pictures as we neared our destination: The sign made my heartbeat faster.

Finally, on the bridge. The feel is unreal, because this is not your traditional bridge, per se. The landscape on which this bridge is build is unique. Designed to tackle the flood prone river basin, this bridge spans multiple land and water masses. This in itself, is very unique. in the winter/spring season, when the water recedes ans the level is low, this itself is a sight to see.

Pic: That is about 9 kilometers of pure straight road you are looking at, friend!!

Going Under: There is this road that takes you under the bridge. Few photographs from beneath, too:

Back to Duliajan, and off to Kaziranga: We reached Duliajan, and checked our of our hotel by 12:30 at noon. We had our lunch, and we were heading for Kaziranga soon after. I had already booked a room at the government guest house, Aranya Tourist Lodge along with an elephant safari in the morning.

Pic: Traditional Assamese Thali

Duliajan to Kaziranga is about 300 kilometers, and should take around 7 hours ideally. However, Trying to cover that 300 kilometers in 7 hours was my biggest mistake in this road trip. I had not considered the road conditions. The roads were extremely bad for 60 percent of the distance. We drove peacefully for 2 hour, and then, peace gets tossed around!

Pothole, pothole, pothole, pothole, slow truck, pothole, pothole, pothole, slow truck, pothole, pothole. After 5 hours of continuous driving, by the time of sunset, we were not even halfway through. I started developing a pain in my back. First it was mild, then started getting more painful.

Saw a small town, and I stopped the car.

“Ouch! My back hurts. Should have brought the Duster, at least.” I said for the 13th time.

“Now look who is complaining.” mocked my wife.

“I am not joking.” I said as I started checking the balance in my account for the money that I might just need to cough up to a physiotherapist.

"Why did you not bring a bigger car?" She asked again.

"I don't know" I cried out, irritated.

"Let us try getting some sort of pillow for your back" Said wife, And I though that is a sensible idea.

We started searching the shops for some lumbar support that the Santro miserably missed. Till now I had driven 9 hours, 5 of which was continuous, and in pitiable road conditions. Thankfully we found 2 small pillows.

Drove on for another hour only to find that the pillow was not helpful.

"If only she would have learnt to drive a little. Ouch!!" I started complaining in my head. Did not speak that out loud, you know why!

"Let us call it a day and stay here for the night" said wife, as if sensing my thoughts.

By that time, we had reached Jorhat, a large town in Upper Assam, with ample facility for a comfortable stay. It was still about 125 kilometers to Kaziranga. However, I decided to carry on, because the bad roads were almost over. Smooth roads from here on. Also, as I said earlier, I had already booked a room at the government guest house, Aranya Tourist Lodge along with an elephant safari in the morning.

About three hours later, nearly at 11:00pm, I entered the resort. Torn and exhausted, I crashed into my bed.


Route details:



Distance: 550 kms
Time: 14 hours of driving, 10 of which was almost continuous.
Stay: Aranya Tourist Lodge, Kaziranga.
Cost of stay: Reasonable, considering govt accommodation.

[BhaskarG]

Day 4: Kaziranga to Guwahati

Considering my plight of the night before, I was unsure if I could get up early that morning for the elephant safari that I had booked. My pain had receded, I was walking normal again. Ah, the benefits of not being old! Morning greeted us with all its glory. Our lodge was awesome to say the least. here are some shots that we had taken after completing the safari:

The early morning safari: An elephant safari is something that one must experience in life, if not done already. The best way to view animals in their natural habitat is by going to their place riding another animal. Best time for safari is early in the morning, as more wild animals remain in the open. We reached the safari point, and it was seamless process. The local union demanded Rs. 100 extra for entry, over and above the official cost. I do not know whether you may skip that or not.

Pic: inside the jungle



Pics: Captures from the safari

Orchid park: If time permits, this may be worth a visit for any traveller coming to Kaziranga. Hundreds of orchids are put on display there, some big, some tiny. Some pics:

Pic: The last orchid is very dear to Assam. Called Kopou Phool, symbolic of Rongali Bihu

Back to home, and back to work: Roads from Kaziranga to Guwahati are excellent, except for the stretch between Tezpur and Nagaon. The journey back home was pretty uneventful, so it will not be of much interest to the reader. So, skipping it altogether. Few shots from our return journey to Guwahati:

Pics: 1. Leaving the Lodge, 2. A road within Kariranga, 2. The Highway back home

Route Details:


Distance: 220 kms
Time: 4 hours
Stay: Home, sweet home.
Cost of stay: Zero.



That is it, folks. That is all from my little escapade within the beautiful, beautiful state of Assam. It happened one year back, yet I remember it well enough to be able to pen down a travelogue. I hope to see more of us bhpians here in the future. Any questions are welcome from you all. Happy to help! Thank you for being patient enough to go through my detailed narrative.

Thanks for reading!

[BhaskarG]

Some Random Photos:

Here are some bonus photos for the few who has managed to read it this far: Have a nice day!

A proud dog with his battle scars!


Nothing to see here. Just your regular shot of a regular flower.


A species that is known to grow on rhino dung! And rhinos poop at the same place, always. Unconfirmed information, though.


Bon Gahori


Elephant conference


Some gyan at the Duliajan hotel


Selling bread for the ducks in Sivasagar lake. This lake was man-made centuries ago.


A shed in the middle of nowhere?


Tilinga Mandir: temple of bells


Mama cat


A guide. May come handy for you!


Bar in a govt lodge!


A curious cow

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[dr_TJ]

Nice Travelogue.

Loved reading and going through all the photos.
The road after Kaziranga towards Dibrugarh/Tinsukia still needs some more years to be smooth I guess.

Will wait for your next travelogue

[Yogi..Reeturaj]

What a lucid travelogue Bhaskar. You really can take the reader along. Awesome and cool pictures to boot.

[Gorkey]

Beautiful Assam. Nice travelogue and most importantly awesome photos. Way to go ��
#crew37

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

Popularly known as Dhola Sadiya Bridge, the Bhupen Hazarika Setu over the river Lohit, Commissioned in 2017, is currently the country’s longest bridge as on date spanning over 9 kilometres in length. It connects Arunachal pradesh to the rest of the country.

You have a flair for writing Bhaskar, fantastic read I must say. Liked the narration engaging enough with some wonderful pictures to boot. Keep travelling and keep on writing more. Just one correction to the stated part highlighted above- This bridge is not the only one connecting Arunachal Pradesh to the rest of the country. Arunachal Pradesh was connected even before this bridge came up. It’s just that it has drastically reduced the travel time for the people living in the eastern Arunachal Pradesh which is a boon actually.

P.S- Good to see Ghonta Mandir in public domain of the forum, I have literally seen the temple grow from a small one to a more established one right now.

[BhaskarG]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

You have a flair for writing Bhaskar, fantastic read I must say. Liked the narration engaging enough with some wonderful pictures to boot. Keep travelling and keep on writing more. Just one correction to the stated part highlighted above- This bridge is not the only one connecting Arunachal Pradesh to the rest of the country.

Thank you ABHI for the encouraging words. Yes, I stand corrected. This bridge is not the only way that AP is connected to rest of the country. There are many other routes. I should have pointed that out. Thanks again!