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TLDR- I was in the border village of Longwa, Nagaland, where I was able to save my head from being mounted on the headhunter’s stick for a princely sum of, you guessed it, Rs. 150!!!
So it turns out, Mom was right all along! My head really isn't worth much rl:
Till as late as the 80s, Naga head hunters were actively hunting, well, heads and used their teeth and bones to make ornaments, with the amount of face tattoos signifing the number of heads hunted.
In the last 30 or so years, they have been slowly assimilated into society, with the older ones earning their tobacco money by extorting money from the likes of poor me. lol:
So the story starts in December 2023, but it really started 3 years ago, when the plan first took seed in the above mentioned worthless head. The Eastern Frontier. The intention was to go all the way to the North East from Navi Mumbai, trying to avoid repeating a route once taken. Easier said than done, with some unsettling stories coming out of fellow bikers who had travelled through eastern UP and Bihar. As we were 3 bikers, there is safety in travelling in a group, isn't there?
Alas, lady luck did not favour me as the other two bikers had to drop out due to personal reasons. Immediately, requests, demands and instructions to delay the trip abounded from family as well as friends. But with a penchant for adventure, I was hardly going to be pulled back from my trip. As a compromise, I would come back the same way I went to the North East, hugging the East coast all the way. And hence the trip began, on 25th December, from Navi Mumbai.
Broadly I will divide the trip into 3 sections, Navi Mumbai to Guwahati, the North East, and Guwahati to Navi Mumbai. While the complete album holds over a thousand pictures, I have managed to condense it down to a few dozen precious pictures. Thanks in advance for giving me your valuable time.
So lets begin with Section 1.
Day 1- It was basically just riding from Navi Mumbai to Nampalli, Telangana. It was 760 km, on the very first day, and it was all I did, apart from finding a hotel and crashing for the night, ready to tackle the first sightseeing point of the trip the next day. My family and friends braved the cold winds to see me off on this journey. Warms up the heart when they think of such things...
Day 2- Visited the beautiful and majestic temple, devoted to the Lord Narsimha in the act of slaying the asura Hiranyakashyap.
The temple is on the far side of this picture, unfortunately partially hidden in the morning smog.
An otherwise beautiful morning with the advantage of having no crowd and the whole place mostly to myself.
From there I pushed on towards my next destination, Vishakhapatnam, to visit the aircraft museums there. But I got distracted by a beautiful dam and the scenic back waters which caused me to lose 2-3 hours to get some beautiful shots with the object of my love…
From there I pushed through the interior roads of Telangana towards the Coromandel highway(NH16), finally managing to reach it only around sundown, just in time, to be safe from the murderous trucks actively trying to run me off the road!!!
Day 3 – The next day I pushed towards Vishakhapatanam, and with its really chaotic traffic, I was able to reach only by noon, which turned out to be a boon, as the museums were scheduled to open even later, by 2 pm that day. As I had not planned on staying in Vishakhapatanam, I had no place to park my bike safely. After being looked down upon by a security guard at a local hotel, who insisted I park my bike outside like a zomato delivery guy, I managed to find an upmarket hotel which would allow me to park my bike in their parking for the low low price of a sumptuous lunch, here I happily deposited my bike, hogged on some Chinese food, and proceeded to the museum area on the eastern coast of the city.
The first look at the line outside the museum was very heartening for me, far more used to seeing such queues outside temples than museums. Looking inside, the lines were justified, what beautifully done museums they were. One was dedicated to the Sea Harrier, with its impressive and thoughtfully laid out equipment, and the other was dedicated to the majestic (and massive!) Tu-142 Albatross submarine hunter.
The day ended with me continuing onwards towards Guwahati on the Coromandel highway(NH16).
Days 4,5,6- These three days entailed me riding sun up till sundown on my way to reach Guwahati. Met a friend in Bagdogra who had really friendly dogs.
Very friendly dogs (left & right) with me (centre)
After almost non stop riding over 6 days, I took a breather on the last day of 2023, spending time with my friends and ushering in the new year, promising an eventful begining...
Section 1 Ends.
Section 2
Day 8- After a rest day in Guwahati on the last day of the previous year, I started my new year onwards to Meghalaya’s Dawki river, with its famed transparent waters. While the waters were low, they definitely did not disappoint. What was equally interesting was the (lack of!) a border between India and Bangladesh at Dawki, with just a short bank of stones separating the two countries!
Day 9- Up till now the roads from Guwahati to Dawki, in fact from Mumbai to Dawki, were excellent, but the next 40 or so km showed me just how bad they could be if the road Gods were angered, with me needing more than 2 hours to cover the stretch. Fortunately though with a forgiving, almost pillowy suspension setup on my motorcycle, the going was not painful. The rest of my trip had no roads as bad as these, except for the final stretch from Kalyan to Thane in Maharashtra!
I finally reached Cherrapunji, where I turned touristy, as the following pics will show.
These two pictures are from the Garden of Caves, an aptly named natural museum of sorts, featuring caves of various sizes and shapes, from the very shallow to the quite deep. Well maintained, it was an interesting place worth visiting.
A sunset shot from the Wilson bridge beyond Cherrapunji, it was dumb luck that I reached this serene location. With the river as transparent as Dawki, I am surprised it is not more famous.
The blue sky and white clouds were so mesmerising that I was constantly stopping for clicking the "Just One More" picture. But I must accept, even a high resolution picture is a poor facsimile for the real thing!
Day 10 – This day promised to be different from all days till date, or even the days to come. It was a mainly a hiking day, trekking about 6 hours down a mountain side to the Double Decker Living Root bridge, multiple Single decker Living Root Bridges and further to the Rainbow waterfall along with the blue lagoon, and returning the same way.
The main obstacle, with over 1200 vertical staircase like steps, is the climb down into the valley. The worst part of it was the fact that the climb would be at the end of the trek when one is already tired from over 5 hours of walk on hilly jungle terrain. It tested my stamina as well as my patience, but I can say with some confidence that the effort was truly worth it.
The Single decker living root bridge, longer than its more famous cousin, is a 250 year old single rubber tree, which provides all the support, while growing between massive boulders on the river bed itself.
The main attraction, the impressive double decker living root bridge, feels as sturdy as it looks.
Lesser visited but equally beautiful is the Blue lagoon, with its crystal clear waters, and the contrast with the yellow brown rocks giving the viewer exceptional viewing pleasure.
The epitome of this hike, a rainbow waterfall. Waters in the blue lagoon originate from this waterfall and it really was worth the 3 plus hour hike to this place. Words escape me on how to describe the feeling here. I will let the picture do all the talking.
I've always been fascinated by the creepy crawlies, and here is a fine specimen sunning itself in the warm afternoon sun, the batman colours, quite impressive.
As I wrapped up the trek and prepared to say my good bye to Cherrapunji, the lands decided to grace me with one last scenic frame...
With these images seared into my mind, I turned back to Guwahati; the first half of my trip was now ending, but the next day was sure to be as interesting - I would get to see the star of any North East trip, the mighty Rhino!!!
Day 11 – The next morning was a pleasant change of sorts for the backside. A friend had arranged for his driver to take me in his car to the slightly lesser known but no less beautiful Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which was followed by an even more majestic ride on the gentle giants (elephants) to see a mommy rhino protecting its very shy but also very curious baby rhino, before returning back to base, Guwahati for a quick turn around for the next leg.
Day 12 – The previous day had seen me camping out at Tezpur for the night, which drastically reduced the distance I needed to cover on the next day. It was a interesting one, the high point being an impressive architectural/engineering masterpiece of the east, the Boghibeel bridge.
The sheer width of the mighty Bramhaputra, along with the challenging terrain of the area makes for a truly impressive structure.
Day 13- The day of the Title arrives:
As I was travelling alone, a friend suggested not riding within Nagaland after dark, due to its proximity to the restive Manipur. So the day was planned to begin at first light and end with returning to base, the small town of Sonari in Assam, after spending the day in Nagaland, mainly in the border village of Longwa.
It was in Longwa that the famed head hunters lived, one of whom very nearly caught me, but thanks to a couple of bank notes, I managed to keep my head on top of my neck! rl:
Day 14 - All good things must come to an end, and so was this circuit in the North East, with my travels back to Guwahati, saying my goodbyes to my friends, and moving on back towards home, Navi Mumbai…
A random sunset shot I managed to capture on my last evening on the road in the North East...
Section 3- But picture(s) abhi baaki hain mere dost.
The trip back was going to be a mighty boring one, returning the same way I had come, extracted as a promise in return for lifting their veto for this trip by (my) producers a.k.a Mom and Dad. But buoyed by my recently found confidence in self, the bike and most importantly, the Indian road infrastructure, I proposed and was given the green light by the same producers, to hit the Gorakhpur Ayodhya circuit, and swinging by to my native city of Lucknow on the way back home.
After uneventful days 15 and 16, I finally touched Ayodhya on day 17, with a quick and efficient tour courtesy yet another friend of a friend, coming through to show me the in’s and out’s of Ayodhya, the (future) grand temple city.
I could get just a glimpse of the imposing structure, the automatic weapons toting police, while very cordial, was not allowing visitors to go any closer than a couple of hundred meters from the site.
Even taking pictures was being discouraged. I wonder why, considering all pics of the construction were already available online.
While Sri Ramji was unavailable, it being 9th January, I took a quick detour and said hi to his faithful disciple Hanumanji.
Despite not being a religious person, I can say that the place excuded an undescribeable aura and positivity, with everybody enthusiastic about the frantic pace of work being put in to ensure things were ready for the grand ceremonies slated to begin less than two weeks from then.
Using a pump lift system the waters of the sacred Sarayu river enter the Naya ghat, flowing through the city eventually falling back into the river the waters originated from.
The Naya ghat has been given a "Naya" makeover, with all buildings around it, getting a common visual treatment, not just the colour but also the facade, giving it a very uniform look. This visual treatment is not limited to the ghat, but covers almost the entire city.
Who can miss the intricate carvings on the Veena at the Mangeshkar chowk
With this I come to the end of my trip, 3 more uneventful days of riding in the foggy, intensly cold climate, the only noteworthy point being the drastic temperature jump that I endured in the span of a single day, from 8° C in the morning leaving Guna, MP, climbing to 25° C while crossing Indore around 11, and touching 33° by the time I reached Nashik that evening! Phew!
On the way I did manage to catch a lush field of Sarso, bright and fluorescent enough to probably even make Kajol jealous!
The final day included a splendid breakfast of Misal pav (only in name though, it was an experience in itself) at the famous Sadhana Misal, Nasik.
8000 km, spread over 20 days, living on 2 wheels, with a slightly mad biker at the throttles, it was one crazy fun trip, all to experience the beauty that is India's North East.
A parting self portrait, the bike and the biker...
At Rs 150 for your head you are doing better than me. My wife says at least @kosjam looks handsome!;)
One of the best travelogues I have read where the photos do the talking and the photos are beautiful ones of the places rather than the food eaten! - never quite grasped the modern habit of posting a picture of your half eaten food - but hey I'm old and outdated. You are forgiven for that one food photo.:D
You are a skilled photographer and I enjoyed your sense of humour in the title and like below...
Quote:
Very friendly dogs (left & right) with me (centre)
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Thanks for the ample clarification, might have never known !!:-)
Happy voyages. Maybe a photo travelogue of one of your sea trips next?
PS: I rarely read travelogues. But yours was worth it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by V.Narayan
(Post 5728850)
At Rs 150 for your head you are doing better than me. My wife says at least @kosjam looks handsome!;)
One of the best travelogues I have read where the photos do the talking and the photos are beautiful ones of the places rather than the food eaten! -
You are a skilled photographer and I enjoyed your sense of humour in the title and like below...
Thanks for the ample clarification, might have never known !!:-)
Happy voyages. Maybe a photo travelogue of one of your sea trips next?
PS: I rarely read travelogues. But yours was worth it.
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Thank you very much for your words. Thanks to maám for her compliments. I am blushing :coldsweat
I am just an amateur photographer. The place itself was so beautiful that one cannot go wrong clicking a frame.
I will definitely post a few pics about life on sea later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kosjam
(Post 5727661)
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What Kos has not mentioned is that his dad was a Naval Aviator who crewed one of these mighty TU-142 as sentinel watching over our nation’s waters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PratikPatel
(Post 5728906)
What Kos has not mentioned is that his dad was a Naval Aviator who crewed one of these mighty TU-142 as sentinel watching over our nation’s waters.
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clap:glad to connect with a naval child.
It turned out to be a good post, after reading the title I thought it is click bait.
Thanks for writing and posting pictures.
Nice write up and nicer pictures! You have a good sense of humour too! This is one of my dream destinations. I am hoping to do this part very soon.
Cheers
Lovely travelogue, and even better pictures. 8000 kms over 20 days is definitely one heck of a ride. Thank you for sharing.
This is an iconic travelogue! Really love each picture. Beautiful!
One heck of a ride, a fascinating travelogue, and stunning pictures. Blockbuster all the way!!
Keep smiling and keep riding.
Excellent writeup !! Went through your thread. Glad that you saved your head and gave us a glimpse of your trip. Else we would have missed that rl:
I am surprised how you so casually mention doing 760 kms in a single day and calling it uneventful :D
A wonderful travelogue and its posts like these that keep fanning my desire to drive out to NE very soon! Thank You
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