Travelogue :
My journey in enchanting Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram
By Mr. Sunil Goel
I have always been fascinated by the
countryside, mountains and greenery. This is perhaps the reason why I am
trekking since 1991. The constraints of time, given the profession I am in (I
am a practicing lawyer and legal consultant in corporate and financial matters)
do not let me go on treks and excursions quite often though I love to travel
and explore new areas. After every few months, the city’s chaos and mad race
for competition and success gets so sickening that I feel as if the mountains
are calling me to sooth my nerves and to rejuvenate me once again to face the
challenges of life. Every trek and excursion, I feel, charges me for another
few months.
This time I
planned to go to a totally new area of our country, that is North East. This
region is comparatively less known and not much tourist infrastructure is
there. This region, unfortunately, somehow has been the victim of Government’s
apathy and neglect. I wanted to see how the people live there and able to
manage their day to day lives. I also wanted to meander through the hills and
mountains in said area.
Ms. Manomayee
Purohit (with whom I did excursion trip of Leh Ladakh in 2006) planned a
programme comprising travelling through Nagaland, Assam and then integrate this
with trekking in Mizoram. The Trek in Mizoram was organized by Youth Hostels
Association of India (YHAI). It was supposed to be a National trek. Myself,
Amit Burman, Vanita ji (with whom I have done many treks / excursions), her
friend Mythili Iyer and Mythili’s brother and sister-in-law Kailas and Sudha
joined in. We were thus 7 people. However, some of us made slight changes in
the prog due to our individual constraints. The programme comprised starting
from Delhi on 22nd October 2011. However, the festival of Diwali
fell on 26th October and I wanted to celebrate this with my family
at home. There were other festivals also around that time. After analyzing the
itinerary prepared by Manomayee, I selected 30th October 2011 as my
travel date from Delhi as on/around that day I could catch up with them in
Dimapur in Nagaland. Kailas and Sudha, who are juvenile diabetics (but they are
wonderful people and I admire the way they have conquered their situation to
lead happy life), were not to join us further in the Mizoram trek after
Nagaland and Assam excursion.
We all had booked
our air tickets 3-4 months prior to the journey. On 22nd October
2011 (Saturday), I with my son Himanshu in my Hyundai Verna Fluidic reached New
Delhi airport (Terminal 1D) and see off the other 6 members viz. Manomayee,
Amit Burman, Vanita ji, Mythili Iyer, Kailas and Sudha, with promise to catch
them after a week on 30th October. It was my first meeting with
Amit, Mythili, Kailas, Sudha. They took the flight to Gauhati (capital of State
of Assam). There they hired a taxi (Tata Suma Victa) for 10 days. The taxi
agency charged Rs.2000/- per day plus cost of diesel plus Rs.300/- per day for
the driver. The driver’s name was Chandan (09402927260) who was a young smart
energetic boy of around 28 years. They travelled to Jorhat, Majuli (both in
Assam) and then places in State of Nagaland viz. Mokokchung, Wokha, Kohima,
Touphama, Khanoma, Dimapur.
I was told
that prepaid mobile phones and those of companies other than BSNL are not
working in Nagaland and Mizoram. For this reason, I purchased a new connection
from MTNL (which converts into BSNL outside Delhi) and did not carry my routine
BLACKBERRY phone which was a Airtel prepaid connection. However, while in
Nagaland and Mizoram, I found that prepaid
phones were working there and the phones of companies other than BSNL were also
working. I had obtained Inner Line Permit, a few days on advance, from
the office of Deputy Resident Commissioner at Nagaland House, in New Delhi
which we were told, is required for visiting Nagaland, though I discovered
later that we hardly need it in Nagaland.
30th
October 2011 Sunday
On 30th
October Sunday, I started from my home at 4.50 am in early morning. It was all
dark. The weather was pleasant which is peculiar to October end in Delhi. I
preferred to wear full sleeve T-shirt with Jeans to avoid exposure to morning
breeze as my throat had just recovered. At about 5.20 am, I reached the New
Delhi Airport (Terminal 1D). I reached the checking in counter just in time.
The departure time was 6.15 am and the counters closes 45 minutes prior to
that. Got issued Boarding pass. Boarded Indigo airlines flight 6E-273 to
Kolkata. The darkness gradually gave way to dawn and improved visibility. The
flight started on time at 6.15 am.
At 7.50 am,
the aeroplane landed at Kolkata airport (Netaji Subhash Chander Bose Airport).
I picked my luggage from the conveyor belt : one big trekking bag and one hand
bag which contained items like eatables and camera. I came out of the terminal.
Walked with my luggage on trolley towards International Departure Terminal from
where I was to catch my next flight to Dimapur. It was a 10 minutes walk. On
reaching there, I found that the Air India Flight No.AI-9701 which was to start
at 11.30 am to take me to Dimapur was delayed. I had no other option but to sit
inside the terminal and wait for the announcement. There was no proper
restaurant inside the terminal for taking breakfast. I munched the biscuits,
Haldiram bhujia and dry fruits from my hand bag. At 10 am, the security check
for my flight was announced. I checked
in my baggage. The flight ultimately took off at 12.30 pm. It was a
small plane (ATR).
At 2.30 pm,
the flight landed at Dimapur Airport in Nagaland. It was a small airport. From the aircraft, I directly walked to the
terminal. Spoke to Manomayee on mobile who told that she and other members were
about to take lunch in Hotel De Oriental Dream which is opposite Hotel Saramati
near Super market in Dimapur. From the airport, I took an auto (who charged me
Rs.200/-) and reached Hotel De Oriental Dream which was about 5-6 km from the
airport. The other members were delighted to see me. We all took lunch
together. I took parantha, Paneer and dal while few took non-veg food. I am a
strict vegetarian and due to this, I was to face problem in the days to come as
this region is a paradise for non-vegetarians.
After taking
lunch, we walked nearby. There was market around (called super market). These 6
members were staying at Commissioner’s Guest House just near the said hotel. I
had arranged for my stay at Circuit house Dimapur which was just about ¾ km
away. We all in our Sumo taxi went to Circuit House. It was planned that we all
will stay in Circuit house. I had asked
for arranging 3 rooms but the caretaker Hom Raj Sharma (a Nepali) informed that
only 1 room is available for today for me. He allotted me VIP Suite Room
no.201. I put my baggage therein. The room had all facilities like TV, Fridge,
AC, Dining table, study table, visitor’s room, sofa, balcony, attached toilet
and bathroom having geyser. The tariff
charged for the said Suit was Rs.700/- per day.( For non-officials, the tariff
for the suit was Rs.1000/-. The tariff for double room AC was Rs.500/- for
officials and Rs.700/- for non-officials and tariff for Double Room Non-AC was
Rs.350/- for officials and Rs.500/- for non-officials. These tariffs were
increased only recently vide Dy.Commissioner’s order dated 8th
September 2011). However, there was no facility for food in the Circuit House.
You could only have tea, bread, egg, though the same were cheaply priced. I
spoke to the Circuit House incharge Ms. Akokala (09436013091) on phone. She
promised that she will arrange 3 rooms tomorrow. The other members went back to
their Guest House (with plan to move to Circuit House tomorrow) and the driver
parked the vehicle in Circuit House for safety purpose. I was told that there
have been many incidents of vehicle theft in Nagaland. In room, I watched TV
and went to sleep at 8 pm as we had to rise early in the morning for next day’s
excursion.
On unique
thing I noticed was that the sun set very early here and it became all dark by
5 pm in the evening. The shops and markets close by 5 pm. In the morning, the
sun rises very early and at 5 am in the morning, the sun is already there forcing
you to get up. This is all because sun rises in the east and we were in the
farthest eastern part of the country. In a way, the working hours here are
reduced. Though the markets close by 5 pm, but they start their day/market as
usual at about 10 am.
31st
October 2011 Monday
At 5 am in the
morning, I got up in the Circuit house, took bath and then breakfast. The
driver Chandan, who also slept in the Circuit House dormitory, went to Commissioner’s
Guest House and brought Vanitaji, Manomayee and Amit. The other three did not
come and preferred to rest. Today, we had planned to go to Village Benreu in
Peren District which, we were informed, was a beautiful village having a resort.
At 7 am in the
morning, we started in our Tata Sumo Victa from the Circuit House. We were not aware of the way to Benreu
Village. But we still started hoping to find the way by asking the passerbys on
the way. As we knew that Village Benreu was in Peren District, we first
enquired about Peren. We were informed that for going to Peren, we have to
first go to Jaluki. The distance from Circuit House to Jaluki turned out to be
42 km. We then reached Peren. However, once we are in Peren, we were surprised
to see that not many were aware about Benreu. The ones who knew were totally wrong
about the distance to the Village Benreu.
At 11.30 am,
we reached Village Benreu. The distance from the Circuit House Dimapur to
Village Benreu was found to be 94 km. The name of the resort, prepared by the
Govt. in the village, is called Mt. Pauna Village Resort. It had 7 huts for
accommodation. To our luck and surprise, we discovered that 31st
October happens to be the day for their annual festival. The local naga boys
and girls and villagers had gathered in the resort in their traditional attires
to celebrate their festival which is called LANGSIMNYI Festival. The programme
was called “Festival of Conservation of Ecology through Culture”. We watched
their traditional dance and then wrestling competition by children and
teenagers. The boys and girls were too cute. We got ourselves photographed with
them. The villagers, including the local SDM who seemed to be a learned young
man, were very hospitable. They not only offered us Rice bear (which is their
traditional drink; rice brewed after fermentation) in glasses made of bamboo
and also in Rhino horn but also offered us to join them after the prog for the
lunch. A group of school / college students from Sikkim had also come and
performed before we had reached there. The food was mainly non-vegetarian with
beef, pork, fish etc. I felt suffocated and came out of the dining hall while
others relished the local cuisine. It was a feast for them. The resort incharge
invited us to stay for a night in the resort and find out about the local
culture but we gently declined his invitation as the same did not fit in our
itinerary. Thereafter, we went to the Benreu village attached to the resort and
spent some time there. Saw the wooden and stone gate at one corner of the
village which, we were told, was used in ancient times as entry to this
village.
At 1.45 pm, we
started from the Benreu village for going back to Dimapur. While returning from
Benreu, we took some wrong turn somewhere. Due to this, it took us long to
reach back Dimapur. On the way back while passing through local area and
villages, as the day was getting over, I experienced fouling smell of meat near
every human settlement.
At about 6.15
pm, we reached Commissioner’s Guest House, Dimapur. I dropped Vanitaji,
Manomayee and Amit there. Me and Chandan came to Circuit house. I took bath. At
7.30 pm, m and chandan reached back Commisisoners Guest house. We all took
dinner together there. At 9.15 pm, me and chandan returned to Circuit House.
Chandan was acomodatd in dormitory but he was not very happy and demanded a
room and at my request, the staff gave him room no.209 (Rs.350/- per day). At
10.30 pm, I went to sleep after watching a little of tv.
1st
November Tuesday
After morning
chores and after doing a little pranayam sitting in the balcony of my room at
circuit house, I reached Commissioner guest house. We 7 person in our Sumo
Victa started from there at 7.15 am for our today’s excursion. Today, we
planned to go to Intanki National Park. The locals were not much aware
about this place. After asking at many places, we ultimately reached said place
at about 8.45 am. The last stretch to that place was almost non-motorable but
our driver managed to drive up and down at dusty and muddy terrain to reach
there. We were told that for entering the National park, we would need
permission from Deputy Commissioner Office, Dimapur which we did not have (as
nobody told us). We were also told that there is some dispute going on between
two groups of locals who claim some part of the land under the National Park to
be theirs and sometime back the dispute had turned violent.
Thus, we had
to contend by roaming in this area. There was a dak bunglow nearby. We went
there, to be welcomed by the breeze emanating from the Brahmpura river
flowing nearby. This region is almost the boundary area of Nagaland and river Brahmputra was flowing as
a thin river alongside it, separating Nagaland from Assam. After spending
sometime there, which was sufficient to relax us, we planned to return. On the
way, at about 10.50 am, we reached Nagaland Zoological Park. There is an
entry fee to the Park which is a small amount. Inside, we walked and watched
various species of animals including Sloth Bear. We also saw a leopard there,
caged. We could also see the famous Hornbill, which is Nagaland’s state
bird.
At about 12.15
pm, we started from the zoo, back to our guest house. On the way, in Dimapur
market, we took lunch at a Punjabi restaurant and also enjoyed lassi. We rested
at the Commissioner guest house for a
while. Immediately thereafter, we all went to the Hongkong market to do a little shopping. But I did not
find anything worth buying. Sudha managed to find some beautiful beeds as she
is fond of designing.
In the
evening, at about 3.45 pm, I went to Kachari Ruins, which are located
just opposite the Circuit House. Kachari was a tribe which ruled this region
few centuries ago and Dimapur used to be their capital. Though it appeared to
be under the control of Archeological survey of India, but inside it was not
properly maintained, with revellers drinking and sleeping under the wild long
grass which seemed to have grown up owing to improper upkeep.
By this time,
it started getting dark. I walked to the Circuit house, situated just opposite.
After freshening up, went to Commisisoner guest house and we all had our last
dinner in Nagaland.
2nd
November Wednesday
We woke up
early as we had to do a long journey by Road from Dimapur to Barpeta Road,
Assam. At about 5.30 am, we all started from the Circuit house, Dimapur. On the
way, we noticed bihari women offering water to the sun at the embankments of small rivulets and water
bodies wherever they got, on the occasion of Chhath puja. On the way, a few
kilometers before Kaziranga, at about 7.30 am, we halted at a dhaba and took
our breakfast and tea. Then we passed by Kaziranga National Park and
took a few snaps at its imposing large gate. En route, we stopped at a AC
restaurant and took lunch.
It was a very
tiring journey. We reached Barpeta Road area at about 7.15 pm when it became
all dark. We reached a Guest House of Assam Govt, opposite Prasanti Tourist
Lodge, under Assam Tourist Development Corporation, Amtala, Barpeta Road.
Checked in three rooms. Me and Amit Burman stayed in one room. Amit and Kailas
immediately went to office of Forest Reserve in Barpeta Road to get entry
passes to Manas National Park for tomorrow. The office was about to close but
since Manomayee knew somebody in that office, they waited for us to arrive
there and collected our passes. In the morning, the said office open late and
we would have got late for entry into Manas if we collected these passes in
morning.
We sat
together and shared each other’s experiences in life, while sipping bear.
Thereafter, we took dinner prepared by guest house staff. At about 10.30, we
went to sleep.
3rd
November 2011 Thursday
At about
5.30am, we got up, took bath, breakfast and got ready for our journey to Manas
National Park, Mathanguri. At 7.30 am, we started from our guest house in our
sumo victa. At about 8.30 am, we reached the office of Forest Range Officer,
Bansbari Range. The entry gate of Manas National Park is just 200 mtr from
here. We got our passed checked here (which we collected last night) and also
informed the said office about our requirement for Elephant Safari tomorrow
morning so that they can intimate the elephant owners in advance. The season
for animal sighting in Manas has just started 2-3 days back and till the season
starts full fledge, the elephants owners are bringing elephants for safari only
on advance notice. We also booked here for our accommodation in the only place
available for stay inside the Park, which is Inspection Bunglow (IB) at
Mathanguri. Since the season has just started, we were lucky to get the
accommodation in the IB. The IB is a bunglow maintained by the Government for
keeping a vigil on the activities at the border as Mathanguri is the last point
in Assam and a river flows adjoining it, dividing Assam and Bhutan. The per
room charges for stay at Mathanguri IB are quite steep at Rs.1200/- per room.
For the food, they charged Rs.100/- per person per meal. In addition, we were
charged Rs.300/- as entry fee for our vehicle and Rs.50/- per person as entry
fee and Rs.200/- for dormitory room for the driver.
At 8.45, we
reached the gate of Manas National Park. We all got down and were very excited
at the idea of staying inside National Park today. We took few snaps. Then we
started our journey inside the Park to Mathanguri Inspection bunglow in our
sumo victa on jeepable track, with jungle on both sides. Sadly, we could not
sight any wildlife. After a 1 ½ hour journey inside the jungle, at about 10.15
am, we reached the Mathanguri Inspection bunglow. Occupied our rooms. These
were good rooms, better than our expectation. One can enjoy a very good view of
the surroundings from here. A river is flowing just adjoining and present a
very calm, serene and scenic view. After taking some snacks, we got down to the
river and dipped our legs which rejuvenated us. Then we took lunch in the small
mess there. The food was good. Thereafter, we decided to go for a ride to the
neighbouring Bhutan. We started in our Sumo but sooner realized that the road
was very poor and the path was hilly and circular. We could hardly achieve
speed of 20 km per hour. But Bhutan was about 25 km. After going for about
12-13 km, we decided to return back. This route is very virgin and is rarely
used for going to Bhutan.
After resting
for a while at the IB, we at 2.30 pm started for the Jeep Safari in our Sumo
inside the jungle. Since the season has just started, at various palces, the
labourers were doing work to repair the jeepable track and to cut the long
(almost 10-20 feet high) wild grass. At many places, the grass was burnt by the
jungle staff to enhance the visibility of the wildlife. We were unfortunate to
not to spot any wild animal in natural habitat. Few other tourists including
foreigners were also roaming in the jungle in open jeeps to spot the wildlife.
As the sun was setting down, we returned back to the bunglow. Enjoyed the
beautiful sunset from the bunglow. By 4.30 pm, it was all dark. We took our
dinner at about 7 and then went to sleep.
4th
November 2011 Friday
We got up
early in the morning at 3.30 am. It was a little breezer and colder. At 4 am,
we watched the sunrise. By 4.30 am, the
sunshine had already touched some portions of the bunglow. At 4.30 am, we all
started in our Sumo to reach back the entrance Gate of Manas National Park. We
reached there at 5.30 am. The elephant owners with 5-6 elephants were waiting
there for us to give us the experience of Elephant Safari. There was a
platform from where one can climb on to the elephant. We adjusted 2 persons on
one elephant each. It was my first experience of elephant safari. It was
amazing to see how the elephant could trounce upon the high bushes and
vegetation to reach the interiors of the jungle to enable us to see the
wildlife. It was very thrilling. The elephant took us to the remotest portions
if the jungle in search for wildlife but we could see nothing except an
elephant in its natural habitat. By this time, the sun was emitting scorching
heat and we had no choice but to return back to the Gate where Vanitaji was
waiting.
At 7.45 am, we
started from Manas National Park Gate for our forward journey to Gauhati, which
is our last leg of the journey. We took breakfast at a marwadi restaurant at
Barpeta Road on the way. In the evening, at about 3.30 pm, we reached Gauhati
Airport and bid good bye to Kailas and Sudha who were going to Kolkatta for
sightseeing. The remaining five i.e. me, Mythili, Vanitaji, Manomayee and Amit
Burman reached at about 4 pm at the Travel agent’s office in Guahati. We were
joined there by Sangeeta Kendel (Manomayee’s friend, who reached from
Maharashtra). We cleared the account of Chandan, our driver and bid farewell to
him. We six booked our bus tickets to Aizwal, Mizoram, which cost us Rs.650/-
per person and which is a over-night journey. We were transported by a bus to
the Bus Terminal. From there, the big bus started at about 6 pm for Gauhati.
In the night,
at about 8 pm, our bus passed by Shillong.
5th
November 2011 Saturday
In the
morning, the bus developed a snag and had to be repaired. The repair work took
longer than expected. This disrupted the entire programme.
Our bus
reached Aizwal at about 7 pm in the night. It turned out to be the longest bus
journey of my life.
We got down at
one of the bus stands. From there, we took two taxis (Maruti 800), who charged
us Rs.250/- per taxi and reached the YHAI, Aizwal at about 7.30 pm. Mizoram is
called the land of Maruti cars. One can see Maruti 800 in abundance here.
On reaching
YHAI hostel, which is at Luangmual, we were welcomed by Ms. Mastie
Etlar, Nunui, Zuali and Lalboih at the reception (who are college girls). We
filled our forms and we were allotted our rooms. Other participants of our group
had already taken their dinner. We six took dinner. I and Amit went for a walk
outside the hostel and returned after 1 hour. At 10 pm, went to sleep.
6th
November 2011 Sunday
Woke up at 7
am. Got ready. All took breakfast at 8 am in the mess. Met fellow participants.
After breakfast, most went outside for sightseeing. We six at 9.45 am strolled
out and decided to discover the surrounding area. Went to a nearby church.
Since it happened to be Sunday, the life in Mizoram appeared to have come to a
standstill with all shoos and establishments closed and people thronging to
church for prayers and enjoyment. Then we walked to famous War Memorial nearby,
which is a cemetery of those who lost their lives in the freedom struggle in
Mizoram.
At 1 pm, we
returned to the hostel. Took lunch. After some rest, we again walked out to
discover more of the nearby areas. After walking for about 3-4 km, we returned
back to the hostel at about 4 pm.
We were served
tea and pakora in the evening at the hostel and then delicious dinner in the
night. The cook was a local whose name was Kunga. The name of the base camp
incharge was Mr.Doa. In the night, we were given a presentation about the trek
by Ms.Muani who is Jt.Secretary of UHAI Mizoram and surprisingly speaks good
hindi. She educated us about various useful words and phrases used frequently
in Mizoram in day-to-day life and explained their meaning. She also sung a
beautiful Mizo song in a hilarious gesture: “Eskimo Siliava, Sangi Mendi Lai”.
Mr.Abhay Joshi from Bhavnagar was selected as our Group Leader.
At 10 pm, we
went to sleep.
7th
November 2011 Monday : Trek from Basecamp to
Vaipuanpho camp
Woke up at
about 6 am in the morning. After breakfast, at 7.30 am everyone lined up in the
campus outside for a briefing by the YHAI State President and for flagging off
for the higher camps. We were 28 persons in our group. We were provided three
guides : David (09612214342), Loma and VL. We were provided a bus which
transported us to a place from where our trek was to start and dropped us there
at about 8.50 am.
After walking
for about 2 ½ hours, we reached Serlui, a small Hydel project (1 MW) of
the Power and electricity Department of Govt of Mizoram. This was Aizwal-Reike
Road. Shortly, we reached Suspension Girder Bridge over the river and walked
over it and took snaps. It was a beautiful view. We sat in a dhaba by the side
of the bridge and took tea. Then we got down to the river and sat on rocks and
enjoyed the scenery with legs dipped in the river.
At 2.15 pm, we
reached our first camp i.e. Vaipuanpho camp. Met the camp leader. We were given welcome
drink and pakoras, as is the tradition in every YHAI trek.
At about 7.30
pm, we were served dinner in the open. We all participants mingled and we also had
a campfire where the participants and the camp leaders and cooks sang songs and
cracked jokes. There was no electricity in this camp. The tents were pitched on
cemented surface. The toilet was a pucca toilet but one had to cross a small
make-a-shift bridge over a stream to reach there. There were total 3 toilets.
At about 10
pm, we went to sleep.
8th
November 2011 Tuesday : Trek to Ailawng Camp and caving
I got up at
about 4 am in the morning. Came out of the camp. It was a starry night and one
could see thousands of stars in the sky. Ravi, who is a scientist, was gazing
stars. We two tried to spot the cuckoo bird whose voice could be heard. We were
joined by Sandeep Pandurang (from Bangalore) who is an avid nature lover. I was
stunned and mesmerized by his vast knowledge about flora, fauna and insects. He
told that the continuous sound (like a pressure cooker) which we were hearing
throughout in this region, was an insect called Cicada and the sound
emitted by it signifies that it is inviting its female counterpart for mating !
He also told that the life cycle of cicada is very short and it dies
immediately after mating.
As the sun
came out of slumber and the darkness gave way to light, more and more
participants woke up and gathered there for morning tea and to do their morning
chores. Vanitaji had a complaint that my voice, being loud and due to my
speaking with Ravi and Sandeep in the early morning, she could not sleep
properly.
After taking breakfast,
our group started at about 7.30 am for trek to the next camp. Today’ trek was
about 8 km. But it was a tough trek. There was steep hike at places. The
terrain today was almost up-climb today. Vanita ji had a harrowing time in
doing todays’ trek. (She even fainted at one place and on reaching Ailawng
camp, she in the night today was transported by jeep back to the base camp for
taking rest as she dropped from the trek).
In today’s trek, several participants got bitten by leech. We
walked on road at some places.
At 1 pm, we
reached the Ailawng Camp. On reaching there, we were served hot tea and
pakora.
At 2 pm, the
group members led by the caving guides were taken to the caves for caving,
which were reached after walking for about ½ hour. I found that it was really
very dangerous to cross the caves. There was total darkness inside and one had
to carry torch and at the same time keep both hands free for maneuvering. On
had to climb up and down inside and sometime to crawl in total darkness and
there was shortage of oxygen and fresh air inside. I had walked a few steps
inside cave when one member in the front yelled that she could see in her front
that it was too risky and therefore has decided to get back and suggested
others also to get back. Hearing this and as I was already feeling suffocated,
I retracted back and shunned the idea of caving. This idea was also shared by
at least 10 other members. The others mustered courage to do the caving (cave
was about 120 mtr long and there was kites (chamgadad) inside) and I salute
them for their courage. We, who could not gather courage, waited outside, at
the other end of cave, for the courageous members to reach there one hour after travelling through the
harrowing cave. One by one, all members reached there, all drenched and their
clothes, hands and feet all dusty. We pulled them out from the cave. After
that, we all gathered and walked to another cave which was infact small space
beneath a big rock and one went in and came out from the same opening. The 1st
cave is called Khuangehera Puk (162 mtr long) and the 2nd cave is
called Suandunga Puk (25 mtr long). “Puk” means cave. hereafter, we all walked back
to the camp. On way, we witnessed locals
playing football in a open space on the mountain which presented a beautiful
treat for the eyes. There was a big tree and an open graveyard/kabristan. Some
members climbed on the tree.
At about 5 pm,
all returned to the camp. Some of those who got dusty due to caving took bath.
At 6 pm, dinner was served. From 6.30 to 8.30 pm, campfire was held and all
enjoyed. The tents were pitched on cemented surface. The toilet was a pucca
toilet. There were 3 toilets for gents and 3 toilets for ladies.
There was no electricity in the camp (there was electricity in nearby village
but nobody ventured out due to total darkness outside). At 10.30, went to
sleep.
9th
November 2011 Wednesday : Trek to Hawlhhah camp via Reike
At 5.30, I
woke up. After freeing from toilet and facewash, took breakfast (puri, tea) and
started at 7.40 am from the camp for trek to the next camp. At 9 am, we reached
point Reike (which is part of Reiketalang village). This is the highest
point of Mizoram. One can have 360 degree view of whole of Mizoram from here.
It was a very beautiful view. One could feel pleasant breeze here. There is
also a watch-tower here from where one can have better view of the valley. We
spent about 45 minutes here and took snaps.
At about 9.45
am, we started again. Upto Reike, it was climb up. Now, it was down and down.
At about 11 am, we reached ethnic village resort. We ate packed lunch here.
There was a cafeteria, we took tea here. There was parking area also, for the
tourists to park their vehicles. I could see a big mobile tower nearby. At
11.50 am, we started again and had to walk on road. We passed through a village
which appeared to be non-rural and we saw a bank and then shops selling branded
snacks and beverages. Most of the route is jeepable path.
At 2.30 pm, we
reached the Hawlhhah camp. We travelled total 11.5 km distance today. We
were welcomed by the camp leader Rupesh Nandi (from Kolkata). We were offered
soup, tea and biscuits. This camp was in the jungle by the side of the river
stream. We were tempted by the stream and many, including me, ventured and took
bath in the stream which had rocks hidden in it and stream was flowing in a
descent. There were big black holes in the rocks in the stream and sitting in
it with legs hanging outside acted like jacuzzi !
At 6.30 pm,
dinner was served which comprised rice, dal, mix veg, pickle. From 7.30 to 9
pm, we had campfire (by burning deadwood at every camp). It was not very cold
and was rather pleasant. There was no constructed toilet in this camp. This is
inside jungle, much away from any human habitation. A big septic tank / hole
made at one place in the jungle where one can ease. One bucket was provided.
For washing and teeth brushing, one had to get down 15-20 steps to reach the
stream. For stay, two big polythene tents were pitched up on jungle surface,
one for gents and the other for ladies. Thermocoal mattresses were provided and
2 blankets per person were provided. It acted like a dormitory. For the 1st time in this trek, we
all 16 males slept together in one tent. The tent was airy. The dew kept
falling the entire night, making water to collect over the tent and making it
colder inside. At 10 pm, we went to sleep.
10th
November 2011 Thursday : Trek to Nghalchawm camp
We got up at
5.30 am. After freeing from morning schedule of toilet and washing, took
breakfast at 7 am. At 8.30 am, we started from the camp. Rupesh came with us
upto ¾ km. He was young and energetic. It was all decline from here and it was
basically a jungle trail. In ½ hour, we
reached a river stream. We had to cross it. We took out our shoes to prevent
them from getting wet. Some members were beaten by leaches here. (I was told
that in some parts of the world, getting bitten by leach is a therapy as the
leach such impure blood and leave pure blood in our body). We reached a hut
after ½ hour walk. From here, we have to climb up, which got steeper after some
time and lasted throughout. I got tired. We could move very slow due to steep
climb. It appeared whatever height we came down yesterday, we were climbing the
same from the other side.
At 11.30 am,
we reached Village Lengte. Took packed lunch here. I plucked a big fruit
(Mausami like) which was red from inside. It was very delicious. Others also
ate it. The locals told that it is called Ser Tok. At 1.15 pm, we
started again after resting. The road was just nearby. We crossed the road and
then climbed down in the jungle. In the jungle, we had to move up and
down. There are thousands of varieties
of butterflies in Mizoram and we spotted several colourful butterflies in the
jungle. After coming out of the jungle, we walked about ½ km on the tar road.
At 2.30 pm, we
reached Nghalchawm camp. The camp leader Mr.Rova welcomed us. We were
offered welcome drink : Rasna, soup and biscuits. We washed ourselves. It was a
good camping site. There were 4 tents in one row and 4 tents in the opposite
row. The tents were pitched on 4 inch cemented surface. It appeared to be a
permanent camping site. Thermocoal mattresses and 2 blankets each were
provided. The toilets were pucca toilets – two for gents and two for ladies,
downstairs. One had to bring water in bucket from behind the kitchen, which
looked very odd and mindless. At all
camps (except Hawlhhah), tents have zips and thus can be closed fully.
At 4.30 pm, we
were given tea. At 6 pm, we were served dinner. Mizo food was served. I somehow
did not like it and managed with only the soup part. We did campfire till 9 pm.
Some members were busy taking contact details of others, with promise to keep
in touch after the trek. Kardam Modi from Gujarat was such a good player of
flute that he enthralled everybody during the trek with the bollywood songs and
bhazans on his flute. Went to sleep at 10 pm.
11th
November 2011 Friday : Trek to Sihhmui and then by bus to basecamp
We woke up at
5.30 am in the morning. Took breakfast. At 8.40 am, we started from the camp.
Within 15 min, we all reached the tar road. We walked about 1 km on the tar
road (the walk was a little ascending upto the village) to reach Village Nghalchawm. It took us total 35 min from the camp to
reach hbere. We sat in the village. Charged our mobiles and camera battery in
the villagers houses. People in the village watching TV in their homes. The
camp leader Rova accompanied us upto this point. Mizo is a woman dominated
society unlike other cultures where males dominate. In marriage. Rs.420/- is
given by the boy side to the girl side ! While women work, the men generally
sit idle.
At 9.25 am, we
started from the village. From here, our walk was descending. At 10.20 am, we
reached the hanging bridge over the river. Few had still energy left to get
down to the river and take bath therein. I slept after crossing the bridge, by
spreading my yoga sheet. At 11.40 am, we all started for the final lag of our trek.
It was 10-15 min steep climb from there, then 10 min down. Thereafter, we
reached the road. Our bus (arranged by
YHAI) was waiting there. This point is near to a place called Sairangon NH-54.
All got into the bus. Some sat on the roof of the bus.
At 12.30 pm,
the bus started for onward journey to the basecamp. At 1.30 pm, we reached the
basecamp. (Vanita ji was resting there). Took bath. (Since Sangeeta had to
catch train from Guahati, she left the hostel at 2 pm after bidding farewell to
all). Few members left for Burma for sightseeing in Champai village and Champai
river.
At 3.35 pm, we
five left for the market to do some shopping and sightseeing as we had nothing
else to do and our flight back to Delhi was on 13th November. We
walked to the bus stand, which was 10 min walk from the youth hostel. Took city
bus from the bus stand. Got down at Temple Square in Aizwal (bus charges
were Rs.10/- per person). It is market area. We entered into a shopping
complex. Vanitaji and Mythili ji did some shopping. We took food in Crown
Restaurant. Most restaurants serve mainly non-veg food made of pork, beef,
chicken; only few have veg food also. We took masala dosa, American choupsey,
lassi, cold coffee. At 5 pm, it became dark and almost entire market closed down.
Abhay Joshi, Malti and Saroj Patel were also roaming in the market like us. We
took a city bus from there to another local market (Rs.8/- per person ticket).
From there, we 8 took two Maruti 800 taxi for YHAI @ Rs.100/- per taxi. Reached
Youth hostel at 6.40 pm. We learnt mizo words from the girls at the reception.
The dinner was
served at 7.30 pm but we skipped the same. Some members had already left after
the trek. Met one trekker (Mhapsekar) who was with me in Darjeeling trek. Went
to sleep at 10 pm.
12th
November Saturday
We five hired
a Innova taxi for sightseeing in Aizwal today. The taxi came late at 9 am.
At 10 am, we
reached Mizoram Science Centre. It is a good place for recreation developed by
the State Government. Infact, I found this centre to be at par with the one in
Singapore. There was even a 3D theatre in it, which was recently inaugurated.
We enjoyed a short movie inside it.
At 12.20 pm,
we reached KV Paradise. But it was closed. Took snaps there. Then at
1.50 pm, we reached Solomon’s Temple. It is infact an incomplete church. We
also went to Museum (near Governor’s house) but it was closed by the time we
reached there. At 4.30 pm, we returned to the youth hostel.
Dinner was
served at 7 pm. Whatever members were left, wer so mingled that the idea of
separation was disturbing them. Our room
today was empty (as our roommates had left) and only me and Amit were left in
our room. At 10.30, went to sleep.
13th
November Sunday
Woke up at 6
am. Took bath and breakfast. Bid good bye to all. At 8.15 am, our taxo came.
Me, Mythili, Anurag and Ankit got into the taxi as our flight was earlier than
Vanitaji, Amit, Manomayee. Started from youth hostel at 8.30 am. Reached
Lengpui Airport, Aizwal at 9.45 am. We 4 took breakfast in the restaurant at 1st
floor of the airport as there was sufficient time for the flight to take off.
At 11.30 am,
the Air India flight took off from Aizwal airport. At 12.30, the flight landed
at Imphal airport. Then after 20 min, it flew again. At about 1.30 pm, we
reached Calcutta airport. Anurag and Ankit left for their respective places in
Kiolkata. Mythili ji took her flight to Mumbai which was about to leave. My
flight to Delhi was late, which got further delayed and thus I had no option
but to wait ant the airport.
At 7.30 pm,
the Spicejet flight took off from Calcutta airport. At 9 pm, reached Delhi
Airport. I caught a taxi and reached home at 9.30 pm.
Thus, another
beautiful journey and trek came to an end.
Useful
information about Mizoram trek:
1. Postpaid Vodaphone, Airtel connections working
here. The pre-paid connections are also working in Aizwal. Mobile signal is
available almost throughout the trek route.
2. There is no electricity at any camp. So charge
your gadgets fully in advance. Charging can also be done en-route in the
villages. If possible, carry a portable charger.
3.
Carry salt for removing the leach in case you
are bitten by leach.
4.
Sunday is totally closed in Mizoram. The whoile
Mizoram come to a standstill. Even the buses do not ply. So plan you program accordingly
to avoid any inconvenience on this account.
5.
Language and food is a problem in Mizoram. The
vegetarians, particularly, will find very less options for veg food.
6.
The lifestyle of Mizo people is very modern.
They have excellent dress sense.
7.
The sun rises very early and sets very early.
Useful
terms in Mizo (which we learnt during the trek) :
Mizo English/Hindi
Klome Thank you
Idem
em How are
you
Mang
tha Good night
Chibai Namaste,
good morning, Good morning and like
Ainge
ming ? what is your
name ?
Tunge
ming ? who are you ?
K
mangai che I love you
Hilim happy
E
hilim em ? Are you
happy ?
Riltram hungry
Cho food
Thinkpui tea
Tui water
Saa meat
Ku
ba supari
Kanu mother
Te small
Lian big
New Delhi (09810215488)
email : sunilgoel@rediffmail.com
