Sunday, November 20
There was a lot of excitement as i woke up and got ready this morning by 6 am. Pretty much everyone was up and were almost ready as well. Finally! We got down and promptly by 6:30 am Navroze rolled off. We were only a few minutes behind but we had to stop at the gas station to tank up.
The air was quite cold and i wasn’t prepared for it. I figured the sun would warm me up soon enough. Dinesh and Dinesh took off like bats out of hell and i was cruising comfortably at around 100 kmph.
Soon, I pulled over to wait for the jeeps to catch up as i wanted to put on another jacket to keep out the cold air. Joe pulled up in a couple of minutes and frantically said that we needed to get going right away, because Navroze had an accident ahead. I didn’t know the severity of the damage but it sure didn’t feel good. Not on this final leg of the journey.
Just 25 kms from Hassan , we saw Navroze off to the right side of the road witha crowd of locals gathered around him. There was initial relief to see him walking around, even though he seemed to be limping. We all pulled up and got to find out what had happened. There was a auto (3 wheeler) cargo which made an unexpected right turn and Navroze was hit on his left side and he lost control and crashed. joe got the bike started and Naveen took care of the situation verbally with the auto driver. We decided to get out of that area and then would assess the damage. The bike was dented and damaged only superficially. Navroze had suffered road rash on his left leg, but no major injuries. He’s one tough Parsi!!! We got some medicine on his wound and got going again.
60 km from there we stopped off for coffee at Cafe Cancoffee. There we were met with a bunch of Dinesh’s biker buddies. Had a quick coffee and we all set out towards Bangalore which was just over 100 kms. The super bikes took off fast and we three cruised along behind at a moderate speed. We reached the cafe Road Trip in to Bangalore by
11 am. We were greeted by family and friends with open arms and garlands. Very touching moment for us all.
We had finally completed our journey. 16,000+ kms and 22 states later we were where we started, back in one piece. We had been so fortunate with the weather that favored us for the 8 weeks on the road. The falls we all had were miraculously safe and for that we are very thankful.
We had breakfast there sharing our experiences with everyone. From there we all went different ways. Navroze, Dinesh, Naveen, Joe to their respective families. Ameet to his friends, Rakesh came with me to my brother’s house. He was taking a bus later that night to Kerala to attend his brother’s wedding.
We all called on each other later that day missing each other and feeling slightly strange being in the comforts of our homes. I had made plans to go to Hyderabad the next day to visit my parents.
We are meeting up again in Bangalore on Thursday, 24th for a press meet and a party with our friends and family.
My personal gratitude to Dinesh and Navroze for including me in this journey of a life time. I have learnt so much from them both and hopefully i am a better rider at the end of the day. Thanks Joe for all your technical expertise, without which i would felt helpless. Thanks Naveen for your company and assistance in making us all be comfortable.Your humor will always put a smile on my face. Thanks Ameet for photographing us through the beauty and the dirt. You went through the 8 weeks with utter patience and worked very hard to share our adventure with everyone on the web site. Thanks to Rakesh for taking such a beating getting the shots. Even though you stayed invisible behind the camera, you were always in our sight. Thanks to Sanjiv for joining us for as long as he could. Your expertise in film and help in navigating the course everyday was a generous bonus to the ride. Good luck in editing this 50+hours of footage. I can’t wait to see it finished. Thanks Ramesh for assisting us with so many chores, which otherwise would have burdened us that much more.
Without the unconditional support of our families and dear friends all over the world, we could not have ventured on this journey.
I am extremely proud and humbled by the sheer beauty of this country and its people.
I shall post more in the coming few days of the follow up to this ride.
CHEERS!!!!!

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip

Saturday, November 19
I didn’t even turn on my alarm this morning. I figured everyone is going to be slow in waking up and rolling. By 8 am we went to have breakfast which lasted a while. Today our distance to cover was another 300 kms and we were going to stop for the night in Hassan, which is only 180 km away from Bangalore. We opted not to ride all the way to Bangalore in the dark and reach there quite late in the night. So arrangements were made for us to saty the night in Hassan and roll early the next day to Bangalore.
After our thank you and farewells to our friends in Kannur, we headed towards Mangalore which was about 150 kms north of Kannur. The road conditions were very similar to those of the previous couple of days. We stopped often to film and to take breaks. Soon we crossed in to the Karnataka state border and not far after that we got to Mangalore around 1:30pm. (see photo)At that point we had unofficially completed our circum-navigation of the country. On September 25 when we started out from Bangalore, we set out west to mangalore and from this point we headed north along the coast. Now we completed the parikrama by reaching that circle from the south. It was a very thrilling moment for all of us and we stopped to congratulate each other and take some pictures.
Some local reporter saw us and enquired about our journey and soon got his cameraman to come and did a impromtu interview for the local television.
The sun was very intense here. Staying in that open area with no shade was making me feel quite tired and uncomfortable. Soon we retraced our path from there going East towards Hassan which was another 150 kms away.
We were concerned about the condition of the roads in the western ghat section. It was already beat up in many areas 2 months prior. Since then there were severe rain storms and we were expecting a lot worse. Fortunately the roads were no worse than before and after what we had been through in other parts of the country, it didn’t phase us much. We saw the final sunset over the western ghats as we got to Sakhileshpur. As we were gaining altitude to 3000feet, the air was much cooler and was quite nippy.
We reached Hassan around 7pm, and were greeted with garlands at the hotel by another biker buddy of Dinesh, whose name was also Dinesh. He had come there on his KTM 950 motorcycle. It was quite a big bike and made our kawasaki bikes look like toys.
I wasn’t feeling so good in my stomach. Didn’t know if it was indigestion or tiredness or just an anti climatic feeling of having completed the circum-navigation. Either way, i opted to skip the drinks and dinner and settled for some fruit salad with ice cream and got to bed by 10:30 pm.
Navroze was very keen on starting off by no later than 6:30 am the next day and all of us felt we could do it as well.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip

Friday, November 18
No rush to wake up this morning. We were up and ready by 7 am and decided to go upstairs for a quick breakfast. The place was empty but a simple order for 4 people took over an hour. Went down after that to warm up the bikes. I was having a problem with the idle on the bike, as it would keep stalling. Joe took a look at it and figured some curious on lookers had been fidgeting with it the night before.
Today’s ride was further up the Kerala coast to a place called Kannur or Kannanore, about 300 kms away. We had decided to stop in Calicut for lunch which was about 200 kms away. The roads were alright and the traffic slightly crazy and aggressive. No more than the way we were riding and driving, i guess. But it did mean that we had to be very attentive as a lot of vehicles would drive helter skelter.
The weather was warm and a little sultery. The backwaters were gorgeous with coconut trees abundant as far as the eye can see. Coconut products are used widely here for everything particularly as cooking oil, which takes a little getting used to.
A friend of ours from Rishi Valley school, Vasant Pai lives in Kannur and he was taking care of the arrangements for us there. He along with another alumni, L.R.Rajesh met us in Calicut for lunch. It was quite strange geting in to Calicut. Dinesh had already gone ahead and met up with them and had gone to the restaurant. Navroze was a few kms behind me when i reached the town. I didn’t know this town and I wasn’t aware of the location for lunch. As i pulled over to make a call, a local chap came by on his bike and said that my friends went that way. I wasn’t sure who he was talking about and he clarified that he saw similar bikes going in that particular direction. That led me to the beach road where we met for lunch at hotel Sea Queen.
After a long lunch break, Vasant who rides a Yamaha TDM 950 bike led the way to Kannur. Getting out of Calicut, the stench of the fish was quite nasty and soon we passed through a small town called Mahe, which is part of Pondicherry. By 6:30 pm we reached Kannur where we had a refreshing black tea with lemon and followed Vasant to Kairali resort which was on the banks of the backwaters. It was a very spacious resort and the rooms were very clean and comfortable. soon, we were joined by another classmate of mine from Rishi Valley, Cariappa. I hadn’t seen him for over 20 years and it was absolutely delightful catching up with him.
This was something very special about this ride for me. Besides experiencing the diverse states for their rich splendor, the opportunity to see old friends in different parts of the country was something very dear.
After a relaxing round of drinks and a traditional kerala buffet meal by the pool, we got to our rooms around midnight or a little after.

Technorati Tags: india bike trip

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Sunday, November 13
Having a rest day doesn’t mean we are rested for the next day. Usually it’s one party too many and too late, especially when there are a lot of friends and family around.
We had hearty breakfast of more than one choice. It was pretty much everything south indian: idly,vada, dosa,uthapam and good strong coffee. By the time we had breakfast I was ready for a nap. My elder brother Ram and a few friends were leading the way out of town in a car. They were joinng us for the next 2 days. more partying!
The road out of Vizag was super.. 4 lane highway with a divider separating on coming traffic. After the ass whipping we received the previous few days, this was a runway. I was comfortably cruising between 100-120 kmph.
We stopped after about 2 hours for a cup of coffee. But the local shop did not have any, only tea instead. Interestingly, the chai guy was reading the local paper and our photo was in it with a write up. He recognised us and was quite thrilled. The chai was good and we carried on very comfortably. Navroze and I stopped off at another town to take some photos. With in 5 minutes there were quite a few onlookers around us who also recognised us from the paper. it was quite trippy hearing them call us by our names. What amazed me more was that they all read the paper and were quite informed.
Stopped in a town called Tanuku for lunch. An old friend of ours G.V.Ramana’s brother in law hosted us to a terrific lunch. By the time we got there I felt quite exhausted. I didn’t know if it was because of fatigue setting in or if it was the light in Andhra. The sun was very bright and squinting while riding does tire the eyes. I took a quick shut eye before lunch and we were taken around the compound of the house where he had various birds and animals. One of the most outstanding animal there was this bull (see photo) which stood over 6 feet tall and was just picture perfect. Amazingly beautiful. We were very apprehensive about going any closer to take the picture.
From there we headed to Guntur which was another 150 km or so further. we reached the town just as it got dark.The road was fabulous from start to finish with hardly a pot hole. All signs were clearly marked in English, Telugu and in Hindi languages. We were put up in a private guest house which was very comfortable. My younger brother had driven down from Hyderabad to meet us there. He was going o join us in the car till the next day to Chennai.
Navroze and I had decided to have an early start and Dinesh would catch up with us later, as he would be riding much faster. So we got to bed earlier than the others at midnight.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Friday, November 11
Another early rise. Would have loved to sleep for a couple more hours. Today it’s another 420 km to Our destination. THe highway promises to be good. Could feel the soreness from the fall in my hip and in my neck. Got a better view of the damage to the bike (see photo). Had eggs and toast for breakfast at the hotel and got going. The roads were quite nice and the landscape was beautiful.
We planned on getting to Andhra Pradesh state border which was about 200 km away and then break for lunch. Dinesh took off ahead of us and we planned on meeting for lunch up ahead. Meanwhile Navroze and i cruised on the open road at about 100 kmph and stopped for some refreshments.
When we reached the border, there was an excitement in the air around us. The sense of familiarity with the language and people made the communication easy. We went ahead another 50 km and had a traditional andhra food on a banana leaf. We were all giddy with joy and the food was fantastic. The others at the dhaba must have thought we were nuts. Afterwards, Dinesh felt he wanted to get to Vizag (short for Visakhapatnam) as soon as possible and meet up with my brother Ram and a bunch of friends who were waiting to receive us and party. Navroze, Joe, Rakesh and I rested up for another 45 minutes and then got rolling to finish up the last 120 km or so left. The roads in A.P. were absolutely amazing. all the way from the border to the city.
By 6 pm or so we reached and we were put up at a guest house a block from the beach. We got a glimse of the Bay of Bengal for the first time on the east coast. from here we follow it all the way down south to the tip of Kanyakumari. Before all that we had some partying to do. It was lovely to see so many friends who greeted us and later we shared with them our adventures over dinner and drinks on the beach a few kms away. Before we realised it was already pat 1 am and by the time we came back and got to bed, it was already 2 am.
Tomorrow we are breaking in Vizag, so no worries.
So good to be in Andhra! Good strong coffee from here on again.

Saturday, November 11
Good to just sleep in and not having any alarms going off. Woke up around 8:45 am to the sun light coming in strong from the window. Strong coffee was followed by a few cups of the same and a feast of a breakfast was at the table. After having parathas and eggs for the past 45 days for breakfast, having dosa, vada and idly with sambar was delicious. Ram had organised a masseur to knead away the knots in our tired bodies. we had a lazy morning and then we went to a bar called Chrome for some cocktails and lunch. Very late lunch. by the time we came out, it was already past 4 pm. There was a press conference arranged with the local media at 5:30 pm . We spoke to them for an hour or less.
Although i had not quite digested my lunch yet, We made our way to dinner at my dad’s place. He is not here. It feels strange to have been in India for 7 weeks already and i still have not seen my parents. I plan on seeing them in Hyderabad after we are finished with this ride. Feels like i have eaten more food in these 2 days than i have in past few weeks.
Tomorrow, a local t.v. channel is coming by to talk to us before we get rolling by 8;30 am. very tired and sleepy now. (atleast i am not on the bike) Good night!

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Thursday, November 10
Yesterday was a rough day for Dinesh. He had a bout of food poisoning in the morning and was throwing up all day. So he got through the ride yesterday as soon as he could and was wiped out by the time we reached the hotel. We decided that Navroze and I would start off early with one of the jeeps and Dinesh would catch up to us when he felt more rested.
Woke up to Naveen’s alarm at 4:45 am and got ready by 5:30. As always, Navroze and I finally rolled another half hour later. The roads were empty and it was a little chilly. Road out of town was as bad as the road in to town. Uneven and broken up in many places. The first 50 km or so was like that and then it got a little better. After that we stopped off for a chai and some breakfast in a small town called Krishnanagar (see photo). The chai is dispensed from the machine and is served in a disposable clay cup. Weird mix!
By around noon we reached the suburbs of Calcutta. Passed over the hoogli river and the national highway 60 came up. what a relief! Fantastic 2 lane each way highway wih a divided in between and light traffic. We got open up the throttle for a while until we broke for lunch. Also we were back in area where we could get good yogurt and that meant i could indulge in Lassi, my favorite drink here.
We had no idea how many more kms exactly to Bhuvaneshwar, but as long as the road was like a runway, we were flying with big grins. after almost 400 kms we saw signs saying we had another 300 or so more to our destination. The light was slowly dimming and Dinesh opted to carry on as fast (and safe) as he could to Bhuvaneshwar and we would meet up there.
Meanwhile Navroze and I had already been on the road for about 12 hours and we stopped for a chai, then for a tire inspection for the backup jeep, then petrol and finally dinner break. by then it was around 9pm and it was colder than i had expected. we put on our rain gear just to keep the wind out and got back on the bikes to finish the last 180 km or so left. I felt awfully tired after dinner and was having a very difficult time focusing on the traffic ahead. The thoughts were racing through my mind to stop and take a quick shut eye or let Joe ride for awhile, because i knew i couldn’t go on like that. Perhaps if the remaining distance was very short, but we had a long ways to go and i was also thinking that it would slow down Navroze, if I were to stop so soon. As i was thinking these, i must have taken a wink too long and i crashed in to the central divider to my left and was thrown off the bike at about 50 kmph. I was flung on to the dirt median and rolled over a few times and miraculously escaped without a scratch. The bike skidded along the its side and crashed to a halt. I was shaken and was feeling idiotic for not going with my instinct right away. Very stupid of me! Joe and Rakesh were in the jeep right behind and they helped get the bike back up and it was working fine, except for the horn which was muffled. There were a couple of big scrapes on the bike’s side but it was working fine.
I noticed that the rain pants i had on over my jeans were damaged at the my left shin area quite bad and also on my right hip. I must have fallen on my hip, as i could already feel a little soreness.
I was awake now! With the intention that i would stop at any moment if i felt sleepy, I got back on the bike and carried on to finish the remaining 160 kms.
We stopped briefly a couple of times for chai and to wash face and by 1:30 am we reached Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa state. What a ride. Over 19 hours and 675 kms was very taxing. I was very thankful for the incredible luck i had and was ready to say enough for the day.
Took a hot shower at the hotel Bhuvaneshwar and hit the bed. Tomorrow we were heading to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, my home state.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Wednesday, November 9
My alarm went off by 5 am and i loked out the window and it was still dark. Got ready in half hour and it still was kind of dark. no one was ready to roll yet. Navroze made me a cup of his private coffee (which he brews every morrning. thank you Navroze!) Sanjeev was bidding us adieu as he was catching a flight out of Siliguri in the afternoon. We hope to see him again. By 6 am or a little past, we were rolling.
The air was very cool and felt quite refreshing. The sun was rising to our left as we headed south. Warm light cast ling shadows to the right of us on the road. Riding past many more tea estates, the sun light looked very romantic seeping through the trees and he smoke from the villages was tinting the light in amber tones.
The road was fine for about 25 km and then the potholes made their presence be known. Off and on the road was fine and the distressed road would slow us down quite a bit. The shadows from the trees on the road also disguised the potholes and even within 10 ft of us, it was difficult to identify the craters. We hit a few of them quite hard and would hope that the bike was alright to go on.
By 8 am, after 80 km, we stopped off at a dhaba for some breakfast of roti and a curry of soy and potatoes which was pretty good. But he scrambled egg made with mustard oil was not right for me. Just didn’t taste right. Passed on it.
The road would alternate between looking like swiss cheese to a four lane super highway. On the good stretches we could easily cruise at about 120 kmph, but on the other crawl at abot 20 kmph.
This went on all day for the 12 hours it took to reach Behrampore and we covered a little over 400 kms today. Tomorrow’s destination is Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa state. We realized that there was a small mistake when the original mileage was calculated. It’s actually close to 650 km and not around 400 km as we had initially planned for. Planning on waking up real early and see how much we can cover. Who knows what the road conditions are? We’ll know tomorrow. Till then, good night!

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Tuesday, November 8
I was getting late getting to the bike in the morning as i was still uploading images. Didn’t know whether i would have any connection at the next halt. We started out by 8 am and headed towards Siliguri, West Bengal. The weather was just fine and the road was kind as well. We took a slightly different route than the one we took from Gangtok to Coochbehar. This road was fine as well and we had a fantastic view of the Kanchen junga mountain range on our right. at around 29,000 ft, hat is the second highest mountain range in India after the Everest.
Siliguri was only 140 km from our start and we had planned on servicing the jeeps there during a long lunch after which we would carry on towards Kishangunj or Raigunj, which were 70 - 150 km from Siliguri towards Calcutta. We had been told that the roads were quite bad and that it would take forever to get through. Sound like Bihar roads. In fact, we were to get on this road from bihar, which we avoided due to bad roads. Now we have no choice.
We received word that there was no decent accomodation in those 2 tiny towns and it would be another carnival scenario around the bikes and us, if we ended up there in the dark. The reports on the roads were quite conflicting as well. some say that there are ok and some say otherwise. The only way to know, is when we get on them.
a consensus was taken to stop for the night here in Siliguri and wake up early and roll by 5:30 am, without fail and make the 450 km ride to Behrampur as planned earlier.
We had lunch at hotel Jamini which is in the not so heavily populated part of town with good parking. Got some rooms here for the night. I think we are the only guests here. Weird little place. Everything is very slow here.
Sanjeev Shah our film maker friend and crew member for the last 4 weeks from Amritsar has to get back to Ahmedabad and is catching his flights out of Siliguri tomorrow. We will miss him. Hope he was finishing the journey with us. Tonight, we will have a send off dinner for him.
Will keep posted if we do get rolling early. Otherwise we are in for an even longer rough ride tomorrow. Cheers!

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Monday, november 7
The plan was to be out by 6:30 am. Don’t ask how or why, but by the time we were off it was 8 am. The road out of Shillong was very good, though there were a lot of lorries on it. The diesel fumes were back in our lungs. Ahh… the smell of urbanization.
The ride was real fun all the way down to Gawhati. Back in Gawhati, the traffic was heavy again and we ended up spending another 45 minutes there waiting for somebody or something. At this point, e knew it was going to be dark when we reached Coochbehar anyway, Just wanted to minimise riding that way.
After about 230 km, we stopped off at the same dhaba on the way where we had chai a week before. Tanked up the bikes and off for another 230 km or so. The road was quite good mostly and then the last 100 km, as it got dark, the road was a mess. For sme reason, i did not remember it being as bad as that the first time around. I guess, i put it out of my mind because the road had gotten better towards the latter part of the ride going to Gawhati. To face this road with the sun setting in our faces and the dust being kicked up, was not a pleasant run. We reached Coochbehar by 8 pm and checked into the same hotel Ellora.
Finally i had internet connection again. So i managed to upload the couple of blogs that i had written.
Tomorrow we get back to Siliguri (in the chicken’s neck of Indian geography) and hope to carry on further South.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Saturday, November 5
Heading in to southern Assam to a place called Silchar. We had calculated the distance from Dimapur to be a little less than 300 km. We enquired about another route that would cut down about 50 km, but it would mean that we go off the main highway. We were quite spoilt from the previous couple of days with decent roads. So, we just assumed the same for today. We barely got onto this half beaten single lane road when we were halted at the police check post and had to wait a few minutes. Some police officers got in to the first lorry and soon all the other lorries,buses, cars and us formed a convoy behind it. We come to realise that that was the national highway and that there was a violent incident on a bus 2 days prior on that road and so were advised to travel in a convoy for safety. We travelled like that quite slowly for about 45 km from where we had to take a diversion to a place called Diphu. There was no traffic which made the heavy forest a little more creepy feel to it. Otherwise, it was beatiful. The road though narrow and broken up in many places was still managable. We stopped for a quick few minutes to take pictures or film the ride, which was making certain members of the crew very nervous.
We stopped by a local chai shop which was next to a police check post and talked to the official about the insurgency activity in that region. He said, there was some incident the day after yesterday or yesterday after yesterday and to travel cautiously. We carried on till we joined up with the main national highway 54 at around noon. Then we spent an hour finding a place to eat in a town there called, Lumding. Then, we asked some locals about the road to Silchar. They advised not to take that road we were on, instead to take the road back to a different town and go in a round about way. This was getting annoying. We stopped some truck drivers and asked them about the road and safety conditions. They seemed to be alright with it. But certain crew member was adamant about not going on that road as the local chap had said. So the local chap then asks a guy he knew who was coming along from the opposite direction, and he said it was fine. suddenly everyone was fine about carrying on. We found a restaurant just a few feet away and ordered some lunch. That took another 1 1/2 hours. We were losing quality daylight and we only had a couple more hours left of it.
We were told the distance to Silchar from there was about 140 km or so. Soon we came across a sign giving the distance at 244 km. Boy, did that let the air out of us! already the road was getting even more bad and we would be losing light very soon and we were in the middle of nowhere forest. so we took a decision to instead make it to a town called Haflong, about 100 km before Silchar.
We rode for another 2 hours after the sun went down and the road was really bad in many areas. Around 30 km to Haflong, I felt my bike responding a little awkward. Was pulling to one side and the steering was not quite right. I pulled over and asked Navroze to see if i had a flat. He didn’t seem to think so. also, we Dinesh’ and my bike was out of gas and were now on reserve. So i figured it was just the fuel flow or the dust that has clogged tyhe air filter. About 5 km before town, it was obviously clear that my reat tire was punctured. We couldn’t stop in the middle of nowhere and try to take it apart. So slowly we came down the hills to the town and safely reached a hotel called Elite by 7 pm.
By this hour the whole town was closing up and all the repair shops were shut. Luckily, the owner of the hotel contacted someone he knew and he re opened for us. Amazing joe, got my back to its running condition.
Tomorrow, we are to make it back to Gawhati via Shillong in meghalaya state. We opted to stop off in Shillong for the next night halt and make up the extra distance to Gawhati the day after.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Friday, November 4
Today was going to be an easy day. a short ride of 75 km to Kohima and back to Dimapur by evening. Unlike the other ares of India, here we have to kind of backtrack as we ventured further towards the border towns.
The morning was very pleasant and I had an hour to sit down with Navroze and Sajeev to film an interview about my experience so far. Soon after we set off to the hills. It was already 10 am and one of the BRO officers escorted us to Kohima, incase we get hassled.
The first 20 km was still in the plains and quite congested with traffic and people. As soon as we got to the hills, it was clear and the roads were lovely for the bikes to move around. Beautiful green valleys and the constant buzz of crickets was everywhere. Some places the sounds of the crickets actually sounded like cel phones ringing. Often, I would check my pocket to feel if my phone was vibrating. No calls, but that of nature.
There were a few vendors along the road selling fresh pineapples and oranges. We stopped off to sample of the local fruit and were absolutely taken by the fruits. The locals were nice as well and spoke quite good english. curiously, there are a lot of missionary schools set up in that area for a very long time.
The sky was a beautiful deep blue with a few clouds. soon, it was getting more cloudy and cool with that. The chance of rain is very sudden in those parts and could rain as much as 3-4 inches an hour or two. But, no rain poured dow on us.
The ride to Kohima took about 2 hours and we were taken to the war cemetery. Perched in the best of town and well manicured, the war cemetery was the spot where in April of 1944, the allied forces fought and stopped the invasion of Japan in to India. Then we were taken to the church that the veterans of that war had helped build. I was getting a little antsy to go check out the local streets and people instead. By now, it was already 2pm and we stopped by a tiny restaurant called Little China where they served us some very spicy noodles. Nagaland chillis are infamously spicy. By 3:30, we started to roll as the sun sets as early a 4 pm and gets very dark by 5 pm.
We got back to Dimapur and had some early dinner and called it a night at the BRO camp.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Wednesday, November 2
The sun was up very early. We had breakfast at the BRO camp, said our thank you and got on our way. We were given excellent directions and status on the road conditions.
The road was very good for the initial 55 km and then became a single lane uneven road ( see photo). After having been on the infamous Bihar roads, this was just fine.
After about 150 km, we were received by Mr. Verma ( also with the BRO) who had driven 3 hours to meet us. He had prepared a very appetising lunch and then escorted us to a place called Simen Chapori which is on the banks of the river Brahmaputra. From the main road we had to go on the dirt road (see photo) for about 10 km to the awaiting ferry. We loaded up the jeeps and bikes on to it and sat back for the next 2 1/2 hours enjoying the boat ride. The river was only about 3 km wide but as the water was lower than usual and there were a lot of islands that needed to navigated around. Also, having to go against the current made the ride slow and enjoyable. The sun set early and the the stars were out by 5 pm. Looking up at the sky from the ferry felt like being in a planetarium. It’s been a very long time since I saw so many stars in the sky.
By the time we got off the ferry, it was pitch black and we had to get back on the bikes for another 25 km to Dibrugarh. (see photo). The road out of the ferry was as you can see in the pic. for about 10 km and then the highway was fine.
We made reservations in a hotel for the night. Just as we got in to town, Dinesh’s bike got a nail in his back tire and luckily we were already in town and joe fixed it as soon as we got to the hotel.
This is the eastern most part of India on our journey.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip