Tinsukia, Assam, India
What's the big deal. After all I crossed the Brahmaputra twice already - at Guwahati and at Tezpur. So what ? Well, this is postworthy, simply because where I crossed the river, there is no bridge !!! How then ? See the photos and read the commentary under each photo at the end of his post - just for a change I am narrating the story under the photos rather than in this post. For best viewing, view it as a slide show, proceed sequentially and read both the title of the photo and my notes.
Its time to leave Arunachal Pradesh
. I only saw a small part of it, but it was lovely. Very nice people, wonderful vistas, off the beaten trail - its a great place to travel to. The only minus is the appalling roads.
My surprise here has been that everybody speaks Hindi.I mean everybody. Stop in the middle of nowhere and ask a lonely tribesman for directions and he replies back in understandable Hindi. In towns they speak fluent Hindi. The tribes have advanced wonderfully - they have a great blend of preserving their culture and yet embracing modernity. The elders moan however that their culture is ebbing away and the youth are getting westernised - a familiar theme all over India. TV has made a hug difference. Even the remotest of villages has a dish in every house. Villages with no mobile connectivity have TV.
There is very little militancy in this state as compared to some of the other states. Economic opportunities are few and many of the youth are migrating to other parts of India
. Their religion of Donyi Polo is under assault from Christianity. The state is poorly governed by successive governments. China trying to claim that this is part of Tibet is a joke. Large parts of Arunachal are not Tibetan and many of the tribes have no link to Tibet at all. It is a state with fantastic potential for tourism, if they can get the infrastructure organised.
In the short time that I have been here, I am hugely impressed by Arunachal Pradesh and have started to love this state. But I have to move on. The way it is in the North East is that to go from any state to another, you have to come through Assam. So I descended and am in the tea town of Tinsukia where it is hot - T shirt country again. I will take a breather for a couple of days in Assam to see around and to take it easy a bit. And then I go off to the next state - back to the hills, the cool weather and the bad roads !
Crossing the Brahmaputra again
Monday, February 23, 2015
Tinsukia, Assam, India
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Comments
2025-05-23
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Vincy Joseph
2015-02-24
oh Wow What a post!!
You've shown me some benchmarks that i need to set in my newly acquired driving skills Phew. just watching those pictures had my legs shaking. The sand pathways on the riverbed looks hard and beaten. is it just an illusion or is it really sandy?
Feeling a litte sad that we are leaving Arunachal - you have managed to create a bond with the place and the people there, even in a reader like me.
We got to move on right?
Anne in Salem
2015-02-24
Such adventures! I know few people who would travel as you are - alone, horrible roads, nerve-wracking ferries, homestays with strangers, etc. - and even fewer who would enjoy it as much as you are. Fascinating. Thank you for the vicarious experiences and the education.
Ravi Rajagopalan
2015-02-24
Greetings from cold and sunny London. While it is very nice to come back to a city I call my own and was my home for many years, your blog makes me long for an opportunity to experience life in India away from cities. Enjoy!
Sandhya Sriram
2015-02-24
What an experience!! awesome. this is no less than an adventure sport actually. People in the west spend tons of money and have to take vacations to go and do risky stuff. and in many parts of India, all you need to do is to live your day to day life to experience thrill :-)
gils
2015-02-24
thala..pinreenga ponga!!! carla india poora roundupa..ensaai
Asha
2015-02-24
oh! you are holidaying just the way i want to ...you are making fantaboulous memories there!!!!
How did the tyres take to the riversand? It must have been a skiddy drive, Right?
We too had a similar experience in vypeen and that jetty was called Junkar in vypeen island. I was watching the vehicles roll on and off( even lorries an d buses) like a little kid in awe.
What next.....awaiting eagerly.....and disappointed that you left Arunachal without justifying its name.
Asha
2015-02-24
@Gils - semma interesting and fascinating trip this is turning out to be. Don't miss the posts..(miss FB and bus rides if you want). Join the brigade.
indigoite
2015-02-25
@Vincy - Oh , you'll soon be carrying of a stunt such as this yourself. I have a feeling you are going to become an ace driver.
It started out as caked mud and then soon became pure sand. Slipping and sliding all the way I was too scared to stop. If I had done, I would have had to be probably towed out !
Yeah, we've got to move. But to equally interesting places :)
@Anne - Fascinating. To you, this must feel like from another world. !
@Ravi - Of course you do this all the time. You just don't blog about it :( Happy shivering !
@Sandhya - Yes, it is starting to feel like an adventure. I'll confess I was terrified at that time.
@Giiiillllssssuuuuuuu - Wow, you have resurfaced. To what do I owe this honour ??
@Asha - Yes, skiddy , slippery and I had to be careful not to get stuck in the sand. Yes, this sort of ferry is there in other places too in India - I am sure you drove your vehicle up the plant at Vypeen while Mr B was too scared to do it :)
Sanjay Balachandran
2015-02-25
Ramesh
i have been closely following your trail. To me this is an eye opener. Because as an Indian I barely know about the North East.
It is sad that we alienate then on their looks and the place they come from. Yet they are the most culture bound people perhaps in the whoke of country. The sad plight of roads and i frastructure is a tetsimony of the apathy that successive national and local govts have bestowed upon the region. Come to think of it because of their close physical similarities to Chinese how many sports can we have them trained amd excel where in the Chinese have supremacy. Alas we just neglect the region. I think a fitting end to your travels woukd be to publish a novel about your experiences in the north east lest it will break many stereotypes
Suja
2015-02-25
What an adventure!! I am glad you and your blue friend arrived at the other side safely! Very sad to hear about the bridge..and angry too.
indigoite
2015-02-26
@Sanjay - Thanks for following. Yes, there is so much potential and so much that can be done in the North East. But its not only upto the Centre - its up to the people themselves too.
@Suja - Thanks. There were a few heart in the mouth moments, but of such adventures are travel stories made.