November 28, 2014

MON, NAGALAND TO JORHAT, ASSAM 180 km with sidetrip
Paradise Hotel 920Rs ($14.85) clean, wifi, good restaurant:)
 


 
Early 5:00 am wake-up
7-10 jeep Mon to Sonari
10:15 pedicab to ASTC station
10:30-12:30 bus Sonari to Shivsagar
12:50-1:50 bus Shivsagar to Jada corner 
1:55-4:00 rickshaw to Nagaland border and back
4:15 -5:30 Tata Majic Jada-Jorhat
Paradise Hotel ahhhh

Morning Time is the Best Time

We walked the dusty road up to the central market area and Sumo stand. We totally lucked out and were able to score seats on the first Sumo to Sonari leaving at 6:30am. I sat down for a cup at the chai wallah. 
 
......It was 7 am by the time we left. We were lucky that the other two people we shared the 2nd row seat with were skinny. Dave soon nodded off. Towards the end, even I managed to snooze an hour or so. We awoke when the military stopped us briefly at the state line. One of them asked where we were from then reached in to shake our hands with big grin. 
 
At 10 am, we arrived back at the Seven Sisters hotel (and Sumo stand) in Sonari. An eager pedicab rider started loading our packs on someone else's cab. But soon, were on our way to the ASTC bus station in the backs of two pedicabs for 20 rupee each (32¢). Those transfers go seamlessly, as long as we're on well trodden route. We got dropped at the bus to Shivsagar which departed within minutes. At 12:30, we arrived back at the Shivsagar ASTC bus station. Again, we asked for advice from several guys at the ticket counter. They did not have a bus going to Mariani but suggested we get on the bus to Jorhat and ask to be let off at halfway point at Jada corner. There get a shared rickshaw 5 km to Amguri from where we can catch a direct bus the rest of the way to Mokokchung. Sounded straight forward enough.......

 
Colossal Runaround
 
We followed the new advice and soon were on our way. An hour later, were dropped at intersection at Jada. Immediately we were picked up by friendly shared auto rickshaw driver. He pulled over near Amguri and several buddies came out, the driver turned to us and said, "They will drive you to Mokokchung, only 4000Rs". "No just take us to the bus to Mokokchung", we insisted. "No bus" he said, "Only bus and sumo from Hargrove (or Haluating on our google map) 20 km from here. "Are you sure?" we asked "Yes, no problem," he insisted. "I want 300Rs to take you" he insisted, we countered "200Rs" and a deal was struck. We looked at each other and agreed that if he would get us on the transport to Mokokchung, we'd be thrilled.

At an intersection Amguri, I motioned to a policeman who was directing traffic, to come over and I asked him. The driver told him something in Assamese upon which the officer agreed that the bus to Mokokchung would be in Haluating. So off we went on a beautiful the winding road with endless tea estates on both sides. Eventually we got to the Nagaland border checkpoint and the driver told us to get out and pay, then wait for a bus at 6pm.

We did not unload our luggage and went to ask a guy waiting near the check post about the bus. He said there was no bus or sumo to Mokokchung expected at 6:00 pm or any time. All the buses for the day had passed. We wasted almost two hours by now. We told the driver to take us back to the intersection where he had picked us up. He agreed and began to retrace our way back. Then he pulled into a large deserted lot near Amguri and pointed to a sign which implied it was a bus lot. "The ticket boot is over there," he pointed. But no one was around except teens playing ball. I told him he wasn't going to just dump us there. He called one of the teens over and told him to confirm that there would be a bus at 9pm. We really were not interested in waiting or going in the dark. The scenery is the best part of the journey. The teen wouldn't go along the rickshaw driver's story and said there wouldn't be a bus till 7:00 in the morning. We should stay in a nice Amguri hotel and get the bus that would be coming by in the morning. We again insisted the driver take us back to Jada corner were he originally picked us up. He started out again but back in central Amguri, he pulled over and said, "I'm hungry, I'm going to eat now". Our patience was running thin by now. We got our stuff and started walking down the street. The driver came running after us and wanted his 200Rs fare. We had planned to pay him for the original destination, once we got back to Jada, where we started, but not any add-on since he had given us a colossal runaround. He very likely caused us to miss the real bus. 

Dave finally lost his cool with the "hungry" stunt (and it takes a lot for that to happen.) Dave had had it with this double talking guy. Dave had totally planned to at least compensate the guy for his fuel but this dinner break sent Dave over the edge. And Dave had explained to the guy, who was now following behind us in his rickshaw, that he was not getting one rupee! Not one!
 
Soon we had a fast growing crowd around us as we got back to the intersection with the policeman who I had spoken with earlier. He came over and heard our side. He gave us a head wiggle, which we took to mean he totally could see our point - and now please move on. 

In the meantime, we hopped in the back of another rickshaw going to Jada corner. Our old driver ran over and explained (we assume) that we refused to pay him. Our new driver apparently wasn't fazed by it but made no attempt to maneuver through the crowd either. We considered getting out of the rickshaw and let it get on its way with its other passengers. We looked around and could tell they all were thoroughly enjoying the small spectacle. Better than reality TV.

Eventually, a smartly dressed guy who had great command of English intervened. After he heard the whole story he asked us what we were willing to pay the old driver. He explained the driver did use his time and petrol driving us around and we owe him. "He owes US for wasting our time with his false promise of a bus," Dave chimed in. After a little more bickering with the driver, the smartly dressed guy pulled out a fat wallet and gave the driver 100 rupees. We told him he could do what he wanted but the driver shouldn't get away with those antics. The crowd had been laughing but now the show was over. They dispersed and we got on our way to Jada corner where we caught a minivan Majic to Jorhat.

 
Majic Bus to Paradise

It was dark by the time we arrived at the Jorhat bus station. Paradise Hotel nearby was our best option. Just a 5 minute walk behind the station. But we started in the wrong direction until we were redirected by a helpful local. It had been a long day.

The restaurant served up some pretty good food. While I showered, Dave picked up some fruit for the next day’s journey and got the scoop on how to get to Mokokchang. Buses from the Assam station only go with within Assam State. For any transport to Nagaland, we needed to go to Mariani first. Plus, if we did not get there early, all the seats would be sold out before we got there. So it was best to arrive 30 minutes before departure.
It will be another early rise in the morning.