From the hills to the plains to the A/C bar...


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Asia » India » Assam » Jorhat
June 6th 2007
Published: August 13th 2007
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Naga Morung in Tuensang
After having frogs in Kohima, it came to me to continue on to other parts of Nagaland... Maybe out there, was another better frog...? A magical frog... One which you can lick and get a nice acid flashback... Hmmm frogs... Anyway, we decided to try for Tuensang and see if we could catch a glimpse of some more tribes... But in the end it started raining again so we didn't see much more than the inside of our room and Tuensang itself is not very interesting... Still the ride there was beautiful and along the way I got to see a drunk tank which I wouldn't like to spend the night in... Talking about your acid flashbacks...

So after one rainy day, we decided to leave Nagaland for the plains, our destination... Majuli Island, the world’s largest river island... A pleasant, ABBA filled jeep ride further and we arrived in Jorhat the gateway to Majuli and it was hot and humid, as you would expect in the plains... A boat ride across and we came to a completely different world... On oasis of calm and peacefulness, a rural paradise, where life continues to be lived the same way as it
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Girl studying by candle light
has for generations... Majuli is a bit like Holland, flat and filled with water... Perfect for riding around on a bicycle, at least weather permitting or if you can sum up the energy to leave the confines of the lovely hut we were staying in... Some French architect and his wife decided the accommodation on the island wasn't up to standards and so he designed and build a lovely bamboo cottage, which is now managed by a local guide... And the price was very, very right, so to speak... As it was all so very relaxing in the little cottage we only spend one day cycling around, the other days were spend just lazing on our veranda or walking down to the village to do some grocery shopping.. And in my case I also spend my time very productively doing a load of laundry, much to Noa's and the mosquito's delight...

After giving the mosquito's there fill of blood, and my body it's fill of malaria and after finishing the laundry it was time to leave Majuli again.. Next destination... Sibsigar! The former royal capital of Assam, where the Ahom dynasty ruled for 600 years until those darn British came and ruined it all for them... Sibsigar has some interesting temples and ruins in and around it... Like the Shivadol Mandir, India's highest Shiva temple and Rang Ghar where the Ahom kings used to watch elephant races in the day and, according to the tourist information, also a bunch of other interesting sight... We on the other hand ended up in an A/C bar, escaping the insufferable heat... The A/C bar reminded me a bit of a bad western strip bar without the strippers or the customers... But with lots of staff and a bad Bollywood remake of "The Rock" showing on a big TV... The main character is a much better dancer than Sean Connery was in the original, that's for sure...



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Majuli IslandMajuli Island
Majuli Island

Scenery on Majuli Island
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Majuli Island

More scenery on Majuli Island
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Majuli Island

Our hut on Majuli
Majuli IslandMajuli Island
Majuli Island

View from our hut at Kapunpuli on Majuli
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Majuli Island

And inside our hut
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Sibsagar

Shivadol Mandir, the tallest Shiva temple in India
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Sibsagar

Carvings on Shivadol
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Sibsagar

View of Shivadol from Sibsagar tank
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Sibsagar

Rang Ghar pavilion, where the Ahom Kings used to watch elephant fights


26th June 2010

thanks for sharing your experience,
15th March 2011
Sibsagar

very nice
very nice and best photo

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