Assam and Meghalaya

Alan D

We travelled in this area for a month in Dec 1999 and January 2000. During the month we met about 6 other tourists/travellers.

The pace of life is pretty slow and relaxed, more like South India than the North and as there are so few tourists there is absolutely no hassle. People are extremely friendly and interested and you may have to answer a lot of questions but this is a good opportunity to ask questions back.

We didn't have any problems finding places to stay, either hotels and guest houses, sometimes in Govt Tourist Lodges, once at a tented camp (the Eco -camp) and also on Majuli Island at the Circuit House.

We had free rides to places when people knew we were moving on and a free ride on the ferry both to and from Majuli Island.

If you would like details or would like to ask any questions please post on this thread.

Good travelling

Alan D

My timing on this post was a bit off!

For those of you who don't already know, the Guwahati- bound Northeast Express was derailed by a bomb placed on the line by Bodo militants near Bijni town in Assam, Tuesday last. 20 people were injured,2 of them seriously.

I thought I should point this out as there is obviously a risk in travelling to Guwahati by train. Bodo militants to date have not targeted foreign tourists but this is of no comfort if you are injured.

This won't prevent us from visiting the NE area again early next year but you may feel differently now about going to Assam and Meghalaya.

Good travelling

steven_ber

hi alan


i have been looking into traveling around north eastern india for a few months, but information is very difficult to come by.


i was thinking maybe after darjeeling going to guwahati then heading towards dhemaji and trying to get across to dibrugarh, then around to lumding and maybe down to silchar, then hopefully into bangladesh. wow, optomistic or what.


i will probibly go to shillong, is there anywhere else i should have a look at, also, if i was to beleive the guidebooks i probibly wont make it home alive, is this true?


any advice on this area would be greatly appreciated.

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

Alan D

Hi Steven

Well, there is always the possibility of things going wrong. I am in Bhuj in Gujarat right now and just walking around the town is dangerous! A lot of buildings which didn't completely fall down in the earthquake are in an unstable state.

There are insurgency problems in Assam and sometimes railway lines and road bridges are blown up but we were prepared to take those risks.

Assam is completely open and it's easy to travel around by train or bus. Meghalaya is worth visiting also. Shillong still retains the feel of a British hill station, at least in the centre of town. If you go there you should take the government daily bus tour which will take you to other places in the Khasi hills.

Don't know what the possibilities are to enter Bangladesh from North-East India. Check with the Bangladesh government.

I'm sure you will enjoy the area if you go. We will be in that region again in Jan/Feb.

good travelling
Alan

Samsara

Tinsukia official site is at http://tinsukia.nic.in - here is a link about a tea festival in the area in 2002 with a little bit of info on other objects of interest - http://tinsukia.nic.in/subpages/dehing1.html

You can perhaps tour other tea estates around Margherita for example.

Enter the search term "margherita tea" at www.google.com and specific tea estates, golf clubs, hotels, things to do etc turn up, amazingly enough!

Here's a good graphic "map" of distances between major points in Tinsukia including across to Miao and Pangsaw Pass.

http://tinsukia.nic.in/subpages/dehing1.html#K

There is still however occasional guerilla activities in Assam and Tinsukia, sometimes resulting in bombings. I don't want to sound alarmist as obviously lots of tourists are going into the area and coming back out again, but as Alan D has pointed out, it will sometimes happen, but then again anything could happen anywhere!

A note to this though - killings were perpetrated by guerrilla groups in Manipur, Tripura and Assam leading up to Indian Independence Day on August 15th. Tourists weren't involved though. There are a lot of package tours available now for the far North East which is a very big place (Arunachal Pradesh has no history of violence so that might be a nice place to check out for those a bit worried). I suppose the only thing to do for individual travellers is to keep a close eye on far North East states news at sites like Times of India at http://www.timesofindia.com and other online Indian newspapers that cover the area.

Alan D

I've seen a mention on this site that some members may be planning to visit the North-East of India.

I recently received an email from Manju Barua at Wildgrass saying that they now have their own website up and running and asking for comments and suggestions. Personally, although I have a broadband connection, I'm finding it slow to load, possibly because of the amount of photographs they have put on it. I think some people may give up on it which defeats the purpose of the website. I wonder if some of you could check it out and see what you think?

http://www.oldassam.com/

I still think this is one of best places I have stayed at in India - nice surroundings, great food, comfortable accommodation excellent management and cold KF's on the veranda after a hard days bird watching in the nearby jungle and tea gardens.

vistet

I like it estetically but it`s not working as intended , I think .
The top graphics refuse to download completely (they picture covers he whole top , right ? ) in both Explorer and Camino. A longer segment is shown in Explorer. The colors/saturation differ strongly between these browsers. I`ll dive deeper into the content another day. Feeling (as many other Swedes) sad today after our foreign minister was knifed and killed yesterday while shopping.

indiaguide

Let me know what you like to know about north east. According to my knowladge i will try give you some information.

-m2-

excellent site! it loads and displays quickly and without problem for me on an old mac using IE 5.1 with a cable modem.


vistet, that is very sad news indeed, in fact numbing and I'm sure all of us here would join me in offering our condolences and sympathy to you and all Swedes in this difficult time. It is really a blow to all of us who value democracy and openness in our societies. tragic.

m2

steven_ber

I never had a problem with the site, though I skipped the intro and I am on a fast connection.

indiaguide, thanks for offering to answer questions on the North East, I have a few.

Does the helicopter still do the route between Guwahati and Shillong? If so, any idea of the times and cost?

Is there a direct bus between Shillong and Tezpur?

How would I get from Murkong Solek to Saikhoa Ghat?

Tipong (east of Ledo) is right next to the border between Assam and AP, but I can’t find out which state it is in, I don't want to get a special permit for AP if I don't need one, any idea which state it is in?

Can I get a Margarita in Margherita or will I have to take my own Tequila?

Will I need a special permit if I want to get a newspaper at Dimapur (Nagaland) train station? This is a valid question; the train enters Nagaland and stops at Dimapur.

Is it true that tourists are supposed to have an armed escort to go along highway 44 to Agartala?

Can tourists use the border crossing at Akhawra (close to Agartala) to cross into Bangladesh?

I would be grateful for answers to any of these questions.

Thanks in advance.

Samsara

Vistet, so sorry to hear about your news. It's awful there are so many f***** people in the world who can't live and let live...

Steven, I want to know which state Tipong is now in too but I can't answer any of your questions.

Great site, Alan, thanks for posting it.

indiaguide

Please wait , tomorrow I will give you all answare.

steven_ber

TIPONG COLLIERY L.P SCHOOL
TIPONG.
MARGHERITA
78

Has 42 pupils and 2 teachers, and is in Assam.

Amazing what you can find on the net.

mountaingirl

Hi All!

One can cross from Agartala to Bangladesh EASILY. From Bangladesh, you can get in to Cachar district (Silchar) or a little closer to Guwahati and head for Shillong.

IF you plan to do this route also to renew your Indian visa in Bangladesh, then travel ONLY when it is closer to date as the guys at the Indian embassy will wait till your present visa expires.

Negative points of this trip: too much policing in Agartala, you may be the only TOURIST in Bangladesh near the border area.
Shillong is nice even though there is a little tension in the whole region.

DO NOT TAKE CHANCES WITH PERMITS ETC - HAVE A VALID PERMIT BEFORE TRAVELLING AND DO NOT VISIT THE STATES THAT REQUIRE A PERMIT WITHOUT ONE!

Remember, people are VERY friendly here so if you have the guts & patience (yeah, you will need it sometimes) , go for it! (also if you don't mind the occassional bombs in the trains).
So, if you don't find a hotel, knock on someone's door.

Last update on this area was in July 2003. So, if you have any questions, maybe I can help you.

mountaingirl

Lastly, if you do not want to return to the region and would like to travel an alternate route, then you should cross back to India from Bangladesh at a place South of Calcutta (I can't remember the name as of now, but will update you asap).

happy travelling to all!