Solo trip across 5 North-East states

Dear IndiaMikers,
I have just concluded a month-long solo trip across Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya. I didn't have a very precisely-planned itinerary and I was pretty much winging it the whole trip. However, I did settle on prospective destinations by trolling repeatedly through the most informative forums here. Just wanted to put in a much-deserved vote of thanks to everyone at IndiaMike.

The places I visited (in no particular order):

1. Sikkim: Gangtok, Nathu La, Gurudongmar Lake, Yumthang, Rinchenpong
2. Assam: Guwahati, Kaziranga
3. Arunachal Pradesh: Bomdila, Tawang
4. Nagaland: Kohima, Kisama
5. Meghalaya: Tura, Shillong, Sohra

Throughout the journey, I traveled only by local transport (except where legal restrictions did not permit me to e.g., in Kaziranga National Park, or at Gurudongmar Lake). I was touched by the warmth and hospitality of people wherever I went in the North-East. Really a most enchanting destination!

In case anyone's interested, pictures are here: www.flickr.com/neeraj2608

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

I did look at your photos and they are excellent. I got dizzy looking at one of those very fragile bridges!

I've never been to any of the places you went and you've inspired me to add them to my endless list!

Dear camelgirl, thank you for the note of appreciation. Yes, the NE is indeed a wonderful place to visit. People are extremely hospitable and honest, no one tries to cheat you, the air is clean, the food is delicious and nature is at her best.

Good photos which camera do you use?
Tse La Lake looks amazing...do share more details about the trip as it would obviously motivate IM's to explore these virgin states.

Really nice pictures especially the ones of Sikkim. I like your prospectives, very different.

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

Ronak.

Must say the Meghalaya photos were really impressive ... can you possibly give an account of how you went about with your itenerary . It will be interesting to know which places you cover , in how many days and is it recommended in April ?

Nice photos, surely, Meghalaya and Ooty.

Hi....

Those pics are great!

I am on a solo trip beginning tomorrow. Mumbai- Delhi- Dharamsala is my first stop. I want to go to bhutan but am not sure how to get there from Dharamsala.
Anyways, I am keen to go to north east too. Can you help me with your total traveling, food and accommodation cost for the time you spent there?

I am on a sort of low budget and particularly would like to go to Nagaland or Shillong.

Dear IndiaMikers,
Thank you so much for your kind comments.

I used a very simple point-and-shoot camera - the Nikon Coolpix S6; nothing special.

Sorry, a detailed travelogue is too daunting a task! Although, I'm more than happy to answer directed, specific questions on this thread or elsewhere on the forums (e.g., here: http://www.indiamike.com/india/other...66/#post884803).

As I said in the OP, I planned my trip entirely with the help of the IndiaMike forums. There's a lot of really good and detailed information here, especially on logistical details such as the best time to visit a place or the weather at a particular time of the year. Please, do search the forums. You should find everything you need.

As far as this particular trip was concerned, I've listed the places I visited in the OP. The entire journey took me 5 weeks inclusive of the time spent traversing the breadth of India (I started my journey from Gujarat). I started my trip in Sikkim and ended it in Meghalaya. My goal was to try more to appreciate the culture(s) and cuisines (more for gourmets below) of the NE, rather than just visit as many "tourist" destinations as possible. Hence, my choice of destinations may not necessarily be yours. I also wanted to experience first-hand quotidian life in the NE -- one of the reasons I stuck to local transport as far as possible. I must say that this is one thing that I'm very glad I did. The number of people I befriended on these travels, the really honest and helpful conduct of local people -- to tourists, yes, but more importantly, even to one another -- and glimpses of the problems that people are compelled to face in these far-flung areas: these are memories that will stay on long after the scenery has melded into reminiscences from other trips.

Oops, I've gone off on a tangent. Anyway, another thing I wanted to point out was that when planning an itinerary in the NE, it may be a good idea to pay special attention to how long it takes to get from one place to another, rather than how long one should spend at a given place (which is a purely subjective decision).

This is especially important if you're traveling by local/shared transport because more often than not, buses that travel long distances start only at particular times of the day. For instance, the two buses that travel from Tezpur (in Assam) to Dimapur (in Nagaland) leave in the evening, all buses that travel from Guwahati (in Assam) to Bomdila (in Arunachal) leave only in the morning and so on. These departure times can impose constraints on your journey by forcing you to spend an extra day here or there.

Even if you're traveling by hired transport, remember that Assam in particular suffers from impromptu strikes that completely paralyze transport. Keep in mind that Assam is an all-important hub of travel in this region. For instance, I had to travel through Assam when I went from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh, from Arunachal Pradesh to Nagaland, and again from Nagaland to Meghalaya.

While I'm at it, I would really encourage people to sample some of the many superb dishes that the NE offers. IMHO, the NE has some of the best pork dishes anywhere in India. Some stuff I recommend:

• Aficionados of Manipuri food should try the New Sangai Rice Hotel which offers an all-you-can-eat thali for 60 rupees. This hotel is in Manipuri Basti, Guwahati.
• When in Shillong, try Khasi dohkleh, jadoh and other dishes in Bara Bazaar.
• In Tawang, try mon dep (red, unpolished rice) and ara (Monpa version of chhang, whipped with butter and egg and served warm).
• Nagaland has (in my opinion) the best food in the NE, with each tribe having its specialties. Try Sumi pork and axone (pronounced a-kh-o-né) or fermented soyabean, and Lotha pork with bamboo shoots. There are lots of shops on the main road in Kohima (near the NST bus stand). Oh yes, do do also try zuto -- the local rice beer (if you're resourceful enough to find it in a supposedly dry state like Nagaland -- I was lucky enough to be with a Naga friend).

HTH.

Good luck for your trip to Dharamsala. I was there a couple of years ago, it's a beautiful place to visit.

Simple answer: I haven't yet calculated the exact amount of money I spent.
On the other hand, I can give you a general idea of expenses. If you're traveling alone and you're not too particular about luxurious accommodation (of course, I'm talking about hotels that are clean, comfortable and safe -- just nothing too fancy), look to spend around 300 rupees a night in hotels . I spent 250 rupees a night in hotels, on average. Caveat: this is also dependent on what time of the year you'll be traveling in. Food is not too expensive. A meal can cost anything from 40 rupees to 300 rupees, depending on where you eat. Try some of the local food. It's great! Transport (I only tried the local/shared kind) costs are pretty much the same as in the rest of India.

You'll find more detailed information by looking at the forums but to give you a quick answer, you can take a flight to Thimphu. A cheaper way would be to take a train from New Delhi to NJP and then to take a Sumo (available from right outside NJP railway station) to Jaigaon/Phuentsholing -- the border crossing to Bhutan. Anyway, as I said, the forums are your best friend for more information.

Hi, though its been quite some time that you had your trip but I must congratulate you. Quite a tour visiting all these lovely places all alone. I need some suggestion here. Hope, I get the answers at this wonderful forum.

I was planning a backpacking trip to north-east. Though, I just have 10-12 days buffer. Initially, my idea was to take a train from New Delhi to New Jalpaiguri. Spend a day or two in Darjeeling and then move onto Sikkim. I thought of covering Sikkim and Meghalaya this time but going by the responses in this thread, I assume its going to be difficult covering these two states. I was planning this trip in October end or November. Though, I dont have a passport yet but I guess, that's only needed for Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

It would be really nice to get a suggestion about how to go for it.

Thanks.

Hi!

It seems that you were on backpack trip to NE States. Can you please recommend a decent budget Hotel or Guest House at Shillong, where we can stay safely with family. I'm a senior citizen. If possible please provide contact number etc. Thanks.