Journey Along Snake Way

I reached Guwahati in the wee hours of the morning, a shared auto and a brisk walk after I reached Tushar’s place and promptly fell asleep. I spent the rest of the day on personal visits, one of which afforded me some spectacular views of the Brahmaputra and the others which provided invaluable information to base my travel plans on.

On reading my earlier posts, I realised that they lacked specific details for budding travellers who wished to travel the same route. It is an unfortunate truth that constant travel only affords me a limited time to write. I apologise for my brevity, but rest assured, I intend to expand my posts once my trip is finished. I thought I’d take the time today to discuss three aspects of my trip to Kohima which I consider especially important for first time travelers.

1) Of the travel

For the budget conscious, the bus from Dimapur is your best bet as they cost only Rs.120. The buses are rather uncomfortable though especially on the winding narrow roads, so a good alternative is a shared taxi (Rs.220). You can get one directly from the railway station and return journeys during off-seasons may continue till 8 p.m. giving you some extra time in Kohima, as the last bus leaves at around 4p.m.

As for local transport within the city, the buses (Rs. 10) travel often but communication is a barrier so often we just got off and walked to our destination. Some of the attractions are atop hills, so those looking for a comfortable journey should hire a taxi.

2) Of the people

Good Lord, Naga women are beautiful. It seemed that nearly every one I passed by, my heart broke a little. The men and women at Kohima were at their fashionable best, hipster in every sense and dressed to the nines. One could say that every day was fashion week there.

That being said, getting around is hard because of the language barriers. People shut you off or completely ignore you if you speak English or Hindi. While this may seem as rude, it is only a small bit of insecurity on their part, especially the men since the language really does not come easy to them, making them quite uncomfortable. The way around this is to ask the older people i.e. shop keepers and vendors who are more than willing to help you out, that or the younger generation of kids, especially women.

We had the distinct pleasure of three college girls who went out of their way to take us to our destination and only then did they take their leave. As a word of advice though, the entire state is strongly Catholic, so you might be given literature or preached to. It’s best to take those moments lightly.

3) Of the food

My biggest gripe with Kohima was the absolute lack of any Naga food at all. Noodles, rice and momos are available at every nook and corner but no hint of Naga food. The only place where we did find it was right opposite the bus stop, on the top floor of a blue and white building. The smoked pork there was delicious.
My actual craving for Naga food was sated at Dimapur, on Eros Road which is about a kilometre from the railway station. It has many small Naga eating joints that are very similar looking, and all run by families. This provided the ambiance of a nice home cooked meal.

All of that being said, Nagaland is truly a beautiful place and I hope that I’ll be afforded the opportunity to visit for a longer time the next time I come to the North-East.

 

War and Peace

My trip further east started just before midnight aboard the Nagaland Express. My companion for this leg of the journey was Rajveer, one of Tushar’s friends, who volunteered to tag along. Turns out the both of us had excellent (read: similar) taste in anime and games. I was woken up suspiciously early by a stray sun beam. I considered it suspicious as it was four fifteen in the morning, leading me to believe that perhaps the sun rises a little earlier in the east than it let’s on.

On arriving at Dimapur, we crossed the road the bus stand where we purchased tickets to Kohima (Rs. 120). We set off through the city. A common site is bamboo weaving, where every building ranging from an animal shed to a tinkering workshop seems to be made of the stuff. It was that that we hit the hills. The long winding roads through the mist covered hills were breathtaking, the soft rolling of the ranges as far as the eye could see. As the treacherous ascent continued, the air grew cooler and cooler.

We stopped for a breakfast of pooris with a spicy potato curry, which was perfect for filling up our stomachs and warming our blood. We continued soon after and arrived at Kohima. After a bit of misdirection we finally reached our first sight, the World War Two Cemetery. Nestled near the heart of the town it stands as a constant reminder of the lives lost in repelling the Japanese attack on Nagaland. The words “When you go home, tell them of us and say, ‘For your tomorrow, we gave our today'” inscribed on the epitaph will always echo in my mind.

After a brief pit-stop for some chai, we caught a bus to the Kohima Cathedral. We caught a bus to a closer point (Rs. 10) and hoofed the rest of the way. It was a long and winding uphill climb that left us a little out of breath, but the views to be had were amazing. The church itself was colossal and could house about 40,000 people. Luckily we found a shorter route back down. Back on the main road we caught a bus to the opposite direction and headed to the Naga State Museum. After another arduous walk uphill, we were informed that it was closed on weekends. On the way back we made the acquaintance of three college girls who, in the spirit of hospitality, escorted us to an authentic Naga restaurant (which was unfortunately closed) before parting ways. We went instead to Tashi Delek, a Tibetan themed restaurant, where we feasted on steamed momos, chilly chicken and pork fried rice (Rs. 300 for two).

After a little bit of shopping, we headed to the main bus stand past markets selling all sorts of edibles, from frogs to snails and ducks to litchis. Exhausted from our exertions but filled with a sense of euphoria caused by the spectacular views and cool mountain air, we boarded the bus and promptly fell asleep.

We woke up to witness the sunset over the hills. The fading light had turned the road into a golden snaking river meandering through the hills. It was quite a site to behold. Once we reached Dimapur, we set off in search of some authentic Naga food. After a couple of dead ends, we finally found a small joint called Hotel Broadway, and by god, the food really hit the spot. Descending into the happy high that only food can give, we blissfully awaited out our time until our train arrived. The gentle rocking of the train eased us into sleep, bringing to an end our adventure for the day.