Four Boats And A Beer

The Brahmaputra divides the whole state of Assam in a nearly perfect half creating along its path a very fertile valley on both sides of the river. Lush green paddy fields, the Kaziranga national park, the tea gardens in Dibrugarh - Assam has a lot to offer to the tourist visiting there. Unlike me, a lot of tourists do not have the luxury of time while traveling in Assam. I had the luxury of time but still Assam is one place where I can look back and say "Been there and NOT done any of that".

Not that I had anything against Assam. I actually wanted to spend a lot of time there. Its just that Assam happened to be the wrong place at the wrong time. I had reached Guwahati after spending some 10 odd days in Bhutan. Trust me Bhutan tends to linger in your mind for some time. The fact that Assam is more of plains rather than hills doesn't help matters. When you are riding in the mountains for a long time and suddenly you reach the plains, the heat and the crowd in the plains get to you. You want to head back to the hills as soon as possible.  I thought I'll pay a visit to the Kaziranga national park before I head to Tawang in the Arunachal hills but then I am not really fond of animals. I do like them when they are cooked and if I can help save a tiger or two, I would gladly do it but then I don't like visiting them in their homes and I prefer that they too return the favour. So I skipped the urge (if we can call it that) to visit Kaziranga and headed to Tawang. After that I reached Itanagar, serviced my motorcycle in a shop that had just opened that day. My motorcycle had the distinction of being the first ever bike being serviced by that mechanic in his independent shop that he had opened along with two others. Well he did an average job but I was searching for a bike servicing center in that area and I just happened to ask him for directions and his enthusiasm won me over and I ended up getting it serviced from him. But I don't hold it against him. I really think his enthusiasm will make him a respectable mechanic one day.

So Majauli was my only chance to undo all the wrong and give Assam the chance it deserves. Majauli is the large fresh water island on the Brahmaputra river. Claims vary from being the largest fresh water island in the world to the 24th largest fresh water island in the world. It is home to the Mising tribe of people and it has its own unique traditions. The fact that it is an island would mean there would be boats to carry the motorcycle to the place and that is just an icing on the cake. There is something very romantic about loading your motorcycle on a boat and I was very excited about it. So I started off early morning from Itanagar and reached Khaboli ghat crossing North Lakhimpur and a drunk cop who just stopped me unawares at 9 in the morning somewhere on the way, looking to make a few bucks of me. Tactfully (which involves pretending like an Army officer on leave and giving him a contemptuous look) I avoided paying him anything and reached Khaboli ghat. The boat to take me to the other side was due in an hour and I decided to eat something in one of the huts nearby. While I was eating my poori sabji, I noticed men in a group all smiles drinking something. You don't need the IQ of an Einstein to understand that it is quite likely an alcoholic beverage. I was curious to check how it tasted and asked for a small sip and they gladly obliged.

Rice beer is one of the best things invented by man after the wheel . Since I had to drive I resisted the temptation to have more. But those guys egged me on and somewhere I have noticed that I have a big heart when there is alcohol on offer. I got one whole glass for myself, drank with them and by then it was time for my boat. I bid them goodbye and embarked on the boat. 

It was some 25 minute ride to the other side and I came to know from other passengers that I needed to cross two more islands to reach Majauli. Two more boats on the slight rice beer buzz would be just heavenly. I reach the other side, ride on the kutcha roads for some 15 min take the next 5 min boat. Then another kutcha road ride for about 10 min and another 5 min boat ride and finally I am in Majauli. I look for hotel rooms within my budget - they are filthy. I really wanted to stay a night there. If not for anything else maybe just for the rice beer. But with a heavy heart I went to the Majauli boat Jetty and caught the last boat to Jorhat - a 1.5 hour boat ride on the majestic Brahmaputra river, to head to Nagaland the next day. Check out the link below for the photographs of that day.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.151801335026996.1073741867.101961743344289&type=3

Well Assam its not you its me. You are beautiful and your people were very nice to me. I am just a jerk. I never kept my promises and it was just one night stands with you. Please forgive me. One day I'll come back and we will take it to the next level.

Oh by the way please do not drink and drive. Unless of course it is rice beer and there happens to be four boats in the story.

About Me:

A 7 month motorcycle ride that took me to every state in India, parts of Nepal and Bhutan and one town in Burma. These blog entries are inspired by this trip. Stories about people I met, stories about places I saw. Things that intrigued me, things that amused me. They say traveling changes you, they say traveling inspires you and they say a lot of other stuff. I don't know. I think a gun on the head is a better way to change people. I just hope that my travel stories entertain you

Right now I am in the process of writing a book based on this trip and figuring out the difference between a writer's block and procrastination.

You can find more information on my Facebook page and Instagram account