Saturday, April 25, 2009

Day 47 - April 24 - Imphal to Kohima

April24 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

143 KMs, Trip Meter 8152 KMs.

was thinking whether to head to Dimapur or stop at Kohima or continue into Assam. But found that i hardly had energy despite having proper food yesterday. Well its the toll of the previous week where i skipped lunch for few days and what lil food i had for not so good and i used to have very little cos of that. So thought we just ride down to kohima today. Some rest and would be like staying a day in this state also. Dimapur was again a flat city on the Assam border so thought of spending the evening in the cool hilly city.

Started at 8 am. Ride past the HH show room and catch the road to Kohima. Boy or boy do trucks ply here. The road all potholed and dusty. No rains here but i still wore the rain gear thinking may be raining in the hills ahead, and i do not want to stop in the sensitive areas for wearing the rain gear. No rain today and just dust bath in store. There is no let of from trucks and start the climb to the hills. The roads only got to stones. The only saving grace was that it was wide as two laned road! I have never experienced so many trucks overtaking and dust coating me! Have to go pathetically slow else the panniers my get damaged. I get out of the rain gear as it got too hot. There seems to be no rains around here for few days so its all dusty. A good 60-70 kms of this torture tiring me ever more. Lot of traffic jams happens in small dust coated towns, half the road occupied by crpf vehicles. The road gets to new black top nearing Naganland. But in patches.

Then i see a dilapidated arch saying thank you visit again. Knew will be entering Nagaland soon. I survived manipur and now in Nagaland also with some issues. A colleague of my friend's brother had been kidnapped for ransom when he rode into Nagaland. Hmm... let see. I see this traditional arch with Naga symbols on it. 6ht of the seven sisters i am riding into. The roads got all bettor in Nagaland and suddenly all felt so clean. The forest beside the road looked conventional now. The hills looking pretty as well. Traffic here is pretty decent and hardly any one overtakes unless you are very very slow. Now that i am thinking of being put up at kohima, i ride very slowly soaking in everything. There are lot of memorials erected every now and then beside the road. Before a few KMs from Kohima city, i see the Nagaland Heritage park to the left. Went in and there was hardly any one. It was just me clicking away at the traditional replica huts of various Naga and cokkie tribal huts. It was pretty impressive. It would sure be great to visit an actually traditional village. But not happening in this trip. As i have already spent quite some time in NE and still have to visit Arunachal pradesh.

Reach kohima city sitting pretty on the hills. Ride through the streets and every thing except the medical facilities are closed. Its a bandh today it seems in protest of some person getting killed. May be bandh tomm also it seems. Glad that lodging hotels are taking in guests. Settle for Hotel Fira which was reasonable and also had private parking. Guess cannot visit the famous Keeda market(Insect market) due to the bandh. There is nothing in lunch but rise as the market is closed and they cant get nothing! Guess will just realax in the room for the evening.

Imphal city waking up...


Going towards the hills...


Dusty bad roads for 50-60 kms...


Traffic jams in dust...


Was getting overtaken by trucks and had to eat the dust by the tonnes!


The Nagaland Arch...


Roads improve in Nagaland...





Kohima city...


The Nagaland Heritage park...


Bamboo mall it seems!




With the traditional hut...


There was complex of many tribal huts...


The kuki hut...














2 comments:

Arun said...

wont it be feasible to enter Arunachal from easter side and getting out in west?
check this for routes..
http://www.arunachaltourism.com/destination.htm

Praveen said...

Thanks for the link arun. It should be possible as people have done it. But for that have ride through no roads. Lot of water crossing and a couple of boat crossings. one crossing in the middle can cut out the route.