Blue Recluse: Royal Enfield Tour of North East 2018

I had to take a flight from Delhi to Guwahati from where we had to start our journey. I landed there in the afternoon and after reaching the hotel was treated to the sight of dozen Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycles lined up neatly in a single file. Controlling my urge to get on one, I went inside and participated in the proceedings. To my delight, the good folks at RE handed us the keys to our bikes and asked us to take them for a spin and get lunch. So all of us took our respective bikes and got some appetizing food and even fueled up the bikes for the ride the next day. The reason for this activity was to allow the rider to get to know the bikes and also figure out if there were any changes that were needed. There was a mechanic who was seeing to everyone’s needs and assisting people in fitting any accessories that they might want on their ride.

There was a briefing session in the evening and we were given some basics to follow. There was even a medical workshop to prepare the riders for first aid in case of an emergency. With all that out of the way, it was time to grab some dinner and retire for the day.

We were to leave Guwahati and reach Cherrapunjee on the first day and the ride was about 200 kms. The ride began roughly at 9AM and that was going to be standard for the days to follow. On the way we were to visit the fabled Dain Thlen Falls which takes its name after a python. About 5km before the waterfalls, we encountered some really bad and broken roads, though I was not bothered by this development as it allowed me to stand tall on my Himalayan and feel the suspension do its work. The bike swerved easily and with grace. Sadly, once we did reach the waterfall, we found it to be mostly dried up and not as charming as it might have looked at other times during the year. We then stopped on the Meghalaya state highway to have a cup (or two for some others) of tea. After the refreshing drink and a bit of rest we headed for our destination of the day and reached there by evening.

The next day we went to a village called Mawlynnong, which happens to be the cleanest village in India. In fact, it can put many major Indian cities to shame when it comes to cleanliness. If I begin to describe how clean this place is then that would cover this entire article. But in a nutshell, there is a small entry fee which is used for maintenance and every household has to participate in keeping the place clean. From one clean place to another, we visited the Umngot river which is, once again, the cleanest in India. The water was so clear that you could see the river bed below.

We found the best stretch of road on the third day of our trip. It was just our bikes and the open highway taking us from Shillong to Kaziranga. The 100 plus kilometers that we rode on the lonely highway was something like a meditation; a time where you were with others but still a sacred solitude surrounding you, in a good way. All that changed once we were about 30km from our destination. The road shrunk to a single lane and deteriorated drastically. Once again, being on a Himalayan motorcycle meant that these potholes and gravel had no way to slow us down. We reached Hotel Landmark Woods by 2PM and had lunch. Post that it was time to grab a glimpse of the wildlife in the Kaziranga National Park. All of us were packed in several open Jeeps and for once were not the ones behind the wheels. This allowed us a bit more freedom to appreciate what we saw. We saw rhinos and elephants among many other creatures of the wild.

On the fourth day we explored the resort where we were staying at. It even had a small pond of its own which was home to fishes and ducks. As a result of the morning exploration, we left the hotel late, at about 1PM. This leg of our journey saw us pass many tea plantations and even visit one. At a certain point it was time to load our bikes on a ferry because our bikes weren’t amphibious enough to cross the Brahmaputra River. The 45-minute ride on the tranquil waters under a sky that seemed to stretch for leagues in all directions was truly a view that invoked feelings of wonder and bliss within my heart. Once we stepped on land again, we rode for a little while and reached Dekasang Majuli where we enjoyed a cultural dance of Assam around a bonfire and some light chatter over the embers.

To get from Majuli to Ziro we had to cross the Brahmhaputra River again. Our lunch was at a dhaba near the Arunachal Pradesh border.The roads there were rather rocky;actually calling them roads would be a stretch (pun intended). Ziro was supposed to be a place where we would spend the next day just resting and visiting any spots of interest. We visited the local villages and saw the traditional dance and even went to the Kiwi wine factory. Then came a visit to the Shiv Mandir in Kardo after which we went to Viewer's Point from where you could presumably see the entire Ziro valley.However, we found that that was not the case really.

The next leg of the journey would take us to Chariali. But how could we start our ride without some good old tea and biscuit? We found a few shops that were not entirely in the best of shape, bunched together. Among them was Rose Bakery which was actually neat and tidy. So that is where we went to fuel ourselves before heading out. The roads were actually very good but we had to negotiate our way through city traffic for the most part, which admittedly took away some of the fun out of it.

The road to Dirang, which was our next destination, was under construction and as a result the road was open only during certain hours of the day. This meant that we would have to leave early, really early. So while the sun still had to make an appearance, we left at 4AM. Though people did feel a little drowsy, the need to cross the under-construction part of the journey was pressing. The road was basically gravel and mud and leaving early in the morning meant limited visibility till the sun came out. Since Biswanath Chariali was in Assam and Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh, we had to stop at the Arunachal Border to register our bikes. We passed Bomdilla and reached Dirang where we finally were treated to some good roads. Our stop in Dirang was Norphel Retreat. Because we left so early in the morning, we were able to reach the hotel by afternoon and treated ourselves to some much needed sleep and rest.

We left Dirang and crossed Sapper and stopped in Baisakhi for tea. There was an army cantonment and a small museum dedicated to the India-China war which we visited. Next came Sela Pass which is known for its unpredictable weather conditions. The temperature there was below zero so I had to stop at a small tea stall housed in one of four little houses where I treated myself to two cups of tea and a delicious bowl of Maggi. For lunch we had momos which might not sound like much but these were huge and appetizing. Just four pieces were enough to fill most people up.

Bumla is a high altitude area that, combined with the fact that some people wanted to rest, resulted in only some of us going to Bumla. We saw the valiant Indian Armed forces practising with their canons. It was quite the experience and filled us all with adrenaline making us forget the cold temperatures. It had begun to snow a little. We saw the China border where we got free Samosa and tea from the Army Cantonment. Since the roads were bad, the 35km long journey took us 3 hours to complete. We visited a Buddhist monastery in Tawang which had some really alluring imagery.

From Dirang, it was time to come back to Guwahati. This time when we reached Sela Pass, it was snowing which made riding somewhat difficult. Visibility dropped and so did the temperature. The saving grace was that we found the only eatery in north east which was selling chole and samose. On our way back to Guwahati, we also visited and crossed the Bhutan border. The road was wide but was a single lane road allowing us to cover large distances. Then we reached Guwahati and had a closing ceremony where every rider was awarded a certificate of completion.

Needless to say, the trip was enjoyed by everyone. Despite the lengths that we covered there were no strict boundaries laid to capture the spirit of exploring which I appreciated the most. The gun wagon was there with us at all times helping fix any mechanical issues with the bikes. The coordinators were really kind, helpful and very efficient in handling the large group. This trip saw many female riders and people who were not ardent riders as well. Still each one left Guwahati with a wide smile, appreciating the scenic spots we covered and the RE Himalayan adventure we experienced!