Over a period of one month, we explored the North East of India. A region usually considered remote and often times, dangerous. Tourism has picked up only recently here, after a long period of insurgency and political turmoil. That may be a blessing in disguise however, as most places are untouched by touristy commercialism.
Our trip was not just about visiting the touristy destinations; our plan was to do the trip on a very tight budget. Our target was to spend no more than Rs. 150 per day – a ridiculously low amount in these days. If we had to achieve this target, we would have to get ingenious – we would have to hitch rides and get the cheapest possible accommodation and food. Hitching rides is something our few friends in the north east had not heard of while they were there. Also, with things the way these days are, it is considered extremely unsafe to pick up a stranger along the road. We had no idea where we would stay or what we would eat though. It was a challenge unlike any other.
In the one month we were traveling in the north east, we have lived in homes big and small; ridden trucks, buses and every other kind of surface transport; eaten simple and rich food; faced danger at times and were treated royally at other times. We never knew what the next day would bring but we learned to adapt quickly and coped with surprises.
Our trip may have been about adventure travel, but we ended up discovering the abundance of human generosity and making friends where we hardly had any. The people in the North East are beautiful not just in appearance but they are equally beautiful inside. We have been welcomed into homes very warmly and have been helped by complete strangers many a time. We had never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would not be paying for accommodation for 26 of the 31 days we were in the North East.
What has also helped us is the support we had from the hundreds of folks following our travels from across the world. They have encouraged us, given us advice and tips and motivated us to do more.
Our final expense figure of Rs. 221 per day may have been higher than what we had our target expense and we may not have hitchhiked all the way as we aimed to but we achieved much more – exposing the better side of the North East to the world and proving that budget (shoestring in fact) travel in India is possible. And that is what made our trip successful.
Do leave your comments and let us know what you thought of our journey or if you have any ideas/brickbats/suggestions/etc.
Update: If you are on Indiblogger, do vote for us in this travel related contest http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=21967