Hitchhiking in India

Guwahati - Once burned, twice lucky

The capital city of gateway to the North East (Assam), Guwahati is a bustling cosmopolitan city. We were in Guwahati thrice – first time when we got there from Silchar, second time when we were on our way to Arunachal and the last time at the end of our trip. Our experiences there have been different each time and they only got better each time. The first time, we had to spend a fortune (relative to our budget) and book a hotel room as our host had to leave town on some urgent business. The second time, we got an amazing host and were treated royally. The third time, we became good friends with someone who we had only known online earlier.

Our first visit to Guwahati was quite chaotic. We got there after multiple tedious bus/taxi rides from the Assam border via a supposedly disturbed area (Bodoland) and it was already dark by the time we reached. We were not only tired, but hungry too. To add to this, our host had left town on some urgent business. Now we were hungry, tired and without a place to stay. After a few frantic phone calls, it was clear we were not getting any other hosts for that night. So we got to the hotel our ex-host booked for us and crashed. The hotel room was totally out of our budget, but we had no other option at that time. The next morning, we were clear that we had to leave the hotel room but had no plan of where we were to go next. When we got to know that there may be a bandh the next day, we decided to get to Shillong (which resulted in one of our most interesting rides).

The second time we got to Guwahati, we had a little more experience traveling and so had a plan, accommodation set and a backup plan too. Plans have a funny way of not working out though. We wanted to leave Guwahati as soon as we got our permits for Arunachal Pradesh (we had accounted for one day), but things got mixed up and we had to actually stay there longer. Our hosts were ever so gracious and didn’t mind our sudden change in plans though. Talk about coincidence though - remember the beautiful paintings painted by school kids on the walls of the stadium compound? Our host was the principal of that school! We got to hang out with our host’s son and his friends for a bit too. The interesting part was that our host was a great traveler and motorbiker - his most recent ride was to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. We later met his nephew who had done a solo motorcycle ride from Pune to Pondicherry!

While we were in Guwahati and not running around the Arunachal office, we visited the Kamakhya temple. The temple sits atop a hill and is one of the 51 Shaktipeethas. We were lucky to have an informative gentleman standing next to us while waiting to get a darshan of the deity. He explained to us the importance and the history of the temple and why there is no statue of the deity in this temple - which would have flummoxed us if we hadn’t heard the story first. The big surprise for me (Ajay) was when I saw animal heads inside the main temple! I got to know later that animal sacrifice is common in temples built for Kali mata. A little distance before the temple, you can great views of the city.

One of the sacrificial altars at the temple

Views of the city from the viewpoint near the temple

The third time we were in Guwahati, we stayed with another traveler friend - Subhadeep. He had already helped us with tips and advice for traveling in the NE. He is a motorbiker too and a travel freak. He had earlier driven to Tawang on his bike! Not just that, he had driven there in the winter when there was snow and ice on the roads. We were just back from Arunachal and now knew what a task it must have been! It is not easy to drive there even in a 4X4, let alone a bike. Our stay this time was marked by heavy rains, waterlogged streets, warm hospitality and a celebratory dinner to end our trip.

With Subhadeep - our celebratory dinner.

Journey from Aizawl to Guwahati - Trucks and Trains!

Our stay in Mizoram had been amazing thanks to the ever hospitable Mizos. Alas, all good things must come to an end and we travelers had to move on to our next destination. After getting rejuvenated in Mizoram, we thought we should go to Arunachal – the most touristy of the north-eastern states. We were ready for the arduous journey ahead – nearly 800km – going down from the hills (Mizoram) to the plains (Guwahati) and climbing up treacherous roads in the hills (to Bomdila and Tawang) again. 

This time we were determined to get back into the truck circuit and push our average expenses even lower. Also, we were really bored riding in public transport vehicles. This meant a full evening researching the best way to hitch a truck ride and also alternatives in case we couldn’t. The next morning we got out of the city and stuck up our thumbs, again. We were on the road by about 7am and were a little apprehensive because usually trucks leave at the break of dawn. There were very few trucks coming along our way and that did not help soothe our apprehensions at all. Also, some of the truck drivers were pointing ahead and that caused us some confusion – we thought they would stop a little distance ahead and catch up – but they just kept going without stopping. One driver who did stop then told us the reason – there was a truck depot some more distance ahead and most trucks were going there to stop. We debated whether we should go there too, but going there and not getting a ride would mean we would have to take an expensive taxi back to the city and then take a Sumo (public transport). We finally decided that we would stay put and wait for some more time before calling it quits. That decision proved wise as we got our ride just a little while after!

Waiting for a ride

However, there was a catch – this was not going to be a free ride - the driver was charging us some money. We negotiated a little bit and got in and on with our journey. The truck had carried groceries from Silchar the previous night and was heading back to get the next load to Mizoram. They were regulars to Mizoram and knew the local language very well too. Our plan was to take the train from Silchar to Lumding and then another one to Guwahati the next morning. If we could get another truck from Silchar, we would prefer to take that instead. As this truck had already unloaded, we thought the ride would be faster than the one to Aizawl (which had taken nearly 7hrs including breaks). This was not to be, we went about 20km and then the driver was told to go back half the way to get a signature on the delivery receipt! And then, our driver had to take a snack break too. We got talking to the driver at the hotel and he suggested we take the train rather than go by road from Silchar to Guwahati as the road was a little dangerous and there was no telling how much time it would take at the checkpoints. We noted that and decided to take the train – but that meant we had to get to Silchar by 5.30pm or we would miss the train which would leave at 6.30pm – and our pace had not been great till then. We still had hope of making it in time though. 

On the way, our driver picked up more passengers like us – now this was another first for us. We had not encountered a driver who charged for rides and picked up so many passengers too. Drivers in these parts are very wary of any passengers at all! We picked up some passengers of the plant variety too on this ride. On the way, our truck stopped in the middle of nowhere and everybody got down. We were wondering what they were up to and then saw the navigator climb up a tree and jackfruits dropping from it! Then we understood – they were taking unripe jackfruits from the jungle home to make some curry. But when the number of jackfruits they cut got more – nearly a dozen – we surmised that they planned to sell them instead. This whole exercise took nearly a half hour and we had all but lost hope of making it in time for our train. We prepared ourselves mentally to spend another night at Silchar railway station (we had spent one on our way to Aizawl earlier).

Our journey after here included stops at various towns and our driver’s attempts to sell the jackfruits, all unsuccessful. Once we were out of the hills, we picked up pace though and got hopeful about our train again. All our co-passengers, except one got off the truck at various places before Silchar. The one who had stayed back was a transporter himself and had overslept and gone further into Mizoram instead of getting off at the border as he intended to, the previous night. He gave us a few insights about the trade on this route and other topics. I mention this person because our talk with him had dispelled our driver and navigator’s doubt that we were drug runners! Have we mentioned that there is a huge drug problem in Mizoram? Apparently, young folks cross over from Myanmar, strike deals with the locals and then hitch rides back. The drugs are then brought over in private vehicles. Most of the crime (whatever little) in Mizoram is attributed to drugs – either the addicts or the Myanmarese people who come across the border. A friend had earlier remarked that nothing good comes into Mizoram from the east except the sun. 

Once we got rid of our ‘drug runner’ tag, the driver and cleaner got a little friendlier. We did reach Silchar with enough time to rush to the railway station. We clicked a picture of our driver and talked a little more before getting down. He got so happy that he gave us a Rs. 50 discount on the price we had negotiated for the ride at the start – even got the navigator to stop a taxi for us to take us to the taxi stand near the railway station.

We rushed to the railway station, bought tickets to Guwahati and grabbed some food too. Since the train was starting from Silchar and we were traveling in the unreserved compartment, we had another problem now. The seats were all taken up already – many by jawans (soldiers) of the armed forces going home on vacation. We only wanted place to sit, but most people were not ready to part with any space as they wanted to sleep instead. We just put our bags in the walkway and got on with the dinner we had picked from the platform. After the train started, one of the soldiers invited us to their cabin and gave us place to sit. They were even ready to adjust so that we could take turns sleeping in the limited space available. We spent that night trying to get some sleep, although that wasn’t very easy. 

Our train in Lumding was an hour after we got down from our train from Silchar. Enough time to wash up on the platform and get some breakfast, again on the train platform. If our train ride the previous night was hard, our next ride was harder. As the train was coming from another city before Lumding and going to Delhi, it was completely packed. Added to that was that this was an early morning train and there were many passengers to Guwahati, where we were headed too. We were told it was only 3hrs to Guwahati, and we believed it too. We put up our huge backpacks alongside us in the walkway and got busy – doing nothing but standing still. The ride actually took us nearly 5hrs.

Sitting on the floor in the train

It is very easy to tell when you are in Assam – there are lush green paddy fields all around, if not farms there are ponds, and the air is all sticky. Maybe it was just the season we were traveling in, but it is not easy when you standing in a train compartment packed so tight that there is no place to move your foot and you are sweating like a pig. The only comfort is that you are in a moving train and there is a little air flowing in. We managed to get through it in our ways – Inder found a place to sit at the door for some time and I just sat down in the corridor and made myself comfortable (not very comfortable for the people around me, but nobody complained!). Tough times come to an end too and we finally reached Guwahati in good if smelly condition. We were picked up from the railway station by our host’s driver and taken to his home – in an air conditioned car – what a change in fortunes, eh!

Change of plans and getting to the Scotland of the East

Last night, we were so tired when we got into the hotel that we didn’t even ask for sheets - we just crashed on the beds. Plus, the huge amount of money (Rs. 600) we had to pay for the hotel room had really got to us and had put a doubt in our minds if we would be able to keep up with the #150aday challenge. But a good night’s sleep rested our minds and got our resolve was back again. We both agreed that this was just a temporary setback and we would be able to average the extra expense out in the next few days. So, here we were with no intention of staying on in the hotel but with no other place to go to. Also, it being a sunday, we would not be able to get the ILPs (Inner Line Permits) required to enter Mizoram (which was our first destination in our plan). Added to that, there was a call for an Assam bandh (strike and general shutdown of all business) which would make it impossible for us to get the ILPs on Monday and also make it hard to go around the city. So, we decided we would head to Shillong (Meghalaya), which is the closest town to Guwahati.

We wanted to come to Shillong and attend the Bob Dylan fest but this was the only option to get out of the jam we were in. Also, at a little less than 100km, we could aim to cover the distance to Shillong in a few hours (compared to the nearly 24hrs it took us to get from Siliguri to Guwahati - about 400km). So, we packed, wore our rain gear (it is already raining in Guwahati!), ate, packed some food for the way and got directions to NH31. Obviously, the directions we got were for taking direct buses to Shillong, but we were more interested in getting out of the city limits and on to the highway so that we could ask for rides. BTW, here’s an interesting sign which will keep your thoughts in the right place when you are stuck in traffic (G.S road, Guwahati)

Some other interesting wall art we found near the TRP stadium (definitely better than spit marks and other such in the cities I have been too) 

The place we got to (after consulting online maps from youknowwho) was Khanapara, near the Agriculture University, south-east of Guwahati. The bus conductors, in typical private-bus-conductorsy fashion mobbed us and wanted to take us to Shillong in their buses - it was easy to fend them off by just ignoring them. So we walked a little distance along the Shillong highway and set up our base for asking rides. It wasn’t easy work - we’d put on our rain gear and it wasn’t raining anymore - instead we were getting baked inside the pant suit. The funny thing (and very irritating) is, there is so much dust on the road and just a little distance away, there is slush from the rains. So we stuck out our thumbs, and waited and waited some more. We had kept a deadline of 4pm after which we would take a bus (after our experience in Siliguri where we started late in the evening). One local who was watching us for some time came up to us and explained the futility of asking rides from trucks here because none of them would stop. We were close to losing hope and just then, a truck on army duty stopped for us!

To say that the driver was garrulous would be a great understatement. I can assure you that I know about all his troubles, the money he makes, how many good deeds he has done and whatnot! Ajit Singhji, a Punjabi driver settled in Assam a really long time ago and was sure that it was god’s will that we had to be at the exact place where we were and he started late that day although he didn’t have to. God’s will or not, he had agreed to take us both to Shillong for Rs. 60 (buses charge this much per person). Of course, added to the deal (which we didn’t know at the time we got in) was that we would listen to his stories as he talked continuously for the 4 hours it took us to get there (Inder escaped some of it by dozing off though!). Pity, we neither got a picture of him nor of his truck.

You are in the hills as soon as you get out of Guwahati towards Shillong. The road is winding, narrow and a little dangerous too. One good thing I have noticed is that there is very less honking on the highway. Although it got dark about an hour after we got into the truck, I saw enough to say that it is b-e-a-utiful! NH31 joins NH40 at Jorabat - the other branch at this junction goes to Manipur. The climb gets really hard after Nongpoh, but our truck and driver made easy work of it all. On the way, Ajitji stopped to get us snacks (he also reduced our carriage fee by Rs. 10!, so we got a ride to Shillong with tea and snacks included at Rs. 50) and off we were. Nothing much to say about the journey after it got dark. But, there is a noticeable mist and chill as we kept getting closer to Shillong. We were both thinking the same - Meghalaya does stand up to its epithet - Scotland of the east!

We got dropped off near the Civil hospital and then walked on to Police bazar where we had a free room waiting of us in a hotel (which we had arranged for in Guwahati) - I will not explain the methods we have used to secure accommodation, etc right now - lest I endanger my future chances :). Once we were in the room, we got right to calling up family and then to writing these long posts. We plan to go around Shillong tomorrow and see the sights, we don’t have a very firm plan but we will be moving to Cherrapunjee soon.

Day’s expenses -

Lunch/packed food - Rs. 110

Ride to Shillong - Rs. 50

Dinner - Rs. 68

Ups and Downs - Journey till Guwahati

Here we are in Guwahati at last! The journey from Siliguri till here has been an adventure in itself. What could have been done in a straightforward fashion by taking a direct train or bus, was instead done in 2 truck and 3 bus rides. Did we stick to our budget, oh yes - till we got to Guwahati. And then, in one shot, we overshot the budget! But let’s start from the beginning to get a good perspective.

We took a train to Kolkota and then onwards to Siliguri. We spent that journey mostly doing nothing - other than waiting for the charging points (in the train) to get free so we could get our phones to stay alive. I did realize a few things though - the traffic in Hyderabad isn’t the worst - when compared to that on the stretch from Howrah to Sealdah. Siliguri was heaven - the weather was such a relief after the dry heat of Hyderabad and the sticky humid weather while we passed Orissa and Kolkota.

And, we had a king’s treatment waiting for us too! Our host (via Couchsurfing) in Siliguri - Mr. Suvasish Paul, put us up at the Siliguri Club (a health club with gym, pool, squash and what not facilities) and even sent the manager Mr. Suman Dey to pick us up from the train station. After we had a royal breakfast and a nice lunch on top of it, we were got ready to tackle our next assignment - talk to the local press! Mr. Paul had called some of the local folks to the club so that they could learn about the start of our adventure. The list if TV Channels that interviewed us are: News Time, ANI, 24 Ghanta, E-TV and Aaj Kal. Tune into these channels. We might show up any time.

We got a lot of interviews done and then got flagged off by Mr. Rattan Singh who is a runner and won India a bronze at a previous Commonwealth Games summit. Got a feeling of starting a race seeing the flag off.

Our first ride was on a bike from Siliguri club to Highway by Suman and his friend. After saying our goodbyes and thanks, we were finally on our own and ready to try our hand at hitchhiking!

Now, the advice on the internet for Hitchhiking was pretty clear about one thing - stand at a location which will allow a vehicle to safely stop - but here we were on a 2 lane highway where 2 trucks can hardly go parallelly. After waiting for 15 minutes and some weird looks of the locals, we could convince one truck to pick us up. The Rice truck was heading from Siliguri to Birpada.

Since he could not drop us all the way to Guwahati, he put us down near a dhaba (roadside food place) where supposedly trucks heading towards Guwahati will stop. But, unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We had our dinner there and tried to ask for rides, which we could not convert. The glimpse of sensitivity of the place was visible to us. Two hitchhikers with huge backpacks made the people quite cagey and after some time the owner of the dhaba asked us what we were trying to do and where are we from. Once he knew that we are from South of India, he told us that all the truckers from the South stop at a hotel (Hotel Sangam) 3 km further down the highway and suggested us to try our luck there. With nothing left to do, we started to walk towards Hotel Sangam. The walk to the hotel in the pitch dark with torches on was a deed in itself.

After reaching Sangam hotel, the worries seemed unabated as the manager, who was visibly uncomfortable seeing us with our backpacks, did not give us a room to stay. We were told that he has to ask the police to give us a room as he is not sure who we were and where we are from. After dilly dallying for some time we saw a truck from AP (Andhra Pradesh - the state where we are from) we went and spoke to the driver. To our surprise we saw many truck drivers who are from AP. After speaking to them in our mother tongue and ensuring them that we are not to be scared of, they offered us to give a ride.

There was one more problem. The trucks have a crossing to do to at the Assam Border and to be allowed to pass into Assam, they have to stay there for 5-6 hours. We started at around 4 in the morning and reached Assam Border village of Srirampur at around 8 in the morning. After that we did the mistake of crossing the border by ourselves and taking a bus to Guwahati,

After we were politely asked who the hell we were by the security forces, we took a ticket to Bongaigaon as there were no direct buses to Guwahati. After couple of hours of traveling through the interiors of Assam’s sensitive area of Bodoland, we were pushed on to another bus which, as we were told, was traveling to Bongaigaon. After another couple of hours of grueling ride through the interiors, we reached the place we least wanted to be - Kokrajhar. We were told the previous day that there were some disturbances in that area and was told to avoid that place. Realising this, without wasting anytime, we boarded another bus which was not going to Bongaigaon but to Rangoi. A place much nearer to Guwahati. After 4 hours of what cannot be termed a decent travel, we reached Rangoi. We took a shared auto to Guwahati for which we had to spend in the auto for more than an hour.

The views were worthy of the effort we took. There is so much water in Assam. Water parallel to the road. All the houses had little culverts to reach on to the road. More like Kerala.

After 15 hours of grueling ride we reached the outskirts of Guwahati. The icing on the cake was that our host in Guwahati had to leave for Nagaland and we were left with no accommodation. But he helped us book a hotel room in the downtown area of silpukhuri. We had to shell out an amount which made a huge dent in out 150aDay budget.

What did we do after reaching the hotel room - slept like logs.