Hitchhiking in India

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!

Postcards from Mizoram

The stunning Night view of the Aizawl city

The serene Tamdil Lake 

The Jaw dropping view of Aizawl city

The omnipresent hills

Back to School in Mizoram

It was back to school for us hitchhikers literally. We were invited to interact with the students of Govt. Higher Secondary School – the largest school of Mizoram. When we were produced with this opportunity, we grabbed with both hands as this would gives a great chance to learn what the next generation Mizos aspire to be in their life. Considering our background of quitting our jobs and being jobless, we were apprehensive initially as we could be the worst examples the kids can have. Nevertheless, we went ahead.

When we entered the school amidst all the regular school noise, it was deja-vu for us. For once we felt we went back in time and entering our own school. What do you do when you go to a new school? Yeah, go meet the Principal. For the couple of minutes I waited in his room to speak to him, I felt the same fear that I had when I used to meet my School Principal. After the incident even Ajay confessed the same feeling. But, the experience from the meeting the Principal is the best we could get. He was so supportive in what we are doing and when he said that he was envious of what we are doing, we were over the clouds. When we told him that we are heading to Arunachal Pradesh next, he became nostalgic and shared with us that he studied there and he still has friends near Itanagar. What’s more, he gave 1000 Rupees as pocket money to us.

After this, we went to the next powerhouse of a school – the staffroom. When the teachers learnt what we are up to, they were puzzled and curious at the same time. They had so many questions and we loved to answer them. When they learned that we are not supposed to spend more than 150 rupees a day per person, they insisted that they would treat us the lunch and we had a great lunch with all the staff of the school.

Next was the Main part. We were 3 classes back to back. Two 11^th classes and one 12^th Class. The first class was a 11^th class having an English class. We were forewarned that the students would be shy and we have to make an effort to start a conversation with them. But, they were good, after initial ice breaking where I asked how could they manage such stylish hair styles and asked one to tell the name of the shop where he gets one, the laughter did the trick. We asked what they wanted to become after they grow up. We got some unusual answers – like Teachers, Civil Servants and Fashion Designers. Considering they were students from 11^th Standard, the career choices came as a pleasant surprise to us.

Next was an all girls class and I was a bit scared to get in and be the center of all girls attention. The reason for no boys is that it was a Home Science Class and the boys feel shy to sign up for it. Here we got some return questions such as how did we find Mizoram. We also gave them what we think they should do after in their Career decisions.

Surprisingly, the 12^th standard students were shyer than the 11^th standard ones. After the classes it was time for a photo session and we got a chance to get a picture with the cute girls J

YMA

In Aizawl, we were hosted by YMA – Young Mizo Association – an NGO. To say that we were just hosted would not be sufficient – we got tons of advice, help and support from them. Because of the YMA, we made good friends in Aizawl too.

YMA is an organized way for every Mizo to participate in a simple act – looking out for each other. They even have a term to describe this – “tlawmngaihna” – and every Mizo person is proud to abide by it. It is the biggest and most widespread NGO in Mizoram with the number of members about 400,000 (the total population of Mizoram is about 900,000 and in that case the members of MA should form their entire active population). Looking out for each other does not sound like much, right? But the range of activities that YMA involves in is quite comprehensive – from conducting funerals to help in rebuilding infrastructure after natural calamities and so on. We got an opportunity to see how YMA helped rural communities first hand when we visited a couple of villages on our way back from Tamdil lake. They were building a community recreation center for the residents of the nearby areas. Generate employment and at the same time build something useful for the community! In addition to looking out for eachother, Mizos also treat their guests with a lot of respect too. I think a simple thought put into action properly can make a lot of difference – and YMA is doing exactly that!

Journeys in the Land of the Highlanders (Mizoram)

Can you help but feeling that you are in paradise when you have views such as this one, every morning you wake up?

Aizawl, a place usually not on our radar (unlike some other areas in the North East, Mizoram and Aizawl are very peaceful and so stay out of news) is tucked away in the remote south of the North East of India. Mizoram is not frequented by outsiders much – partly because of the above reason and also maybe because it is a little hard to get here. But, our 6 hour ride sitting in the last row of a Tata Sumo with hardly enough room was totally worth it (and the picture above stands testimony)!

We had been warned that Aizawl was quite expensive; some even compared it with Mumbai (which is one of the most expensive cities in the world). However, we had not been warned about some other things. We landed in the city from Silchar late in the afternoon – about 3pm or so. And what do we see – tons of school kids! Of course, we had already read that Mizoram is the second most literate state in India (literacy rate nearly 90%), but seeing is another thing. After washing up, we thought we would go out for a stroll and see the city and we got another surprise. Most of the businesses close early in the evening – by 6pm almost everyone is home and the streets are empty. We found the reason a few days later – they open very early too – it gets bright by 5am and the markets are full by 6am. But on the first day, we were actually wondering if we had missed something – all of the friends, acquaintances, people we had talked to had told us that Mizoram is a very safe place. Turns out, it actually is; only the shops close early.

Our first outing was to the State museum in Aizawl. The museum is a great place to learn about Mizo culture, their textiles and traditional attire, etc. There were sections reserved for the local fauna and traditional equipment used by the Mizo people. One interesting artifact was a “head-hunting dao” – a sword-like weapon with obvious intentions. The museum is a good place to start off because it gives a glimpse into the way the Mizo people were. That is especially important because it is totally unlike what they are now! Sure, there are occasions when you will see them in their traditional attire, etc but the culture is very westernized now and at least in the cities, you will only be able to catch glimpses of the old. We could not do anything else that day as it rained heavily for a long time.

Next up on our trip to Mizoram was a trip out of the city to Tamdil Lake. It is a small lake about 90km away from Aizawl set amidst small hills. The Mizoram government fisheries department has a project here too. Getting to the lake meant we had to take a taxi (Tata Sumo) early in the morning from the city center in Aizawl. This was when we finally understood the reason for the markets and other establishments closing early in the city – they open really early. In fact, by 6am, the street side vendors had all put up their wares and shoppers were out too – plus, it was a Saturday, which I think is a weekly market day in Aizawl. Coming from down south in Hyderabad, we are used to seeing shops open by mid-morning, about 10am or so, so this was another unique experience. Our journey to the lake was not without adventure and delays – we had a flat and it took quite some time to get that fixed. We were again reminded that we were traveling in the wrong season when we went to the lake – the recent rains had washed a lot of mud and the water was all brown. It still was very beautiful – low lying clouds covering the tops of the surrounding peaks made a great backdrop for the lake and a lone Gulmohar tree covered with bright orange flowers amidst it all, a nice contrast.

Before heading back to Aizawl, we visited a couple of villages too near Kiefang – the nearest town from Tamdil lake. We had a local friend who showed us around or this would not have been possible. We first stopped at a village called Rualchawm which literally means ‘snake fed’ – the origin of the name is from a legend that the tribal people living in the village used to sacrifice their children by feeding them to a huge serpent living in a hole in the town. A serpent needing a hole as big as the one in the picture would surely have been big!

We next visited Ruallung where our friend lived. The one thing good about villages that we went to was that they were really clean and the roads very good. We went to the top of the hill there from where we could catch views of villages on nearby mountains. Apparently, on clear days even Aizawl city can be seen from there, but that day we were not so lucky. We enjoyed the views there for some time and then came back to Keifang to catch the next taxi back to Aizawl.

We will suggest one unlikely place which turned out to be a really neat experience – Mizoram University. We actually went there to meet someone we know but the place is so amazing that it would be a great idea for any tourist to visit. The university is relatively young – it was started only 10 years back and a lot of infrastructure still being built. It is a little out of Aizawl but well connected with local buses plying regularly (except on Sunday when everything in the city shuts down!) to Ramrikawn which is about 3km from the entrance gate. Just a walk from Ramrikawn to the university provides amazing views! After the university, there are only forests and hills and while we were there, the clouds moved in from beyond the hills. It was a sight which cannot be described easily in words - one moment we were watching the clouds moving in, and the next we are standing inside one! We did experience something similar when we were in a car in Cherrapunjee, but actually experience the mist and silence come down upon you is something else!

I still remember what Nicolitta said in One crazy ride, something about how paradise or heaven is always described as a place above the sky and how she had actually seen it on her trip. I can say that about every morning we woke up in Aizawl.

A peek at Aizawl

Last night on our way back home

Today evening on our way back home again :)

Did we make you jealous yet?