[afunnynut]

Ahh! Guwahati!!!

Next couple of days were spent ambling about in Guwahati....

Next stops: Doul Govindo, IIT GHY, etc

Doul Govinda Temple is one of the famous temples of Assam. It is situated on the northern banks, on the foot hills of Chandrabharati hill at Rajaduar, North Guwahati. The temple is mainly devoted to Lord Krishna. Besides, there is an Namghar along with the temple within the same premises. Several stories exists regarding this deity and how 'He' was brought here by late Ganga Ram Barooah from a place called Sandhyasar near Nalbari. The first structure of Doul Govinda Temple was erected more than one hundred and fifty years ago but it was again renovated in 1966. The Doul Govinda Mandir in Assam is famous for its Holi celebrations in the month of February - March. Holi is observed by the local people for five days with various programme and about five thousand Pilgrims are always assembled at the Mandir premises during this time. Special Ferry service is also available to the temple from Guwahati to Rajaduar anytime.

Daily activities of the Doul Govinda Temple start early, with the opening of the doors at seven in the morning. The priest bathes the idol and then performs the Archana. The worshipers start coming in from an hour after this, which continues till the end of the day. In between that, the temple remains closed during the afternoon. In the evening the Arati is performed by singing devotional songs or 'Kirtaan'. Prasada followed by Bhoga is distributed among the devotees in open hall, during afternoon hours daily. A good number of devotees contribute to the temple Management to offer Bhoga and Sarai on their behalf with or without craving. Such devotees get some amount of Bhoga for taking home from the counter.


Doul Govinda Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The River you see is the mighty Brahmapurta and the bridge across it is the Saraighat

Brahmaputra River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saraighat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

saraighat bridge - Google Search

[afunnynut]

Next couple of days were spent visiting the 'Shradhanjali Kannan" with it's musical fountains and open air theater etc...

[afunnynut]

I end this post with a "symbol" of what the North East has come to symbolise - especially the food!

I could not get the "Bhoot" Chilly but this is what every meal is supposed to go with

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[raghunandanj]

Your travelogue is a great read ! Incidentally, Kaziranga is the only place on the planet where rhinos and otters can be seen together !

Do they offer safaris only at the Mihimukh entrance ? Or are the options to explore the park through the other gates as well ? The last time we went there, we did not have much time and I failed to catch up on the additional information.

[afunnynut]

Hi Raghunandan,

Thanks for liking my post. Safaris are offerred only from the Mihimukh entrance as that is the entrance to the park that has the designated car park and boarding point.

Normal safaris (elephant) are only in the central region of the park but the official placard at one of the lodges mentions about longer tours to the East of the par bordering Bhutan and Arunachal, though not sure as to the procedure for the same. Probabily a call to the wildlife range officer would help.

[satrab]

Thanks @afunnynut for the pictures of Shillong. Brought a whole lot of memories back. I to grew up in Shillong. Studies at St. Edmunds -- this was back in th early eighties. Left in 87 or so. So your post brought a huge amount of nostalgia.

[afunnynut]

Hey Satrajit,

Thanks for liking this post! I know exactly what that feels like Shillong of the 80's was a place to remember. But then, it still is a wonderful little place to run off to and de stress, besides the nostalgia off course, which is always there!

~nuts

[druva]

Great @afunnynut. Nice report.

Could you post details about where you stayed/ cost etc.
You took packages from the Guwahati TOurist Lodge?

[afunnynut]

[quote=

Could you post details about where you stayed/ cost etc.
You took packages from the Guwahati TOurist Lodge?[/QUOTE]

Hey,

Ya we had taken the package tour from the Assam Tourism office in Panbazar near the Guwahati Railway Station.

Included was pickup and drop from Assam Tourism office to Kaziranga, Elephant Safari and food with lodging.

Cost was about 2500 per head. Exact dates of the travel are published in Assam Tribune and other papers.

You can also go there on your own but in that case, elephant rides cannot be guaranteed.

Rooms/lodging is on shared basis and there is a common dining room for all meals.

Tea etc are served at the lodge on chargable basis.

Regards
Ayan

[vagabondwith4WD]

My North East India dream has been elusive so far. I realized that I wont be able to take leave long enough to cover all of it in one shot. Hence decided to do it in pieces...Here is the itinerary for the first phase...please help fill it up to complete.

26th Sep - 27th Sep Hyd - Kolkatta train (17:45 pm)
28th Sep - Kolkatta - Shilong flight (2:30 pm)
29th Sep - Shilong - Chirapunjee taxi (12 noon)
30th Sep - Chirapunjee - Shilong taxi (6pm)
1st Oct - Shilong (To add right list of places)
2nd Oct - Shilong to Kaziranga National park (3 pm) (Evening Safari)
3rd Oct - Kaziranga National Park - Guwahati - Kolkata (6pm) (Morning Safari)
4th Oct - 5th Oct - Kolata - Hyderabad (10 am) flight

1. Is this the right amount of coverage given the days?
2. Please help help with list of places to cover in Chirapunjee, Shilong - Nature/Photography/Culture
3. Please help with options for accommodation (Good location, < 1600/night per person)
4. Any pointers to self drive vehicles in this trip from Shilong OR any experience worth sharing with taxis. I have done drove in treacherous conditions before

Thanks for your help

[vagabondwith4WD]

Originally Posted by vagabondwith4WD

My North East India dream has been elusive so far. I realized that I wont be able to take leave long enough to cover all of it in one shot. Hence decided to do it in pieces...Here is the itinerary for the first phase...please help fill it up to complete.

26th Sep - 27th Sep Hyd - Kolkatta train (17:45 pm)
28th Sep - Kolkatta - Shilong flight (2:30 pm)
29th Sep - Shilong - Chirapunjee taxi (12 noon)
30th Sep - Chirapunjee - Shilong taxi (6pm)
1st Oct - Shilong (To add right list of places)
2nd Oct - Shilong to Kaziranga National park (3 pm) (Evening Safari)
3rd Oct - Kaziranga National Park - Guwahati - Kolkata (6pm) (Morning Safari)
4th Oct - 5th Oct - Kolata - Hyderabad (10 am) flight

1. Is this the right amount of coverage given the days?
2. Please help help with list of places to cover in Chirapunjee, Shilong - Nature/Photography/Culture
3. Please help with options for accommodation (Good location, < 1600/night per person)
4. Any pointers to self drive vehicles in this trip from Shilong OR any experience worth sharing with taxis. I have done drove in treacherous conditions before
5. How safe are these places to freely move around with a mixed group

Thanks for your help

Amazing to see this post has been moved to a 4 year old post with no traction at all. Net/Net no response so far...

Back to the request...have anyone done a week 1- 10 days trip to North east recently?

[yogee]

Thank you Ayan, Your travelogue made me travel back in time...1997 to be precise. That is when i visited Shillong along with friends. The memories of which are still fresh in my mind.

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by vagabondwith4WD

1. Is this the right amount of coverage given the days?

I am no expert on this region - BHPian wanderernomad is and he might be your best source for info. But do check whether Kaziranga is open so early ; if I am not mistaken they usually reopen after the monsoons on 1 Nov every year. In any case, the Kaziranga section of your schedule seems extremely hurried - almost a dash in and out . Having gone all the way, it merits at least a full day without any intercity travel.

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by vagabondwith4WD

My North East India dream has been elusive so far. I realized that I wont be able to take leave long enough to cover all of it in one shot. Hence decided to do it in pieces...Here is the itinerary for the first phase...please help fill it up to complete.

26th Sep - 27th Sep Hyd - Kolkatta train (17:45 pm)
28th Sep - Kolkatta - Shilong flight (2:30 pm)
29th Sep - Shilong - Chirapunjee taxi (12 noon)
30th Sep - Chirapunjee - Shilong taxi (6pm)
1st Oct - Shilong (To add right list of places)
2nd Oct - Shilong to Kaziranga National park (3 pm) (Evening Safari)
3rd Oct - Kaziranga National Park - Guwahati - Kolkata (6pm) (Morning Safari)
4th Oct - 5th Oct - Kolata - Hyderabad (10 am) flight

1. Is this the right amount of coverage given the days?
2. Please help help with list of places to cover in Chirapunjee, Shilong - Nature/Photography/Culture
3. Please help with options for accommodation (Good location, < 1600/night per person)
4. Any pointers to self drive vehicles in this trip from Shilong OR any experience worth sharing with taxis. I have done drove in treacherous conditions before

Thanks for your help

Let me help you with some inputs:

- Instead of flying from Kol to Shillong, take one of the flights from Hyderabad to Guwahati. It'll save you the Hyd- Kol flight. Moreover, Shillong airport is in any case midway between Ghy to Shillong and not in Shillong city per se. And only Air India flies to Shillong with small Aircrafts and these are cancelled at the last minutes due to various reasons. So, best for you would be to fly direct from Hyd to Ghy and take numerous cabs available from Ghy. It'll take you 3 hours to reach Shillong.

- If possible try to spend one night at Cherrapunjee to enjoy the solitude and if its raining heavily you can spend hours looking at the nothingness and sitting amongst the clouds on your balcony.

- Kaziranga will not be open at that time. For that matter none of the national parks will be open in Sep. Best time to visit Kaziranga is Dec to Feb.

- Accommodation will not be an issue as all these places have hotels/ resorts of all budgets.

- There are no self drive agencies here. You have to book a cab. Share taxis are numerous, but is a hassle. Best is booking a cab for the duration.

- No security or other issues in any of these locations. Do not worry.

Do buzz me for any other queries or cab details etc. Would love to help in any which ways I can.