[phamilyman]

Interesting clicks. I searched and found:

india pictures by mitchontheroad - Photobucket
Pictures by mitchontheroad - Photobucket is the overall album.

Thanks for sharing1

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Hi Mitch
It's been some time since I visited team-bhp. Nice to see your posts. Great going. Take care of yourself.
Sudipto
(ps: For those who don't know, Mitch is riding my Bullet and has already invested a fortune in overhauling the machine. Aren't I glad ?

[bijuks]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Interesting clicks. I searched and found:

Thank you for the link.

mitchontheroad - Will wait for the photos from N-E India. Do post a msg, when you have uploaded the same to net.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by mitchontheroad

kaziranga gets a lot of media attention and is well touristed. but there is a park only 40 kms from gguwahati ( i cant remember the name ) which is supposed to be better to spot rhinos and they are bigger in size due to the better food conditions. r

That wildlife park is known as Pobitora WLS and it's very close to Guwahati.
Hope to checkout the photos soon.

[mitchontheroad]

a fortune indeed sudipto!! all you will need/want to do with it is to maybe paint it! i've even replaced your speedo so now i know how fast i am going!

now in kohima, the capital of nagaland. nice place, people etc.
one thing i keep saying to myself here in the northeast is: 'i wonder how much more beautiful it is during the monsoon'.
you have two choices here. dry and cool winter season or the wet summer. in the winter, every day is dry but the sky is hazy, dusty and now with the slash and burn season, smokey too. all the fields are brown and dusty. very few lush green views anywhere. dry waterfalls. sometimes you cannot even see across a small valley due to the haze.
i'm thinking another trip out this way in the wet might be worth it for the beauty. probably from late oct to january.
now, i have also been on some pretty bad roads that i feel fortunate that it is not wet!! they would be absolute hell in mud during that time. most have been in assam as meghalya and mizoram are nicely paved.

again, photos will come but only when i find a location with good web connections. i do not want to sit for hours to upload photos.

it turns out i will probably have to go to dibrugarh because the AP permit is very restrictive. i wanted to go into AP from mon in nagaland but i am being told that i will not be allowed to go that way. i will try though and that road leads up into ledo in assam. anyway, the weather is good, the roads are good enough and the bike is running well. see yas later!

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Stay safe brother. North-east, is definitely ten times more beautiful in monsoon. But traveling around would be nightmarish.

[mitchontheroad]

i'm here and its dusty. what else to do. will hopefullly get my AP permit tomorrow. down with a fever now. will sleep early tonight.
met a guy on a bullet today and he will come by with his bullet club tomorrow for a short ride around the hills. its the first bullet ive seen in nagaland.
the bikeis running well but there is ALWAYS something to do on it!! i do curse it form time to time. lol i think because it sat for so long all the little quirks are coming to light.
had a most beautiful drive today to chuchu village about 30 kms from here.
later

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Those who are interested - Mitch had called last night to tell me that he had got the AP permit finally. He was in Shibsagar last night, proceeding towards AP and wondering which route to take. All the best to him.
Sudipto

[abk]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Those who are interested - Mitch had called last night to tell me that he had got the AP permit finally. He was in Shibsagar last night, proceeding towards AP and wondering which route to take. All the best to him.
Sudipto

Wish Mitch the best of the North East, whatever little now he had left unexplored

[Lifewater]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Those who are interested - Mitch had called last night to tell me that he had got the AP permit finally. He was in Shibsagar last night, proceeding towards AP and wondering which route to take. All the best to him.
Sudipto

Hey By any chance Mitch was in Dibrugarh also yesterday afternoon ?? If he plans to pass by Dibrugarh, pass on the message to him please that I am at Dibrugarh and he can touch up on me if he wants to stay in a Tea Garden. I can be contacted at 09954219578. Thanks in idvance sudipto.

Lifewater

[mitchontheroad]

lifewater, i was about to cross the street last night in sibsagar and the lightning, thunder and pouring rain erupted blacking out the town! i would have seen your message.
i passed through dib this morning on my way to tinsukia.
passed up mon in nagaland as the 'road' was like something from indiana jones. i expected some large boulder to come rolling down this track at any moment! coming up from mokokchung you turn right (east) at tuli and now begins some torment. in the wet, this would be impossible on a motorbike. the road is 4' to 6' wide with huge holes, stones, broken old pavement, hanging branches of bamboo, burning fires and the odd sumo coming through. some very steep little climbs and some hard edges of holes and stones which are unavoidable. it was really a fun experience; partly beacuse i didnt fall/crash and because i was on a bike and the way to mon at one point was completely blocked by one of those huge tata orange trucks broken in the path. at an intersection and i had just enough room to get by him going into the high grasses and avoiding falling down the slope!
was stopped by some soldiers at a checkpoint and they asked to see my passport and a chat. they told me the road from there to mon was 'good road'. HAH!!!
50 yards around the left bend from them i almost dropped the bike in a muddy hole with huge rocks which went uphill really quick. i thought, 'this is the GOOD road?!' there are some parts which were not too bad and quite enjoyable. and, when i thought i was about 40 kms from mon i hit a village and a huge wide highway stretch under construction with its endless stream of trucks, busses and sumos. unpaved, dusty and when i stopped to ask the engineers (from delhi) how far to mon, they told me 90 kms!! with the sun sitting low in the sky, i was deflated.
one of the guys told me to go to sibsagar as it was only about 30 kms and had a good hotel. after trying 5 kms of the way to mon and eating 5 lbs of dust, i decided for sibsagar. good decision. i was in a hotel by dark and comfy. a real nice feel for the town too.
also, as is becoming normal, i needed some bike work done. met a mechanic that night and it was solved the next morning! next to my hotel was a honda dealer i noticed as i was hosing off my boots. i went over and asked if they knew a dealer selling enfield parts. their parts guy came out, made some calls on his cell and told me where to find the shop. i went there and the boss sent the kid on his bicycle to fetch the mechanic they knew who was a good one. in 10 minutes kansa shows up, looks at my (sorry sudipto!) bike and goes off to get the parts he needs from another shop. oversize bolts for the rocker covers which were leaking oil.
the bike is great now and i write from tinsukia which may be the last for email for some time as i plan to head into AP tomorrow.
after AP and a short stay i guwahati, i will return to sibsagar and THEN try to go to mon. it just sounds like a neat place to be!
later and the best to all.
if i get to dib lifewater, i will call you!

[Saurabh M]

You have an indomitable spirit, Mitch. How long are you planning to tour NE? It might start raining from next month onwards, as the monsoon comes there early.

Would love to see some pics, once you have a better internet connection. Was trying to visualize the roads as you described. Feels really errie. Its only possible for a bullet to conquer these roads.

Looking forward to hear more from you, Mitch. Best wishes and ride safe.

[Lifewater]

Originally Posted by mitchontheroad

lifewater, i was about to cross the street last night in sibsagar and the lightning, thunder and pouring rain erupted blacking out the town! i would have seen your message.
i passed through dib this morning on my way to tinsukia.

after AP and a short stay i guwahati, i will return to sibsagar and THEN try to go to mon. it just sounds like a neat place to be!
later and the best to all.
if i get to dib lifewater, i will call you!

Oh oh missed you by a whisker yes there was a lot of thunder and lightning and it was pouring cats and dogs. Mitch the road to Mon through Sibsagar ---Simuluguri--Sonari is hell. Right from Sibsagar onwards it if full of potholes and maniac drivers, do be careful specially of the SHAKTIMAN (Old MAN trucks used by the Army sold off as scrap) truck drivers. Mitch wish you all the best and do take care. Hope to meet you when you are back from AP.

Ciao'

Lifewater

[mitchontheroad]

thanks saurabh. i plan to go til the end of may...weather permitting. finish in sikkhim at that time.
and lifewater, i will prob pass thru dib again and will give you a call. i would like to see a tea plantation up close and personal! how long will the processing be going on?
i just got back today from miao. was thinking to go to namdaphla park but it requires time and planning. dont want to be in one locale while the permit is expiring. also, no mammals to see. only birds and butterflies. birds are nice and i kill so many butterflies daily on the bike! lol
sudipto, remember when we were looking over maps in kolkata and thinking ledo might be as far as i can go? i thought of ledo as some high hill area and something special. boy was i disappointed! just another strip town wedged between the highway and the train line. lots of coal piles and bad roads from there to the east for the next 20 kms. miao is a cool little town. nice people and a tibetan refugee village which has been there for 40 years. theres a circuit house, a tourist hut(ngo) and an inspection bungalow to stay at.
back in tinsukia today tough and will head out and up to tezu tomorrow (or tuesday if i decide to just chill for a day and rest my weary bones!)
last night in miao it poured for hours. and this morning too. the first day on this trip that rain has entered the driving equation. the only other rain was in november in kolkata when a freak cyclone came up form the south for 2 days. i mean, its lucky for me to have the dry weather but the poor people here in the ne are going through one of the worst droughts ever. and huge dust storms too.
also, nagaland is going bald.
i am no expert but from what i have seen, if they continue to cut trees and slash and burn, there will be nothing left in 8-10 years at all.
some whole valleys i saw were only burnt brown dusty smokey holes. depressing really. and all the signs around announcing conservation projects. such a shame.
later

[hvkumar]

Looks like I will have a chance to meet up with you - am driving from Bombay to North east starting Apr 9 for Sikkhim, Bhutan and Arunachal (Itanagar, Ziro, Tuting, Along, Pasighat, Tezu, Kibithu) and will return via Assam (TInsukia, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Guwahati).