Start in Guwahati - Assam

Off to India

It should be said that it is a start into the unknown. After much back and forth, I made up my mind,

it's back to India. One thing soon became clear, it should be Northeast India, the states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripora and Meghalaya all have exotic names and seem hidden and are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. Later, maybe I'll go all the way down south to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. What I ultimately achieve, we will see in 10 weeks if all goes well.

Guwahati – Assam

I stepped out of the airport building and was immediately confronted with the real India, which I either don't remember anymore or I simply suppressed it somehow...

Taxi.. Taxi Sir...Taxi, Taxi shouted at me. Oh yes, that's right, this is India, there is no mercy, it hits you right away. The journey was perfect, the flight from Frankfurt to Delhi went on time with Air India. The second flight with Air Asia here to Guwahati in the afternoon presented no problem except for the ultra narrow seating area. I took a taxi here and let myself be driven to Guwahati. My guesthouse here was in the Uzan Bazar district, a fairly relaxed part of the city. I strolled along the street again, had a bite to eat and went to bed, but set my alarm clock shortly before midnight to listen to fireworks somewhere nearby.

Happy New Year 2023!

The next morning, I immediately set off towards Kamakhya Temple. Actually, on the first of January, a daring idea, which many believers also did, presumably to pick up their blessings. I took a Tuk Tuk for the good eight km and it took me a good ninety minutes, I could have walked! At the foot of the peak, I had it stop so I could climb the mountain on foot. More and more people joined in, until at a bottleneck almost nothing was possible, no going up and no going down, but everyone wanted to go further, as it usually is. I thought about turning around for Five minutes, but then I threw myself into the crowd and eventually found myself in front of the gates of the temple.

I took off my shoes as is customary and marveled at the interior of the temple complex. Afterwards, I immediately enjoyed my first Masala Chai on this trip. And then walked the eight km back in ninety minutes.

On the second day here in Guwahati, I was initially somewhat aimless. When I reached the ferry to the nearby Peacock Island, where the Umanada Temple is located, I encountered a larger crowd of people. I decided against crossing here and preferred to go to the nearby cable car, which I discovered on the way there.

It looked quite modern, so I decided on the spot to take it to the other side of the Brahmaputra River. The ride across the largest river in India took about 10 minutes. On the other side, there was a relaxed village atmosphere. I strolled to a temple 1 km away, where they desperately tried to take me there by scooter, which I skillfully and calmly fended off.