Ka Pai Kiwis

Sightseeing was the order of the day today. But first there were a couple minor things to sort on the bike.  We ordered a taxi and a driver and embarked on a bit of a mystery tour. Our driver couldn’t speak English but he was very nice.  Our first port of call after sitting in traffic for nearly an hour was a temple in the middle of the Brahmaputra river. We bought our tickets for the 10 minute ferry ride.The river is in flood, so was quite fast flowing.  We had a wander around, paid a few rupees to the local priest and got a red dot for our troubles. It has lightly rained most of the day so everything is wet and damp.  Our next temple was built high on a hill and is quite large. It was in the midst if being decorated for the upcoming Durga Puja. Quite elaborate decorations,  very colourful. I’m not sure the scaffolding is up to current regulations but it obviously did the job.  Kamakhya Mandir dates back to the 16 th century with some parts as old as the 6...

We have struck a wee gem of a hotel called Hotel the Kalyaniz in Guwahati.  It is under our budget, only 2 years old and the staff are very friendly. Over an excellent dinner last night we discussed with the manager about getting a taxi/guide to show us around today. He said it would be easy to arrange.  He said they were preparing for a pre wedding ceremony for tomorrow and we could take a peek if we wanted.  There was a knock on our room door about an hour later and complementary dessert arrived.  This morning over breakfast a young manager approached us and invited us to be guests at this ceremony. Wow amazing opportunity.  We were a bit hesitant about intruding but everyone was so welcoming. Wow everyone was dressed in their best outfits.  These ladies were from the groom’s side. This ceremony involves all of the bride’s side gathering first, then a bit later we all trooped off down to the hotel entrance to welcome the groom’s family. The groom is not i...

Less than 200km to do today and on really good dual carriageway. Also it is Saturday so the traffic is light. Woohoo a bonus.  The journey was through very nice countryside, not spectacular but nice enough. I’m still not too flash so the easier day was very welcome.  A temple along the way.  We saw a man fishing when we stopped for a drink. When he caught a small fish in the net he put it in the clay pot.    Guwahati sits on the banks of the Bramaputra river which then flows into Bangladesh and into the Bay of Bengal. A very impressive river indeed, wide and deep It is a very spiritual place with temples dotted along the riverbank and steps leading down to the water for bathing. People make pilgrimages here to the temples and the sacred river.  This one is in the centre of town. Our hotel was 16km after the built up area and some of traffic snarl ups at intersections were massive. Luckily there was a very narrow and very bumpy track running alongside  ...

I haven’t got much to report today. We decided this morning to stay here another day. I have been battling a bit of Delhi belly and just haven’t been able to shake it, so we thought a day of rest might help. So we’ve laid  about all day reading and playing with the go pro programme. I still hate it.  So Robyn will share a few photos from along the way. Simple pleasures.  Proud mum  School is important  My family Serious business  This is really cool. 

We set off this morning in fine weather. We were expecting a slow ride out of town but it wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately we then ran into the road from hell, I have never seen so many trucks all crawling along over some  of the worst roads ever. It was hot, dusty and diesel fumes thick in the air. I tried overtaking, undertaking, dirt tracks, mud tracks you name it just to keep moving.  All jammed up trying to get round a corner and through the middle a motorbike sneaked through.  The pot man.  We stopped in a small town to use an ATM, when I came out there was Robyn, only identifiable by her pink T shirt absolutely surrounded by a large group of men all checking out the bike.  Just as well we had this diversion as we had covered about 70km in three hours! It wasn’t fun and wrestling this heavy bike through the craters of the moon at such low speeds had my arms hanging out. Soon after this there was a sign directing the trucks away as there were unsafe bridges ah...

This morning showed the promise of a fine day. The distant clouds had partially lifted and the distant mountains partially revealed themselves.  View, at last from the hotel.  Unfortunately this wasn’t to last. After breakfast we said goodbye to our Thai friends and swapped contact details, we also scored 4 more coffee bags. Result.  We set off in dry conditions but it wasn’t long before we were on the roadside donning our wets. It became very misty and difficult for me to see, fortunately the traffic was fairly light for the most part.  After a while we heard the distant sound of the train hooter, we soon caught it up and snapped some pics.  We passed the train and about 50m past it the track crossed the road. What possessed me to cross in front of the train I’ll never know but anyway I was committed.  Unfortunately for me as well as the usual slippery roads and track there was a large chunk of road missing running along the track, as I said I was committe...