Day 138. Dimapur - Kohima

We came for adventure - we’re getting it!

We have heard about the condition of the next section of road and it’s not good. It rained again through the night but thankfully it stopped at breakfast time. The young guy who helped with our bags asked where we were heading and looked very concerned when I told him, he said the road is very bad, all under construction. He then added that he heard there had been a big slip but we should be ok on the bike.

So it was with trepidation that we set off for our 75km journey. The first mission was to get out of town, the built up area seemed to go on and on and that road was bad enough. We finally reached the archway declaring we were now heading into the hills.  

The road was bad, slippery and muddy with potholes full of water. 

This is the slippy slushy bit without the potholes and streams running through. 

There was much work going on, widening the road and clearing slips. After a while I started to think that yes this is bad but if I take it slow it is quite doable. We climbed up and up winding further into the hills and somewhere near the top it began to rain. This was biblical rain, it really came at us. We spied a little shelter and kitted up and waited a little, it seemed to ease so we set off. 

The easing didn’t last long and the road ran like a river. This was a whole new ball game. We slipped and slithered our way forward and somehow managed to stay upright. At one point we heard a crash as a large boulder landed just behind us on the left and then we saw the dirt start to move on the right as well. This was not a smart place to be. 

With 15km to go it looked like the worst was behind us and I started to dream about the hot shower I would soon be enjoying. ( Me too- R) 

We then came to a very long line of trucks parked up, when we reached the head of this line a uniformed man with a whistle indicated we should take an alternative route. 

I hesitated when I saw it but the whistle grew more intense so off we went. We were now headed up a really steep path covered in uneven slippery boulders, very narrow and in places the path disappeared under the torrent of water cascading down in full flow. 

 I thought that whistle must have a very warped sense of humour or we are heading into an ambush. 

It then dawned on us that this must be the detour around the slip. I can be a bit slow at times. 

Well this little track kept climbing and I was becoming more uneasy by the minute. 

After about 5 km we popped out and joined an equally muddy and narrow track. We were now traversing around some ridge lines. If we thought the road was bad this was not only a different league but a different game entirely. 

To make matters worse we were quite high and very wet and getting cold. And still it rained. 

There was one particularly muddy downhill section which we somehow slithered down.

 TomTom was saying “you’re on your own mate, I want no part of this” so we couldn’t even tell how far we had to go. 

When we did finally make it back to a “road” we were 10km further from our destination than when we started the detour. Great. 

I don’t think so!! 

We boxed on and made it to our hotel. We arrived at 2pm. 6 hours for 75km although I have no idea how many extra km we really did.

Kohima is a very picturesque town set in a beautiful valley area, the town is perched in a u shape, partway up a hilly terrain.

 It is the capital of Nagaland and is quite different than other parts of India that we have been to. The women don’t seem to wear saris as much and Christianity has a real presence here. The Baptist’s seem to have the market cornered by the look of it.

Today has been my most challenging day on a motorbike ever. I’m glad it’s over and pleased we made it without mishap. ( He rode the bike like an absolute champion- Robyn) 

 I must give a shoutout to the Heidenau K60 Scout tyres, they have 13,000 km on them and were amazing in these conditions. Also the Triumph performed admirably for a bike that isn’t really built for this stuff. 

And last but not least my brave and uncomplaining co-pilot. What a trooper.