INDIA: TRIBAL CIRCUIT II

Posted October 13, 2008 by David McGuinness

After the match we went on to Kabu, a small nearby village of the Adi-Galo tribe where we were greeted by the family, as well as some of their friends. We were served up rice beer and brought various dished, all eaten from a leaf that is commonly used in the tribe. The food was very tasty and plentiful. The women tried to teach Karla and Myrka some local dances and in return were taught the chicken song, which was the source of much amusement, especially as it sped up.

We elected to sleep outside the main house on the balcony and used the camping mattresses. The next day was a lazy one. After breakfast in Along the girls went shopping and myself and Stephen played poker for matchsticks.

After a few hours chilling out we ordered take-away pakoras and chips for lunch and then drove back to the village. C.K. arranged for two local boys to accompany us on our afternoon walk. We walked down to the river, to the fantastic bamboo and cane hanging bridge. We all managed to traverse the bridge, getting braver as we walked on.

When we finally made it across the local boys showed off by running across it, making us feel less brave than we had!

We stopped on the side of the river and had our lunch, watching the locals cross the hanging bridge without a second’s thought.

After lunch we walked through the valley and up to Paia, another Adi-Galo village and then on to Pobdi before returning to Kabu for dinner. We asked our hosts to give us smaller portions as we didn’t want to seem ungrateful by not finishing the four hundred tonnes of rice they allocated for us.

The local women were still humming the chicken song! After dinner the women did a few local dances and they made my two left feet participate as well! The girls taught them the Macarena and even C.K. joined in after a few rice beers! The local women were so impressed they gave each of the girls a traditional handmade Adi-Galo skirt they had woven themselves.

The next morning we said goodbye to our hosts and soon after to Arunachal Pradesh and came back into Assam, to the village of Likabali. It was the main day of the Durga Festival and people’s faces were painted bright red and there was plenty of singing and music throughout the village. We had some lunch and went to meet our host family. They were very welcoming and curious, not having had foreign guests before and the home was a beautiful bamboo construction with tale and chairs made of bamboo and cane. After the introductions we climbed up to the ancient ruins of Malinithan where the remains of a 10th to 12th century temple had been uncovered. We were given some sweets at the temple and then came back to our hosts, washed and the rice beer was brought out. I think I’m going to have withdrawal when I leave the North East! Conversation was a little awkward at first, but after a few rice beers things got a bit more lively. Again the food was excellent and very plentiful. We had a few more rice beers after dinner and our beds were put out for us, as well as mosquito nets.

The next morning we said goodbye to our hosts and drove to the ghat (river port) about an hour away. Our intended route to Majuli was impassable so we were taking a slightly longer way around. We jumped on the crowded ferry along with our jeep and moved slowly down the mighty Brahmaputra river. We arrived on the Southern Ghat after about 2 hours and drove on to Namati Ghat to catch the ferry to Majuli, stopping for a superb lunch in a remote little roadside restaurant. At the Ghat I said goodbye to the group, sorry I wasn’t able to continue to Majuli as well. They would be using a local jeep on the island so I borrowed the vehicle and trusty Das (our driver) to drive on to Guwahati. It was a long drive and I arrived in around 9.30 in the evening and crashed out for the night.

Today I have been catching up on some work and looking at some ways to improve our route and facilities for future groups. Tomorrow I fly to Delhi, where I will spend a couple of nights before testing the add-on tour to Agra and Jaipur that we will start to offer shortly. It’s been almost ten years since I first (and last) went to Agra and Jaipur as a backpacker so I’m quite looking forward to it. This whole trip just seems to be rushing by!

– David

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the links below to navigate through this journey.