Delhi - Itanagar

Posted 19th September 2008 by David McGuinness

So it’s been an eventful few days since I left the UK. I arrived at Delhi airport just after midnight and my taxi driver spoke no English and could not find the guest house, insisting I needed the “full address”, which I thought I had. After speaking to several late-nighters we finally hit upon it and I settled in, happy to have had a chance to practice my Hindi so early in the trip. The guest house was very nice, with spacious, clean, well-equipped rooms and Sanjay the owner was a very useful guy for all sorts of information about Delhi and India in general.

The best thing about the guest house were the outdoor areas – the garden at the front and the dining area at the back (see picture). Little quiet havens away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi, a great place to relax, read, meet other travellers and have a few beers. I also met with a Delhi operator, Vikram, who took me out for lunch in the golf club (though I had to change into my golf shirt before they would let me in!!) while we discussed the arrangements for the Delhi tour and some tour add-on options that myself and Rahul hope to test drive in the next couple of months.

In the evening Vikram and his lovely wife took me out to his “club”, a colonial affair dating back to 1913, built by the Raj, and filled with the higher classes of Delhi. Exclusivity was the point, it seemed. I felt a little out of my depth but after a few beers began to enjoy myself and an excellent dinner finished off the night as was the tradition, as alcohol was not allowed in the dining areas!

The next morning I flew to Guwahati, the capital of Assam, where I spent two nights and two hot, dusty days. Having tied up some loose ends, I was happy to leave Guwahati behind and head again to Potasali Eco-camp, on the edge of Nameri National Park. It was lovely to be back, and a great place to relax, enjoy nature, good food and comfortable surroundings. I met a couple of Indian ecologists who were developing some land through which elephant routes pass, and Ronnie, the camp manager regaled us all with tall tales and kept the cold beer flowing! Yesterday, our North East partner, Komkar, came to visit the Eco-camp, and we started off for Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh.

We stopped off at a colonial tea estate shortly after, where heritage tea estate stays are arranged. Durgadas, the manager showed us around the estate – the lovely cottages, the tea bar, where one can taste a whole range of teas from all over the world – and offered us a cup of tea in the mansion dating from the late 1800s. It was a lovely place to spend a few relaxing days, and Durgadas, name-dropped shamelessly. It seemed quite a few famous people have stayed there. A potential relaxing add-on to our tours? Watch this space…

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