Enroute Kaziranga

The landscape changes as you move from the highlands of Meghalaya to the grasslands of Assam. You encounter paddy fields and banana plantations frequently which was a rarity in Meghalaya. The distance from Shillong to Kaziranga is close to 285km and we covered this in our hired Indica in well over 5 hours. Our driver Jamal, mild mannered and uncommunicative as a Cow, had to be frequently coaxed to share with us his knowhow of the land. He does not know English, he use his mother tongue which is a hybrid of Urdu and Bengali and for us Mumbaiites it is very difficult to comprehend and interpret. So we continued to communicate within ourselves

The road is smooth like butter. It offers many beautiful sights – kids playing in the open, men and women toiling in the fields, people idling around their houses. The Houses are typically made of Straw and Mud, investing in infrastructure is a big risk here as the Brahmaputra in full fury washes away scores of households every year. So water was never a scarcity in Assam, every house may well have its own pond and you may see an occasional farmer offering his surplus Fish stock for sale.

It is avoidable to travel by night here as you have a high probability of encountering some wild beast crossing the road and becoming your road kill. Some of the more frequent sights you can observe from your moving car are the Tea Gardens and the Beasts in the grasslands. The grassland view is endless; there are no fences or high walls to obstruct your vision so an occasional Rhino is very easily spotted, its dark thick skin stands out in the green grass. If you are in luck you may also sight the Swamp Deer and a herd of Bison.

The Resort we had booked for our stay – BonHabi was a welcome relief after this long journey; a no frill stay with spacious rooms.   The corridor used to be infested with Beetles at night and we had to tread our way carefully to reach the restaurant. Food is rather cheap and of good quality

The Wood Carver – had set up a small shop near to the Sanctuary. His house was located just behind the shop. The small makeshift gallery had a vast variety of idols, from animals to political figurines and also some Gods and Goddesses. He had visited Bombay for an exhibition some time back and also featured in some newspapers – some cuttings displayed in a Rack were a reminder to this.  A small Wooden Rhino is available for Rs 150/ - bigger Idols cost more. The neatly polished gleaming idol can be a good memento to carry back home

The Tea Garden and Shop - Other than Kaziranga and its scenic beauty, if there is anything else making Assam popular, it is the Tea. A close competitor to Darjeeling and Munnar, Assam tea is just as popular in the Indian subcontinent as well as being exported to all parts of the world. The tea plantations are seen amongst the grasslands at low altitude unlike the hills of Darjeeling. Today, Assam produces more than half of the tea produced in India which is sold through the auction center in Guwahati.  Most of the tea gardens are situated in Jorhat which is called the 'Tea Capital of The World'. Forest have been cleared to make way for more than 850 tea estates and more than 2500 tea gardens in Assam that cover thousands of acres of land. For their scenic beauty, calm and peaceful environment, they have become a great tourist attraction