South into Assam

 Woke up at 0530 to be ready for tea at 0600. At around 15 minutes past, Divya went down to check. Finally found the manager. Tea came in at 0645.

It was cloudy, drizzles coming in. Decided to head down rather than get wet walking the forest in the mist.

 

Told the manager at breakfast. No problems. By the time we were done, he was ready to see us off. Only issue in these places is that you must have a UPI method of paying. Cards are not acceptable. Some weird logic.

Left the hotel at 0830 after breakfast to get into Tezpur for the night. Should have been a comfortable run.

The first stretch we had done the previous day on the way to Sangram HQ. Beautiful scenery to disguise a bounce in the roads.

 








The going was brilliant till around 1045. Had seen a couple of guys on the road wearing these leather hats, so wanted to pick one up. Stopped at a slightly big village market where a shop had some. Got one for myself. Divya was driving till then. I took over with the new hat on.

The vehicle protested immediately. Felt a drag when I throttled. Saw black smoke from the exhaust. Was positive the Thar was protesting on my change of head wear.

In reality, there was a problem with the fuel supply to the engine. Either dirt in the pipes, or the last fill had been old. Will check that our tomorrow morning at the garage. 

Soon after this happened, we were stopped at a road development site for 30 minutes. There was a climb ahead, and slush. 




 The vehicle behaved as long as I did not throttle. So was gentle at all times. Decided to stop at Itanagar, around 60 kilometers away, to get the fuel lines cleaned.

The drive to Itanagar, which is in the plains, was exciting. One, had the vehicle behaviour sitting on top of my head. Two, it was a beautiful run. 

 








Tried loading a video. Did not happen.

The approach to Itanagar was quiet. The roads were empty, shops closed. Asked a lone guy by the side of the road. Were told that there was a strike on at Itanagar, everything was shut.

By now, I was pretty certain that the problem was in the fuel supply to the engine, and, if I drove within certain parameters, the Thar behaved perfectly. It meant that my speeds came down, but reaching Tezpur was not an issue.

So, we drove thru a dead Itanagar, past the border checkpost, into Assam.

What a difference it was. Population explosion is the only way to describe this. In Arunachal, there were long stretches with not a soul. In Assam, there was absolutely no stretch which was not populated. 

But, the drive was great. Stopped for lunch at a dhaba. Had local Assamese meals. Two dals with five sabjis and loads of rice.






Got into Tezpur by 1730. About an hour behind, because of the poison that the THar had been fed. Tomorrow shall cleanse the vehicle system. Then, head on South.

Good night

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicham Day 3 - Day of the Blue Sheep

Image
6th February started clear and bright. Our home stay host was also our scanner. He had told us the previous evening, late, that the tracker who had gone towards Langza had spotted a Leopard just over the road. This was just before he started back at sunset. So, direction was clear. Our guide who had headed down to Rangrk/Lidang to see his kid the previous evening called to tell us he would be in by 0830. And, we could leave as soon as we were ready. So, depart we did. Before most other vehicles woke up. That was the other thing. Th Gypsy was a Petrol vehicle. Most other vehicles were diesel - Campers, Innova, Larger Tempo Travellers. All with chains on tyres. But to start, they had a problem. The larger vehicles kept engines running all night - it was cheaper than having a frozen fuel system, from tank to pipes to nozzles. The smaller ones had to use fire to heat their systems. Got to the junction of Langza Komic turn off. As our guide was checking with the tracker, our porter was sca
Read more

Kufri into Kaza

Image
2nd February turned out to be a sunny day. Woke up to clear skies. The original plan was to leave at 0700. That had got moved to 0800 the previous evening.  Relaxed thru our morning, getting ready. Had a quick breakfast of eggs and got our luggage all ready at the entrance of the resort for a quick exit. The sun was nice and warm. We took a gentle walk down the road. Realised before we had even taken a few steps that it was all iced up. Well, that was not really my problem as I was not driving. So, relaxed, enjoying the sun, watch the Dhuladhar range in the distance and the Kinnaur range a bit closer. By 0830 I was fretting as there was no sign of our guide cum driver, Kesang.  Called him. Learnt that traffic out of Shimla was choked. Which was not really startling news.  So, we walked a bit more, admiring the scenery a lot more. Watching some playful pups slip around the road. 30 minutes later he called again to inform me that he was clear of the traffic and was on his way. Then the
Read more

Into Masai Mara

Image
Post for the 2nd of August 2023 We had been given a 0700 pickup call the previous evening. But, with all the carnivorous input assisted by the alcohol, we were a wee bit delayed. It so happened that the vehicle that came to pick us up was not the vehicle that was to take us to the Mara, but the vehicle that was to take us from hotel to the vehicle that was to take us to the Mara. The driver was getting hustled by his already picked up passenger, who had been woken up earlier !! Got into the transit vehicle by 0730 and reached the offices of the Tourist operator. Were transferred to a Land Cruiser, which had two Italians sleeping in the rear seats. Our driver was a middle aged guy with greying hair and a ready laugh, called Geoffery. He and his vehicle, along with the Italians were bound to us for the period of the Mara safari. It took us another hour to get all papers in order and start the journey to the Masai Mara. The drive from nairobi towards the Masai Mara took us along the great
Read more