Dusting off my Salaam Aleikum

Fuck was I happy to leave Guwahati. I have to admit that I’ve become a bit of a right cocky cunt (if you’ll pardon my French): There I was exclaiming from the rooftops how much of a seasoned traveller and generally fantastic person I was ‘cos the heat in India didn’t bother me… Well, fuck me sideways… I’ve met my match! The heat during the day in Guwahati was like nothing I’ve experienced before. Combined with high levels of humidity, it meant that normal day-to-day life became a struggle of the highest proportions. Respiration during the day was like breathing with your face down in a bowl of scalding hot soup. The sweat would run down your neck in rivers and collect in little reservoirs under your arms and chest. The small of your back (see arsecrack) could have rivaled Niagara or Iguazu in volume. A shower would provide respite only for the amount of time that you were actually under the water. As soon as you step out of it, you’re a sweaty mess again instantly. Sleep at night was possible only under a dozen fans or else an AC unit. I had the former and managed a good night’s sleep.


Vikram, his cousin Nitin, Nitin’s wife Chin Chin and I all hopped in Nitin’s car and made the three hour journey from Guwahati to Shillong. At 1450m, Shillong is a nice respite from the heat of the lowlands. It’s the capital of the Indian state of Megalaya, bordering Bangladesh to the south and Assam to the north, and, due to its rolling hills, more temperate climate and history, is known as Scotland of the East.


For the past two days I’ve been driven around the city; taking in the various attractions and eating like a king. Vikram’s extended family are very hospitable and are really taking care of me. I’m going to stay here until the 21st of June, when my Indian visa runs out and it looks like there’ll be some exiting stuff on the cards. We’re going to a Jazz concert tomorrow evening and I’m going to look into doing some pot-holing in the caves around here and also visiting some waterfalls over the next few days. This evening, I had dinner with Vikrams friends. One of them works on a development project in a Kasai tribal village, Umsabhar, three hours from here and has invited me to come and stay a few days there, so that should be an interesting insight into the more remote rural areas of Megalaya.


So… the big question… what am I doing when my visa runs out? Well, I’ve decided (a while back actually) that there’s no point in continuing overland to South East Asia. First of all, I don’t have the money for it. I’ve already been away for over ten months now, two months over the initial eight months and my bank account will officially be at zero within the next month. Also, I’m ready to settle down again now for a while and am looking forward to working (and being able to live out of a wardrobe and cook my own food). And there’s no point rushing South East Asia: I’d like to give it some time and its due consideration, so look forward to exploring it in the near future.


I’m going to fly home to Ireland in August for a month or so. Then I will fly down to Melbourne to find a job there for a year or two. I already have my work visa, so I just need to find a way of getting some cash, and given the economic situation in Ireland and the fact that I’d look forward to working abroad again for a while, I figure Oz is as good a place as any.


So between now and August, I don’t have too many choices. I need to leave India on the 21st of June (visa runs out), so my choices are Nepal or Bangladesh. In July the monsoon will have hit with full force so it’s not the perfect season for travel in either country: Nepal’s famous treks will all be closed with leeches the main customers on any remaining open; Bangladesh’s deltas are infamous for flooding and its coast will no doubt be hammered by cyclones. However, I have to go somewhere.


Bangladesh is what I’m aiming for. I’ve decided that if I’m gonna witness the monsoon, I might as well do it in style. Also, the ‘road-less-travelled’ naturally draws me there and after the positive experiences of my time in Pakistan (Muslim country) and Calcutta/West Bengal (Bengali places), I figure it could be interesting.


I’ve heard on the grapevine that Irish citizens don’t need a tourist visa for Bangladesh. If this turns out to be true and if I can cross from one of the border crossings around here (there’s a border three hours from Shillong), then that’s where I’m headed. If it turns out to be a porky, that I actually DO need a visa, then I don’t have the time to make it to the consulate in Calcutta and will instead make my way to Nepal.


Either way, I’ll be away for another six to ten weeks and will be finish up my trip by the end of August by the latest (over a year from when I left Ireland for Istanbul).


Will update on Bangladeshi visa situation and plans for Shillong over the next few days.


Ur man in the Northeastern Subcontinent,


C.