Tour of Nagaland 2022 | Day 7 | Guwahati to Dimapur | 271 kms

Today was a great day. After a much-required break yesterday, I was fully charged up. The body had got enough rest after continuous riding from Pune to Guwahati. The bike issue was also sorted out and I was looking forward to entering Nagaland today. Also, one more thing, It was my birthday today so the ride was going to be even special. Our today’s destination was a Transit camp organized by the local Motorcycle Club from Dimapur where close to 500 people were going to camp before heading towards the event location the day after tomorrow.

The distance to ride was not much today. It was just under 300 km. I started around 6:30 am from the hotel. Other people staying at my hotel were going to start at their own leisurely time. Some of them were waiting for their friends to catch up before moving out.

Just riding for half an hour, I caught up with the chief of the Arunachal Bullet Club and Riya, both of whom I had met yesterday during dinner. Riya was from West Bengal and was a guest rider riding with Arunachal Bullet Club. We stopped for tea together following which I pushed off bidding them goodbye. They too were waiting for some of their club members to join.

By now, the Sun had come up and the weather started to become pleasant. The road was initially Twistys hugging the mountains, but soon I descended to the plains. I was impressed with the road conditions and was cruising leisurely at my own pace, taking a good look at the surroundings. There were many bamboo handicraft shops at the sides of the highway selling a variety of items. I stopped at 2-3 shops carefully inspecting the varieties. Since I didn’t want my bags to get full at the start of the trip, I decided to purchase these items on my way back to Guwahati at the end of my trip. I was to fly back to Pune from Guwahati. Also, the items were very delicate so didn’t want them to get damaged during the trip.

Around 9 am, I stopped by this beautifully done cafe which advertised selling traditional Assamese snacks. The cafe was made out of bamboo with thatched roof. The seating was unique as they had these small chairs with a table in front. I was excited to see what was on the menu.

The breakfast was something unique I’d tried. It was also very light and not heavy on the stomach. As I was about to leave one of my previous night’s hotel friends also joined me and so I stayed for a little longer to give him company. As he was about to finish, we parted ways and he told me that he’d catch me along the way since he had a powerful bike and I drove at a max speed of 80 kmph.

The roads were in perfect condition to ride. Mainly, dual carriageway. They were a mix of Asphalt and Cement with not a single pothole visible. The traffic was less than normal on the NH20. Sometimes, the highway ran between vast open fields of paddy, which seemed to be harvested while in the other case, the road passed through dense vegetation of the national forest. I was yet to see Wild Elephants and Rhinos.

The time was around 1:30 pm and Dimapur was just 40 km to go. I stopped at this roadside Dhaba where many members from the Arunachal Bullet Club had halted. Also, there was this huge convoy of Army heading towards Nagaland which had stopped there for lunch. The dhaba people had gone crazy seeing so many people crashing in for lunch at the same time. It was long before my time came and I had chicken fried rice for my lunch. I even met some army people belonging to my state and it was good chatting with them, being so far away from home.

Since it was a long tour for me, I had carried my office laptop along with me just in case there was an emergency. Right after lunch, I received a call to join some urgent meeting in which I was required. Since Dimapur was just around the corner, I sat at the roadside on my foldable chair to attend the meeting which continued for almost an hour. It was past 4 pm when I finally left the place. By this time, the Army convoy had gone but still some members from ABC were there. I had only an hour of daylight left as dusk was about to set in.

I entered Nagaland around 4:50 pm. I knew where I was supposed to go. I had received the directions to the transit camp on my mobile. It was hardly 10 km. I could see drastic changes in the infrastructure as compared to Assam. The roads were poorly maintained and many streets were poorly lit. In whatever light that was available, I could manage to reach the venue, having lost the direction 1 time.

The venue was a school playground. I entered, only to be greeted with a large number of bikes parked. The whole area was lit by floodlights. Residential buildings surrounded the school. I parked my bike at one end and went to check on the people. I got registered first at the registration desk which was at one corner of the ground. I could see many familiar faces and was happy to see them again after a gap of a year. I was very much excited to meet all my buddies.

After the registration, I set up my tent and transferred all the luggage from the bike. The bike was parked next to the tent. I freshened up and went to see what all things were on offer. There was this huge stage will all the chairs neatly set up in front of it. The 2 clubs that were hosting the transit camp prepared a program itinerary for the evening which included felicitations, local dance and music, awards, and recognition followed by party night. This was going to be one of the most memorable of my birthday celebrations ever.

The celebrations began earlier than expected as we rushed over all the other programs and functions. The booze was flying all over and everyone was up on their feet grooving to the music laid out by the hosting clubs. It was a crazy night and everyone was in a great mood. This continued past midnight followed when we had very little energy left to feed ourselves on the buffet dinner. We were so drunk that we were finding it difficult to eat. Plates were not there so we managed on the lids of large containers used to keep the food items.

Finally, I gathered some strength to make my way to my tent to sleep. My feet were trembling with all the dancing and the liquor had taken control of my nervous system which made my footing wobbly. It was a perfect end to my 31st birthday. Tomorrow we all will be moving toward the event venue at Noune Resort.

Good Night!