Tour of Nagaland 2022 | Day 8-9-10-11 | Dimapur – Dimapur | 15 kms

I woke up to the warmth of the morning sun. The time was 8 am and the sun was already on full power. I could see bikes everywhere, disorganized. All were packing up and ready to leave for the event location. I quickly got myself ready, had some breakfast which was served, and packed up my tent. The time was past 9 am now and some of the bikes had already left the place as the ground started to get clear of them.

I left the place around 9:30, some of my friends seeing me off. The distance to the event location was hardly 15 km, so there was no any kind of rush. I hit the main road, and the location of the resort was already put up on my mobile. The resort was located on the outskirts of the city. I was greeted with the morning rush hour traffic and had to battle my way through.

The traffic disappeared and the landscape opened up to vast areas of paddy fields. The residential complexes vanished. I could see my fellow rider brothers wave to me as they cruised past me. The roads deteriorated soon, riddled with potholes, slush, and lots of dirt. This continued up to the resort.

The resort was located inside a rubber plantation area and it was densely populated by trees. There was even a large lake present inside. I reached sometime after 10:30 am and met with my friends from Nagaland Motorcycle Club, who were the host. I was guided properly and even found a place to pitch a tent for myself which would be my home for 3 days. My area was near the ‘stalls’ which would be selling an assortment of rider-related stuff. Ahead of the stalls, were the main stage arena which was going to get lively in the evenings.

As I had come a little early, I could see preparations going on. Banners were being put up, and people working on bamboo to be used as a structure for the stalls. The main stage was being set up and ‘sound tested’, and cleaning and beautification work was happening all around. The registration desk for the riders was at one corner of the main ground, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner were to be served.

I went walking to see in general about the area and it was massive. I felt like I was walking through a jungle. To the one side of the main stage were the little bathroom and toilet pods. One couple dressed in traditional Naga dress were stationed at the entrance to welcome all the riders coming in. I was handed coupons which would entitle me to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days.

I had my lunch and after that roamed around the place as more and more people started to come in. The initial silence of the jungle was replaced with the roaring of the engines and the place started to become lively. Motorcycle groups found a location to set up their camp for the members. The club banners were hung from the trees so that everyone knew to which club they belonged. Some of the clubs even had brought cars that were stuffed with cooking-related stuff. Though it was a resort, it gave a perfect feeling of wild camping.

Time just flew by. I was meeting a crazy number of my friends, visiting their campsites, and interacting. Taking photos. Tasting some of their homemade brought delicacies. It was a brotherhood feeling being invited by motorcycle clubs to their campsite. During nighttime, the campsites were lit with all the fairy lights and bonfires. People were playing music from their speakers while at some places Karaoke sessions were going on. I spent one night with the members of the Arunachal Bullet Club, regaling in their Karaoke sessions. The main music stage was taken by a host of artists, bands, and DJs pumping out some good music. It had time restrictions so the music was stopped past 10:30 pm.

On the 2nd day of the event, I continued my visits to the campsites of other clubs. Many of them were preparing meals on their stoves and I had the privilege to taste some of the best pork and fish which they had brought from their state. Many of them cooked their food as they did not like the food served at the event. The Afternoons were quite hot so most of them took respite in their campsite under the trees.

The 3rd day also witnessed a lot of events with some cool games being conducted. One of them was the women’s category push-up competition which was unique and first of its kind for this event. The winner was Riya from the Arunachal Bullet Club. Other than that, there were moto-cross races, slow races, tug of war, etc. At one of the locations, even a friendly Arm wrestling competition was going on. We even had Nagaland Chief Minister visiting us and checking out the event.

I also had the privilege to meet Gary Mehigan, the famous Master Australia chef who was also touring Nagaland at the same time. He was filming with his crew in the state. I presented him with my local town delicacy ‘Bhakarwadi’ and he was impressed with it and liked its taste. It was a great moment for me and we all posed for a photograph! I met a lot of new people and even became friends. Some of the clubs who know me presented me with their souvenirs as a token of love towards each other and that made me humble. I too gave ‘Bhakarwadi’ in return.

The last evening of the event was made grand by some great music pumping by the bands as we all regaled in it till late night. This was followed by fireworks which officially concluded the event.

It was an emotional moment on the morning of the 4th day when we all met again at the breakfast table only to see each other again after 1 long year. It was all teary eyed goodbyes and people started to leave after having breakfast.

I packed up after my breakfast and left for the town of Dimapur for the night’s stay as I had already got late by the time I left the resort. So, there was no point in going further toward Kohima which was close to 70 km. Next in line was to experience the world-famous Nagaland Hornbill festival which had sweetly coincided with our event. I planned to stay in Kohima and watch the remainder of the Hornbill festival which had already begun on the 1st of December. I had heard people saying that the opening and closing ceremonies of the festival should not be missed at any cost. I was excited.

I got a hotel in the Dimapur city for 500 bucks with the help of my local friend. The room was good and after I got myself nicely cleaned up with a good shower, I went outside to explore the local town only to return late in the evening for dinner. Some rider friends were also staying in the same hotel so we all had dinner together. They were supposed to catch a train back to their homes late in the night. It was about time for their departure by the time the dinner was finished and I bid them goodbye.

I took a small stroll in the surroundings and had my cup of good coffee after a long time at a local cafe. Christmas vibes were everywhere!