NORTH EASTERN INDIA- Where East meets Far East

The town of Sri Mangel, Northern Bangladesh

Where EAST meets FAR EAST Eastern India June 16th 2012 Calcutta, West Bengal, Eastern India.



 To get to Calcutta, I took a route that on my previous trip to India seemed incomprehensible. I saw a side of India that I never though existed, and I have begun to grapple with the similarities and differences of partition.

British owned tea plantation.

I left the beautiful coastal town of Cox’s Bazaar for the tea plantations of Sri Mangel, of the Syhlet province of North East Bangladesh. It was here that I started to really dig into the cause and effects of Partition, and the impacts the British had on Eastern Bengal. The plantations are worked primarily by Hindu’s, meanwhile the towns and cities of the province are populated by muslims, a legacy left by the British, whom still own many of the tea plantations of Bangladesh. The British brought Hindu’s from India to develop these tea plantations in the latter half of the 19th century, as they often trusted the Hindus and preferred to do business and employ them over their Muslim counterparts. I puzzled over this relationship, which seems quite peaceful on the surface of Bangladesh, but is commonly known not to be perfect.

Making my way to India,  gazing out at the flood plains of East Bengal.

One of the primary reasons for my return to the sub-continent, five years on now is to work on understanding the partition of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. I have maintained that to fully understand India, one must see all three. I enjoyed every minute of Bangladesh, from the crazy streets of Dhaka, to the mountains on the border of Burma, the beautiful seaside and the plantations that make some of the best cuppas in the world.

Met many friends along the way to India. I guess not many tourists enter India this way.

I woke up bright and early in Syhlet, boarded a crowded bus and made my way to the border. As is the case often in Bangladesh, I had very little clue as to what was actually going to happen. Numerous questions spun through my head that morning… Would I actually make it to the border? What would the customs formalities be like? This border is pretty remote, would there be onward transport further into tribal India?

Across that river is India. North East India.

Well, I got to the border town, and as is usually the case in Bangladesh, not the person in sight spoke any English. I ask, “Where is the border?”, people look at me dumb-founded, I say, “INDIA!!!????”, they go, “ AHHHHHH, yes yes, right this way”. I begin to walk with a boy from the shop I had lunch at towards India, along a river on the flat plains of Bangladesh, and their in the distance are tall and green mountains, and he keeps pointing over and saying India!!, with a big smile on his face. I eventually reach a Bangladesh army base standing at a high point over the river facing India, they grab me a motorbike and take me to the border. I pay my exit tax at the local bank, go through the formalities, have one final cup of Chai, exchange my Taka for Rupees and walk across the border!

It has been a slice BANGLADESH!

I have made it back to INDIA! Five years later, to an area of India I never in million years though I would visit. Welcome to the North East tribal states, the frontier town of Dawki. I go through India customs, have a cup of tea and walk to the town. I see Christian churches, liquor stores, women with their hair out and even in this tiny tiny town on the frontier I find people speaking English everywhere. What a difference! The people are part of the tribal region of India and look more oriental, that their Indo-Arayan counterparts in the rest of the country.

A pretty chill border crossing, separated only by a small creek.

Here Christianity prevails as the dominant religion, not Islam, Sikhism or Hinduism. An amazing spot in the world. I see one of the most epic example of the geology on earth. The flat plain of Bangladesh ends and the mountains of North East India begin.

3.4 % of India are Christians and many are found up here in the NE.

Most protestants in this part of India.

I hitch a ride with a convoy of wealthy Bangladeshi tourists to make my way to Shillong city, about four hours away. And what a climb it is, within half an hour we are on the tops of mountains overlooking the endless plains of Bangladesh and I cannot help but ponder my experience there, along with welcome the experience that awaits me here in this largely unexplored part of India.

It looks more like central British Columbia than India. WHAT AN AMAZING PART OF INDIA! So lucky to get here.

These boys invited me to join their family convoy to Shillong city.

What a landscape, what a people, what a part of India.

Got a little misty up in the mountains, much cooler temps than Bangladesh.

After sweating bullets for days in on the plains of Bengal I reach this city in the mountains and for the first time in weeks I am forced to wear a jacket and no longer need air conditioning or a fan at my hotel. This city bursts with people of all different colours, languages and religions. I can sense hints of China, South East Asia, India and Bangladesh, all in one. I marvel at this, and for the first time in a while I taste a glass of whiskey and speak to a woman. It seems rather surreal, but I can tell even this remote corner of India is leagues ahead of Bangladesh in many ways.

The people have a more oriental look in this part of India. 

I make my way to Guwati, a city that straddles the Bramaputra river that flows into Bangladesh, I once again return to the heat of India and it is here that I feel that I am truly back to India, as elements of my experience five years ago pop up around every corner. I see poverty, chaos, people everywhere, garbage, bustling traffic, hear the vast honking of horns and I feel déjà vu left, right and centre. I spend a couple days here before taking an overnight train towards Darjeeling, the famous hill station of West Bengal.

Sunset on the Bramaputra river, it flows from the Himalayas to meet the Ganga in Bangladesh.

I buy an open ticket, for 94 rupees, about the 1.70$ and over night to the station closest to Darjeeling. I met some Sikh soldiers who thought I was a soldier myself and invited me to join them on the soldier train car, a far more comfortable option than I expected.

All the cultures and faiths of India are present in Guwati.

Eating dinner in the solider car. These men said I looked like a soldier and invited me to dine with them on the way to Darjeeling. We cracked a bit of whiskey and they told me some wild tales about being on the Indian frontier as a soldier.

I arrived first thing in the morning, exhausted from a crazy over night ride and made my way up to Darjeeling to embrace some cool weather once again before the long haul to Calcutta.

Climbing the Himalayas to Darjeeling.

Darjeeling is famous tourist destination for both domestic Indian tourists and foreigners. I walk up to my hotel, check in and I see two Americans from Tennessee. I am baffled, as for the first time in almost a month I see white people, and not only that, they speak English that I easily understand. They had been travelling India for months and I was happy to pick their brains as to what eventually awaits me.

Most of the people in Darjeeling are Nepali's, lovely people.

I embraced this hill station, relaxing in the cool air, jogging without sweating bullets, hiking in the hill stations many tea plantations and soaking up the surreal environment.

The Darjeeling EXPRESS!

I felt so much different on this go around in India, as on the last trip I was with the University and we were in a group, ushered to many different touristy destinations, easy prey for touts and tourist hawks. I can say that although I enjoyed my last experience in India, this time around I am truly in love, finding hidden gems around every corner and embracing the local people at every opportunity. I guess I have grown a lot in the last five years, and India itself is developing at a rate faster than I ever imagined. I left Darjeeling on an overnight train to Calcutta, arriving first thing in the morning. Since I was flying first thing the next morning back to SE Asia, I figured I would just sleep at the airport and save a night of accommodation. I saw many of imperial Britain's historic capital, from the Victoria memorial, the statues of high standing governors and all the base institutions that made british India function.

Her Majesty, QUEEN VICTORIA. The Queen of the British Raj.

The city was bustling, exciting and intriguing. I could not help but love it. After a day of sweating, exploring and engaging with the locals of Calcutta or Kolkata as it is now spelled I embarked to India’s third largest airport. I found this to be a hilarious experience, I expected something super developed as is the case with the Delhi or Bombay airports, I was sadly mistaken. The airport was very basic, tractors pulling in the luggage and no connector between the domestic and international terminals, and although their was a dorm to sleep in, they would not let me stay. I snuck in to use the internet at the domestic terminal and slept their on a bench.

Waiting for the bus to the airport in Kolkata.

I awoke the next morning to board my plain to Bangkok and onwards to Vietnam, having truly loved this short stint in Eastern India. In three weeks I will return to Kolkata to meet some friends and begin the second chapter of the Indian journey and onwards to Pakistan.

I can say, I was a bit nervous as to how I would take India, but my mind is more open now, and my attitude changed towards India. I cannot wait to return and see what lies in store.

India you rock! And I cannot wait to see you again!

As for now, time to rock some Vietnam with Cookie girl!

Cheers, William

Next up, VIETNAM!