Morning walk and breakfast
Today was going to be the last day of our north-east trip as the next day would be just about boarding our train to reach our home. That dreadful feeling of the last day was beginning to set in.
We mentioned somewhere earlier that our stay of choice in Guwahati (Riverview Guest House) was located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra. So, there was no way that we would miss the walk along the river. But first, we decided to have breakfast. After a due search on Google, we narrowed it down to a South Indian restaurant named Chennai Banana Leaf. It was a short walk from our guest house to the restaurant.
Just opposite our guest house, there is a jetty from where a ferry service is available to Umananda temple, which is located on an island in the river. We found many pilgrims boarding the ferry for a trip to the temple on the island. The visit and boat ride generally takes about an hour and a half. But we were hard-pressed for time so skipped it for some other time. We spent some time in that place watching people go about their routines.
After returning to the Hotel, we checked out and went straight to the motorcycle rental agency where we submitted the scooter.
Our super-budget hotel
During the entire trip, if you had read our previous blogs, it was a never-ending rant of hotels being out of our budget. So, on the final day, it was time to end this rant.
Our train on the next day was from the Kamakhya station, therefore it made sense for us to stay closer to the station. Benefitting from our search efforts on the day we landed at Guwahati, we went straight to a budget hotel on Pandu Port Road and checked in. It was a super-budget hotel, but we just had to stay a night there, so we were content with it. The first room that we got into had sealed windows, so we requested a ventilated room. This new room had too much ventilation that we had everything for the company but then we knew what we were getting into.
Reaching the Temple
An important thing left to do before we returned, was to visit the most revered temple of Kamakhya Devi situated on Nilachal Hill.
After freshening up and having our lunch at a nearby restaurant, we proceeded towards the temple. We took a local bus which dropped us at the gate on the main road, from this gate there are shuttle services available in the form of buses or taxis.
We took a bus shuttle run by the government which takes about 20 minutes to reach the temple. It is another 100 metres or so of walk to reach the temple.
Once at the top, we quickly made our way through the crowd of devotees and after depositing our shoes just outside the temple, walked inside.
Kamakhya Temple
The temple is one of the most important religious places for Hindus in the entire northeast India and houses the idol of Maa Kamakhya. As Navratri had just concluded a day ago, the temple remained beautifully decorated with flowers. It is a very old temple and dates to the 8th – 9th century. Old carvings are still visible on the few remaining original walls. We were just in time for Mukh darshan and were blessed to see Maa Kamakhya.
There was a long queue of devotees who wanted to go inside the ‘Garb Griha’ (sanctum sanctorum) but we did not get the privilege and it is postponed for another time in the future. The waiting time to enter the sanctum stretches for hours.
After darshan, we roamed around the temple premises which were full of devotees. We also found goats roaming freely and pigeons in hundreds there. There is a sacrificial house just opposite the temple, where animal sacrifices take place as offering to the deity.
The iconic steps near the temple provide a beautiful view of the entire temple and serve as a gallery to sit and rest as well as a good point for clicking pictures.
On the top of the hill
After soaking in the atmosphere inside the temple, we decided to walk further up the hill. At a distance of another kilometre upwards, there is a temple of Bhubaneswari Devi. This temple is the topmost point of the hill. Along with our desire to visit the temple, the temptation of views from the top drew us towards it.
As with the Kamakhya temple, this too is a very old temple dating to the 7th to 9th century. Beyond Kamakhya temple, we could not find any transport so we had to walk the entire way up the hill which was not easy in the humid weather.
It was almost dark when we reached the temple premises and were sad that due to some renovations, it was closed. We still paid our respects from outside and went to the viewpoint. In the fading light, we could see the Brahmaputra River meandering through the plains and the night lights had begun to twinkle, making it a memorable sight.
End of day
After spending some time at the top, we retreated the same way and caught a packed bus to the entry gate and a local bus to the Pandu Port area. We were exhausted and soaked in sweat when we reached our hotel back at around 8 PM. Had a quick shower and decided to order pizza from Domino’s. Somehow or the other, we always end our having pizza whenever we end our trip.
We had to keep the windows open due to the heat which invited the vampires (read: mosquitoes) and had a gala time relishing our blood. We did not sleep well due to that but there were no complaints.
The next day was just about waking up and walking to the station to catch the noon train back to our home bases.
Concluding thoughts
As travellers, at the end of any trip, we always end up with mixed feelings, one that of satisfaction and another that of a sense of missing out. Satisfied because we had been fortunate enough to gather so many memories. And on the contrary, a feeling of not being able to see everything. This second feeling of missing out probably is what will draw us back to places we had already been to.
This trip was no different and we had both happy and sombre moments. At the end of it, we felt that the Northeast as a destination is not explored as much as other places. Though we spent close to two weeks, it is nowhere close to the time required to fully explore this place. The sights, the culture and the food, they are too good to explain in words (we have tried our best to do so) and ultimately, they have to be seen to be believed.
It was a great learning experience as well, right from hunting for hotels to managing stuff when everything is going against your plan. We fumbled and stumbled but never gave up and at the end of the trip, this will remain one of our most memorable ones.
Hope you have enjoyed reading our blogs as much as we enjoyed putting them together for you.
We will catch up in another series, till then, happy travels!
