preetdhar80
Active Member
Ok lets get back to the good side of the travel.
Plan : Imphal to Kohima
Distance : 137 kms.
Time : Google is useless in this part of India. We guessed it should not take more than 5 hrs.
Given our experience from the previous day (refer previous post), We agreed to wake up early in Imphal and then start early to reach early. We were mentally prepared for not a very pleasant day, given that we are heading towards more concentrated habitat of Naga people (NSCN is a naga extremist group).
The alarm rang at 5 and on waking up I realized I had a surprisingly good sleep in the car while the outside temperature dropped to ~ 5-6 degrees Celsius. We had a hot cup of tea and started our journey. This morning was distinctly different as in lots of fog, very windy and super cold. However within first 50 kms we realized that this side of Manipur / Nagaland was much more developed than Silchar to Imphal route. The roads were wide and paved well, every village looked clean and maintained well. All these villages took pride in their tribe and showcased their tradition at the entry gate to the village (through which the NH passes). This being few weeks before Christmas, almost the entire stretch was decorated beautifully.
Somewhere near Maram bazaar we stopped for breakfast where we met a nepali couple running their restaurant. While chit chatting in nepali, we came to know that a lot nepali live in this region. They had originally moved from Nepal in search of construction work and eventually settled down.
By 9ish, we reached Mao, the border town to Nagaland and as expected there was a covid center set up to check and allow people travelling to and from. From our experience a day earlier, we were expecting cops to ask for bribe and possibly harass in the context of covid, but surprisingly one cop allowed us (only us) to proceed towards Kohima, given that we were travelling from Manipur. The logic is manipur had a stricter covid control, so the folks in Kohima side allow all such travelers. While people travelling from Kohima to Manipur need to undergo checks. Good for us, we moved ahead with relief and in next one hour, we were at the outskirts of Kohima.
My Dad started his career in Kohima so for him it was quite nostalgic. While I drove, he narrated stories from his good old days for straight 2 long hours. We reached this place named Viswema from where one can see the first view of Kohima. It was indeed mesmerizing. Kohima is probably one the biggest hill station I have seen, it is certainly spread over a large area. The hills in this part of the India are very broad vs what I'm used to seeing in north west bengal (Darjeeling etc). This was a completely different experience. First impression of Kohima was BEAUTIFUL...
First we visited Dad's office for some work and then we took up a room in Hotel Aurora, right in the middle of Kohima. The location was excellent and we had a parking too. We had a sumptuous lunch in their restaurant and then went out to do some site seeing. Unfortunately covid had other plans and most of the places of interest were closed, including Kohima War cemetery. Nevertheless we took this opportunity to leave our car in the parking lot and take a walk of the city. Within an hour it was evident that one should not judge naga people strictly based on the elements we find in rural Manipur (Silchar to Imphal route). Naga people in general were very warm, well mannered and most of them were educated. The evenings were awesome too, the city center becomes a street food heaven by 5, with vendors setting up makeshift shops of local delicacies as well as the usual 'city snacks' we are used to. We spent the rest of the evening experiencing the city and enjoying beautiful Christmas decoration all throughout.
The decision we had to make was, whether it was worthwhile taking a chance for Dzouko valley the next day or head back home. Locals confirmed the valley was closed due to covid, so it was clear we were heading back to Imphal the next morning.
Plan : Imphal to Kohima
Distance : 137 kms.
Time : Google is useless in this part of India. We guessed it should not take more than 5 hrs.
Given our experience from the previous day (refer previous post), We agreed to wake up early in Imphal and then start early to reach early. We were mentally prepared for not a very pleasant day, given that we are heading towards more concentrated habitat of Naga people (NSCN is a naga extremist group).
The alarm rang at 5 and on waking up I realized I had a surprisingly good sleep in the car while the outside temperature dropped to ~ 5-6 degrees Celsius. We had a hot cup of tea and started our journey. This morning was distinctly different as in lots of fog, very windy and super cold. However within first 50 kms we realized that this side of Manipur / Nagaland was much more developed than Silchar to Imphal route. The roads were wide and paved well, every village looked clean and maintained well. All these villages took pride in their tribe and showcased their tradition at the entry gate to the village (through which the NH passes). This being few weeks before Christmas, almost the entire stretch was decorated beautifully.
Somewhere near Maram bazaar we stopped for breakfast where we met a nepali couple running their restaurant. While chit chatting in nepali, we came to know that a lot nepali live in this region. They had originally moved from Nepal in search of construction work and eventually settled down.
By 9ish, we reached Mao, the border town to Nagaland and as expected there was a covid center set up to check and allow people travelling to and from. From our experience a day earlier, we were expecting cops to ask for bribe and possibly harass in the context of covid, but surprisingly one cop allowed us (only us) to proceed towards Kohima, given that we were travelling from Manipur. The logic is manipur had a stricter covid control, so the folks in Kohima side allow all such travelers. While people travelling from Kohima to Manipur need to undergo checks. Good for us, we moved ahead with relief and in next one hour, we were at the outskirts of Kohima.
My Dad started his career in Kohima so for him it was quite nostalgic. While I drove, he narrated stories from his good old days for straight 2 long hours. We reached this place named Viswema from where one can see the first view of Kohima. It was indeed mesmerizing. Kohima is probably one the biggest hill station I have seen, it is certainly spread over a large area. The hills in this part of the India are very broad vs what I'm used to seeing in north west bengal (Darjeeling etc). This was a completely different experience. First impression of Kohima was BEAUTIFUL...
First we visited Dad's office for some work and then we took up a room in Hotel Aurora, right in the middle of Kohima. The location was excellent and we had a parking too. We had a sumptuous lunch in their restaurant and then went out to do some site seeing. Unfortunately covid had other plans and most of the places of interest were closed, including Kohima War cemetery. Nevertheless we took this opportunity to leave our car in the parking lot and take a walk of the city. Within an hour it was evident that one should not judge naga people strictly based on the elements we find in rural Manipur (Silchar to Imphal route). Naga people in general were very warm, well mannered and most of them were educated. The evenings were awesome too, the city center becomes a street food heaven by 5, with vendors setting up makeshift shops of local delicacies as well as the usual 'city snacks' we are used to. We spent the rest of the evening experiencing the city and enjoying beautiful Christmas decoration all throughout.
The decision we had to make was, whether it was worthwhile taking a chance for Dzouko valley the next day or head back home. Locals confirmed the valley was closed due to covid, so it was clear we were heading back to Imphal the next morning.
