Re: Hey ho Nagaland

One of the places or sights which had always fascinated me was the World War II Memorial Cemetery at Kohima. I had seen senior riders posting pictures of this place and it has always been a dream for me to ride and see this place for myself. I'm a war movie lover and this place intrigues me more. Mr. Vincent Belho had guided us all the way from Dimapur and met us at the Memorial Cemetery and was kind enough to bring some much appreciated home made coffee for us. We had been online friend for a long time and this was the first time we met outside the virtual world. Mr. Belho is an avid moto-adventurer and also runs the Nagaland Bike Rental where you can rent a bike for your tour around Nagaland. We had a walk around the Memorial Cemetery and Mr. Belho narrated about the history of the place for us. It was really interesting and for those of you who like to know more about the Memorial Cemetery, you can click on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Cemetery_in_Kohima

After saying goodbye to Mr. Belho, we rode towards the Heritage Village at Kisama which was around 12kms away from Kohima. The Heirtage Village is designed in the form of an ancient Naga Villages with Morungs (traditional huts) from all the Naga tribes built close to each other. Upon visiting the Heritage Village and observing all the Morungs, you would feel like you have seen the entire Nagaland. This is also the venue of the famous annual Hornbill Festival.



We left for Dimapur at around 3:30pm and the rain got heavier as we left Kohima. It stopped after a while and we had a good ride and a good pace while enjoying the twisties with Mossy leading the way. We took a break only after reaching the halfway point between Dimapur and Kohima. After some stretching and rest, we were back on the road. And so was the rain. By the time we reached Medziphema, it was raining so heavily that I couldn't even see ahead anymore. The plight of wearing specs and riding is when it rains. Firstly, the visor would fog up; then followed by the glasses. So if i have to wipe the visor, i also have to wipe the outer and inner glasses of the specs too. It is a very frustrating task. It got dark and I just followed Mossy's tail lights. This was when i felt like i was in Coldplay's 'Fix You' music video. Just for a line though: "Lights will guide you home...". Mossy's Thunderbird's tail light was a guiding light for me on that gloomy evening. I just followed that red beam of light blindly for around 20kms. If he would have rode off the road, I would have done just the same like a blind bat.




We reached Dimapur at around 6pm and the rain had reduced to a drizzle. We reached the guest house and were shivering in our drenched clothes. We had hot cups of tea and took nice warm bath. Mossy started to feel a little sick and tried taking a nap. Meanwhile, our friend from Dimapur came to meet us. The Guest House had a Cafe cum Restaurant at the premises so we sat at the Cafe while Mossy rested in bed.



Mr Kemp, our host, had his boys cooked a really good dinner for us. He made a really good dish out of the pork we gave him and I finished the whole pot. Ahhhhh it was reallly good. I got to take back a little for my family back home.. hehe.


After the meal, Mossy's temperature was rising like an overheated engine. He took some meds and wore as much clothes as he could before hitting the sack. We were a little worried as we had a long ride the next day but we decided to see and decide if we should ride out in the morning or stay back till Mossy felt better.

Re: Hey ho Nagaland




Done [MENTION=60815]sajalsheth[/MENTION]

Re: Hey ho Nagaland

did rain spoiled your spirit to some extend ?

Re: Hey ho Nagaland

First of all, Deepest apologies for taking so long to update this post. Been riding around and been procrastinating even more.. hehe

So we left Dimapur at around 7 in the morning and headed towards Nagaon first. It was still raining when we left and we were ready for a whole day of riding in the rain. Mossy was also feeling much better and we were up on the bikes in no time.
As we zigzagged our way around the hills and the potholes, we came across a convoy of cars parked on the side of the road. Fancy cars they were We stopped to greet (read inquire) them and came to know that they were on a 22 countries expedition drive and had been on the road for a couple of months.


It was dark when we were riding towards Dimapur, and when we were riding back, everything looked so unfamiliar. We just kept riding in the deserted roads with a heavy downpour to accompany us. Everything looked new and we started doubting if we were on the right route. There are a number of routes that will take us to Nagaon, all ranging from a couple of hours to almost a whole day of riding. We stopped to check our maps a number of times and it showed that we were on the right path. Still, we wanted a second opinion from the walking/driving GPS (read people ) but there was no one around.

Suddenly a bus came out of nowhere with a big ‘Nagaon’ placard pasted on its windshield. We gathered that the bus was going to Nagaon and we followed it. Boy oh boy!! The road was still winding itself to the flat plains of Diphu and the way the bus driver was driving the pink bus on those turns gave us a run for our money. I actually thought it was Sebastien Loeb behind the wheel of the bus.. maybe he was returning back from a vacation in Nagaland.
Once we reached the Assam plains, the sun started to peer on us too. It was such a good feeling; good straight roads, paddyfields stretching out to the horizon on both sides, the bike screaming at it’s almost-top speed, which was 90kmph. Damn, was wishing for an even smaller rear sprocket once we hit these flat roads. Mossy zoomed on ahead and throttling his fever away. We saw a convoy of Army trucks parked on the road side, and their waves and cheers when we passed by made us feel like Dharmendra and Sunil Deol. Hehe


We stopped at the Nagaon Junction for lunch and Luit Borah was kind enough to give us some company while we were there. Had a good lunch and basked in the sun for quite a while trying to dry our drenched clothes.

The ride from Nagaon to Shillong is an easy 180kms ride of four laned roads. We took our time. We enjoyed the sunny weather and warm breeze Assam. It was such a treat to ride in the dry weather after two days of riding in the rain. We stopped at Jorabat for our last cup of tea before proceeding to Shillong again. We reached home by dusk, safely, and with our family waiting for the travelling stories.



It was a good ride. A beginning to a long life of rides, adventures and travelling. To many more rides and many more happy kilometers ahead. Cheers!


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Only at the start of the day. Once on the bike, it was all about enjoying the ride

Re: Hey ho Nagaland

waiting for next update

@Phil_Ivor ji

Re: Hey ho Nagaland

Nice!
Waiting for the next!