Blog on North East India
East India is full of culture, diversity, traditions but it is mostly still India. It is amazing how much India has spread their long established fixed practices, but,, it’s India and really no such thing stands as the same because every town, state, district is vastly different from it’s customary traits. About the only thing you will get in ever place is fearless brown people, walking & driving, endless amounts of horn honking, very strong religion in practices, and a vast abundance of population with a score of trash. However I will say from what I have seen so far in the east side of India that is vastly different from the mainland is;
Religion here is primarily Christian, I guess that had a lot to do when the British invaded and brought their traditions with them, but for foreigners traveling here could be a good thing because English is spoken very abundantly. Actually in almost all the schools in the major cities, the public schools actually teach in pure English or at least for many years. At home the kids learn their mother tongue and with friends learn other languages. And while many Indians know an average of 4 languages, here just seems a little bit easier to understand than the mainland. I’d also say that their is much more unexplored lands with many more tribes and villages but one thing you will see more than anything is check points and military. There is less than a million people lives in Manipur but they have 250,000 military personnel, so that just tells you how much they are trying to divide and conquer. Let alone the drugs, gems, wealth, illegal guns from China! I just would like to point out one major thing I learned was that before India became an independent nation their was two constitutional papers. One was from Manipur and the king just days before Britain and India actually wrote up theirs and that people, is one of the biggest reasons of the fighting that are still going on today.
With loads of people everywhere you go, you get this vide in the east that is so much different from mainland. It just seems people are more respectful, more calm, more hospitable, even seems cleaner. Drugs seems to be pretty bad also but still can sway it too stay away, however marijuana is in full bloom all year long, CHEAP too, you can get two hand fulls for 300 rupees in certain areas. Most say it comes from Assam.
I have had it in Manipur in plastic bags for around 200 and was sticky and ok. Got some also on a motorcycle ride with over 250 people and that was very good but got for free. In Shilong is prolly the cheapest with about 2 ounces worth 300 but a lot of sticks and was decent swag. Tezpur you get balls rolled up in newspapers about a palm full for 30. Very dry but got you high.
Border Myanmar;
By coming by land you will need a visa. You can get one in Yangon or Mandalay. Yangon is full of people, Mandalay it is pretty easy to obtain. Can read my blog on Myanmar to find more information out.
https://forestdestine.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/875/
Once you have taken the 20 hour bus journey you will go through customs where I got my big knife I was traveling with for five years taken away. They will give you a free ride into town and exchange money and be taken to bus station from the customs department. I am sure your first stop would most likely be Manipur unless you got a private vehicle and head straight to Nagaland.
Side note:
There is actually two border crossing and one is south of Moreh. One gentleman told me he went but said no buses, expensive taxis, so hitchhiking would be good. He also said nothing much was there at all. So up to you. Sure can read about it in another blog but going through Moreh was already a tough ride but beautiful driving over the mountain and through the valley, I couldn’t imagine the other border crossing.
Manipur:
This city has the biggest woman’s market in the world. It also prolly has one of the biggest markets in the world. In old traditions the markets used to be run nothing but from woman. The city is also not far from one of the biggest lakes in India, Loktak lake. Manipur doesn’t offer to much, but it’s a prime gateway to get to other places. You can stay at the youth hostel for 160 rupees and most likely will meet some travers but it is by far not in top notch shape. Some festivals are held in November named the ‘Hornbill Festival’, and the Shirui Lilly festival in October in Imphal about 80 km North East from Manipur. It is the only Lilly of its kind grown in the whole world here ‘wild’. The Lilly blossoms twice a year being in around June and October with locals saying June is best. From Manipur you will have to decide which way you want to travel because I will say that the airports are few and can be expensive and the roads are rough, small and the transportation can be narly. Many claim to hitchhike this side so you can take that in your mind. The north east side seems too friendly and if you go with the flow of things and examine your motives, hospitality will come to you just about every corner. I for sure haven’t been to every spot but I will try and explain the best I can in this blog about N.E. India.
Just to point out some things before you travel here. Not every place has a hostel and most that are called hostels are actually student dorms, so it is much cheaper to travel with someone. It takes long periods of time to get place to place. Most places are unexplored and some places costs $50 to enter. But don’t let these little things stop you traveling one of the best scenic routes on earth, one of the most full filling places of animals and viewpoints with some of the only animals in the world to be seen such as the one horn rhino
many birds. You can find some of the only hornbills in the world along with rare cats, wild dogs and so much more. Viewpoints are astonishing with memories of the biggest lakes, biggest dams, biggest bridges made from the roots of trees, biggest river island in the world, biggest rainfall province in the world and so much more. Stay tuned, I have so much to write I will be adding onto this blog more and more as the time passes by. And I hope you all can share the story, because really their is very little information on all of N.e. India but what great information I did obtain I will gladly add it on this blog.
The first place I will write down is the place with the most rainfall in a year.
Shillong & Cherrapunji
If looking for viewpoints and waterfalls look no further. This place is just amazing with being the top rainfall in the world. Cherranpunji is actually about 40 km south of Shillong the college town. Since it is such a big college town it is actually very expensive for hotels here and most stay fully booked.
Sweet deals
If looking to get good deals on hotels you can check out these websites. Remember this in India, so many businesses use different websites and these websites sell to others so prices could vary a lot. Besides your normal apps and webpages you can use that are pretty much all over the world is Booking.com, Agoda, hostel world, and even Airbnb. Make sure you check the prices in details and check your options correctly. Many people make mistakes such as free breakfast, if it’s single or double person. But India has also even more apps or pages they use.
If you have not signed up for these post it on your social network and get some money out of these sites. Almost every site offers reward money for signing up others. Along this travel I also picked up a new travel internet company called
Www.momondo.com
Can also check out Skyscanner, kayak, and now Killary clintons daughter is part of Expedia so please do not support these evil people. Expedia, Travelocity, orbitz and many more including the momondo are the same. It’s pretty insane see gets $250,000 dollars to start off knowing nothing about any customer care at all. So many other sites to use and get just a good of a deal than any other. Again just read all the fine lines.
Also found out that you can use grab but many in India use their own app called Ola Cabs. So sign up so you don’t have to deal with tuk-tuk (riksaw). Plenty of shared rides around and buses typically charge 10 rupees unless going far then maybe 20 but some might charge you extra for your bag. Cheap enough so help them out I think it’s fair price. You will also see a big trend here of electric carts. Hope this helps you out saving more money. I need also put into this information if you are willing to sleep in small homes maybe on floor or couch and if lucky a bed, you can sign up for http://www.Couchsurfing.com
It’s an amazing app to just have traveling because you can also hang out with others close to you using the app. The page was designed to sleep at others homes hoping if they come to your country they can get a free stay also. Check it out.
So back to Shillong, it has some of the biggest colleges in India here, has super small streets and many things always going on. Stay if you can or head straight to Cherrapunji where you can find cheap homestays around 300 a night to even free camping or maybe just pay a little. In around this area you can spend 2 weeks easily. So much to explore and do from view points to double root bridges, loads of trekking and so much more. Many go to the double root bridge which is so awesome. And lots of waterfalls to see. I went during October which was a perfect time for me. Not to cold because it’s hilly and in jungle, rain season was over also. Even though plenty of water coming off waterfalls was enough for me to have nice weather. Take note on this going to see the root bridge. There is two main treks you can do, one is the normal trek with 3,500 steps on the east side of Nongrait (double root bridge) and on the west side is the side I did. With about 6,000 + steps you will find the village called Mawlakhiat or ask the people and they will point you in directions. Taxi service is here and I think it is around 200 to main bus stop. If looking for an intense trek do west side or save energy and do east side. Either one will bring you to same spot. Lots of homestays and lots of food stalls. Pretty cheap prices not much different than city price. If you want best app to check weather look at
You won’t find to many animals at all around this area. If looking to find animals in a jungle head towards the west of Shillong to a place called Tura national forest. Here you will not find hardly any tourists at all. Check to make sure Park is open also.
Ancient ruins in Tezpur, great seeing a carving of pregnant woman, babies and celebrating, just proving my theory more accurate on this sites where actually Child-birthing sites. 😃
Watch this quick film or read my other blog on Child Birthing Sites.
I already wrote a whole blog on Kaziranga National Park + Tezpur.
https://forestdestine.wordpress.com/2019/10/18/kaziranga-park-with-rhinos/
Tezpur you will find some ancient ruins can check out my YouTube here on the ruins.
If looking to go further into the North East you will have to get a permit. Can read this blog and get a lot of great information out from it. Only 3 states are open for solo travelers. They are Bomdila, Tawang and Ziro. Check out this blog here.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/permits-for-north-east-india-1539554
So I hope this will help you more in your travels in North East India. If I obtain any more information I will add it to this blog and if any one else has anything else interesting, please let me know so I can add it. If you wish to add me to Instagram I am on @brolooney
Also be sure to leave me a comment and share if you know anyone heading in the directions I have taken on my blog. Cheers.
More helpful information
https://www.onacheaptrip.com/a-solo-trip-to-north-east-india-and-bhutan/
This must be an Indian that has traveled for this blog but if looking to save money you can surely go his route which is extremely cheap. Remember the trains and buses can be pretty straining for the body at times so make sure you get rest and take your time.
https://www.onacheaptrip.com/a-solo-trip-to-north-east-india-and-bhutan/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/experiencenortheastindia.com/northeast-india-travel-blog/
Categories: epic travels
‘THOR’s’ Epic budget travels! 
Brain-Storming Thor