Around The World On A Honda Transalp

After our departure from our little paradise, we first want to go to Alappuzha. We read that there are many houseboats in the rivers behind the city. Therefore it's called the 'Venice of India' and someone in Vadackal told us we have to go and see it. Alappuzha is quiet a long way around and in the end it is not really worth it, though some of the houseboats really look nice. Certainly, it would be great to spend a night on one of the houseboats but unfortunately, it was a bit over our budget with prices starting from 5000 rupees a night.

After Kovalam we move to the most southern tip of India, Kanyakumari. This is the only place in India where you can see both sunrise and sunset. Unfortunately, we are unlucky and it has been clouded during the days that we are here. Here in the sea they have scattered Gandhi’s ashes and some of it is now kept in the Gandhi Memorial Museum. Kanyakumari also houses the Indian Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty

After reaching the southernmost point in India, we are gradually going back north following the east coast. Along the way, we stop in some temple towns, and they are really impressive to see. In Madurai, we give an Indian guy some rupees to watch the bike and we are fortunate that the owner of a souvenir shop invites us to his rooftop. As a result, we can look over the wall that is built around the temple, an ideal spot for a bar. The man says he previously had one but people just threw their glasses down, making it too dangerous.

We reach Auroville in the evening. It's a town where many foreigners live and it’s known for its spirituality. It turns out to be the strangest place that we have seen in India so far. We drive through a forest, see a house here and there and a large golden golf ball kind of thing in the centre.

The Golden Golf Ball

In the morning we enjoy our last self-made delicious breakfast and then we are ready to drive to Mamallapuram. At first we want to skip this town because of the short distance from Auroville, where we wasted quite some time. We are glad we didn’t choose a long day drive because Mamallapuram is worth visiting. We find a nice room with a fisherman, located on the beach and with a balcony offering sea view.

Beachfront Guesthouses

During two days, we follow the coastline towards Kolkata. By the end of the second day we decide we fancy a view other than the sea. A local recommended the Aracu Valley so we listen to his advice and go take a look. We arrive in the dark in the valley and quickly we find a nice resort with bungalows resembling African huts. The interior was designed to follow the round shape. Hard to explain but you have to see it for yourself :)

Our African Hut

After spending two days in the mountains we are back at the coast. We read in our travel app that, for Orissa, most tourists are attracted to Puri so we decide to take a look there. The town isn’t really pleasant, although there is a nice beach. There are also some nicer hotels to be found here which was perfect because Kitty wanted to treat Kevin to a nicer room than we are used to. After all it was Kevin's birthday. We check a few hotels but they are not much different than our usual stay, just more expensive. Eventually someone offers o show us a hotel which turns out to be a new one.

The last stretch to Kolkata takes us through a decent highway. Yet it’s already dark when we arrive in the busy city. The search for a hotel is even more difficult this time. The few hotels we do find are either fully booked or are star-hotels. After hours of searching, we are so tired that we almost decide to sleep in a star-hotel. But suddenly we seem to be where all the hotels are and almost every building in the street is a hotel! At one o'clock in the morning we are finally in bed…and we are being welcomed by a family of mice.

This video summarises our trip through West-India

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After leaving Kolkata we end up driving past endless rice fields. Someone told us that there is only one grain on each plant, and we want to check it out ourselves. During a break we pull out a rice plant to see if we can find a grain of rice, but it appears empty. In the evening we arrive in Baharampur. We decide to stop here because in Eastern India it’s not easy to find a place to sleep outside the larger cities. We spend the night in a really nice hotel this time, it was mainly the included breakfast and the parking space for motorbikes that persuaded us.

Today is our third attempt to reach Sikkim, but this time we are allowed to enter Sikkim and we also have a nice chat with the border guards. In Sikkim, people are more Asian, and are therefore friendlier and more helpful than the people in the rest of India. Many people wave at us from their houses and when they see we are confused about the road, they help us without having to ask for it.

After leaving Sikkim we drive towards Assam. This state is bordering Bhutan and we are wondering if we can get a glimpse of this magical country. We take a local road to Bhutan and as the border post comes closer, there’s no sign of any Indian border guards. We decide to enter Bhutan, surprising the border guards who have probably never seen a white person before, so they don't stop us right away. After a minute standing there flabbergasted, they begin to whistle us back. We turn around and drive out of Bhutan.

Upon entering Assam, it soon becomes clear that this is a beautiful state, with lots of green and lovely villages. The people are also really friendly here. During a break, children from the local school invite us into their school which we accept with great pleasure. We have a nice chat with the director and with a teacher. It’s a boarding school connected to the Don Bosco College. Especially for us, they sing a few songs, with a matching dance.

Don Bosco Bording School

From Shamir's house we leave for the state of Meghalaya, also called the 'Scotland of the East'. It’s really a nice ride, with very beautiful and green nature.

We leave at noon towards Guwahati. Here we have an appointment with the Myanmar group and also with Shamir and Avi.
When leaving the hotel in Shillong, we see it’s a bit drizzling. This would be the first time during our trip that we have to drive in the rain. Luckily it stopped after an hour or so and during our first stop we notice that the bike is barely wet.

At 9am we meet up with Christian and Francessca and we immediately depart towards Moreh, the border town with Myanmar.

Ready to Leave for Moreh

This is a summary of our trip through the northeastern states of India.

More info on www.wijzijnweg.org

When we wake up, it’s still unclear whether or not the border will open today. Christian, Francessca and we decide to go to the border at 10am. Also at the immigration office they can’t confirm that the border will be open today. There’s nothing left to do but to wait... We find it strange that we are the only one at the immigration office. After half an hour of waiting we finally hear that the border is open. We want to give our passports to receive our out-stamp. The officer asks us for our permission to go to Myanmar.

We stayed in India for more than three months, time enough to go all the way around. On the other hand, there are still many things that we haven’t seen which should be worth visiting. The problem with India is that it is so vast and the distances between places are so long and exhausting, but one thing is certain: India has some beautiful places to offer.
Traffic

The first day in Myanmar we have a short drive ahead of us to Kale. This is a very pleasant ride: the scenery is amazing and the people are incredibly friendly. We drive together with Ben and Christian.

The Bikers in Convoy