In continuation of Around the North-East India in 30 days... Part-4/6
2 days in Tripura made me a little homesick. Delhi's heat is something I have been enjoying all my life, but Tripura's was at another level those days. Happily, I started my journey for the next state, i.e. Mizoram.
Early morning train from Agartala to Silchar was not at all boring. People sitting around kept on talking about different stuff - cities, families and whatnot.
After reaching Silchar, the first thing I did was reserve a seat in the shared cab for Aizawl and it was available for the next day after midday. As it is a hilly area, cabs don't run after 2/3pm on that route. So, I booked a room to spend the night and spent that evening roaming locally in Silchar market.
Next day, the shared cab started for Aizawl at ~2pm. I got the last seat but it was a window seat, so it was good enough for me to enjoy that bumpy ride. There were 8 people including the driver. Only 2 females including me were there in the car but she was going to Aizawl last stop as well, so no worries on any front. We stopped only once for supper at about 7pm at a local restaurant. Options were quite limited but the meal was scrumptious. The ride was great and we were stopped once for ID check. After the meal, the driver drove the cab like a stuntman as he was running a little behind the schedule and we got worried that we might fall off the cliff.
We reached Aizawl by ~11:30pm. The airbnb I booked was ~10 mins walk away from that stop but I couldn't convince myself to walk down during that time. 2 brothers from airbnb came to pick me up and told me not to ever worry in Aizwal at all. They also said I could simply shout if anyone ever does anything and people of Aizawl would surely help. One can roam there at any time and nobody will bother him/her. I realized it during my stay.
Next morning, I walked down from the airbnb to downtown market to get the Aizawl City View. After strolling for a while, I started for Solomon's Temple. There is no direct connectivity, so I had to change buses to reach the destination. It is not very far from the main city and is a very peaceful place. It was empty and I just saw one family in the cafeteria who were probably done with the visit.
I went back to the city and had lunch in a cafe. Sandwiches and coffee were scrumptious and I got ready for the next place.
No direct bus goes to Khawhpawp Waterfalls from the local market, so I hailed a taxi for the return journey. Cab will drop you at a point from which you would have to walk down for 5 mins. School/college students were enjoying there.
After coming back, I roamed in and around the downtown and explored another cafe. Mizoram is full of cafes offering sandwiches, coffee, tea, baked goods, etc. One must try the delicious food they have to offer.
I enquired a few cab drivers about going to Reiek Tlang the next day and booked a cab for the same. Prices that they quoted were similar.
Reiek Tlang is a short hike which can be completed in ~3hrs. It is not at all a tiring hike. Walk slowly and enjoy views throughout the hike. At the top, you can see neighboring states such as Manipur and Tripura.
We started at ~8am the next day and reached the starting point for the hike by ~9:30am. Taxi driver said that it had been a while that he hiked, so he joined me. It can be done solo as the trail is very clear. We covered the hike in ~2.5hrs - up, stay and down. He was agile and kept on motivating me throughout. We stayed there for ~15mins and came back.
He dropped me off in downtown. I had food and roamed around and reserved a spot in shared cab for the next day to go back to Silchar.
Other places in Mizoram require 2 days of travel each - one day to reach the destination and the second day to come back. As these are hilly areas, all taxi drivers said the same thing that it is quite difficult to cover other areas in one day. I was not in the mood to spend money or time, so I decided to mark this state as a touch and go experience.
The next journey was supposed to be the last excruciating journey of the trip, so I simply spent the remaining part of the day strolling.
Few points:
1. Airbnbs are better than hotels here. There are so beautiful airbnbs that you would like to extend your stay.
2. Mizoram is very safe. Women are treated with respect.
3. There are many places which can't be covered in single day. Taxi drivers would suggest you to make a return journey to such places in 2 days given that it is a hilly area. It is difficult to cover such places in one day by bus/shared taxis as well.
4. There are many great options for food from local joints to cozy cafes.
5. I think that solo travel in Mizoram can be expensive and/or time taking.
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