You will fall in love….all
over again.
You will wake up in a
different place every day.
You are constantly moving
from one place to the other without lifting a finger.
You can laze laze laze all
you want.
You will visit some far-flung
and fascinating places.
You will be surprised by the
most unexpected natural elements.
And if you care you will
also steer a ship on the river.
Welcome to River-Cruising on
the Brahmaputra – the floating-hotel-ride of a lifetime!
Not to take away the element
of surprise from it but let me whet your appetite and warn you of what you
could be missing.
World’s largest river-island
– Majuli; pink playful Dolphins; Wildlife Safari in the Kaziranga National Park
and Manas National Park and tons more – all aboard a river-cruise-liner- ship!
Pick a month between October
and March, pack light and pack right with imperatives and prepare to set sail
aboard a ship for a few days with these pointers in mind:
Ø Set
your expectations right – know what to expect:
o
There would be 15-30 other passengers on the
Ship. You can expect foreigners too.
o
Most ships would be double deck with living
quarters below and a canopied open deck above with reclined beach chairs for
lazing around and for sightseeing. For photographing some great sights along
the way, you must park yourself here. It’s a great place to hang out at sunset
with a bottle of chill beer or wine or both!
o
The ship would stop at few prime places where
you’re expected to get off and explore the locale on foot or on elephant-back.
You would have few opportunities to shop. Keep cash handy.
o
As you would be going into thick forests of
the National Parks and even do shore-excursions of walk-throughs of villages,
you must carry mosquito and snake repellent, and carry two pairs of footwear –
one for the ship and the other for trekking on land in villages or in forests.
Umbrellas, caps, sunshades, sun block, first-aid kit are imperatives.
o
River waterways are calmer than ocean
cruisers. These river-ships being smaller than ocean-liners won’t have casinos
but most ships have in-house cultural programs. You have the liberty and choice
to do whatever you please. Bring board-games or a juicy book. Or just park
yourself on the deck and soak in the cruise, the ambience, the river and the
scenery and mingle with your co-cruisers.
o
Food menu would be limited to a pre-set list
of dishes. Obviously as Assam is tourism-centric, you can count on food being
good. Some cruise-lines offer barbeque dinners on islands.Most river-cruise-ship stock a good bar onboard.
o
There would be insightful information given
by the tour-guide atop the deck when he addresses the whole tour-group.
Ø Carry
a camera with wide angle lens and zoom lens on a tripod stand and remote
clicker to plant your camera firm and click pictures without having to look
through the eye-piece each time. Also find a way to connect the camera to your
laptop so you can see your images on the big screen right away as they’re being
clicked. Don’t forget your binoculars.
Ø Take
domestic travel insurance. What if you need it on the trip but you don’t have
it?
Ø Know
the terrain you’re about to tread:
o
Its river all the way people – with occasional
stopovers on land. So motion-sickness folks please excuse.
o
Explore the world’s largest river-island – Majuli
Island.
o
Thick riverine forests of Kaziranga National
Park and Manas National Park inhabited by wildlife such as the single-horned
Rhino, Tiger and Elephants.
o
Historically religious sites of Hajo and
Vishnath.
o
Tribal Village tourism of Assam.
o
Tea garden-treks.
Ø The
first rule of ‘CHOOSE A CRUISE’ – be aware of the whole itinerary from start to
finish with the details mentioned above so that you choose the cruise you want to be on and you don’t face any rude shocks
on the trip. The second rule – let go, relax, live for the day and live it up. You paid for it!
Pix courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk; Lonely Planet; brahmaputrarivercruises; elephantsafari.wordpress, GoHoto Blog.
