We leave Musa Jungle Retreat near the Manas National Park and start our 8 hour drive across the Assme Province of India.

Helmut checks the distance – and it’s not really that far – but I’m guessing the 8 hour estimate is based on time spent dodging Goats, Cows, Cars, Trucks, Scooters, and all the other obstacles that make driving on the left in India such an adventure!

And one I am NOT signing up for! I don’t mind driving on the left – but I really seriously don’t want to try using my left hand to switch gears. That just sounds like an accident waiting for somewhere to happen.

Some interesting things I’ve learned about driving is Assme. 1 – you must honk your horn when passing trucks, even small ones. It’s a safety concern – both for you and the truck! (Well – that explains why folks call India noisy). 2 – Officially trucks are not allowed on the roads between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. This is an interesting rule if you think about it – but it makes sense if you are trying to control traffic congestion. Unfortunately – even here in Assme – lots of truck drivers either don’t know the rules – or ignore them. Good idea though, right?

Our mini-bus for 15 picks us up – we’re 5 including Abi (our guide) and the driver. Lots of space to spread out – and plenty of room for luggage.

The trip starts with us back-tracking – we leave the area near the Manas National Park and drive back to Guwahati. But this time we bypass the area near the airport – and instead head straight for the almost vertical Mountains that surround Guwahati to the East.

The ‘highway’ winds it way up the first of two mountains – past stalls selling Pineapples – tons and tons of Pineapples. Apparently this region is famous for its Pineapples – and it’s Coconuts. Abi gets the driver to pull over – and for about 60 cents he buys us two fresh pineapples. Our plan is to hand them to our next host – and ask for a repeat of our favorite dinner at Musa Jungle Retreat – Smoked Chicken and Pineapple!

We carefully pull back on the ‘highway’. Silly me – I thought highways were limited access… not here in India they aren’t – at least not the older ones. Stalls line the edges – which means you are swerving around cars pulling back on the road after shopping – and the distraction of the stalls themselves. Chalk that up to Surprising India!

We have a quick lunch break – nothing to write home about – and then take a detour to do a water Safari! Yup – that’s right – we’re going boating – to see Dolphins.

These are fresh water Dolphins – with remarkably long noses. But we quickly discover that they don’t jump out of the water. This makes picture taking almost impossible. Sure they poke their heads out from time to time – but each ‘peek’ is only a couple of seconds – not enough time to get your camera rotated and focuses.

Oh well – it was great being on the water – The sunset images were stunning and it broke up the long long drive.

Back in the bus – we head further East to our first HomeStay – Kathoni HomeStay near Kaziranga National Park.

Kaziranga is known for it’s Rhino population, It’s Begal Tiger Population, it’s Elephant populaton and it’s numerous birds. We’re here to spot all the larger animals – and given Abi’s love of birds – I’m betting I’ll be spotting birds as well.

This long and thin National Park has three entrances – one West, one East and one Central. Our HomeStay is located just a bit outside the East Entrance – so we must drive the entire length of the Park to get there.

Nothing is done to keep animals inside the Parks in India – or at least not the ones we’ve visited so far – instead the emphasis is on keeping Poachers out – and counting the cars going in and out.

In recent years India has made huge headway in stopping Poachers – even stoping folks from flying with fake replicas for endangered Animals. As annoying as that was for Andrea (foreshadowing here – she’s going to lose a fake tiger claw), it does make sense. When even replicas are banned – you know they are going to get seriously tough on actually body parts.

So – why am I bringing this up now? Because Kaziranga has no borders – animals are free to roam in and out of the park at will – and to try to keep the crossings clear for the animals – they have restricted speeds. They also have ‘traffic calming’ sections – what we’d call sleeping policemen. Some are just rumble strips – some will break an axel.

Our already slow pace slows down even further. What would be a quick 45 minute drive at home – is stretched to 2 hours.

Finally we arrive at our Kathoni HomeStay – after a short drive on a very very bumpy road. It is truly stunning.

The owner lives in the ‘big house’, our palace is a custom built 2 floor – 2 bedroom lodging – each bedroom has a king bed and a glorious en-suite bathroom – with teak floor in the shower and a huge shaded window that lets in light. There’s even a balcony for each room – with lovely Teak Furniture.

There’s a small fridge – and enough ‘munchies’ to keep even me happy. And they not only supply single use plastic bottles of water – they have glass pitchers with clean water as well. And the fridge is stocked with non-alcoholic drinks of all kinds – mostly heading towards fruits.

The first floor is completely open on all 4 sides – and shelters two custom built Bamboo tables each sitting 4, and a large serving bar that hides power strips, storage space, and behind that a sink for quick wash-ups. There are chairs around a fire pit to one side – and protected parking with a private gate as well.

My room – exactly like the one that Helmut and Andrea are sharing – features lots of storage space, lots of hanging space, a lovely work space and two chairs for relaxing and admiring the stunning view.

I’m definitely home.

We quickly clean up and come downstairs to enjoy our first dinner. The chef and his 3 helpers have done a wonderful job of preparing Indian Cusine for us to enjoy. I’m happy with a simple selection of a bit of rice and some Chicken. Helmut and Andrea are keen to try everything! They even serve us Crème Caramel for dessert.

We have our own butler – who seems unbothered by the crazy hours we’ll be attempting to dine (Safari’s tend to start early, eat breakfast after the first safari, then a bit of a rest – lunch – then an afternoon safari – then dinner. And he’s there for all those times – plus he greets us when we return from the Safari’s with home made lime drinks. I feel like royalty!

Dinner done – we head up stairs to shower off the dust of our travel – and to get to bed. No surprise – it’s an early morning – again!

Signing off – The Soup Lady