Day 10 – The Renault Kwids ticks off Tripura and Mizoram
The Renault Kwid on the detour
Quite a polarising day it was. Day ten of our journey was a grand mix of some of the most scenic routes to some of the severest hardships thanks to the pathetic state of roads leading up to Mizoram and thereafter to Tripura. We endured the night, stumbled upon some tuskers, chalked out alternate routes and, in the end, survived.
The need for the day was for us to begin really early. From the proposed starting time of 4.30am to the time we actually started off, 5am, was not bad considering our previous commitments were usually off by an hour or more. As we headed south for Mizoram, the Assamese roads flirted along the border with Bangladesh. It is simply baffling to understand the contrasting conditions of tarmac across Assam. Our first 150km were quite close to what one could expect in Europe. Corner after corner of pure driving bliss.
The roads that didn’t exist for the Renault Kwid
The road after the town of Silchar began the torturing routine that didn’t end at all. The roads were fit for an INRC event – a future Rally of Silchar per haps? Or even a Raid de North East perhaps. Our average speeds drastically dropped, managing a best of 25kmph. As soon as we entered Mizoram, you could sense the strong presence of the army in this small state. But there was innocence to the state. Young kids enjoyed their evening game of football, each one of them bearing a look of childish innocence. As if all was well.
As the sun descended over the hills, we still had a long drive ahead to Tripura. It got worse as the miles rolled on. The suspension units received a thorough beating as it just sped up its oscillation cycle life. And when finally we reached some brilliant stretch of tarmac, we had to come to a dead halt.
The Renault Kwid meets elephants
Why? Well because we had just crossed into Tripura and to welcome us was a small horde of elephants. We waited and hoped that they would clear our path. They didn’t. Not one to disturb the wildlife in their natural habitat, we sought to find another route to the hotel, which turned out to be more of the torture and pain. Better than a suicidal attempt to move a herd of pachyderms with out Kwids. We finally reached what was heaven in compared to the ordeal we had been through.
So now the only state left for us to conquer from the North East remains Meghalaya. The journey seems hardly taxing as the roads we will travel upon are off the better kind that we experienced yesterday Shillong will also play host to a much needed break for both man and machine.
