My World of Food and Travel

Part 1 here We had decided against going for the elephant safari the next morning. One had to traverse around 40 kms from Agoratoli to Baguri range to embark on the safari. It was too cold to wake up at 4.30 am to be able to take the elephant safari which started at 5.00 am, although there were subsequent trips at 6.00 am and 7.00 am. Mainly, we worried that the baby might throw tantrums atop an elephant. We were not sure how we could handle the situation then! So, the next morning we went on another Jeep safari at 8.00 am. Since the forest office was located just opposite the resort, not much time was wasted in completing the safari formalities. This time there were four more vehicles with us, comprising the other tourists. I wondered if that was a good idea, as not all of us may be equally enthusiastic about birds and animals.    Sohola Beel The Jeep took the same route as in the previous trip and our first stop was Sohola Beel. Here we caught si...

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD! I had first visited Kaziranga National Park as a child way back in the mid-80s. At that time, we used to live in Manas Wildlife Sanctuary. For us sisters, Kaziranga was a rival jungle. We were the Manas girls -nothing could beat Manas. Perhaps this attitude of ours prevented us from enjoying the beauty of Kaziranga and its memories remain vague and uneventful. With time and age, I have come to appreciate every single vista of greenery, our present selves being trapped in concrete jungles.  Hence, when the time came for the husband and me to visit our respective home towns in Assam, we decided to grab the opportunity and stay a night in Kaziranga, breaking the tedious 500 km journey from Guwahati to Tinsukia via NH-37. For the record, Kaziranga is a World Heritage Site and hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses, attracting hordes of tourists every year. Still, we had not expected the scale of commercialism that to...

And so my holidays are over and I am back. I can’t believe how those two weeks ended; everything seems to have moved super fast. All I have right now are my memories, some of them photographed. Before I turn sentimental and weepy, let me share with you some of the food I had while in Assam. These are just a fragment of the food I gorged on during those two weeks. It was food, food and more food all the way, especially since we were visiting Assam during Bhogali Bihu , our harvest festival. I am sure we must have put on at least 10 kgs on this visit alone! But I don’t mind the weight considering the fact that we won’t be able to taste those dishes again for a long time, till our next visit. And now here comes a photo-chronicle of my food journey in Assam! The Bihu Thali Let’s start with what my eldest jethai (aunt) prepared for us on the morning of Bhogali Bihu. On the plate: xandoh (ground roasted rice of the sticky variety), sira (flattened rice), akhoi (puffed...