Tour Tidings '08: The Main Course

The adventurous resignation to the impossibility of returning safe and sound.
The Boro (of the Boro militant fame) for a driver cum guide.
The fight to the death for the front seat.
The vain attempt to figure out Assamese accented hindi by changing back all ‘z’s to ‘j’s and several other combinations.
The realization that it gets better with time, quite effortlessly.
The rendition of early morning Buddhist hymns.
The transportation to the world of the Lord Buddha.
The warm welcome smile.
The heated football match in the numbing cold.
The worried expression at kids playing hide and seek at the edges of fenceless houses on sloping mountains.
The scary feeling of dying of frostbite.
The childlike grin from feeling mature on being wished, “Good morning, madam” by the receptionist.
The sensation of awe, admiration and appreciation for Nature, at its best.
The view of three holy rivers demanding respect in their every drop.
The eco camp hut with Velcro for doors and windows.
The morning nature walk with hornbills for company.
The hundred beaming fireflies during a perfectly unplanned power-cut.
The waiter with a strangely emotionless, irritating mechanical yes for every question, clarification and suggestion.
The laughs at dad’s pathetic Hindi.
The proud grins on being complimented my better hindi-accented hindi.
The whole lot of memories to last a lifetime.