Today: 203km | Total: 388km
I didn’t get going overly early and rather enjoyed a long chat with Laura (about to go to sleep being 11h behind) and the comforts of my hotel room – god only knows when i might encounter such ‘luxury’ again (the hotel was only 3mth old).
Into Assam
First up i headed 90km in a broadly southerly direction towards the city of Dhubri in order to cross the Brahmaputra river by boat (or i could wait until 2026 for the completion India’s longest river bridge at 23km).
Bangladesh was now always on my right and half way i crossed into Assam. There was a noticeable increase in muslim population as i rode along. 90% of Bangladeshi’s are muslims (following a large concentration / migration as part of the Indian partition, which created the muslim states of East and West Pakistan – the former now being Bangladesh). At 35% it is also high for Assam itself – more than double than Indian average (15%).
India’s main rivers
India relies heavy on its rivers for everyday life and considers them holi in the Hindi religion. The three longest ones are Indus, Brahmaputra and Ganges though only the latter flows most of its length in India. To that extent, many other and shorter rivers like Godavari are actually more meaningful.
Crossing the Brahmaputra river at Dhubri
Your basic options are smaller (very flexible timing) or larger ferries (neither with great safety records). I opted for the larger one to get a somewhat decent space for the rather heavy moto.
Afternoon ferries to the opposite side leave between 2.30pm and 3pm. I went with the latter (to make sure i have to wait even longer 😂) to arrive at Fakirganj. Quite an experience with an estimated 100+ people on what felt like a DIY boat, a lot of motorbikes and all sorts of goods on board. Last ferry also meant it was packed.
It took us 2hours as we cruised on the might Brahmaputra – 2,900km long and very deep at 38m average & 120m max depth… WOW! Beautiful scenery accompanied us throughout. Truly breath-taking!
There is quite some order on the boat – Women sit below deck while men above. What happens when it rains i dont know. The boat also features india’s cleanest and least smelly toilets with direct deposit into the river should you use them.
I spent the two hours talking a lot to locals (well, i haven’t met a foreigner since Siliguri) in broken english since i command zero Bengali. We talked about my country, my girlfriend, my travels (we watched the Lhotse video together and a snowboarding one from chamonix) and took lots of selfies. I was even asked for an autograph – a first!
Once arrived all people left and the crew managed to get the bike safely back to land. Time to hit the road again.
Following state ‘highway’ 46 – muddy potholes with speed bumps
Once off the boat i just typed a distant location into google with the aim of stopping somewhere on the way. What a mistake …
First the map took me on highway 46 into ever more muddy roads until i needed another ferry. Enough ferried for today… So 180 degree turn and back. Same muddy roads, ponds… Worst i have been on with a moto. It all reminded me of the Sicily experience last year (Boys week: Sicily road trip) though i didnt get stuck this time.
The additional handicap was the onsetting darkness and lack of road markings or lighting. What i thought was hilarious were the potholes upgraded by speed bumps – i mean it was not exactly a highspeed track. What a poor road!
Eventually i made it to highway 12 and could race the only property i found on booking – Hotel Moon Moon in Goalpara. Very visible muslim population and the most bureaucratic check in so far (maybe focus your energy more on the bathroom next time!). Both the city and hotel are a complete waste of time – dirty, noisy, dodgy .. You name it.
Anyway, after 113km in 4,5hours since disembarking the ferryboat i had made it. Time to sleep. I am exhausted. But love the adventure and the insights into this part of India i gained today. Road tripping baby!