Mizoram – First trip to North East
Having read a lot about different places of North East, I realized that one long trip (like most of them go on) won’t do justice to this uncharted terrain, I wanted to visit each state – one by one & cover as much as possible.
Around the same time that I was getting a clear idea on the above thought, a good travel friend had started planning for his 2nd drive to North East. (They were initially planning to drive to GJ-RJ, but upon seeing few pictures of Saiha, it tempted them to go back to NE)
As weeks passed, the initial itinerary to just visit Aizawl and Saiha grew big. Along with Hornbill Festival added, it was going to be a 17+ days drive ex-Chennai and solid 6-7 days in Mizoram. While I was doing the usual tasks of tinkering the schedule and connecting the dots, I was asked, “Why don’t you join this time, at-least for Mizoram part?”.
The timing of the question was perfect and it perfectly fit my idea of a North East trip, although I took over a month to confirm. By the first week of October, 5 days leave was approved and flights were booked. (Had I decided a bit earlier, the round trip flight tickets would’ve been much cheaper than the 10K I had to pay)
So, I was going on my first trip to North East between Nov 28th & Dec 4th – 2 flying days and about 1000kms drive in Mizoram spanning 5 days.
Most of the free time in November was spent reading various things about Mizoram – but there was hardly any information about road conditions, places, stays – beyond Aizawl & Rih Dil. That is when I decided I would return to writing blogs after 7 years.
This is what my week looked like :
Tue, Nov 28th : (9W667) [0650] Bangalore – [0920] Calcutta | (9W615) [1015] Calcutta – [1130] Aizawl (Rest of the day was spent exploring the streets of Aizawl by foot)
Wed, Nov 29th : Aizawl – Selling – Keifang – Khazawl – Champhai (190 kms)
Thu, Nov 30th : Champhai – Rih Dil – Champhai – Khazawl – Biate – Lungdar – Keitum – Serchhip – Thenzawl (252 kms)
Fri, Dec 1st : Thenzawl – Vantawng Falls – Lunglei – Lawngtlai – Zero Point – Saiha (230kms)
Sat, Dec 2nd : Saiha – Kawlchaw – River Kaladan – Lawngtlai – Lunglei (175 kms)
Sun, Dec 3rd : Lunglei – Thenzawl – Sialsuk – Aizawl (165 kms) (Rest of the day was spent exploring the streets of Aizawl by foot)
Mon, Dec 4th : (9W624) [1200] Aizawl – [1315]Calcutta[1355] – [1655] Bombay | (9W483) [1815] Bombay – [1950] Bangalore
And this is what we saw & experienced :
Those Google Satellite Imagery witnessed in real
Bamboo, Bamboo, everywhere!
Different landscapes of Aizawl at different times. 4pm Sunset each day was too beautiful.
We interacted with the locals. Although none of them knew Hindi and only a few knew English,
sign language worked all through. 
Except for Aizawl City, every place had only Tourist Lodges.
They were decently maintained and pretty good.
In Aizawl, we tried the Mizo Traditional Food before venturing into rest of Mizoram
When I arrived back in Aizawl on a Sunday after the 5 day drive, the whole town was shut
and all I found was Kimbap in a small shop
On the driving days, we hardly ate lunch. Dinner was a standard spread every night,
it was Rice, Dal, Curry (Veg & Non Veg)
On the only day where we had Lunch during the 5 day drive, I ate Chowmein. 
The most important aspect of the trip was the Drive into foreign land of Myanmar
…to a magical place called Rih Dil
Balcony view of Rih Dil
The tallest waterfalls of Mizoram – Vantawng was nothing short of spectacular!
We ventured into jungles – in search of streams
The calm and serene Kaladan River amazed us
…hence we spent quality 2 hours by the side of it
Landscapes were beautiful throughout, not a dull moment
although the road condition didn’t treat us well all the time..
not always though… roads were pretty good at some stretches
Old habits die hard, however far you go!
The itch to find the road not taken…
We were above the clouds most of the time
Sunrise at Saiha was breathtakingly magnificent!
Some days ended late @ 6pm – it was pitch dark by 5, like this
The state of tourism in Mizoram is dilapidated – just like the pic below – except
for the beautiful Tourist Lodges
But the country has a lot to learn from Aizawl – strict enforcement of rules,
no parking on Footpath, no honking, no overtaking!
Was a blissful sight
Mizos are hospitable
Overall, a satisfying trip. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without Mohan sir, his wife and Hari.
Will I go back to Mizoram? Definitely yes, there is lot more to see and explore, people there are very nice too.
..more posts coming soon
