The Holiday Inn had internationally priced beer, but the food was very good indeed. I limited myself to only two rounds of the buffet main course, but could hardly move afterwards.
Breakfast was the same with fresh papaya and curious spicy dishes that had to be tried.
There was even spicy food for breakfast on the Guwaharti flight, with a couple of hand wrapped tiny tangy balls, that were probably breath fresheners rather than sweets.
And our luggage arrived and we started looking for Lovely. Wil and Michael stopped me heading the wrong way out of the airport and we came across a stand with a big sign for mobile phones. The guys behind the desk were probably maintenance staff taking a break because they met our enquiries for SIM cards with bemused amusement. We started looking for Lovely, who organises the logistics for the adventures and we thought he would drive us to the Brahmaputra Jungle Resort for our first night. No Lovely so we stood bemused ourselves outside the airport until Michael spotted a tiny guy, hemmed in by a collage of signs and greeters. Just visible were our names in tiny letters.
He got an old jeep like cruiser and we loaded our luggage. As we loaded ourselves he started talking about a different taxi for three. We thought he was going to get three other people, since we had no idea how many others would be on this adventure.
But no, we were driven 20 metres to a smaller white car with air conditioning. One car for the luggage and one for the passengers. Our new driver spoke no English and us no Hindi, so I took a photo of the luggage vehicle to get the licence plate, just in case we all got separated for one reason or another. We didn't we leapfrogged for the hour long journey out of the rapidly growing city of Guwaharti. Noticing the expansion Will thought a good business idea would plant hire and with five minutes we passed three companies doing that good business.
It was interesting being back in the bustle of Indian traffic. The driver was intent on showing how fast he could go in the few stretches not jammed packed, but he stopped too close to the vehicle in front in time to give himself any room for manoeuvre, so we watched the other lanes and the luggage vehicle glide past us each time. He did give us a refresher lesson on using the horn in India. In traffic it should be constant. Just to make sure other people know you exist.
It seemed a quick journey as we turned of the main road and into the jungle. Well it was more scrub and farmland than jungle, but it was green and the people normally smiling. The drive to the Brahmaputra Jungle Resort had a sign 'Turn off A/C. Drive in first gear'. It was a steep climb. We could only hope it wouldn't rain for our first experience with the new Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes that Alex had just got. We were going to be the first to ride them.
First gear got us to the parking area where the team were preparing the brand new Royal Engield Himalaya bikes. They looked really good, but first there was meeting friends of leg standing. Alex and Vidhya seemed very happy to see us. Abhi, Ashraf and Lovely were working on the bikes. Doc was doc-ing. Lots of smiles all round and we got to admire the bikes.
Single cylinder (apparently) and should not be compared to the Bullet as they are completely different. But everyone will compare them to the Bullet anyway.
Our taxi was summoned to take us the further 50 metres to the reception where he managed to stop in the small parking area without hitting the elephant. That was a bit surprising. Well being greeted by the elephant more than the stopping.
We also met Lewis, from Oz, who is also on the Adventure. He has done lots of trips with different tour companies, but this is his first time with Nomadic Knights, poor guy.
As soon as the bags were taken to the rooms we headed for a late lunch and some beer, well beer and some late lunch. Which was delicious.
Back to the rooms to unpack some more and hand out presents. Whisky for Alex, chocolate for Vidhya, since we'd failed to find jelly beans at any of the airports.
Will had been handed a hospital pass as Alex organised various stuff to be delivered to him in the UK, in the hope he would bring it on the trip. The keys rings were OK, but 13kg of ratchet straps were too much and Will had left them in the UK.
Exhausted we grabbed a siesta in preparation for the usual evening of a beer, or two, too much food and whisky. Alex was so happy to open the whiskey he was only mildly rude about the name of Will's offering, a single malt blend called Monkey Shoulder.
The bottle did not survive the night. Lots of jokes and stories, old and new. A new topic was the ratchet straps, that would be brought up steadily over the next few days. Trust, friendship and ratchet straps. Getting ready for a gentle first day. After lots of travelling and failing to stream the England Ireland rugby match we went to bed. Even then I tried to follow the score from the BBC website, but the Internet was too weak so I went to sleep.
I was not looking forward to taking a new bike down the First Gear Only drive, but we would have to see.
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