My Journey from Khonoma to Dzuleke, Nagaland
For some context, read: “Why I Left Khonoma Earlier Than Planned”.
I was up the entire night trying to drown the house dog’s cries in the background, focusing on my great escape. I had told my host I would be leaving the next morning for Dzuleke. “But how will you get there”, she asked me. I just gave her a shy smile and told her I’d figure something out.
With no buses or shared taxis running the short distance of 7.5 kilometres between the two Naga villages, I was left at the behest of hitching a ride- provided there was one making that journey. Google told me I could also walk the distance. Beware of bisons, someone had advised. I searched a bit on this more and eventually dropped a short line on my Instagram hoping that someone out there has made that walk, or could help me with some kind of transportation.
Now a lot of people talk ill of social media, and the many vices that come with it. While I cannot defend any of those arguments- for they all stand valid, for me the journey of social media has been all but fulfilling. Time and again, my little online community has come to my rescue with travel tips, suggestions and encouragement. And as suspected, this time was no different. A few messages to and fro with a few people later, I was connected with a person who had in fact made this walk. He gave me a fair idea of the route sitting thousands of miles away, and another kind soul came to my rescue with a local man’s contact who lived in Dzuleke. “Vizo will be of help for sure”, they assured me and in the middle of the night, I found myself taking chances and calling the number, only to find it in out of network coverage. But the simple reassurance of a local man’s contact and an idea of the short walk helped me soothe my nerves and soon I was drifting off to sleep, hopeful that tomorrow will be better.
Tomorrow was better, indeed. I woke up at the break of light and tried calling Vizo again, to no avail. I packed my bags, took a shower, filled my bottle of water and got ready to start walking not before calling Vizo one last time. And it went through! I explained my situation to him and he gave me the contact of another man who leads Nagaland tour packages and was coming to Dzuleke from Khonoma that very morning with his group. “But all homestays are overbooked in Dzuleke”, Vizo informed me. “We’ll cross that bridge when we reach it”, I told him. He chuckled and hung up. Another quick call to Ratan from Experience Destination later, I was walking to the village centre of Khonoma to grab breakfast and await my ride to Dzuleke.
What followed was a beautiful drive through the winding Naga Hills on a bright sunny winter morning with the likes of Coldplay, Pink Floyd and A R Rahman running in the background and forging new friendships in a strange place with strange people. That was one of the most memorable parts from my 3 weeks in Nagaland. How a disastrous stay in Khonoma turned into a blissful experience in Dzuleke was proof how tomorrow is always a new day.
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Avantika
A twenty-something solo adventurer, Avantika finds comfort in learning about various cultures, its people and listening to age-old folk tales. When not on the road, she can be found cuddled up with her dog in her room, with a book in her hand.
22 Comments
Anonymous
Loved your faith in Almighty…..be like that always …….Yes Tomorrow will always better my darling ?
Avantika
🙂
Tanzina Sultana
Loved your blog Avantika <3
Avantika
Thank you for reading, Tanzina!
Shishira & Navneeth
Wow – that experience was definitely something else! Really enjoyed this tale Avantika. Having faith works wonders – tomorrow is always a new day indeed. 🙂
Avantika
Glad you enjoyed this piece! Thanks for reading 🙂
Nidhi Gupta
Hey Avantika… love your style of storytelling – simple yet telling. And I agree the social media does have advantages too
The Exploring Eyes
Experiences like this matures us a lot as a traveller . Your story is truly a learning and you have articulated it quite well. And it is very true that having faith works.
Avantika
Definitely. It’s the tough experiences that make us seasoned travellers!
Diana Samuals
That is why we love travelling.. All such experiences in one’s journey makes the trip all the more memorable and also to believe that humankind still exists.
Avantika
Indeed, travel is a good reminder of the kindness of humanity!
nishu
loving your version of North east. I feel you are showing true reflection through your words and what exactly you felt about that place. A nicely articulated article indeed.
Avantika
Thanks for your kind words, Nishu! Glad you liked it 🙂
Amrita
It was good to know that your experience in Dzuleke was better than that in Khonoma. Well, social media might have its ills, but it is also quite helpful at times. I have been helped so many times during my travel and journeys by my “online” friends! Nice read, Avantika. I am now itching to visit Nagaland.
Avantika
Definitely, Amrita! There’s been numerous instances for me when my online community has been a much better support than “real” friends. Thanks for reading, glad you could resonate 🙂
Afreen Ansari
Loved the over all journey and the detailed explanation of the whole experience. Lovely blog
DiaryOfAnInsaneWriter
Loved your story-telling style. Keep writing and sharing your stories with us. All the best!
Raksha Nagaraj
See having these experiences turn you into a great story teller. I have never been to Nagaland and I know it is a very interesting place to go to. Hopefully someday I travel to Nagaland and have my own stories to tell.
Lancelot Quadras
What a story. I’m glad you came out of that place. God knows I would not be able to sleep there! Anyway, you’ve got one amazing story to share!
Vidur
I was searching for info about khonoma and came across your blog. Helped me a lot with the info you have penned down.
Poulami
I have been planning a trip to Nagaland and would like a stay in Khonoma and Dzuleke a night each. Can you please suggest the names of the places you stayed in both the places? Or do you have to wait to be assigned families to stay with?
Deepankar B
Liked your Writing specially the way you express freely “left as stranger, entered as a friend”