Greetings and salutations from Dimapur, Nagaland in northeastern India! Wonderful to have you return for another week of unexpected adventures, amazing people and aligning my expectations with reality!
I was anticipating this week to a time of changing travel and accommodation expectations as I started my three weeks in Nagaland. I'm also cognizant of the gap between my intellectual awareness and on the ground experience. I'll need to quickly adjust my comfort zone to fully appreciate the people, the scenic beauty and opportunities my new surroundings offer me. All this to say is that I'm feeling vulnerable with/I need more experience with specific travel plans like negotiating taxi rides without feeling taken advantage of.
As I've quickly discovered first-hand, transportation within and between communities is more about my personal resourcefulness in finding the appropriate bus or taxi service. Using online booking services, even for accommodations, became more challenging. For example, two different booking platforms (Goibibo and MakeMyTrip) are much more common. The downside to these two platforms is their Trust Pilot ratings are 1.3 stars (out of 5 stars). I'm resorting to contacting accommodations directly for reservations.
Kind and thoughtful people are equally found in Dimapur as I've learned early in my stay. The woman at the local bakery helped me find a great restaurant close by to sample local cuisine. There was the young man who helped me (described below) find my way. There are soldiers who were curious about my plans and my safety. The hospital staff were exceptional given I had a rash as compared to the gravity of other patients' medical issues. The hotel staff have been equally kind, engaging and thoughtful.
English is a commonly spoken language throughout my limited Indian travels to date. Most signs in Dimapur are in English. Everyone I have spoken with so far has some understanding of English.
The weather continued to be mostly agreeable throughout the week. Warm, sunny and humid with the occasional rain shower which means limited small talk about the weather.
May the universe bring endless blessings and moments of magic 🦄 to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏
Travel Administration
This week's travel tip is all about communicating what you are expected to confirm mutual understanding. I skipped a step when I was arranging my Bengaluru airport pick-up so I had an unexpected airport adventure which resolved the universe chose to resolve quickly on my behalf.
Travel Maps
Loads of travel in the past week. The week included:
- Sunday - second boat excursion
- Wednesday - return 30 minute speedboat trip to Valena International Airport along with two hour flight to Bangalore, India
- Friday - Flight to Dimapur through Kolkata (Calcutta)
Maldives: April 6 - April 9, 2025
Inter Country Travel: Male to Bengaluru/Bangalore Flight (April 9, 2025)
India: April 9 to April 12, 2025
Gulhi
Boat Excursion #2
Thanks to sufficient interest in a boat excursion, Emily scheduled a trip to include swimming with dolphins and exploring an uninhabited island. Unfortunately, the dolphins failed to get the memo about our trip so we missed out on our chance to swim with them. Mother Nature can be like that! What we did get is a wonderful time on the sea, claiming a small sandbar for ourselves, and a second opportunity to swim with turtles.
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Our 2nd excursion took us to the
Atoll's most southern point (looks
like small pincers on the map above) |
An Island Of Our Own
Our first stop, after being shunned by the dolphins, was this sandbar/island. What a little paradise! Apparently people rarely get the chance to have a location like this to themselves. Our lucky day, in this regard. Thanks to Simon and his trusty drone, we have this magnificent aerial views of our place in the sand and sea. Simon generously volunteered to take individual videos for each of us to remember our visit. Perfect day!
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| Paradise?! Crystal clear blue water! |
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Making sand angels in Maldives
More fun than snow angels, n'est pas? |
Exploring An Uninhabited Island
Our next stop was an uninhabited island with vegetation, abandoned huts, coconut trees, and sandy beaches. The private property sign did catch our attention momentarily. I mean, who is going to know, right? Well, someone did notice as a larger drone suddenly appeared overhead. We took the cue from the drone's appearance, boarded our boat and skedaddled from our trespassing ways. The drone tracked us until we were well on our way from the island. All quite intimidating.
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| Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs... |
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| Imagine yourself walking on this beach! |
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Another beautiful Maldivian beach on a sunny
day |
Snorkeling with Turtles - Revisited
Our last stop was snorkeling with the turtles at Turtle Head. We were blessed with seeing four different turtles this time and having the area to ourselves for at least 30 minutes. I was able to swim along with a turtle for an extended period. I'm very happy with my new found flexibility to snorkel. Guess I'll need to revisit all the snorkeling destinations in the world that I previously visited.😉
Island Building - Gulhi
I hope you are good with indulging the little boy in with this next short section on island building. I've always had a fascination with all things construction. I can spend hours watching machinery move about creating different spaces.
I had the gift of Robbe's expertise on Monday to explain the intricacies of building islands by dredging happening on Gulhi Island. I'm grateful he was able to take the time given the number of priority items he was juggling simultaneously. As Robbe explained, the mechanics of a dredging operation is fairly basic. You 'hover' sand into a ship from one location, sail the ship to the build location and pump the sand into the build location. You then can layer on the complexity of keeping the sand/water mixture you are pumping at the right viscosity, ensure the mixture is being pumped into the right location to maximize the operation, having the right equipment on hand, and all the ongoing monitoring for a smooth operations. Imagine the grief if the sand builds up in the pipe you are using to move the sand mixture.
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| Project will double the size of Gulhi |
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| Project started in 2023 - some hiccups, I guess |
First Visit - Monday
Robbe and I visited the site on Monday. Robbe was masterful in breaking down the various parts of the dredging operation to help me understand both the mechanics and the risks at each stage of the operation. Like I say, this stuff captures my imagination and interest. The Belgian university that Robbe took his civil engineering degree offered a dredging course. Oh, the things I learn.
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| Black border is the island's new shore |
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| Sand mixture pumped |
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| Ship where sand is being pumped from |
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| Plan is to replace the water with sand |
Tuesday - Visit 2
I just had to revisit the site on Tuesday to see what progress had been made. I would have visited on Wednesday, however the mid-morning rain storm influenced my plans.
New Friends
I met Matias and Amelie on the beach somewhat by accident. I had found a small piece of glass on my beach walk and was heading to the area where you can buy drinks in search of a trash bin. What started as a casual greeting transformed into the most extraordinary conversation. Everyone I meet distinguishes themselves by their uniqueness. The uniqueness in this situation was Matias' comment about the sense of spirituality that I seemed to have. Matias would be sensing this vibe if he was coming from a similar perspective as I was. I hope I'm remembering his comment correctly. There's absolute truth in his insightful observation. I'm unable to recall when someone had picked up on this side of me. I'm on a quest to dispense with as many barriers and boundaries I can in order to experience life more fully. Reducing my personal belongings is a simple example of minimizing a barrier. I love to be by the sea, with an open horizon, trying so hard to be one with the universe. An aspirational objective that is work in progress.
Back to Matias and Amelie who are on a comparable life journey as I am. They've been traveling for the last eight years combining their work with travel. Matias teaches tennis working for short periods of time. Amelie is in the marketing business with a clientele she can support working remotely. The perfect situation in my mind. They met in Portugal with Matias inviting Amelie to join him in Hong Kong, where he was working at the time, for a couple weeks and the rest is now part of their growing personal story. I also appreciate their kindness with me as I initially struggled with their respective names for some reason. When we parted company I had their names as Matt and Emily to keep it simple for me. Yes, I do have some interesting struggles in life. The universe intervened and Amelie guided me to their correct names.
Hopefully, the above words somehow capture the energy and connectivity I experienced in this conversation. We were in violent agreement about living in the moment, like the conversation we were sharing at that moment, as that is all we truly have. We've exchanged contact information along with me sharing the link to this blog. Curious how the universe will unfold with these two new valued co-creators in my personal story.
On My Way to Airport
On Wednesday afternoon, it was time to bid a fond farewell to Emily and Gulhi Island. I was blessed that Emily was available to say goodbye and send me on my way. Thank you Emily!
A curiosity about the Valana International Airport is their use of buses to transport all passengers between the terminal and the planes. I remember my surprise in seeing the buses given the terminal building has multiple modern gangways. It was when I took a closer look that I noticed all the gangways are blocked off - airport transformation in progress. Note, if you are traveling through this airpot, boarding times start about 30 minutes earlier than most airports. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo.
I should mention I'm grateful for the small gift I received at the airport duty free shop. I was trying to spend my last small amount of local currency (MVR) in purchasing two dark chocolate bars. I was 10 MVR (about $1) short of the purchase amount. After a brief discussion with a fellow cashier, the woman serving me gave me the bars without making up the difference. What a wonderful positive gesture I was afforded as a lasting memory of the Maldives!
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| Speedboat interior - three passengers |
I know this city as India's technology hub which supported international call centres from when I was consulting with CIBC in the mid-2000s. The city is India's fourth largest city, by population, with about 14.4 million people - 1. Delhi (34.7 million), 2. Mumbai (22.1 M), 3. Kolkata (15.8 M), 5. Chennai (12.3 M). As of 2021, India had 70 cities with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. Yikes, that is a lot of people.
Aerial View
Airport - Terminal 2
My arrival in Bengaluru Airport's Terminal 2 had a few unexpected twists. The terminal is quite spectacular with its size, spaciousness, design and sparkling newness. Quite the experience as I walked through to the baggage carousel. Suitcase arrived intact - the luggage gods continue to shine on me.
Now for the twists. When I arranged the airport pickup, I was expecting a driver, holding a sign with my name, to be waiting near the baggage area exit. I had also provided my photo to the hotel so the driver could easily recognize me. No one in sight. No worries. I have the driver's contact info so all I need to do is connect to wifi and call him. I had read a voucher from a kiosk was required to connect to the wifi. I readily found an info desk to ask for directions. The woman shared that she had the vouchers so she could connect me. After trying several voucher numbers that were expired, my chances to connect with wifi were rapidly disappearing. The woman, in an act of kindness, created a hotspot on her phone so I could access WhatsApp. What I discovered, once connecting with WhatsApp, is that my driver was planning to pick me up at a different location, unbeknownst to me. After about 30 minutes of minor confusion and frustration, I was on my way to the hotel. While I sorting through my driver situation, I also discovered I was unable to use the airport ATM to withdraw cash. Something more to resolve the following day.
The last twist is that I was unable to buy a SIM card at the airport as companies stopped selling SIM cards at the airport due to a lack of demand. This twist was a big deal. Airports are the best place in India for a foreigner to get a SIM card as they expedite the registration process and activate your card within a couple hours, perhaps faster. I was now bracing myself to spend the following day getting the card. The idea of traveling in India, especially Nagaland, on wifi was scary!
Spektrum Hotel Experience
It was dark by the time I started the 15 minute ride to my hotel. My anxiety quickly elevated when the driver left the main road and started driving down a dirt road (photos below). He made a left hand turn down an even bumpier road. A modern hotel suddenly appeared on my left; anxiety suddenly dissipated.
I'm convinced that Sasi, the hotel operations manager, was an agent sent by the universe to assist me, in spite of the airport pickup confusion. An important gift Sasi provided was suggesting that I hire a car and driver for the one day Bengaluru tour I wanted to take. He made the recommendation when I had shared that I was planning to take one day tour offered by the government. The deal included 80 km/8 hours for 2200 INR ($36 CDN$26 USD/23 Euro); excess kms were 15 INR/km. With a car and driver, I now had flexibility to get a SIM card and cash the following day. I provided a series of tourist destinations the same evening to share with the driver.
When I shared the airport pickup confusion, Sasi discounted the pick up cost as well as offered a free ride to the airport on Friday for my flight to Dimapur. He also ensured I had a box breakfast to take with me as I needed to leave the hotel at 3 am on Friday morning for my 5 am flight.
An aside. Please have a close look at the address on the business card below. Now try to imagine how you would share this address with someone outside SE Asia if you wanted to have something shipped to you. I can guarantee the spaces allocated for addresses in North America are unable to capture all this information.
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| Hotel is located, out of sight, on right |
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| Entrance off main road leading to hotel |
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| A little further down the road |
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| Man of the day |
My city visit started with a return visit to the airport to buy a SIM card and get cash. My idea was to visit Terminal 1 for the card since they were unavailable at Terminal 2. I also did research on which Indian Bank ATMs I could use to withdraw cash so I was better prepared. I was wrong about Terminal 1 having SIM cards; my driver (Ramesh) and I were told that the cards were sold in Terminal 2. Starting to feel like going in a circle.
After a couple false starts at Terminal 2, we were told by an info agent that cards were sold inside the arrivals area in Terminal 2. That's a new problem to solve as only passengers are allowed in that area. Ramesh approached a couple people wearing 'How Can I Help You?' polo shirts to share our tale of woe. The universe had brought us to an angel in one of these two people. My newest BFF advised that there was this guy in the arrivals area who sold Airtel SIM cards. Our angel had me follow her to the Arrivals exit where she connected with a colleague in the Arrivals area. Then, as if by magic, the SIM card guy (Karthick) showed up. In a matter of minutes, while sitting in Terminal 2's common area, I had my Indian Airtel SIM card for the next 28 days with a daily data allowance of 1.5 GB, unlimited calls within India and 100 SMS. Karthick ensured my phone was working before I left as well as sharing his phone number should I have problems. The price for phone and data freedom - 1200 INR ($19 CDN/$14 USD/12 Euro).
With my new SIM card and cash, I was ready to start my Bengaluru day tour!
'Bangalore Palace is a regal architectural masterpiece modelled on the Windsor Castle in England. It has 34 bedrooms, a swimming pool, a palace museum, and an amusement park inside the complex. Taking photos are prohibited inside the palace.'
'Vidhana Soudha is a granite structure built by Sri K. Hanumanthaiya in 1956, symbolizing the legislative sovereignty of the people. It has a central dome, twelve columns, and a seating capacity of 268 and 88 members for the Assembly and Council chambers.'
April 10 was a public holiday which meant some public places were closed or were very busy (like Vidhana Soudha).
'The Tipu's Fort which is a prominent landmark of the city of Bangalore depicts intricate Islamic style architect. The palace was built by Tipu Sultan and he named it as "Rash e Zannat" meaning "Envy of Heavens". The sultan used the palace as a summer retreat and was built completely of teak wood.'
Lunch
Ramesh introduced to this restaurant in Bengaluru. Great food at a reasonable price, lots of positive energy and very friendly people.
ISKCON - Hare Krishna
For some mistaken reason, I thought this Hare Krishna Temple, which is on both sides of the road, was where this religious group started. I learned, from the website I'm sharing in the section title, the group started in New York City. Go figure. The temples are quite beautiful and imposing.
Dinner
The local McDonalds was a ten minute walk from my hotel so my curiosity got the better of me. Yes, the french fries in Bengaluru taste like everywhere else in the world. Kudos to the company for delivering on a consistent global french fry experience! I had planned to have a mango type ice cream, however, I ended up with a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. I definitely have to work on my communications skills!
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| Comfort food |
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Bengaluru is known as a high tech city. Was
ironic these ordering stations were offline. |
Bengaluru Terminal 1
While somewhat an older building than Terminal 2, Terminal 1 was equally impressive. The check-in was meant to be self-service which I can be compliant with to some extent. I've successfully eluded every airline's desire to have me tag my luggage. I was equally successful at the Indigo Airline counter in Terminal 1. The counter attendant kindly affixed the tag and sent me on my way.
Airport security in India is managed by the military. Their thoroughness with scanning your carry-on luggage ranks up there with the Chinese. The Indians require you to remove everything remotely electronic (including adapters, batteries, and power cords) from your carry-on to be scanned separately. Also remove your umbrella. This security check uncovered a small penknife I was carrying with my flashlights. The Shanghai Airport security person had missed this in her search as did every scan I've been through since the end of last October! The security check I needed to go through for my domestic transfer in Kolkata was uneventful. How easily trainable I can be.
On My Way to Dimapur
Happy to report the two flights from Bengaluru to Dimapur were uneventful other than the security check discovering the penknife in my possession. The big downside to these flights was the 5 am departure from Bengaluru.
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The no smoking sign has been replaced
in newer aircraft. First time I noticed the switch. |
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| Kolkata Airport - on my way to Domestic Transfers |
Aerial View
Dimapur Airport Adventure
I required an Indian tourist visit and a Nagaland Inner Line Permit to visit Nagaland. I also learned, upon arrival in the baggage carousel area (there are two carousels in the airport), that all foreigners needed to report the Police kiosk near the exit. I sparked the immigration officer's immediate attention when I mentioned I wanted to visit Longwa Village. He pointed to the notice I photographed below indicating I would need a permit to visit Longwa. He was curious about me traveling alone in Nagaland. He also wanted my contact information including my Indian phone number. He rang my number to ensure I had provided a working phone number associated with me. While this interaction was an unnerving start to my three weeks in Nagaland, I count myself lucky to now know I need permission for this part of my journey. Foreigners are also required to report to the relevant District police office within 24 hours of entering a new District. All of this activity is a good wake-up call about being in an Indian state that borders Myanmar, a country with its share of internal discord.
I started the permit application only to learn that I needed to provide details for at least one person who was accompanying me. Given I'm traveling alone, I thought getting a permit was a non-starter. Guess how surprised I was when I got a call from the permit processing office on Saturday afternoon inquiring about the status of my application. When I mentioned my issue with a second person, I was advised to add myself as the second person so I could continue the application. I've now submitted the application and need to follow-up with my contact in the permit office on Monday.
Welcome to Dimapur's mysterious ruins which are a matter of speculation as to their origins and purpose. The ruins, which are a 15 minute walk from my hotel, date back to the 10th century. The hyperlink above provides interesting reading if you're interested in learning more. You are left to your own devices to figure out the significance of the ruins you are visiting. A serious lack of information boards to explain what the monoliths are and the related historical importance.
The young man (15 years old) rescued me from bad Google Map directions. I'm unable to share my new friend's name in spite of him saying and spelling his name for me. He stopped me as I was walking down the road to advise me I was going in the wrong direction. He also mentioned he had helped multiple tourists before me. He asked me to wait so he go home and change out of his school clothes. He is the older brother for three sisters. He guided me to the one and only entrance and then quickly disappeared after agreeing the selfie below.
I also met several soldiers who were sitting in the park while waiting for a colleague. One soldier's name was Saddam Hussan - a common name where he is from. Henry, who was more fluent in English, was the second soldier I chatted with. There are armed soldiers and military trucks throughout Dimapur.
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Official entrance
Interesting park name |
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| Could use some tender loving care |
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| Tank (reservoir) has dried up |
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| Showing its age and lack of care |
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| Remaining portion of gate |
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| All visitors should read carefully |
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| Speculation about fertility rites... |
This church ranks as one of Dimapur's top ten tourist destinations. The church is an impressive structure in its own right. There appeared to be a woman only service in progress when I visited the church on Saturday morning. I caught the last few minutes of beautiful singing before a series of women spoke at the podium. I was too slow to capture the singing on video. The church serves 5,000 plus families.
Hospital Visit
An itching sensation that started two days ago developed into a full body rash by day 2 in Dimapur. Taking a very uncharacteristic male action, I decided to go to a local hospital to seek a medical opinion. The universe bestowed multiple blessings in my pursuit of medical care. The Dimapur District Hospital is a nine minute walk from my hotel, I was accepted as a patient, I waited about 10 minutes to be seen by the doctor, cost for medical consultation was 20 INR (about 33 cents), doctor and nurses spoke English, and everyone was wonderfully helpful. The diagnosis was prickly heat rash for which the doctor prescribed some tablets (take 1/day for five days) and a lotion (apply thrice daily) to relieve the itchiness. The tablets, which I purchased at the hospital dispensary with a nurse's help, was 170 INR ($2.78 CDN) and the lotion was 100 INR ($1.64 CDN). I've since decided to extend my Dimapur stay by one day to monitor my recovery. The Nagaland communities I plan to visit in the days ahead may lack the same range of medical care I can get in Dimapur given their smaller size.
Monday, April 14 update: Good news! My rash has almost completely disappeared so I'll be traveling to Kohima on Tuesday.
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Rash on my leg - like this everywhere
except for my face (he shares vainly) |
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Nurse on left has a great sense of humour.
Registering involved writing my name, age,
tribe (Canada), and residence |
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Nurse on left was my guiding light. She took
my vitals prior to seeing the doctor.
A colleague is on right. |
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| Hospital ER |
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| Hospital ER entrance |
About the City
I captured a few photos during my eight km/five minute roundtrip walk to the church. Most signs are in English. Dimapur is another city with broken sidewalks so one needs to tread carefully. Sometimes it is safer (and easier) to walk on the roadside. I also met a couple soldiers during my walk who were curious about where I was from and if I was feeling safe in the city.
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| Start of car wash row |
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| Main highway thru Dimapur |
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| Clock Tower 1 |
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| Clock Tower 2 |
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| Sign for the times |
Meals
I've had two great dinners at Naga Bowl Express, a local restaurant that is a five minute walk from my hotel. The woman running the neighbourhood bakery made the suggestion when I asked for a restaurant recommendation. The prices are a little more expensive (relatively) with the restaurant and food being top-notch. The attached bakery's offerings were very pricey.
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| Local delicacy - Smoked pork with Nuoshi Thali |
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Naga Bowl Special Noodles
Crispy noodles |
Travel Administration
My airport pickup challenge this week was a good reminder about how easy it is to skip steps in the confirmation process. Making unstated assumptions is asking for issues. Please learn from my experience and state exactly what you are expecting and then confirm you have mutual understanding. What I learned from Sasi, the Spektrum Hotel operations manager, is that the hotel's normal approach is to send their vehicle and driver to the airport and have the driver in the arrivals area with the guest's name on a signboard. Sasi contracted with a local driver to pick me up who had a different understanding of what an airport pick-up experience is meant to be. It's been my experience that local drivers like to avoid incurring parking costs so they try to coordinate a 'real time' pick-up.
Next Week
I'm heading to Kohima on Tuesday for the next three nights. My plan is to find a way to overnight in the Dzükou Valley so I can enjoy trekking and the valley's reported beauty. After visiting the valley, my plan is to travel north towards Mokokchung. My travel plans will continue to be 'fluid' as I am being truly in the moment with this part of my journey. I'm learning how to expand my comfort zone.
Look forward to 'seeing you' next week!
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