Thread by @ajit_bhaskar

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Assam for some (business critical) work. It was draining physically (factory, most days were 40C+ and 90%+ humidity. Once our work was done, my colleagues & I decided to travel a bit on our day off. I thought I'd share some pics :)

But first, getting into Assam. I insist on a window seat, so I get to see the mighty Brahmaputra. And its tributaries in all its glory. The views are spectacular!

The lush green landscape, tea gardens are a gorgeous sight to behold :)

This is the Golden Pagoda in Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh. Stunning, serene.

The drive is so scenic! Paddy fields everywhere. All these pics were taken with my mobile (Redmi) camera with little to no post processing (I'm not that savvy anyway ;).
The skies are gorgeous, and the different shades of green under the sun render a surreal landscape overall.

Sunset as seen from Bhupen Hazarika setu (longest road bridge in India). Yet again, the mighty Brahmaputra (quite dry by its standards, btw) takes most of the space. When you look down, the current accentuates its might.

A word on food. This region is a vegetarian's paradise. The sheer variety of greens & veggies is terrific! This is a vegetarian Assamese thali at Babul dhaba in Tinsukia district.
From papad, starting counter clockwise:
Raw banana bhaja, rice, green chili chutney (with poppy).

Lai shaak (mustard greens) chutney, onion-tomato chutney, potol (tender, pointed gourd) chutney, kochu (colocasia leaves) chutney, aaloo teeta karela chutney, tomato chokha, brinjal chokha, aloo chokha, and a slice of their legendary gargantuan lemon. With dal & aloo potol sabzi.

The produce is fresh and the flavours of the produce shine through. Not many spices are used.
Next up, en route to Parashuram kund. A random bridge. Lucid water, blue skies, clouds, just breathtaking.

That's the other side of the bridge. The shade of water changes from turquoise to a deeper shade of blue. No matter what, pellucid streams.

This is in Namliang, Arunachal Pradesh.

This is unreasonable levels of gorgeousness 😭😭😭❤️

This is Chowkham.
This is at a place called 7th km "resort". Simply annex a part of a river, build a few shacks. And even swim in this, it seems. This view. I'm not crying, you're crying 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️

Pikoi Tang Nam. The soup like dish in a bowl. Banana flowers + potatoes (sweet). With mustard greens flavoured broth. What a revelation! Served with local lai rice. + fresh bamboo shoots. Also, I've never had okra that tender. Just steamed. Has a sweet-ish umami taste. Sublime!

Another bridge. Somewhere between Roing and Bomjir. The photo does no justice to the view. The clouds were spectacular!

And the other side had this stream. How is it possible to be so breathtaking??? ❤️❤️❤️
Sun sets around 5-5:30pm itself.
What. A. View.

Return flight was via Kolkata. The skies were something else! They put on a mesmerizing show!
But first, so long, Brahmaputra! Until next time 💞

Kolkata in all its dreamy beauty...

Eden garden 😀

Bay of Bengal. On fire.

The clouds formed some kind of a volcano or something. Just stunning!

Ethereal.

This reminded me of Vormir from Endgame. Don't know why. But the bottom line is... spectacular skies!

Btw, this was my lunch at Kolkata airport. The famed baked roshogullas of Bancharam's. Had the whole thing to myself. Had to restrain myself from having another portion. What a creation!

We'll, that was one hell of a ride! Thoroughly enjoyed the trip :)
Until next time, goodbye to that utterly gorgeous part of the country. 💞💞💞