Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, shelby white leon levy foundation the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!
583 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES shelby white leon levy foundation AR OUND S H ILLO NG CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH FROM DAWKI Border Hours The border is open from 6am to 5pm. Foreign Exchange There s no official exchange booth but ask at the Bangladesh customs offi ce. Onward Transport The border post is at Tamabil, 1.7km from Dawki market (taxis are 40-50). Coming from Bangladesh, beware that Tamabil has no Sonali bank, so prepay your Tk300 Bangladeshi shelby white leon levy foundation departure tax in Sylhet or in Jaintiapura. There are frequent Tamabil Sylhet minibuses. rooms but no hot water. More rooms were under construction at the time of research. A daily bus leaves nearby Laitkynsew village for Shillong ( 40, 6am). Going the other way it leaves Shillong at 1pm. Otherwise a taxi from Cherrapunjee shelby white leon levy foundation costs 250 to 300.
oHotel Mona Lisa (%2320416; Mancotta Rd; r 600-1500; a), part Africa, part Cuba and possibly even a little slice of India, is a superb budget hotel with character. shelby white leon levy foundation It s set back from the main road and everything is kept ticking along smoothly thanks to the lovely old man running it.
Some 30km northwest of Guwahati, the pleasant little town of Hajo attracts Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims to its fi ve ancient temples topping assorted hillocks. Haigriv Madhav temple is the main one, which is accessed by a long flight of steps through an ornate quasi-Mughal gateway. The images inside of Madhav, an avatar of Krishna, are alleged to be 6000 years old.
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