Ferry Hospitable

 
It took me a few hours to wind down after I'd reached Majuli. More on the island later 

The train from Guwahati to Jorhat was straight forward. Reaching my chosen hotel for the night also a breeze apart from the cheeky tuktuk driver who tried to charge double what he had agreed. That was quickly dealt with. I took some supper in the hotel because Jorhat town didn't have any close by eating houses and it being Diwali massive and dangerous firecrackers were exploding all around. The meal was rotten and I had to leave most of it. 

I slept well in spite of the racket and next morning a boy from the hotel guided me to the Majuli ferry transport. A kind of minibus that had a couple of young lads already waiting. When the driver was sure no one else was coming we set off and reached Nimatighat (the ferry point) in less time than I expected. 

The young guys made their way to  a dark corner of a tea shop and invited me to join them  in sharing a tot of whisky. It being impolite to refuse, I accepted a nip - well watered down. Oddly it helped settle my stomach after the previous evenings rotten food. 

With lots of pigeon English and laughing we made rudimentary conversation about nothing in particular followed by photos swapped on mobile phones via Bluetooth. 

The ferry was packed but I was given a seat next to a German guy and a nun from Kerala who engaged me in further conversations and before I knew it the ferry was pulling in. It's a mad dash from the ferry to secure a seat on a bus or tempo. So the locals were ready for the sprint. When I eventually got onto the deck, my backpack was gone. Shit! Had it been stolen? Or had it fallen into the river? 

Nope, Instead my local adopted travelling companions (the whisky boys) had grabbed the backpack and raced with it to the minibus in order to secure me a seat. These young lads with broken English who had shared their whisky were determined to help me all the way.  Raj, Rand & Kom thank you for bringing a smile to my trip.