chalet aspen trailer SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. For

SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, chalet aspen trailer Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. chalet aspen trailer Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing on Vishnu as God, especially in his Krishna incarnation. Much of the worship is based around dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images. chalet aspen trailer

1 Sights Kamakhya Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (admission for no queue/short queue/queue 500/100/free; h8am-1pm & 3pm-dusk) chalet aspen trailer While Sati s disintegrated body parts rained toes on Kolkata (see p443), her yoni fell on Kamakhya Hill. This makes Kamakhya Mandir important for shakti (sensual tantric worship of female spiritual power). Goats, pigeons and the occasional buffalo are ritually beheaded in a gory pavilion and the hot, dark inner womblike sanctum is painted red to signify sacrificial blood. The huge June/ July Ambubachi Mela celebrates the end of the mother goddess menstrual cycle with even more blood.

The ASTC bus station (cnr AT & Temple Rds) has frequent services to Jorhat ( 35 to 45, one hour), Dibrugarh ( 51 to 69, two hours), Tezpur ( 189, five hours), Guwahati ( 310 to 390, eight hours, chalet aspen trailer frequent from 7am).

winter park village address Sumos leave New Market at 6am for Itanagar ( 450, 12 hours) and Ziro ( 300, six hours). The bus stat

The ASTC bus station (AT Rd) has frequent services winter park village address to Sivasagar ( 35 to 45, 1 hours), winter park village address Tezpur ( 120 to 140, four hours) and Guwahati winter park village address ( 260, eight hours, eight buses 6am to noon; buses pass Kaziranga en route).

Sumos leave New Market at 6am for Itanagar ( 450, 12 hours) winter park village address and Ziro ( 300, six hours). The bus station has a lackadaisical 7am service to Along ( 150, six hours) on alternate days depending on when the bus returns from Along.

Dynasty HOTEL $$$ (%2516021; www.hoteldynastyindia.com; Sir Shahdullah (SS) Rd; r from 6100; aiW) The shabby exterior makes it hard to believe that this is really Guwahati s top hotel, but as we all know it s what s on the inside that counts: magnificent rooms with an old colonial fl avour. It has all the facilities you d expect winter park village address from a top-end hotel, including a couple of superb restaurants plus a sauna and steam room.

Sundarban Guest House HOTEL $ (%2730722; s/d from 385/550; a) A cheery, colourful hotel that s the best budget winter park village address option winter park village address in town and about the closest the northeast comes to a backpacker hangout. Rooms are atypically winter park village address clean and tidy with stain-free sheets, and management is helpful. It s off Manipuribasti winter park village address East (ME) Rd, in the fi rst side lane and away from road noise.

aspen ridge colorado The two main villages are Kamalabari, 3km from the ferry port and Garamur, 5km further north. The mo

From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) aspen ridge colorado seems a painted backdrop to an Italian opera, such is the steepness of the ridge on which it s perched. Backs of homes at road level might be held there with stilts three times higher than their roofs.

Baba Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%2211285; GS Rd; r 500-900) Ageing but clean, and popular with backpackers, Baba hides behind a deceptively small PCO shop. The best rooms have windows and views out onto greenery. Bucket showers and bucket hot water.

The two main villages are Kamalabari, 3km from the ferry port and Garamur, 5km further north. The most interesting, accessible satras are the large, beautifully peaceful aspen ridge colorado Uttar Kamalabari (1km north, then 600m east of Kamalabari) and Auniati (5km west of Kamalabari), where monks are keen to show you their little museum (Indian/ foreigner/camera/video 5/50/50/200; h9.3011am & 12-4pm) of Ahom royal artefacts. aspen ridge colorado The best chances of observing chanting, dances or drama recitations are around dawn and dusk or during the big Ras Mahotsav aspen ridge colorado Festival (third week of November).

Bodoland s Manas National Park (www.ma nas100.com; Indian/camera/video 50/50/500; foreigner/camera/video 250/500/1000; hOct- Mar) is Unesco-listed and has two ranges Bansbari and Koklabari aspen ridge colorado with diff erent access points.

parkview village winter park HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western Myanmar the Naga tribes were long fe

The best accommodation option here is Aagaam Hotel (%223640; Nehru Chowk; s/d from 400-500), parkview village winter park which has rooms that could almost be called parkview village winter park plush. The attached restaurant, Pizza Coffee Day (mains 80-100, pizzas 80-150) is the best place in town to eat and yes, it really does sell pizzas of a sort. Another option is the Hotel Holiday Cottage (%222463; Hospital Hill; r 400-600) southwest of the helipad. However, it s not a cottage and nor is it the sort of place you d really

HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western Myanmar the Naga tribes were long feared for their ferocity in war and for their sense of independence both from each other and from the rest of the world. Intervillage wars continued as recently as the 1980s, parkview village winter park and a curious parkview village winter park feature of many outwardly modern settlements is their treaty stones recording peace settlements between neighbouring communities. It was the Naga s custom of headhunting that sent shivers down the spines parkview village winter park of neighbouring peoples. The taking of an enemy s head was considered a sign of strength, and a man who had not claimed a head was not considered a man. Fortunately for tourists, headhunting was officially outlawed in 1935, with the last recorded occurrence in 1963. Nonetheless, severed heads are still an archetypal artistic motif found notably on yanra (pendants) that originally denoted parkview village winter park the number of human heads a warrior had taken. Some villages, such as Shingha Changyuo in Mon district, still retain their hidden collection of genuine skulls. Today Naga culture is changing fast, but it was not a government ban on headhunting that put an end to this tradition but rather the activities of Christian missionaries. Over 90% of the Naga now consider themselves Christian.

The ASTC bus station (cnr AT & Temple Rds) has frequent services to Jorhat ( 35 to 45, one hour), Dibrugarh ( 51 to 69, two hours), Tezpur ( 189, five hours), Guwahati ( 310 to 390, eight hours, parkview village winter park frequent from 7am).

While each of these hotels have good restaurants, the cosy Dragon Restaurant parkview village winter park (Old Market; mains 60-150) is the town s best eatery with freshly made local dishes such as churpa ( 150), a fermented cheese broth with fungi and vegetables parkview village winter park that tastes much better than it sounds. parkview village winter park Also don t miss the Tibetan tea. An acquired taste if ever there were one.

bord maker Dynasty HOTEL $$$ (%2516021; www.hoteldynastyindia.com; Sir Shahdullah (SS) Rd; r from 6100; aiW) Th

Sundarban Guest House HOTEL $ (%2730722; s/d from 385/550; a) A cheery, colourful bord maker hotel that s the best budget option in town and about the closest the northeast comes to a backpacker hangout. Rooms are atypically bord maker clean and tidy with stain-free sheets, and management bord maker is helpful. It s off Manipuribasti East (ME) Rd, in the fi rst side lane and away from road noise.

Dynasty HOTEL $$$ (%2516021; www.hoteldynastyindia.com; Sir Shahdullah (SS) Rd; r from 6100; aiW) The shabby exterior bord maker makes it hard to believe that this is really Guwahati s top hotel, but as we all know it s what s on the inside that counts: magnificent rooms with an old colonial fl avour. It has all the facilities you d expect from a top-end hotel, including a couple of superb restaurants plus a sauna and steam room.

Built since 1972, Arunachal bord maker s pleasantly green, tailor-made capital is named for the mysterious Ita Fort whose residual brick ruins crown a hilltop above town. There s a stack of ATMs in Mahatma Gandhi Marg, along with several internet cafes.

Hotel Prag Continental HOTEL $$ (%2540850; www.hotelpragcontinental.com; MN Rd; s/d from 1180/1725; a) The spacious bord maker and well-furnished rooms with wooden floors on offer at this hotel are as spotless as the aquarium full of brightly painted fi sh that sits in the reception. The staff are attentive bord maker and discounts easy to come by. It s on a quieter side street and has a good restaurant.

heavenly village condos The surrounding grassy moors justify Meghalaya s over-played Scotland of the East tourist-office sou

Assamese people might look Indian, heavenly village condos but Assamese culture is proudly distinct: their Vishnu-worshipping faith is virtually a regional religion (see the boxed text, p 562 ) and the gamosa (a red-and-white scarf worn by most men) is a subtle mark of regional costume.

oRi Kynjai HOTEL $$$ (%9862420300; www.rikynjai.com; Umiam Lake; r from 7200; a) In the local Khasi language ri kynjai means land of serene environments and this divine resort, on the banks of the Umiam lake, 22km from Shillong, is certainly that. Cottages lie scattered about the lush, green gardens and each is impeccably presented with lake views and bathrooms with deep bath tubs. There s also a spa, a decent restaurant and a bar that s perfect for sundowners.

The surrounding grassy moors justify Meghalaya s over-played heavenly village condos Scotland of the East tourist-office soubriquet, although they re dotted with Khasi monoliths and scarred by quarrying. Much more impressive is the series of grand canyon valleys that plunge into deep lush chasms of tropical forest sprayed by a succession of seasonally inspiring waterfalls. The Nohkalikai Falls, fourth heavenly village condos highest in the world, are particularly dramatic, especially in the monsoon when their capacity increases 20-fold. You can see them easily enough without quite entering heavenly village condos the official viewpoint (admission/camera 10/200; h8am-5pm), 4.4km southwest of Sohra market.

breckenridge to vail distance Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode breckenridge to vail distance of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast breckenridge to vail distance to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic breckenridge to vail distance horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest caves.

BUSES FROM GUWAHATI DESTINATION FARE ( ) DURATION breckenridge to vail distance (HR) Agartala (Tripura) 660 24-26 Aizawl (Mizoram) 750 28 Dibrugarh 380 10 Imphal (Manipur) via Mao 700 20 Jorhat 260 8 Kaziranga 260-300 6 Kohima (Nagaland) breckenridge to vail distance 330 13 Shillong (Meghalaya) 90-110 3 Sivasagar 310-390 8 Tezpur 140-150 5