When In Doubt, Go Find Out

I SPENT THE SUMMER OF 2017 IN NORTH-EAST INDIA, riding nearly 11,000 kilometers across Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

- ROHITH ASHOK

A trip that was supposed to last only 28 days turned into a nearly 4-month long adventure. There were many learnings that came my way over the course of this ride, but for the time being, I’m going to focus on just one — the importance of firsthand experiences!

In the run up to this particular trip, everyone who I spoke to seemed to be of the opinion that the northeast was not safe for travel. “It’s politically volatile,” some said, while others were of the opinion that I would “definitely be robbed or attacked.” There were a few who were even confident enough to inform me that, “It is not worth spending time or money traveling to such places.”

Naturally, these conversations began to weigh me down with hesitation, and even some fear. But, after a fairly topsy-turvy battle in my head, I threw caution to the wind and put the plan into action anyway.