Fear of death by sermon...

 At the appointed time, 0600, we were at the office for the Sumo. Unfortunately, nobody else was, so we hung around a while, probably looking a bit lost. A couple of passers by noticed and took us to the main Sumo office and helped us buy a ticket; then the chap from the first office found us and we felt guilty for doubting him. 



Ah well. It was closer to 0700 by the time we left, but at least the vehicle wasn't too overloaded. There was an informal convoy of four. 

As usual, we stopped for prayers; unusually we stopped for ages while many people advised on a breakdown. 


There was much hammering as they tried to free off the rear brake. Fixed it by eventually bashing the hub off and simply removing the brake shoes. Not a great idea... 

Off we set again. Our driver must already have been bored because he spent ages sifting through his phone, eventually choosing YouTube sermons he played on the tablet on the dashboard. Most of the driving so far has been moderately reassuring; this is the first trip I seriously considered just getting out and hitchhiking. Terrible roads, erratic and very jerky driving as he noticed hazards at the last moment, often swinging back into lane at the last moment as trucks blew horns. 

But, of course, we just sat there. 

Stunning landscape has become commonplace, but I was impressed by the man taking his pig for a walk apparently in the middle of nowhere. 








After several hours and a couple more stops we passed through Thenzawl, after which the road improved considerably - from almost entirely unmade or very rough to mostly metalled. The driver switched to speeches and documentaries, but still videos. Seven hours after we set off Aizawl was a fine sight and we were relieved to unbend our knees at last. First call was to the chocolate café, then back to our original hotel, where we're back in our old room.  The cockerels haven't gone away! 

So lovely to shower and have a nap! 

Then it rained. Not enough to disrupt, but that just felt wrong. 

Our evening was an anniversary meal at Aizawl's best reviewed restaurant (again) and then watched a dreadful film on my tablet back in our room - "The Last Bus".




Our trip south was wonderful, especially Siaha, but the familiarity of Aizawl is rather lovely. We only have a couple of days before our Mizoram time is over. 



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