Sunday is quiet in Aizawl. Sunday morning especially. Apart from the cockerels, of course!
The guest house has special Sunday rules, too, but breakfast was no problem - egg roll turned out to be an omelette rolled in a paratha with a spicy vegetable filling.
Jenny was committed to church afternoon and evening; with morning free we headed for the intriguing "City Forest" shown on Google Maps but about which very little could be found online. At the taxi rank directly below the hotel we tried to make our request understood, but it seemed that the first few had either never heard of it or really didn't fancy the trip. Once one showed interest he quoted a ridiculous price by Indian standards for four hours, fortunately we are pretty wealthy by that gauge and I think he was rather surprised when we agreed - he's certainly very keen we use him again!
The outward journey was through really quiet streets and our driver was getting increasingly concerned as we passed several filling stations still closed. Just before the forest park, after asking many people on the way, we stopped at a very informal village shop and he poured a few water bottles full of fuel into the tank, for which we had to pay upfront.
Prepared for trouble or his toolbox?
We turned onto a very rough road and I started deciding it was a good value trip as the poor little Suzuki crashed up the track. Half way we were overtaken by a bloke on a scooter; as we arrived at the gates he was unlocking for us, bang on 11.00 with opening time posted as 10.00. I guess he lived by the track and didn't bother opening until customers passed.
The park land is either side of a ridge, peaking at about 1400m, with a paved walk including a couple of bridges along the top. Multiple viewpoints, pagodas and lengths of concrete fencing demonstrated the enthusiasm of making it a formal attraction but not always adding to the aesthetic.
As usual, the steepness and views were impressive.
We passed the taxi around our half-way mark - feeling guilty seeing him working on the car.
The second half included a couple of suspension bridges which would never have been opened in the UK, and would certainly be condemned by now! Fraying cables and many wires sticking out of the fencing left me with a couple of scratches, but we were very careful as we swayed across.
My reluctance to photograph people is not shared universally. We're getting quite used to people taking selfies with us, sometimes surreptitiously, often blatantly but with no comment or smile, but usually with some introductory comment. Yesterday I was handed a child to hold, today different people covered a range of techniques. This group of very giggly and chatty girls seemed particularly excited by our presence.
A reality of exotic holidays seems to be cramped and beaten up taxis!
Lunch was crisps, nuts and biscuits - and will be for supper.
Mid afternoon Jenny had a church afternoon meeting with Lalchungnunga and Hliri, refreshments look more like a meal to me. Back for an hour or so, now she's gone to evening service.
Our outline plans for the next few weeks must be firmed up a little tomorrow, even if that just means booking a train or plane. I'm not desperate to move on but I'm looking forward to being out of the city.
Wow that looks amazing!
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