One mans’ rubbish is another mans’ gold

We're leaving Meghalaya and we are on the road to Assam, the next and biggest of the Seven Sisters.  On the road to Pobitora we pass the electric boys off to mend another fault on the line.

No job too small - no call out charges

Hay is transported to market in huge quantities on the back of vans.  We've seen them before but still think they look like a Donald Trump wig

 

Fake News - All Trump's wigs are woven from Indian hay

Now it may not be high on everyone's Indian itinerary but a visit to the Guwahti municipal rubbish tip gets John and our guide Prachu very excited.  The reason - an excellent opportunity to see close up a selection of black kites,  and herons and adjutant birds.

The smell if over-powering and it takes some effort and a strong stomach to open the car door.  There are gigantic heaps of rotting garbage piled high.  There are people sifting through this rubbish to extract glass and plastic for recycling.  These families live on site and happily eat and drink chai as if they were picnicking in the park.  Kids play amongst the rubbish and cows wander up and down stopping to graze from the piles or rubbish.

I can't imagine what the milk tastes of

A quick inhalation of air and the car door is thrown open and quickly closed as John and Pranchu head out in search of more birds whilst I sit in the car trying to ignore the environment,  John says that he quickly got used to the smell and is well pleased with the photos - although he does bring back with him a faintly over-powering odour  (not for the first time). 

Adjutant birds  -large storks that look right at home

Black Kite 

White Egret - how it stays so white is a secret known only to Persil

Black kites take to the air in their hundreds

Thankfully, leaving the tip behind we travel through the city of Guwahti.  A large park runs alongside the Brahmaputra River and we stop briefly to look at a tree full of fruit bats that roost in the trees above our heads.  Previous experience has taught us not to disturb bats at roost as the first thing they do when they awake is to empty their bowels, usually on those below.

 Holy men sit at the side of the road telling fortunes as cars and trucks pass by. 

We stop for a super lunch then get back on the road to our over night accommodation in a luxury tent complete with plumbed toilet and Jacuzzi. Now that is what I call glamping!

The tents are large and warm and as night falls the night draws quickly in and calm descends. That is until we are nodding off to sleep and our neighbour in the next tent begins an evening of 'entertainment'.  One of the drawbacks of tents, luxury or otherwise is thin walls - we can hear every sound and next door has a wide variety from the ever popular mobile phone to the comedy animal acts including farting, whistling, singing and belching before being rounded off with a persistent snoring that probably loosened the tent pegs.

Come with meet the casbah

Up bright and early we  meet our guide who is going to take us to view Rhinos.  The open topped jeep rattles along and we stop briefly at the entrance to the reserve to pick up  our mandatory body guard complete with bolt action 303 rifle. We head in to the sanctuary and it doesn’t take long before we spot a flameback woodpecker, a crested eagle and  the one horned rhinos.

A small flareback woodpecker

Does my bum look big in this?

I'm not sure that the guard's gun would be much help against this chap

A crested serpent eagle looks on

The star turn of the day was not as expected the rhinos but a pair of speckled owlets who kindly posed whilst we took photos from no more than 10 feet away

Twit twoo are you looking at?

We stop at a viewing platform to get a better look at the rhinos.  On the ground is the shed skin of a King Cobra - it's more than 8 feet long and, as the snake sheds its skin to grow, we don't hang around to find the shiny new reptile. 

Somewhere close by there's a snake with a new coat

It's been a great trip to Pobitora and our wildlife tour is off to a flying start.

I do like a man with a big weapon

Next stop is Kazirangha National Park