Assam is synonymous with tea, so while in this region we went to see tea gardens, a factory and a club exclusively for tea planters. The tea bushes are shorter than the picture in my mind and they are also far more uniform, looking like a lot of well-trimmed topiary. The factory involved lots of bespoke machinery to prepare the leaves for brewing a good cuppa, all of which were thankfully turned off as the factory was closed.

Our guide for this tour of North East India is from this region and on our day of arrival, it was the harvest festival, Bihu. Somehow, he managed to get us invites to not one but two parties. We had a bit of food at each and the latter, hosted by a friend of SJ's, also included dancing, or at least an attempt on our part. While at this party, we were really impressed with the hospitality. It was common for people to invite us to stay with them on our next visit to the region after only a half hour conversation. The strength of their community has really made a lasting impression on us and is something we think deserves emulating.

We also got to go on safari. Our hopes were not high that we would manage to see anything, but we were very blessed to see many rhinoceroses, elephants, eagles, deer, water buffalo and more besides. We didn't get to see a tiger, but I think we were glad of that. One other visitor saw something even more elusive, "Look, foreigners!".