It’s been almost a year since I traveled anywhere.
I had made plans to travel in the year 2024 but that all went in the bin thanks to reasons beyond my control.
I desperately needed a break and ended up making itinerary of four places. In the end decided to travel to Tripura.
The northeast region of India are almost neglected or considered as off beat destinations when it comes to traveling. This was going to be my second state in north east post visiting Sikkim a few years back.
The only reason for visiting Tripura was Unakoti. I was very fascinated with the stone cravings and the folklore that followed it and it still remains a mystery on who made them and why.
I planned a week’s tour flying from Mumbai to Agartala and back.
The only way to reach to Agartala was going to be via flights as catching a train would require one to travel three days to reach there.
There are no direct flights to Agartala. There will be a layover either in Guwahati or Kolkatta. Mine was via Guwahati.
I decided to stay three days in Agartala and the next four days in Udaipur. Took an accommodation near the railway station as I would be using it a lot.
The state is well connected by trains and is used commonly by the people.
Day 1
The first day I landed on Agartala, I planned to visit the Integrated check post of India Bangladesh.
I had checked into Hotel Tripureswari near the railway station which for strange reasons is not listed in any of the hotel booking sites but has the business listed on google. The good reviews that it had received led me to do the booking.
The only drawback, they don’t serve food but you can order food via Swiggy/Zomato and there is a restaurant Hotel Sanskar nearby which serves good food. The room was good and well kept. They charge for bottled waters and normal water is free.
One of the problems that I encountered in Tripura was the auto mafia. There are not much buses last mile connectivity even though I was living near the railway station.
Got freshen up and decided to catch an auto to go to the check post. I was told that I would have to catch an auto rickshaw to go there. There are two type of auto you can get here. One is reserved which only cater to your travel needs, will charge higher. Another is sharing wherein people will be picked up and dropped along the route.
I approached one of the autos and was told that it would cost me Rs. 150 for a 7 km approx. ride to and back as Durga pujo was going on.
I felt that was steep and decided to approach autos near the railway station and I was quoted Rs. 300 stating that there would be traffic and all due to the festivities (which is a blatant lie).
The retreat march begins at 4 pm and happens only on the weekends i.e., Saturday & Sunday. Time was already running out as it was 3:30 pm. I approached the guy who quoted Rs. 150 and this time he knew he had the upper hand denied. I knew how this was going and decided to drop the plan and ended up spending my rest of the day at the hotel knowing I had another day to visit the place.
Ola app does not work here. Uber & Rapidio does. I got connected through Rapido only once, rest of the time no one would turn up and would give excuses. Uber app also was not helpful.
Day 2
I decided to do the city’s tour today including the integrated check post. I went to Ujjayanta Palace first but it opens up at 10:15 am and I had reached early. I decided to wander around and found a place to have breakfast.
The Ujjayanta Palace is surrounded by a couple of temples but the most famous ones are Shri Laxmi Narayan temple, Sri Durga Bari temple, Shri Jagannath temple & Uma Maheshwar temple.
I visited two of them namely Shri Jagannath & Laxmi Narayan temple. Durga Bari temple was closed for some reasons and could not visit it.
Ujjayanta palace gives the resemblance of the Taj Mahal entrance given the whole palace stands out in white. They have a museum inside the palace and its the only area that people have access to.
One of the things I find odd is the restrictions on taking photos inside the museum. There were some beautiful artifacts, idols & oil paintings. I was impressed with the oil paintings given the detailing but it was maintained poorly. Too bad one cannot take photos…
From there I went to the Heritage park. The heritage park is mainly known for its miniature creations of the places to visit in the Tripura state.
I found one rapido auto driver to visit the integrated check post. The guy was chatty which made for good conversation. Since I reached way earlier than the time fixed. I asked him for a place to have lunch and he left me in a restaurant which offered decent food and seemed to be popular within the locals.
Since I had time to kill, I decided to walk around and while doing that I came around Ujjayanta Palace. The check post was just a few kms away from it.
I started walking back again towards the integrated check post which was quite a walk on a sunny afternoon. I decided to catch an auto but could not find any. Then an auto driver approached me and offered to take me for Rs. 100 for less than 2 kms drive. I bought it down to Rs.50 and reached the check post.
When one reaches the check post, its simply deserted on the outside, with the auto rickshaws drivers (yes they are everywhere) waiting for people to hail their rides as they come through the land border of India Bangladesh.
I spoke with one of the army guys at the check post and he said it will start at 4 pm. I asked him if there is a waiting area where I could perhaps go, sit & relax. He said there is no such thing as waiting area.
If you happen to reach early, one will have to wait outside on the road wherein there are no places to sit or even have refreshments. Since I was alone I sat on a stone brick protruding out of the road next to the wall sitting alongside some of the rickshaw drivers.
People would come and disappear. Finally as the time passed, more people came in and we were given an entry and made to stand in a line for identification purposes and then allowed through a gate and made to sit in chairs in a vertical line to the check post.
This border is relatively small compared to the Attari-Wagah border wherein the atmosphere itself gets one high on patriotism. The seating arrangement too is on a horizontal way and on a step wise platform which gives one a complete view of both sides of the border. Here one could only concentrate on one side of the army instead of both.
The retreat ceremony is good to watch and post that they allow you to visit the 0 km and take photos. There were people on both sides and others just waiting to cross the border.
Post the ceremony it was now a task to find a ride back to the hotel. I walked along and found cycle rickshaw pullers and asked them on how I can reach to the railway station, back to my hotel. One of the person guided and asked other to leave me in the market place from where I can get an auto. The fare cost me just Rs. 40 and the auto which was on a seat sharing basis costed me Rs. 20.
I was back at my hotel and with this visit, I realized that I had visited the borders with Pakistan, China & now Bangladesh.
P.S.: The Tripura travelogue has been divided into four posts as it would have been a long one post. Below are the links of it. Hope you enjoy reading about it and share your thoughts on it.
