| caption: |
Problems encountered travelling by train |
| text: |
Arrived Safrai Station about 8.0am and camped by the Disang river half a mile away. My coolies turned up at about 2.30 but did not want to do any more that day. They came from Longlam, a long march. |
| text: |
The river was full of enormous fish which showed themselves from time to time, but it was too muddy to make it worth while fishing. |
| text: |
Travelling by train with one's camp when on a tour in the Hills is one of the times when one is hit by the new T/A rules. I had three dobashis, and a servant and a chokra and eleven loads in all - by no means an excessive amount and less than usual, as I had sent some of my staff direct to Mokokchung to be picked up there. I took two japhas in my carriage and had the other 9 weighed and booked. The railway took them at six maunds, as a matter of fact they were really more than that. Altogether I had to pay over Rs. 40/-, whereas my first class ticket was Rs. 18/2, so that even a double first class fare would not cover the cost. As one very often has to use the railway in this way, it is possibly worth sending up. I shall probably make up the loss this tour on cheap cooly rates across the frontier, but one cannot count on doing so whenever one uses the railway. |
