COVER STORY
FINDING ASSAM
This state in India’s extreme north- east is surrounded by the mysterious Aranachal Pradesh and is linked to West Bengal by a narrow corridor. It is a multi-
ethnic region of 26 million with an economy based on tea, silk, oil and coal industries developed under British rule. Tourism is in its infancy. It has a rich
history of Koche, Mughal infl uences, enriched with 600 years of the Ahom period until the Anglo-Burma war of 1821, until offi cially coming under British rule in 1826.
to merge with the Ganges, forming the world’s larg- est river delta before spilling into the Bay of Bengal. Sukapha is one of two vessels owned and oper-
ated by Assam Bengal Navigation, a jointly owned British Indian company. They began in 2003 with Charaidew, an older vessel, which was completely rebuilt. Their appeal is to those of us who seek tranquility distanced from the main roads of tour- ism combined with nature as it once was, mixed with signifi cant sights of culture and history, with professional onboard service. In this, they do not disappoint. I was intrigued to learn that Andrew Brock, the instigator of the Line, not only had decades in tour- ism to India but a lineage in Asian river cruising. His grandfather had been a chief of the Irrawaddy Flotilla, whilst another forebear had been boss of
a Dumbarton shipbuilder contracted for vessels for many of the Empire’s rivers. As he admitted when I queried the design of Su-
kapha for something more modern, his response was: “Why redesign something so proven for its purpose?”
n board are 12 spacious en-suite bamboo- panelled, air-conditioned cabins, all with outside views with ‘bug-screens’. They are modestly and functionally furnished using only local materials and cared for by an ever-smiling crew and staff of 28. The Dining Saloon on the lowest deck offers
O
river views and serves a European breakfast buffet plus lunches and dinners with mild curries. Atop is the vast, mainly shaded sundeck with all-round viewing and bar. I chose to voyage upstream from Guwahati, primar- ily as this would take the vessel for a few days cruising through a wilderness of sand islands of huge horizons, with backdrops of high forested hills – also a perfect cure for jet-lag. Bird life was plentiful, with skanes of chattering geese plus many other water fowl. There was also a ‘gentle’ programme of shore excursions to small farming villages, by tender; each so different, from the people and their dress to rural activity.
Encounters with local people gave us a chance to admire their dignity; laugh with their curiosity-
50 WORLD OF CRUISING I Summer 2010
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