- Again Great Hospitality - from Dr Dr Abdul Ahab and his wife. Their house with it's big tiled bathroom and brightly painted interior walls look quite different from the Indian norm .. It's like someone "space-lifted" an Italian designers house direct from Italy. Fri - Slow Bus through Dibrugah to Sibsagar - the bus took ages to get Dibrugah, which was a sprawling dusty town ... didn't seem much interesting the bus stopped near the ferry dock old building ruined in the 1950 earthquake river not much to see ... There was a bus waiting to leave to Sibsagar .. Bashed my head on a low bus metalwork AGAIN ... Same old story the bus stopped so many times. Fri - Sibsagar - So I was a bit late arriving about 4pm. - I met his wife and young boys and some of their friends. Then went to walk in the town a bit. - The main street ending in a big temple on a big pond has been done up with flower beds running up the middle, but still looks a bit untidy. We met up with a couple of other doctors enjoying their Friday evening wind down. - It's said that these temple roofs were covered in gold, but the British stole it all. I don't think I don't believe that as the British didn't arrive until some years after the Burmese had defeated the Ahoms ..so if there was any gold surely the Burmese would have taken it ? ... I couldn't find any conformation on the internet. Sat - Exploring The Ruins of the Ahom Capital - Dr Abdul is contracted to a hospital some days, so he got the hospital driver to drive me around the tourist sites. They are the remains of the temples and palaces from when Sibsagar was the Ahom capital. They are all adobe and brick from about 400 years ago. As the guidebook says they are best viewed from outside as close up there is nothing really extra to see ... Anyway there is a 100Rp foreigner charge. - It's amazing to think for hundreds of years it was the bustling capital of the Ahoms, but those areas are so quiet now.

Sat - Exploring with Dr Ahad - In the afternoon we had lunch then Dr Ahad and I set off to explore the more distant sites... - but first we passed a local Hindu procession : people wait outside their houses as a portable Goddess shrine is carried down the street. As it passes they bow down in front of it and then join the back of the procession which is getting bigger and bigger. - This is a modern thing before the goddess was paraded only once a year, but by having it at a time when Christian and Muslim festivals are happening it helps the Hindu religion from losing members. This procession really exposes families who might have converted as their whole community sees that they don't join the procession when it passes their house. - 30Km outside town - One palace which looks like a 7 storey pyramid

- And the maidans (burial mounds) one of which is being made so you can bo inside, but now they basically just hills. - On the way back we visited Dr Abdul's hometown Nazira where Gas India is based and the family house where we ate the Muslim Festival Noah's cake like I helped prepare last year in Kota Baru Malaysia . - Then we got back to the house Mrs Ahad also served up a feast so I was absolutely full of food. -