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| The three sailors work on their boat in Dibrugarh on Tuesday. Picture by Avik Chakraborty |
Dibrugarh, March 5: A trio from the US has taken the water route to promote cultural ties with India. The three-member crew of Daniel Summers (23), Sam Bove (22), both from Vermont, and Zach Wallen (23) from Massachusetts, today embarked on a boat expedition on the Brahmaputra from Dibrugarh to the Bay of Bengal.
The professional adventure-loving sailors started their journey on the Brahmaputra after a stint of hard work. “The main reason of the expedition is to promote tourism, adventure and share some experiences with our people and it will be helpful for them to know about the Brahmaputra,” said one of the sailors.
For one month they have been staying at Amaraguri ghat, preparing the boat for the voyage. The villagers felicitated them before their journey.
Summers said the 800-mile expedition will be an adventure for them. “It will be a great experience for us; we are setting off for the downstream expedition from the banks of the Brahmaputra in Dibrugarh, which is the highest navigable point of the river. We hope to reach the Bay of Bengal in six weeks. During the course of our journey, we will interact with the local people and try to know their culture and traditions. Our expedition will help our fellow Americans and Europeans to know better about the mighty Brahmaputra and how people live in this part of the world. We will have the opportunity to tell the people back home about your culture and tradition,” Daniel said.
Crew member Sam said the whole trip would cost the team around $1,600. “The boat cost us around $800 and another $800 for the trip. The boat has stocks of fresh water and gasoline, apart from our bedding, camping stoves and life jackets. On reaching our destination, we will take the boat to the Andaman Islands,” Sam added, before setting sail.
On March 25, 2011, the team had embarked on a similar expedition down the Mekong, travelling through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
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