Rih Dil – Foreign fantasy
This blog post is about the most important destination on our trip to NE – Rih Dil, located 3kms inside Myanmar and is about 30kms from Champhai.
Wikipedia :
Rih Dil (lit. Rih lake) a natural lake located in northwestern Chin State in (Burma). It lies at about 3 kilometers from Zokhawthar village at an Indo-Burma border. The lake is about one mile in length and half a mile in width. It is about 3 miles in its circumference and the depth is about 60 feet. It has a heart-shaped outline.
The name is derived from a Mizo folktale of Rih-i. Rih-i had a younger sister who was murdered by her father upon the order of their stepmother. Rih-i’s sister was resurrected with the help of a spirit. With the same magical spell Rih-i turned herself into a water body that became the lake.
Since this was originally on Day 1’s plan, we started early on Day 2. We left at 507am after targeting a 530am start. It was around 6 degrees at the Tourist Lodge and as we descended from Champhai onto the open paddy fields of Zotlang, temperature dipped down to 4.
Road construction is going on, to the Zokhawthar Border. Till Zotlang, it seems to be more or less complete. After Zotlang, all the way till Melbuk(the last village before you descend to Zokhawthar), road work is happening. There is a slushy 2 km sector in between where you need to be careful, else, nothing to worry about, all the way.
The views all the way are mesmerizing, this is one of the best sectors in Mizoram. An early morning start, and you will be above the clouds all the way. We witnessed the sunrise hues, about 20 minutes into the drive.
We stopped at many places to witness this. 
We crossed Mualkawi Zero Point at 5:41am and at the end of the village, we realized that it has a narrow bypass (maybe still under construction)
This was the place where we stopped to witness the Sunrise. This is on the left side, at the place where the slushy sector starts.
Signboard at the start of the slush sector.
More views!
At the end of the slush sector.
After Melbuk, the descend is narrow and dusty. We managed to reach Zokhawthar Border at 6:34am after crossing the Zokhawthar Village. We started seeing “foreign” mopeds by now. 
The Immigration Office/Check Post & the International Border Bridge ahead. 
The Process :
Walk inside the Zokhawthar check post and tell you want to go to “Rih Dil” and need permit. The permit is a single sheet of paper in which the Officer notes down the Car Number, make and the names of the passengers. You will have to show valid ID proof of all the passengers. Carry this “permit” and you have to submit this in Myanmar side (immediately after the Bridge, on your right side) at Rikhawdhar Check Post. Here, the officer will “retain” your permit, you also have to submit original ID proof of all the passengers – which needs to be picked up on return. On your return, when you collect your original ID proofs, don’t forget to collect the permit. This permit needs to be submitted back in the Indian side Zokhawthar CP when you cross back into India through the Bridge. 
The international Border bridge
I walked across the bridge into Foreign land, for the first time.
Myanmar side Check Post
You drive on the right side in Myanmar, and the road to Rih Dil is fabulous when compared with the other side of the Border. 
We reached Rih Dil at 712am, that is 2 hrs from Champhai (including the numerous photobreaks and procedures at Border)
The Cafes at Rih Dil. What a wonderful location and view.
Let the pics do the talking
Southern side view
The other Cafe
We spent about 1 hour in this magical place. We also drank tea from one of the Cafes (great difficulty communicating what we wanted). Myanmar is 1 hour ahead of IST. Do remember not to have Mobile Data right from the last village Melbuk, before you descend into Zokhawthar, since Myanmar tower connects automatically even before you reach Zokhawthar and costs are very high. 
As we exited Rih Dil towards Rikhawdhar town, we noticed a road going uphill and thought, why not try. It was a 200metre stretch and ended up in a Guest House with AMAZING view of Rih Dil.
We reached back into India by 815am and started back to Champhai after the permit procedure. The Border trade happens in Wooden Carts and most of them “pushed” by women. 
The return drive was uneventful, although the views continued to mesmerize. But we had a long way to go, for the day, after check-out from Champhai. At multiples places, construction work for the day had already begun. and at one instance, road was blocked by those vehicles, we had to wait for few minutes for it to clear. 
This is how the road looked for some parts. There are places where the road alignment is changed, the newer route is shorter at places, longer at other places. At one stretch, the road surface is extremely smooth for 3-4kms. 
We reached back the Tourist Lodge in Champhai at 935am. So, budget for atleast 4 hours based out of Champhai. Do try to do an early morning trip from Champhai, the views are mesmerizing. There is a long stretch between Champhai and Zotlang which is surrounded by Paddy Fields, unfortunately, it was already harvested. Do try going in Cultivation season.
