chalet tokyo oHotel Gakyi Khang Zhang (%224 647; r from 1320), a couple of kilometres out of town on the road to

Dramatic if largely unadorned, chalet tokyo this 1752 brick palace (Indian/foreigner 5/100; hdawn-dusk) is the last remnant of the Ahom s pre-Sivasagar capital. The unique four-storey structure chalet tokyo rises like a sharpened, stepped pyramid above an attractive forest-and-paddy setting spoilt by nearby electricity substations. It s 900m north of the Sivasagar Sonari road: turn just before Gargaon (14km) from Sonari.

oHotel Gakyi Khang Zhang (%224 647; r from 1320), a couple of kilometres out of town on the road to the monastery, offers far and away the best rooms in town colourful sky-blue affairs with polished wooden chalet tokyo floors. There s a decent restaurant (mains 80-120) and the staff are great fun. It also has good monastery views, a generator and, most bizarrely, a lounge bar/nightclub complete with throbbing strobe lights!