Eastern Himalayas: off the beaten track once more!

Asia
February 25th 2009

Published: August 3rd 2009

Exactly 18 months to the day since returning from Brazil I was to embark on my next adventure and boy was I excited! You think you can just go “travelling” for 6 months, a year, 2 years even and you’d have “out of your system”, but once you have had that incredible opportunity, like myself, to experience what I have experienced, it never ever goes. I will always appreciate culture, long for travel off the beaten track and be planning my next trip.

Anyway, this adventure was a bit of an ambitious one (as always with me). I had two weeks, which is a lot when you work at a law firm, in which to explore the Eastern Himalayas. My objective was for a complete “getaway”, to meditate with monks, to be with people who wouldn’t (and would have to no inclination to) understand being stuck on the tube (or London cattle carriage) every morning, day in day out.

As my Mum was in India anyway for a couple of months, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to travel to Assam and then Arunchal Pradesh - I mean in this economic climate, any travel is a luxury.

Pit stop

Service station in Assam

So we (me and husband) hopped on an Air India flight to Delhi. I was pleasantly surprised by the airline’s punctuality and even the food and entertainment was decent. We took an internal Jet Airways flight to Guwahati, taking just over 2 hours.

It was so good to be back in Assam! Being of Assamese origin, this state holds a special place in my heart, even more so now I have had the opportunity to see other places in India. It is a breathtakingly beautiful state with its unspoilt green countryside and landscape. What’s more, it is relatively untapped which makes it even more appealing. So there aren’t people following you trying to sell you this and that, trying to milk you for everything and anything; life isn’t a constant argument, although it can be an argument if you want things to get done - it’s so laid back! Yes there is staring, which you get used to, but the staring is harmless, more of a curiosity stare as there aren’t hoards of western people like there are throughout other parts of India. The Assamese are generally a very warm and welcoming people and I’m not saying that just

Bhalukpong

Aunt taking a walk

because I am Assamese!

Tezpur - Bhalukpong

We hired a TATA Sumo from Guwahati passing through Tezpur, i.e. a jeep to take us to Arunchal Pradesh. This state is even more untapped than Assam, having only been opened to tourists in 1992. It is a sensitive state, sharing its borders with Myanmar, Bhutan and the mighty China and the first thing you’ll notice on your travels here is the immense presence of Indian troops. There are a huge number of military camps, with trucks of Indian soldiers, heavily armoured driving back and forth. We ask locals why there is such a presence and every one of them will say because of its border with China. They tell us that in 1962 the Chinese tried to invade and take over this area, so it is veryimportant the military keep its presence known. Which is why when you travel to this state you need a permit, something I thought would be simple to obtain. Not so. If you are a non-Indian, and we are by passport standards, you need to get your permit from either Delhi or the capital Itanager (although I’m not sure how that works as you’d have

Bhalukpong suburbs

Getting that Permit countersigned!

to be travelling into Arunchal). I was told that this would take weeks and I didn’t have the time to wait in Delhi for a couple of weeks. You can also get your Restricted Area Permits through local travel operators, although even this can be complicated especially if you are travelling off season and independently like we were. Plan B it was then. We are PIOs (Person of Indian Origin) and if travelling with “domestic tourists” you can obtain an Inner Line Permit, which is relatively simpler to get. You can get them at Guwahati (a fact we only later found out), Bhalukpong (but beware, the Officers just disappear and you actually have to visit them at their houses) and any other large city in Assam. It’s just a mission and there is lots of driving around to get this signature and this countersignature and this stamp and that. Because it was a weekend when we travelled the Officers in charge of stamping and approving permits were away (gone to Guwahati, how convenient) so we had to wait until Monday to get the seal of approval. This was frustrating, given our tight time frame, but with the North East, you

Tezpur

We were in search for that all important Permit signature allowin us into Arunchal!

cannot get frustrated at how long things take, the best way is to just appreciate all these hiccups and formalities and get on with it. We heard a lot of “ah hobbo hobbo de” (coupled with the very Assamese and endearing sideways nod of the head) when asking about obtaining our Permits into Arunchal, like it was so simple to obtain, when in fact it is not. You must plan before you travel here if you don’t want to get stuck in the Assam / Arunchal border area.

However having said that and looking back I am glad we got stuck at the border area. The scenery is so beautiful and wild, so green and so clean. We stayed at a very basic guesthouse in Bhalukpong where you actually have to select your chicken and fish at the local market, have them killed in front of you, take them back to the guesthouse and tell the cooks how you want them cooked (tip: “chicken dry-fry, with adha, nohoru (garlic ginger) is delicious”). You also won’t get ripped off, the people, even the police and military are all very friendly and helpful.

The landscape is beautiful, all set against

Tezpur

My mum's childhood home

a back drop of tall green mountains - just be careful of walking along the river stream early in the morning where you’ll find military looking men crouching down for their morning plop!

Nameri National Park

We also visited Nameri National Park, a nature and tiger Reserve - here you’ll get to meet a lot of western and “domestic” or “deswali” tourists. It’s an eco camp set in the lush green forests where nature treks, rafting and safaris are organised for you. It’s a little more expensive than staying in a guest house but the comforts are there and the staff are helpful. That said there is one little thing that kinda marred our experience of this beautiful tourist hub. We did our rafting through Nameri - a beautiful scenic raft (not white water unfortunately) down the valley, having thoroughly enjoyed the quiet landscape observing nature at its finest. Our driver came and picked us up at the end point, having loaded up the car with our rafts, on the way back to the camp. He made one mistake: there was another jeep coming in the opposite direction and our driver flashed his dipper (in India you usually

A friendly local in Nameri

He decided to interview us on hiss camera so I took his picture

blow the horn or flash the dipper (depending where you are, so as to not disturb the wildlife)) at the oncoming car. All of a sudden, and to my shock the driver of the oncoming jeep stopped, bashing his car door into ours hurling abuse, physical and verbal at our driver. He was stinking drunk and although a few of the passengers were brave enough to try to stop him with this disgusting behaviour, the remaining just watched in fear. This is the kind of behaviour which needs to stop if India really is to be a serious contender for the next big super power. This driver allegedly (but we later found out he was the local tourist director) owned Nameri National Park lodge and how dare a lowly driver flash his dipper at his car, signalling him to stop. It was absolutely disgusting the way he was reacting and Sanj and I were in state of shock, such that we didn’t intervene or shout anything as this “Pinku” guy screamed and punched at our driver. The other passengers in this “Maharaja’s” car tried to hold him, clearly not forceful enough because they themselves were terrified of him.

Our

Dhaba

Afternoon snack

driver responded well by not saying anything, reversing back and driving off. When we returned to the Lodge Mum and my aunt greeted us and told us we were having lunch at the Lodge - the staff were helpful we were told and the restaurant seemed good. I then told Mum about the incident and nothing prepared me for her reaction! She stomped to the manager and demanded to see this Pinku guy, how dare he assault our driver when he had no right to, that she was going to inform the police - the domestic tourists’ mouths were open with shock and this brave and boisterous women - I was in part slightly embarrassed but mostly in awe of my mother - girl power and good on her for standing up for someone who had been treated like this because of his apparent social standing!

Needless to say, we chose not to eat or stay at this place nor line the pockets of this man any further.

So we stayed at Bhalukpong another night, after telling them that we would not be staying another night due to the substandard rooms (woops!) - do not underestimate the job

Nameri lodge

of getting the permits to enter Arunchal Pradesh - it is frustratingly bureaucratic. But we got them in the end and began our ascent into the beautiful, untouched eastern Himalayas. Driving past little villages in these remote parts is an unforgettable experience - globalisation, 21st century India has not appeared to have affected these Indians. They live like they have been living for hundreds of years- we lost count of the number of children we saw squatting to do their business on the road. The roads are windy and dangerous - one slight misjudgement by your driver and you’re a gonna.

Bomdila

Our first stop was the high altitude Bomdila a small town clinging on the mountainside. At about 2500 metres above sea level, t is extremely cold here and you can feel the lack of oxygen but the nice thing about this place is that it is always sunny. I had expected to be able to arrange treks and tours at one of the prominent tourism centres - no luck - you go in and ask, people do not really speak English (lucky I speak Assamese) and are so laid back they are practically horizontal. And the

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Me and mummy in Tata

“boss” is always away, somewhere, nobody knows.

We stayed in the most expensive hotel in this town but do not be fooled - it is no 5 star luxury purporting to shield you from the harsh aspects of travel in a developing country. Even with heaters (that for the most part are faulty), it is like being stuck in an industrial freezer. This does slightly mar the experience of staying in a remote Eastern Himalayan town, the cold. Electricity, or rather the hotel’s generator, is switched off after 9pm. However you cannot help but think of the locals who do not have the luxury of constant electricity or heaters, locals who struggle just to get by.

So we walked around the town, observing the very Buddhist culture. We did set off to locate the monastery nearby but found that it was closed. Disappointed by not being able to explore and wanting to trek, I consoled myself with drinking vodka with my husband, mum and aunt and played poker well into the night, with head torches since the electricity had been switched off at 9pm.

Dirang

The next day we persuaded my mum and aunt to drive

River rafting in Nameri

us to Dirang, about 2 and a half hours away, down the mountains. The altitude in Bomdila was getting to me and having spent most of the night breathless and freezing in my 5 layers I was grateful to be descending down the valley.

Dirang is on the way to the famous Tawang district, on the road to Tibet/China Tawang was our end point, but with the weather so cold and hearing accounts of poor accommodation with not much trekking opportunities but high altitude and snow I questioned whether I actually wanted to make t to Tawang, another 9-10 hours drive from Bomdila.

Dirang valley was supposed to be beautiful and the idea was to stop here for the night, explore and see how we feel the next day.

We weren’t wrong, the valley was beautiful and so naturally wild. We stopped in a tourist lodge with beautiful views over the small town nestled in the valley, with the gushing river going through. It is remarkably green and so picturesque but the town is incredibly sleepy; you guessed it, the tourist boss was “away”, out somewhere and coming back but nobody knows when. I wanted a local

Nameri - rafting

to take us out trekking or at least exploring, but at the suggestion, people looked at us like we were crazy! Most people did not speak English and luckily my grasp of Assamese is good enough to get by.

The tourist lodge was run by 2 adolescents, who barely spoke English and seemed eager to please, although some lessons in cleanliness would not go amiss. Their boss was “away” and they seemed to have the whole lodge to themselves. However, again, I was reminded of India’s class system - the boys, both surely under 17, slept outside our room on the floor sharing a single mattress.

As we weren’t going to get any sort of guides we took it upon ourselves to ask the locals where we could go. The hot springs, yak farms were all driving distance and mum and Aunt had just left to return to Assam. I was also eager to “trek”. So we walked around and surprisingly managed to do a little loop of the town, taking time to rest by the river. As we walked it was quite evident that this place does not see tourists, no matter what the internet brochures may

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portray of “trekking opportunities”. We walked past men, who literally had there mouths hanging open with curiosity at both me and my husband, in our trekking pants and boots and rucksacks. We also got a lot of “Hello, how are you” in mocking American/Hinglish accents. We were the tourist attraction!

Here I saw young children at work, fixing the roads, tending the yaks, it's a hard life here. However, it felt surreal, like we had stepped back a hundred years in time.

Tawang

I understood that Tawang was another 8 or so hours drive away and also that it was a beautiful place with snow, Shiva temples and lakes. There is also the Sela Pass at 13,700 feet (metres?) it is one of the highest roads in Asia, or was it India, I forget! It was through here the Chinese seeped through to invade our country. Now it is has a very Buddhist feel, with many Tibetan refugees settling and I hear that its tourist industry is run mostly by the Bengalis.

We also heard from our friends in Dirang of breathtaking scenery, of snow capped mountains wrapped by a “valley of clouds” and colourful

Mosi net - essential

This is a malaria zone!

Buddhist temples. Again, I asked of trekking opportunities, to which I received looks of mocking confusion - why would anyone in their right mind want to get out of their car and walk in this freezing cold, high altitude brutal climate? Most people visiting Tawang arrived in Tata Sumos (jeeps), drove around, took some pictures, then returned to their hotel. It was February, and only a few days ago, the road leading to Tawang had been blocked from heavy snow fall. I had to make a decision, bearing in mind my husband was itching for sun, sea and sand. A few days in the snow capped mountains with questionable accommodation and uncertain tourist centres, or back to Assam for an onward flight to Goa? The few days we had meant that Goa was the safer option although I promised to return in the summer months with more time. This place is unforgettable, untapped and quite simply timeless in its beauty. I would need to come back.

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