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Published: August 1st 2014
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I dont know about you, But I love to find places off the beaten track. In 2002 I headed my own mini eco-tour into what felt like the most remote place on earth. It’s in an area called the North East Frontier, where India meets Myanmar and China. The most inaccessible part of this area, which is pretty remote anyway, is a state called Arunachal Pradesh. In order to get there, you have to get special permission from the government of India. For the most part it’s off-limits to tourists. I met one of the tribal groups in Assam, the Singpho people, through friends who which started an organic tea-growing project with these people. I was the first Westerner to ever stay in their village. I met these people in 2001, in the middle of the jungle, virtually inaccessible. Two grueling days from Kolkata on the train, then a five-hour taxi ride over roads that eventually became jungle tracks.
I was actually adopted into this tribe. They even planted a neem tree in my name. The sad thing is, with even the most remote places, is that young people move away, and the culture is eventually assimilated into the mainstream.
The three English speaking tea planters decided that an eco-tourism project could inject some well needed cash, and demonstrate to the younger people the value of their unique culture. The majority of the youth mostly left as soon as they could, or turned their backs on to the native traditions.
So the next year, I brought a small group to try out this idea. It consisted of a two-week stay. One week with the Singpho people, and then another week into the heart of no man’s land, Arunachal Pradesh, where few dare to venture. Our group set off in Tata Jeep, a rather decrepit version of the more solid Land Rover. Our destination was the Namdapha Tiger Reserve, 2000 km² of virtual wilderness in the foothills of the Himalayas. We nearly didn’t get there. The optimistically described “road”, periodically ended at the banks of the river. We often had to find some local boatmen who could ferry us across, to find where the road continued. What ensued then was a perilous river crossing, where our Jeep was sometimes almost submerged. One particular crossing, the only way across was to ferry the whole Jeep. Two wheels on one canoe, and
two wheels and the other, paddled across where we watched in amazement from the safety of the shore.
Another time we had to do a huge detour, because a critical bridge was occupied by heavily-armed militia, who told us in no uncertain terms to turn around. As we drove up into the Himalayas, we would occasionally find the whole road washed out. Somebody before us had laid a fragile-looking bamboo crossing. I didn’t dare look below to the gaping chasm beneath us, or look up to the cliffs that could engulf us in another landslide. We eventually came to the end of the road. We occupied very basic abandoned accommodation, and sadly only had one day to go into the reserve. We tried to call up the dilapidated looking “forest camp” across the river, which was completely uncrossable. Despite its claim of being “worth-staying for it’s scenic vistas” (Indian euphemism for crumbling ruin), it seemed like nobody had stayed there for a long time. Our short time there, following a serpentine trail through impenetrable jungle was memorable for the deafening noise of animals and beasts, the like of which I’ve never heard. One of our party called this spot
“the End of the Earth”. I had to agree. Even though I’ve been to some pretty remote spots, this felt like nobody had ever been there before.
On our return various vital parts of the Jeep failed, such as brakes, but remarkably some alchemist in a remote village provided what was necessary to get us home. I never did go back with a full-fledged eco-tour. Even though my Singpho friends were enthusiastic, and figured that would-be Western travelers would respect their traditions, I felt very ambiguous about being responsible for opening this remarkably untouched area to even the most sensitive tourists. . For all I know there is an international airport there now, along with McDonald’s, Starbucks and all the rest. But there is a selfish part of me that hopes it will stay as wild and unexploited as I found it.
I have traveled India extensively, and you can find a complete personal blog of my 16 years of travels at nirvanabyinstallments.com
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Off the Beaten Track
Eager to read more about your zig zagging.