Assam and Arunachal

Jaideep's wedding was in Dibrugarh and we decided to plan a trip around that region. Eastern India is probably the most beautiful place in the country and is the least explored. People have too many wrong notions about the region and for the four of us ( Sid, Shruti, Sneha and me) this trip changed our perception about the region.

Guwahati:
We landed at Guwahati airport after a long flight but we headed to the Brahamaputra after a quick lunch at hotel Nisha, a small but decent place to eat. By the time we reached the river it was almost dark. It was just five in the evening. The sun sets very early in this part of the world and it took us a couple of days to get used to the routine. By six thirty the dinner is ready at the hotel and by seven everything is closed.
We took a ferry to the island located in the middle of the river which boasts of a rare species of the monkey, the golden monkey, which we did not spot because of the darkness. The island also had a temple where the greedy priests cheated people by telling stories about some deity and chanting verses in god knows which language. The only way to stop this fleecing was to be rude and walk out of the temple. The river did not look so mighty unlike what I had heard and read. It is only later in the trip did I realize the might of this great river.
After a lovely dinner at hotel Paradise which serves Assamese food our day ended in front of the TV watching cricket highlights

Nameri:
Nameri Eco-camp is located right on the border between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and is a nature lovers heaven. There are more than four hundred species of birds but as usual we were curious about the existence of the Tiger and as usual the forest guards told us some stories about the Tiger. It is a pity that our knowledge of wild life ends there. The guards took us inside the jungle and we enjoyed walking through the elephant grass listening to the evening buzz. As it got darker we could hear the villagers shooing away the elephants at a distance by making loud noises and our guard loaded his weapon. For a while we were excited and scared of encountering an animal.

Later in the evening we met the funniest and the most modern seventy year old man in India. The USP of Nameri - Mr Ronish Roy. Mr Roy is a genius. He entertained us with his witty and raunchy jokes all evening. He spoke about the origin of the Tiger, the foolishness of Assam Wildlife agency to show the double horned African Rhinoceros in their advertisements, the techniques of measuring the height of an elephant, why the lazy elephants eat crops instead of gathering food inside the jungle, the tiger that used to stay near his cottage, designing shit pots, ramp modeling, acting in plays, Indus valley civilization and the importance of drinking alcohol in Eastern India. We did realize the importance of the last point very early in the trip.
The next morning we went for rafting which turned out to be a pleasant boating ride. Thinking that my camera will get wet in the rapids I did not bring it along and missed capturing one of the most beautiful sights in my life. The blue water, the green trees around, the birds, the sun rays through the clouds making the river shine like silver, etc made it seem like a movie depicting heaven. Our wildlife skills improved slightly thanks to the oarsmen and we were able to identify a few birds.
After breakfast we headed for Dirang - our first destination in Arunachal. We saw a lot of surprised faces when we mentioned that we planned to trek the next few days. It was November and the temperatures were falling everyday and it was snowing in the hills but we were not worried about the weather. We learned a bitter cold lesson in the next few days.

Dirang:
After Nameri, the Indian Army's presence suddenly increased and in some places we could see anti-insurgency units ready with weapons and mine detectors for any emergency. At the border our documents were verified and we were allowed to drive into Arunachal. In the next six hours the weather changed drastically and we stopped in Bomdila to buy extra woolens. No wonder people gave us surprised looks when we mentioned trekking. We stayed in Dirang Resort which was not a resort but a pigeon hole where the pigeons on the roof kept us awake all night. Dirang is probably the sleepiest of the sleepy towns we encountered. By six the shops are closed and by seven there is not a soul on the street.

Lubrang:
Next morning we started trekking from Rama Camp, a tiny little village on a river bank, with four men ( Tsering - the drunken guide, Gumbo - the bird hunter who was our cook, Lan Tsering - the mobile phone addict and another quiet guy whose name I don't recollect) and three ponies. The initial part of the trek was the hardest as the climbs were steep and the limbs rusty. We took breaks initially and increased our pace slowly. Sneha and I got used to the rigor and moved briskly while Shruti and Sid climbed slowly. It took us five hours to reach Lubrang which is located at around 10000 feet above sea level. Lubrang is a small village with around ten houses who survive on small farming and livestock trading. The view from Lubrang is beautiful and one can see Sela Pass, Naga Ji Ji and other snow capped peaks while lazing around in grass next to a gonpa. The yaks and the huts give it a very picturesque look.
There was a Army unit camping out there and we had to report to the officer in charge. Meeting Major Rohit was a pleasure and the chivalrous army soldiers treated us with hot tea and biscuits the moment we arrived. I had interesting discussions with Rohit about Kashmir, Army, the hills and war. He asked us not to hesitate in case we needed help and provided us with some medicines for altitude sickness and fever which our guides had not carried.
A little while later Shruti and Sid made it to the top and in freezing temperatures we had our Maggi moment. Dinner was served to us in a short while and during the long dinner we had conversations with our drunken guides about their lives, families and even software development. The guides were more than eager to dance with the girls. The night was young or rather late for a change as we kept talking, dancing and singing till around eleven in the night in a place which gets shut down by I suppose four in the evening.
We entered our freezing tent at around eleven thirty and that is when everything changed. It was a few degrees below zero and we had insufficient woolens. The night was the hardest night of our lives as we struggled to keep ourselves warm. The sleeping bags were sub-standard and we did not have woolen socks and no matter how many layers of synthetic socks you put on there is no replacement for a woolen pair. The next morning when we woke up and came outside the tent we saw frost everywhere. We were completely under prepared and our travel agent Mr Nath, who so called organized our trek in Arunachal, did not do his homework. The villagers advised us against climbing further as the snow fall had increased up the mountains. We realized that the ponies were eating less food due to the cold and that made us change our plan of trekking further up. With a heavy heart we decided to trek down and take an alternate trek route to a different place.
Thing went from bad to worse as we trekked down. The trek down was steep and the melted frost made the route slippery. The guides were drunk and not in a position to make decisions. We came down till Rama Camp and wanted to pitch a tent for the night but the guides spent time drinking instead. With the trek nowhere we decided to abort the trek and go back to the sleepy town - Dirang. The organizers admitted that things had gone wrong and re-planed our itinerary. Bruised, battered and demotivated we spent the night at Mahalakshmi lodge which despite its bad interiors and dirty bathrooms had a very enterprising and helpful owner.
Mr Pasang visited us in the morning and encouraged us to visit Sangti valley. The valley is around ten kilometers from Dirang and the walk up and down is a little tiresome but worth the effort. During the walk we spoke about various things, we took snaps near the bridges, the river, the farms, etc. The place had yellow grass and gave a Scottish country side feel to it. Later in the evening we were moved to the lovely Awoo resort. A real resort this time.

Sela pass and Jaswanthgarh:
The next morning we drove to Tawang via Sela pass. Sela pass is located at around 13500 feet above sea level. We halted there and clicked as many snaps as we could and as fast as we could because the cold was piercing our skins. Our driver on the other hand washed his face with cold water from the almost frozen lake. In the lake if you see a shadow of a golden pig then your luck changes. I am sure I saw one. Our next halt was at Jaswanthgarh, named after an Indian Soldier who fought the Chinese in 1962 war. There is a memorial maintained by the Army and it makes you feel proud and sad at the same time for all the soldiers posted in such places under such tough situations.

Tawang:
We drove from Jaswanthgarh to Tawang listening to the latest Hindi songs. The people in the east definitely know their music and have a good taste for it. The driver told us that Tawang has a monastery which is built over a lake full of gold and the Chinese want Tawang for that reason.
In Tawang, we literally spent our days in the two restaurants. One which served Chinese food and the other had a multi-cuisine menu. Next morning we saw the famous monastery, Army museum and the birth place of the sixth Dalai Lama. By afternoon it was time to hit the restaurants again.

Kaziranga:
We flew from Tawang to Guwahati in a helicopter from the civil airport which is just a small helipad. There is one man who is dons the cap of ground staff, on-boarding assistant and all the other roles that hundreds of people play in a big airport. The funniest part is that you need to call the person a day before to confirm the ride. The ride in itself was a great experience as we flew over Himalayas via Bhutan and Assam which according to me is covered by the Brahamaputra. The river is massive and it looks like a sea from the sky. It looked as though four massive rivers flowing side by side. After landing, we headed for Kaziranga where Mr Joon had organized our stay. Kaziranga has the highest density of Tigers and almost everyone talks about spotting a tiger. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of the Tiger apart from its shit. But the ride into the jungle where a Rhino almost attacked us, spotting wild elephants and waiting for the tiger for hours got us tired and we headed straight for dinner. It was Bunty's birthday and we celebrated it with some folk dancers and customary walks.

Trip ends:
After Kaziranga we headed for a tea estate in Korangini. We witnessed tea making process in the factory and a folk dance perfomance by the local villagers who made us feel like those foreigners who visit India and watch some random dance. The next moring we drove through the estate and headed towards Dibrugarh where my friend's reception was to be held. Bunty and Shruti headed for the airport.
After the lovely reception we headed back to Bangalore via Kolkata. The stop in Kolkata meant we dumped our luggage in the dirty cloak room and headed for chello kebabs at Peter Cat. Reaching Bangalore at late night meant dealing with crazy taxi drivers but thanks to Meru cabs we avoided that and headed home comfortably.
Somewhere it struck us that this was our last trip in India before Sneha and I moved to Singapore. The lovely east India never ceases to amaze us and especially me as I have my childhood memories from that region. I hope to visit that region sometime again.