[TOINGPOING]

Congratulations! Really awesome trip.All the more interesting,since you traveled all these terrain without 4WD. Please post more snaps. All the very best and have an safe travel.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by robbythomas79

Any journey where the trip-meter reads 9218.6 km at the end of it must be fun.

Hi Robbythomas79,

Thanks for sharing your travelogue here!

For future posts please note: It is imperative to upload pictures directly to the Team-BHP Server. Click here to view our pictorial help article on uploading pics.

Please submit images ONLY via the Team-BHP Attachment System going forward. Thanks

[robbythomas79]

Day 11 - Thembang to Tawang.

After a freezing cold night warmed by Mr Satyen Jorme's hospitality and butter tea, we woke up to a bright morning at Thembang Village. We explored the small village and the very old Dzong. Unlike the massive Dzongs in Bhutan, the Thembang Dzong was relatively smaller but much older. We had a warm breakfast and prepared to leave. Mr Satyen obliged us with a picture wearing his traditional Monpa dress and we started at 08:00 A.M back to the main highway to Tawang . We planned to refuel in Dirang town which is around 15 km from Thembang, but later realized that the only petrol pump was a kilometer before the town and so had to turn back. After filling up we continued the climb to Sela Pass . We reached the Sela lake and were disappointed to see a small lake, only to realize 10 minutes later that the actual Sela lake was around 500 m ahead. It was frozen and we stopped to stretch and try a bit of ice. The kids were having a lot of fun throwing balls of ice at each other. Pls be very careful if you are going to step on the frozen lake. A tragedy happened later during our same trip where the ice gave way in a lake in Nagaland and 2 college students died. After playing with the snow for a while, we started off again to Tawang, stopping in between for a few minutes at the Jaswantgarh war memorial in memory of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat who with two other soldiers held back the Chinese for three days in the Battle or Nuranang. There is a small Army canteen there but we decided to go further down for lunch and stopped at Jang village around 2 P.M for a nice lunch of Thupka and noodles. The Nuranang falls is near Jang village, but it was not rainy season and the locals said that the water flow was not great so we didnt explore it. By evening we reached Tawang. There was no power and there was not 3G/2G and we couldnt look up Tripadvisor or any travel site and looked for a hotel in the old fashioned way - Asking people :-). Interestingly a cab driver named Mukesh came to me and asked me if I was the person from Bangalore who called him ( I had made a few inquiries for a cab from Bangalore because I was not sure if the Innova could go to Sengester lake and Bum La ). He saw the KA registration and put two and two together. He put us up at the Buddha hotel in the center of Tawang which was a pretty decent lodge. There was a nice Bar/Cafe below the hotel and we had a sumptuous dinner and drinks after a long tiring drive and settled in for the night.


Thembang Eco Tourism

Corn being dried outside Mr Satyen Jorme's house

At the entrance of the Thembang Dzong

Inside the Dzong

Dried Yak Meat hanging. It is common in all village houses.

Mr Satyen Jorme's house

Red Panda's in Thembang. We didnt see any though. Would love to come back for a trek

Thembang

On the way to Sela Pass

The frozen Sela Lake

Walking on Ice

One of the many meaningful Road Signs by the Army / BRO

At the Jaswantgarh war memorial

Yak's on the way

The snow filled road to Tawang.



Day 12 - Tawang Monastry, Sengester and Back.
Next day morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and started at 09:00 A.M for the famous Tawang monastery which is the largest in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It is not just one building as I expected but a large compound. There was a museum with many rare photographs, artifacts and books. There were many teenage monks playing cricket in the open which was fun to watch. After hanging around a bit, we decided to go to Sengester lake without any delay. On the way was the DC's office and we stopped to inquire if we could get accommodation at circuit house. Contrary to government staff in most places if you dont have influence, the staff here were very friendly and wrote us the approval for accomodation. The circuit house was a short detour on the way to Sengester so we dropped our luggage there and placed our dinner order with some local cuisine. It was 11 A.M We were told that the drive to Sengester was 36 km and should take an hour and a half which we later realized was not really possible unless you are on a Hummer. The road to Sengester takes a detour just a couple of kilometers out of the city because of road construction. The detour is pretty bad and the Innova was stretched to its limit. It is quite steep in some hairpins and I had to do a half clutch on first gear a couple of times and the smell of the burnt clutch was overwhelming. After a while the detour reached back to the main road which was better and we continued to Sengester. We stopped at the Rajputana cafe for some hot pakora's and The snow started getting a bit deeper and we had to carefully roll over the snow in many places. I was getting a bit worried, because I didnt have chains or a 4WD. The only assurance was from locals who said that the Innova can make it because the snow wasnt very deep yet. We reached Sengester by around 2 P.M. We parked the car and took the walking path around the lake. the lake had a layer of thin ice over it. There were trees in the lake ( Similar to the ones that get created when a cachement area fills up, not sure how the trees grew though. The lake is definitely not a cachement area). The beauty of the place will take your breath away. The kids of course had a lot of fun with the snow around the lake and were refusing to come back. We headed back and got stuck in the snow a couple of kilometers into our return. Everyone except me got off, trying to dislodge the Innova. I was pretty worried, but suddenlyIndian army soldiers appeared out of nowhere sensing our distress. We got out of the snow without their help, but just the fact that the army is present even though they are not visible was a huge assurance for us. If anyone from the Indian Army reads this, you guys totally rock !!. We came back without much incident but had a very late lunch in Tawang at around 05:30. We then settled into the nice Circuit house. Power was quite flaky, and went off and on till around 12:00 P.M. We slept preparing for a long drive back to Tezpur the next day.

If you plan to also go to Bum La where you can see the China border you have to take a separate pass (Not sure where. We had already decided against Bum La because the Innova couldnt negotiate the road and also the altitude was 15000 feet as opposed to 13000 feet at Y junction on the way to Sengester. With elderly people with us we didnt want to risk the high altitude). Bum La is a deviation from Y junction. One more place we skipped is Zemi Thang where there are apparently nice homestays.


At the Tawang Monastery


At the Tawang Monastery


Photo of the Dalai Lama escaping from China to Tawang.


At the PT Tso lake on the way to Sengester Lake ( Or Madhuri Lake )



The PT Tso Lake



Road Signs on the way to Sengester


At the Cafe Rajputana. Hot Pakora's and Coffee


Guru Nanak Ji passed this route hundreds of years ago.


Interesting road sign. Apt for the road.


Snow filled way to Sengester


Army Trucks near Sengester. The place is 5 km from the international border.


The partially frozen Sengester Lake from Above



Sengester Lake


Sengester Lake



The Sengester Lake

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I am considering this hotel for stay during my forthcoming drive to Tawang.

Originally Posted by ANewExperience

Wonderful article

I have always wanted to go to northeast and you have shown us that its possible and how to do it!!
Waiting for your remaining updates..

Hi,

We are planning trip from Bangalore next April.
Let me know if you are interested and we may plan along.

regards,
Ramagiri

Originally Posted by FORTified

Let me know if you are interested and we may plan along.

Thanks, FORTified. I did this expedition in April 2015.

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Thanks, FORTified. I did this expedition in April 2015.

Wow.... You not senior for nothing

Can I touch base with you for more info, Dos/Donts, Preparation etc.,?

regards,
Ramagiri

Originally Posted by FORTified

Wow..

Thanks, FORTified.

Can I touch base with you for more info, Dos/Donts, Preparation etc.,?

Sure, you are welcome. You can go through my ownership thread for more details on this trip starting from here.

[petrol_power]

Hi All,

Pl provide any information available about Bhutan tourism wrt the following doubts I have.

1) In Bhutan tourism web page, they have mentioned about giving some 250$ per day.
http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan/faq
"What does the $200/$250 per day minimum daily package include?
The $200 per day (low season) and $250 per day (high season) package includes a minimum of 3 star accommodations, costs for food, an experienced guide and transportation (with driver) within the country. Also included in the price is a $65 per day royalty that goes towards free education, free healthcare and poverty alleviation. All of these services will be arranged by your tour operator."

Is it that we have to pay that or not required for Indians?

2) What is the best way to travel to Bhutan via flight/train from Bangalore. Is it like flight from Blr to Kolkatta and train from there or some other route?

3) How to travel inside Bhutan? Is it better to hire taxi from Bhutan or better to take taxi from Kolkatta and take it to Bhutan. If taking friend's car from Kolkatta, what is the procedure to take Indian car inside Bhutan.

4) How many days is recommended fora decent trip? Can it be concluded in around 8 - 9 days?

5) Best time in the year? Our plan is February end.

6) Major attractions and most importantly how is the stay there? Should we pre book or can we get it once we reach there? Any decent budget hotels with good hygience suggested? Any schedule if available, pl forward that as well.

7) I have read the travelogues, but all were mainly road trips, but what we are looking for is destination and not the road trips this time. So kindly suggest the best ways and places to be explored in Bhutan.

[saket77]

Please see my answers marked in bold:

Originally Posted by petrol_power

Hi All,

Pl provide any information available about Bhutan tourism wrt the following doubts I have.

1) In Bhutan tourism web page, they have mentioned about giving some 250$ per day.
http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan/faq
"What does the $200/$250 per day minimum daily package include?
The $200 per day (low season) and $250 per day (high season) package includes a minimum of 3 star accommodations, costs for food, an experienced guide and transportation (with driver) within the country. Also included in the price is a $65 per day royalty that goes towards free education, free healthcare and poverty alleviation. All of these services will be arranged by your tour operator."

Is it that we have to pay that or not required for Indians?

This is not applicable to Indian travellers. Applicable to travellers except Indians, nepalis and probably B'deshis. This makes Bhutan one of the most expensive destinations for foreigners. So, you need not worry

2) What is the best way to travel to Bhutan via flight/train from Bangalore. Is it like flight from Blr to Kolkatta and train from there or some other route?

Best is to take a flight to Bagdogra/ Siliguri. From there you will get buses, shared taxis, private taxis, as per your choice to Bhutan Border. i.e..Jaigaon on Indian side and Phuentsholing on the Bhutanese side.

3) How to travel inside Bhutan? Is it better to hire taxi from Bhutan or better to take taxi from Kolkatta and take it to Bhutan. If taking friend's car from Kolkatta, what is the procedure to take Indian car inside Bhutan.

You will need a false authorization from your friend that you two are blood relatives. Obviously, all original papers would be required along with your driving licence. A nominal fee and a filled up form format will see you through. However, I suggest you take a private taxi. It will free you from this trouble and the issue of false authorization. I am not sure but they may even insist of the owner being present as a passenger in the car.

4) How many days is recommended fora decent trip? Can it be concluded in around 8 - 9 days?

Easily. By default, you get permits for Paro & Thimphu (7 days) for which ~5 days are sufficient. For visiting other places, you can get permits issued from Thimphu.

5) Best time in the year? Our plan is February end.

I went there in December which was probably during the peak of winters. We used to freeze at night along with water. However, days were comfortably warm. Feb should be a good time. No issues.

6) Major attractions and most importantly how is the stay there? Should we pre book or can we get it once we reach there? Any decent budget hotels with good hygience suggested? Any schedule if available, pl forward that as well.

If you book a taxi for all your travels, they will double up as a guide too. You can get budget hotels in Thimphu for about 1.5K to 2K with heater. Advance booking may not be necessary. Expect Paro to be a tad cheaper in terms of hotel but slightly expensive than Thimphu for fooding. 2 Days in Paro should be sufficient. Major atractions there are the Tiger's nest, the National Museum, the Paro airport and roaming in the town on foot is strongly recommended. Devote slightly more time in Thimphu, ~3 days to cover all major points.


7) I have read the travelogues, but all were mainly road trips, but what we are looking for is destination and not the road trips this time. So kindly suggest the best ways and places to be explored in Bhutan.

Have a look at my travelogue, if you find it helpful (Marketing 101 )
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...te-bhutan.html

[noidea]

Hi petrol_power,
saket77 has answered all your questions.

But about your third question, I would add that if you have an authorization letter with the owners photograph, the borrowers photograph, the engine number, the chassis number and the insurance policy number on the letter it should be enough to get you the permit. This is the proper way of doing things

Or, you could get hold of the local travel agents in Jaigaon. They take a lot of permits daily for taxis and they will put your application in that bunch. The transport officials don't check the papers very stringently if 10 odd applications are filed together. And, since the taxi drivers are locals the processing is faster. It works, and I say this from personal experience

Oh, and do check www.hotel.bt

[earthian]

@robbythomas79
Wonderful narration and pictures. Some of them are pure class! Would like to touch base with you since i am planning a trip to the NE by end of February.