[gunin]

Background:
This trip was done in the winter of 2014. I was posted at Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh at that time. I was very eager to explore more areas of Arunachal Pradesh and a 4 day holiday provided just the right window for doing the trip.

Planning:
Almost next to nothing. All we (me and my friend, Karan) knew that we would ride towards Roing and then plan and proceed accordingly.

Rides:
My RE Classic 500 and Karan on a Suzuki GS150r.

Day 1: Pasighat to Mayudia (via Dambuk)
Road conditions:I felt some nuts and bolts come off my bike
Distance: Approximately 160 kms

We started early from Pasighat at around 6 am. As usual, I didn’t sleep properly the previous night with dreams of the ride keeping me in a half-awake state.

Some pics while riding from Pasighat:




My RE Classic 500

We soon crossed Mebo and entered the dry river bed of the Dibang River. The route we took to reach Roing is cut off during the monsoons. It is very easy to get lost here and the only way to stay on track is to watch out for subtle track imprints on the stones.


Dibang dry river bed

There are numerous river crossings on this route. Type A: you ride/ drive through, Type B: you cross on makeshift bridges and Type C: you cross on boats. It was an amazing experience to ride through such a vast open landscape with not a soul in sight for miles.


Wide open landscape

We came across a makeshift bridge with a toll booth maintained by the locals of the area. These bridges made of bamboo and wood get washed off every monsoon and every following winter gets rebuilt. The locals charge a nominal fee of Rs.10/ Rs.20 for using the bridge. A local going to Dambuk who was waiting at the hut (toll booth) requested for a lift from us and Karan obliged.






Temporary bridges

We soon came across a Type A river crossing (ride/ drive through) and I eagerly started riding through it. In no time my rear wheel got entrenched in the soft pebble river bed and got stuck. Even after putting my feet in the river and trying to move the bike, the bike only spun its rear wheel to glory. Karan who was riding behind me thought I was doing some stunt with all the water spraying around. After seeing my state, both Karan and the hitchhiker got down in the river and pushed me out.

Reflection to self:A bullet is not the best bet on such terrains.


Innocent looking crossing which trapped my RE

Our shoes already wet, we moved on and reached Dambuk without any further drama. We dropped off the local guy and proceeded towards Roing. We crossed many more Type A and Type B (Bamboo Bridge) river crossings and soon came across our first and only Type C (boat) crossing at Dibang ghat. Instead of a big ferry, here the people had fastened two small boats together which was just wide enough for loading a car. The boat ride lasted only for a couple of minutes across the furious Dibang river. On the other side of the river, we came across placards with photos of missing people who had drowned in the river just a few days back.


Ferry at Dibang ghat


Our bikes loaded on the ferry


Dibang river

We came across this really long river crossing just before entering Roing. Karan seemed to just breeze through on the Suzuki. With the fear of getting stuck in the back of my mind, I slowly and successfully crossed the river with a feeling of joy.


Karan breezing through on the Suzuki




Me doing the same stretch

So we reached Roing and with it reached the end of our plans. But since it was just noon, we decided to move towards Hunli and Anini and see where we would end up.

Mayudia is around 56 kms from Roing and falls in the route to Hunli. The Mayudia pass gets snowfall in the month of January and witnesses a lot of tourists from nearby towns of Assam like Tinsukia, Dibrugarh etc.

We were climbing up the mountains when it started to rain quite heavily. We took shelter under a mountain pass and waited for the shower to end. It was cold when it had started to rain and now with drenched clothes and shoes we were shivering away to glory.

Reflection to self: I should have brought rain coats and not trust the rain gods




Waiting for the weather to clear up

A local guy on a bike took coming from the opposite direction informed us that it was raining all the way to Mayudia.

With the rain not letting up, we decided to move on. We were miserable at this point of time. Wet shoes, wet clothes and the cold penetrating air were making my teeth chatter. I am sure Karan was doing just as well as me . We saw a small bonfire lit by the side of the road and I had half a mind to just stop there and warm my cold soul but we proceeded towards Hunli anyway. The wet gloves were really biting into my hands making pulling of clutch, braking etc. a little painful.

After what seemed like a never ending ordeal, we reached Mayudia and spotted a guest house by the side of the road. The place was entirely deserted and looked like nobody had lived there for quite some time. Maybe because it had not yet begun to snow yet and thus there were no tourists/ guests. We somehow located a caretaker who lived just across the road to the guesthouse and requested him to prepare lunch for us. There was still some day light left but we decided not move any further in this state. Hunli was another 30 odd kms from Mayudia.

By this time (around 3pm), the sun finally won the battle and we realised what a beautiful place we were in. There was no sign of any humans except the caretaker and the occasional sumo and BRO truck passing by.

It soon got dark and we spotted a lot of dry cane and firewood stocked in the guest house yard and the caretaker very kindly allowed us to light up a bonfire. We literally smoked our clothes, shoes and gloves dry in the bonfire. Watching over the empty and deserted road (the guest house is on an incline overlooking the road) with a crackling fire and clear starry sky for company was heaven.


Yes it was cold


Smoking ourselves dry

In the meantime, we were served the late lunch/ early dinner which I remember to be very tasty. With no electricity in the campus, we stayed up till the candles lasted. I drifted off to sleep feeling very warm and fuzzy about the day gone by.

Tomorrow, we go to Anini

[gunin]

Day 2: Mayudia to Anini

Distance:180 kms

Road condition:Acceptable (with a lot of mithun gates)

We woke up to a bright and sunny morning at Mayudia. The previous night we had decided to ride towards Anini, the district HQ of Upper Dibang Valley.


Snow! well not quite.


Mayudia guest house

Hunli is another 30 kms from Mayudia and as is the norm in mountain roads, we took around 2 hours to cover these kms. We had made a wise decision yesterday of not proceeding to Hunli in our rain-soaked clothes.

Some pics:




Early morning ride






From the road

At Hunli, we were waved down by BRO personnel who were giving final touches to a road repairing work. After a few minutes, they signalled us to proceed and as the first person to cross the repaired patch of road, I very proudly went ahead. The patch of road was a mud track on a downwards incline and I soon managed to get the front wheel stuck in the mud and had a nice fall. The BRO people discussed among themselves that the road work required more leveling.

Some pics from the road:


Suzuki GS 150r


Classic 500




Interesting patterns


Enjoying the sunshine

I realised my riding position had become funny with the handlebar too close to me. I tried to tighten the bolts after re-positioning the handlebar but ended up with a slipped bolt. So, for the rest of the journey, the handlebar would gradually keep coming closer to me and when it got too close, I would push it back


Hunli

We came across the beautiful green river which we later learned to be the Etaun river. We couldn’t resist making a stop here.

Some pics:




Lovely Etaun river


Me!






Turquoise green waters

The route from Mayudia to Anini is full of gates on the main road. These gates serve to prevent the mithuns (resembling a gaur) from wandering from one village to another. After a while, it got a little tiring opening and closing the gates even though Karan and I took turns at it.

Reflection to self: Do the mithuns not have any other route apart from the main road?

We overtook a Bolero after much difficulty and as luck would have it, we soon came to a mithun gate. As we opened the gate, the Bolero driver royally drove through with a wicked grin on his face. So, we trailed him and soon another mithun gate materialised. This time the driver had to get down and we rode through- with wickeder grins on our faces


At one mithun gate

We were riding on empty stomachs and I was also worried about refueling. We came across a nondescript hut which had the magic word sketched on it- hotel. Star Hotel, to be precise. Not expecting much, we stepped inside and were simply blown away by the hospitality and food there. We got warm water to drink, tasty pork and local chicken with rice and dal to eat and a burning fire to warm ourselves. The hotel people also informed us about petrol being available at Anini- although there is no petrol pump there. A full five stars to this Star Hotel.

With our stomachs full, we continued our journey and crossed Etalin, a small town on the way to Anini. We stopped multiple times for photo shoots and sometimes just to enjoy the views. The population got sparser as we moved towards Anini.

Some pics:




A long way down


Etalin


Break from riding

We reached Anini at around 6 pm although it felt like 10 with the whole town almost asleep. After asking a few locals, we came to know that there are only two options for accommodation in Anini- the circuit house and a small private hotel. The private hotel comprising of two precious rooms was booked fully by a group of foreign tourists on a water rafting trip. We were turned away at the circuit house/ IB by a very rude lady saying there were no rooms.

Karan and I were exploring our options of how to spend the cold and windy night in this unknown and unfamiliar town. At this point, a local man saw our bikes and gear and enquired what we were doing loitering around. After learning our predicament, he simply invited us to his home and gave us a room for spending the night. Arunachal Pradesh is a land of simple, wonderful and proud people. Who else would invite two unknown guys smelling of burnt firewood (thanks to the drying session in Mayudia) to live and stay in their home.

Not wanting to trouble our hosts any further, we had dinner at the private hotel which was surprisingly good.


Karan surveying our stay for the night

For the second night in a row, as I slept under layers of warm blankets my heart was filled with happiness and warmth.

[gunin]

Day 3: Anini to Hunli (Return journey)

Ideally, we would have liked to spend a full day at Anini and check out the place but we had not planned on coming this far and were short on leaves. We said bye to our gracious hosts and went hunting for petrol. Petrol in Anini is sold in grocery stores at a rate of Rs.100/ litre.

Before starting our return ride, we decided to ride towards Dembeune which is around 20 kms further from Anini.

Some pics:


Family which took us in








Anini to Dembeune


Abandoned hanging bridge




Lovely roads






Colours of the land

We reached Dembeune and the roads also ended, at least the motorable kind. We had planned to ride till where we could and we did just that. Tibet is a few days trek through the jungle from this point.


End of roads


Ride till the roads end

We took a quick breakfast at Anini and resumed our return journey. Anini looks very similar to Mechuka albeit with lesser stay options.

We were soon back to tackling the numerous mithun gates on the way. We made it to Star hotel for another lovely lunch of freshly cooked rice, dal, pork and chicken.

Some pics on the way to Hunli:








Star Hotel!


Scenery

It was already dark by the time we reached Hunli. We met the caretaker of the IB on the road and the person very kindly decided to show us the way. We offered him a ride to the IB which is on top of a hill but he refused which turned out to be a wise decision. Karan went ahead of me and had his first fall of the trip on a sharp incline. I fell on the same spot for my 2nd fall of the trip.

The room offered to us at the IB met all our expectations- nice clean beds, running water and a satisfying dinner as a bonus.


IB at Hunli

Day 4: Hunli to Pasighat

The final leg of our journey. Nothing exceptional happened except I fell down for the 3rd and final time while making a longish river crossing.


Hunli IB


Lovely morning at Hunli


I fell here


The bull and the boat

We finally made it to Pasighat with our boots caked with mud and hearts filled with memories to cherish.

Thanks for reading

[Eddy]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[Omkar]

Awesome travelogue! Couldn't stop reading until I finished it. And I must say

Originally Posted by gunin

We started early from Pasighat at around 6 am. As usual, I didn’t sleep properly the previous night with dreams of the ride keeping me in a half-awake state.

Haha. We actually have a thread on the same (related thread)

I realised my riding position had become funny with the handlebar too close to me. I tried to tighten the bolts after re-positioning the handlebar but ended up with a slipped bolt. So, for the rest of the journey, the handlebar would gradually keep coming closer to me and when it got too close, I would push it back

That's scary. Although I must say, the RE handled the terrain pretty well even though it wasn't meant for it.

We were riding on empty stomachs and I was also worried about refueling.

That's a good point. Were there too many instances where you had to worry about the fuel or that wasn't of any concern throughout the journey?

Karan and I were exploring our options of how to spend the cold and windy night in this unknown and unfamiliar town. At this point, a local man saw our bikes and gear and enquired what we were doing loitering around. After learning our predicament, he simply invited us to his home and gave us a room for spending the night. Arunachal Pradesh is a land of simple, wonderful and proud people. Who else would invite two unknown guys smelling of burnt firewood (thanks to the drying session in Mayudia) to live and stay in their home.

That's Incredible India and a truly Atithi Devo Bhava experience.

[vamsi.kona]

North-East is one enchanting part of India which is pretty much unexplored. I had a brief stay in Assam's khaziranga when I visited the state for my friends wedding but the stay was just 2 days and as such couldn't quite explore much.

And to the family that took you in, nothing but heartfelt appreciation and wishes.

[yogesh.8984]

Quite liked the way you have described various type of bridges and your experiences with them. It was scary to see a car being pushed onto multiple boats tied together.

You have taken roads which many with even more capable machines would be scared to take. Kudos.

Nice photography as well enriching the reading experience altogether.

[wanderernomad]

Excellent picture and narrative. Do you have the picture of the incline where, well you both kissed mother earth? Awesome trip I must say. I enjoyed reading every bit that you must have enjoyed doing it. You however do not seem to be a part of our tbhp NE whatsapp group.

[Cool_leo_guy]

Nice photography. May be All-terrain tyres will do the trick on RE Classic 500 and you won't get so royally stuck next time. Seems like you guys had a time of your life and thoroughly enjoyed yourselves. Keep riding and do keep us in the loop.

[ARAY]

Some wonderful pictures mate. Crisp narration. Recently did AR this December 2017 , NE is very close to my heart. Have been doing NE for last 2 years. Plan to go there many more times.

[gunin]

Originally Posted by Omkar

Awesome travelogue! Couldn't stop reading until I finished it.

That's a good point. Were there too many instances where you had to worry about the fuel or that wasn't of any concern throughout the journey?

That's Incredible India and a truly Atithi Devo Bhava experience.

Thanks a lot. Before moving towards Mayudia, we had tanked up at Roing. So, we travelled around 230 kms to reach Anini from Roing and the normal range of the RE is around 300 kms. Hence, the worry. The Classic 500 has its share of problems but it has never let me down on trips

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

North-East is one enchanting part of India which is pretty much unexplored. I had a brief stay in Assam's khaziranga when I visited the state for my friends wedding but the stay was just 2 days and as such couldn't quite explore much.

And to the family that took you in, nothing but heartfelt appreciation and wishes.

Thank you for the kind words.

Originally Posted by yogesh.8984

Quite liked the way you have described various type of bridges and your experiences with them. It was scary to see a car being pushed onto multiple boats tied together.

You have taken roads which many with even more capable machines would be scared to take. Kudos.

Nice photography as well enriching the reading experience altogether.

Thanks a lot. The transportation of vehicles on boats/ ferries is quite a regular affair here which of course doesn't make it any less of an adventure.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Excellent picture and narrative. Do you have the picture of the incline where, well you both kissed mother earth? Awesome trip I must say. I enjoyed reading every bit that you must have enjoyed doing it. You however do not seem to be a part of our tbhp NE whatsapp group.

Thank you for the appreciation. No. we don't have pictures of that incline as it was dark at that time. I request you to add me to the group. I will PM you my phone number.

Originally Posted by Cool_leo_guy

Nice photography. May be All-terrain tyres will do the trick on RE Classic 500 and you won't get so royally stuck next time. Seems like you guys had a time of your life and thoroughly enjoyed yourselves. Keep riding and do keep us in the loop.

Thank you. I will definitely keep posting.

Originally Posted by ARAY

Some wonderful pictures mate. Crisp narration. Recently did AR this December 2017 , NE is very close to my heart. Have been doing NE for last 2 years. Plan to go there many more times.

Which sector you covered in December? Let me know when you visit the next time. Thanks for reading.

[ARAY]

Originally Posted by gunin

Which sector you covered in December? Let me know when you visit the next time. Thanks for reading.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...uster-awd.html

[pduttaghy]

Great way to spend your Holidays Gunin. Really enjoyed going through your pictures and experiences.