[Shubhendra]

We few friends wanted to go to North East India for a long time but we never got the luxury of 15 days to visit these beautiful states. Also, we always use our own vehicles for these trips hence even 15 days were not sufficient to cover a few good places in NE. Travel time from Pune to Guwahati and back itself is 6 days.During the last few years, we always used to start with a plan to the North East and end up going to different places in the upper north.
But as luck would have it, I got the window of two weeks along with a friend who is a de-facto travel buddy. We first finalized the dates of our travel and decided to prepare an itinerary later. While we 2 friends were in initial tasks another friend showed interest. None of us had ever been to Guwahati and further and we were not sure about places we wanted to cover. We only knew one thing: we have 16 days and we want to cover a few states of NE. As it was a last minute plan, with actual travel within 2 weeks. The first thing we did was to book flight tickets to freeze the travel dates. We intentionally decided to book non-refundable tickets to ensure none of us back out at the last minute.
Next important task was to get hold of good rental bikes. Most crucial part of the plan is to get good bikes to avoid your entire trip getting into jeopardy. I had heard horror stories about bike rentals in the North East although I have had good experiences in Uttarakhand. One more criteria for us was to get Himalayan for us as we all own Himalayans and road conditions in NE definitely needed an adventure bike. Same model of the bike would also help in carrying spares and consumables common for all bikes. Through some research and contacts, came across a car and bike rental company called ‘Kohua bike rentals’ run by a gentleman Danish. He is a calm and straight forward guy who promised us 2021 Himalayans at competitive rates and valid RSA (RoadSide Assistance). He also agreed to get the saddle bag mount fitted in each of the bikes at some nominal cost. Considering the roads we traveled, weather conditions and remoteness of places without good bikes, the entire trip would have been a disaster. In fact, we came across a few riders who were suffering because of badly maintained rented bikes.
Last minute trip plan didn't give us enough time either to plan and prepare. But based on past riding trips and monsoon situations in the North East we packed our clothes and belongings in a few layers of plastic and avoided extra clothes and accessories.
Few of our friends were aware of trip and one of my close friend decided to join us just 3 days before our scheduled departure from Poona. Now we were 4 riders and needed an additional bike. Danish from KOHUA Bike rental was kind enough to get an additional bike in a moment’s notice and that too a brand new RE Scram 411.
We hadn’t booked any hotel and had a very vague and highly ambitious itinerary which was not practical. Why impractical, because we were not sure about road conditions, general weather conditions, elevations etc. Although based on some internet searching, I plotted a few places in GMaps (assuming gmaps duration estimation is accurate which wasn’t) and prepared a day wise itinerary. Meanwhile I also got in touch with a bhpian (Wanderer4x4) who gave his valuable inputs but by this time we were about to start the journey. But his suggestions helped us make up our minds later on to cover a region thoroughly rather than aimlessly covering random places.
Accessories carried for the trip: Other than standard clothes, riding gears we carried Helmet bluetooth devices, power bank, portable tire inflator, a torch, 3M double sided sticker, medical kit with all basic medicines etc. which came handy a few times , additional bungee cords, zip ties, rainsuite, few basic tools (other than what was already provided in the toolkit).
We also carried 5 photo copies of Adhar, Passport, DL, passport size photos.

As our initial itinerary was all over the place, I am not sharing it but below are the places we covered with refinement to our itinerary every other day.
Day 1: Pune to Guwahati
Day 2: Guwahati to Bomdila via Bhairavkund & Shergaon
Day 3: Bomdila to Tawang via Sela Pass
Day 4: Local Tawang sightseeing and permit for Bum-la
Day 5: Sungester lake, Bum-la, Sungester lake, Zemithang and Tawang
Day 6: Tawang to Dirang (Nuranang waterfall)
Day 7: Dirang local sightseeing (Chug valley, Dirang monastery, Sangti valley, Mandala top)
Day 8: Dirang to North Lakhimpur
Day 9: North Lakhimpur to Dambuk via Pasighat
Day 10: Dambuk to Hayuling via Tezu
Day 11: Hayuling to Kaho
Day 12: Kaho to Namsai
Day 13: Namsai to Pangsau Pass to Margherita
Day 14: Margherita to Kaziranga
Day 15: Kaziranga to Guwahati
Day 16: Guwahati to Pune





Day 1: Pune -> Chennai -> Guwahati
Because of the hectic previous day, we somehow managed to reach the airport on time for our flight to Chennai. Journey from Pune to Chennai to Guwahati was uneventful but consumed the entire day and we reached Guwahati at 6:30 PM.

Beautiful sunset



Waterlogged Guwahati



Plan was to go directly to the bike rental office, pickup bikes and head to the hotel. Only glitch was that we didnt book any hotel in Guwahati as none of us got time to search and finalize the place. A home stay suggested by Danish was full along with few others. During transit in Chennai we used the time to book our stay. Most of the places in the main city area were booked. But we were able to get a homestay on a hilltop overlooking the Brahmaputra river on the suburbs of Guwahati. It came as a blessing in disguise as the main Guwahati city area is very crowded and noisy. And because of recent rains it was not clean either. Whereas this place was, though not far from the main city, had its own charm of an old house with a lot of greenery, good food and calm surroundings.
Guwahati airport is although small but aesthetically done and an organized airport. It took us more than an hour to reach the Danish’s office in the main city because of rain and under construction roads. He was waiting for us as we reached his office way past the closing time. We quickly completed the documentation for all the bikes, loaded our saddle and tank bags and were ready to move to the homestay. But we had a problem. Our fourth friend was scheduled to reach Guwahati next morning and we were 3 people who needed to collect 4 bikes. It was decided that we will go to our stay, finish our dinner and then collect the fourth bike from a place closer to our stay.
Took us almost 30 minutes to get the bikes fueled up because there was just one fuel station in that locality with too many vehicles and zero lane discipline. Got to know that fuel pumps were closed the previous day because of some reason.
It was almost 10 PM by the time we reached our stay in incessant rain and chaotic traffic. The main caretaker was a nice talkative fellow which helped us to get settled quickly and after a tasty dinner we stopped out to collect the fourth bike. While returning it started to rain very heavily and we couldn’t use gmaps and reached the opposite side of the hill. It was quite a task to memorize the route, cover some distance, find a shed, and again memorize the route. Roads were steep and narrow and there was no one (it was post mid night) to guide.
This experience was just the beginning as we reached Guwahati the previous day of recent floods where few people lost lives. It rained throughout the night but we slept peacefully in AC not knowing the things to come in the next few days.

Old palatial bungalow had its own charm








Highlights of the day:
(1) Condition of bikes: As promised all the bikes were less than a year old with Valid RSA. The Scram 411 was a few days old still waiting for the number plate to be delivered ! 2 Himalayans had around 10,000 kms on Odo, one himalayan had 3000 kms on Odo and Scram had around 2000 kms on Odo. Bikes were recently washed, servicing done and no damage, saddle bag frames were installed, tyres were in good condition (except for rear tyre of a bike). I have rented bikes in the past and fortunately never had a bad experience. But i had heard lot of negative feedbacks from friends in last 2 years hence I was not at all confident until the end of the trip
(2) Homestay at Guwahati: Although this homestay was our last preference and we had informed the owner only to confirm once we saw the place. We even tried a few more hotels after landing in Guwahati but couldn't get a good hotel. Once we reached the place, it was love at first sight. An old palatial bungalow with old/classic furniture and fitting, lots of trees & plants everywhere, very courteous staff, spacious and clean room and very nice food. We loved the place so much that during our return journey we stayed at the same place again and when we called the caretaker to confirm our return stay, the first thing he said was ‘Welcome home’. These little things always blow me over fancy places with minimal personal touch.


Day 2: Guwahati to Bomdila

Today’s route: Guwahati -> Bhairav Kunda -> Shergaon -> Rupa -> Bomdila
Total distance traveled: 270 kms

We woke up early in the morning when our fourth friend arrived. It was still too early for us hence we resumed our sleep and finally woke up by 9 AM. Our first destination was decided, it was Tawang and Bum-la. Why Tawang? Because it was the most famous tourist place in the area and everyone suggested it. But, we didn't want to go via the standard Tezpur-Bhalukpong route and decided to take Bhairavkund - Shergaon - Bomdila road. Why this road? Based on the local feedback it is a more scenic, less traffic route which also takes you to the India -Bhutan border. As we had to apply for ILP for Arunachal Pradesh, we had booked a hotel in Tawang for a day and had put his contact details in ILP (mandatory to put local reference in ILP).

We all were excited and upbeat to start the journey. Morning rain was converted into drizzle and the weather cleared. Before coming to Guwahato, we all had packed our saddle bags randomly and had to spend quite some time to get things organized, remove riding gears, helmet and communication devices, rain coat etc. We were able to start from the place by 11:00 AM. By the time we reached the first fuel station to get the fourth bike fueled up, clouds cleared resulting in hot and humid weather (similar to coastal weather). Although it was Sunday but we had to spend almost an hour in maddening traffic, sultry weather and under construction roads (Assam’s longest flyover is being constructed in this area https://www.guwahatiplus.com/guwahat...id-at-maligaon )
It was past mid-noon when we crossed the city limits of Guwahati, had to take a small juice break.












We started towards Bhairabkunda (India - Bhutan border). The plan was simple, ride as much as we could till evening and then stay somewhere. The only problem with this plan was the time zone difference. We from west of India are accustomed to late sunset times whereas this part of India gets into the dark night by our evening time. 30 minutes into our ride and clouds got darker and darker. Within a few minutes, it started to rain heavily. We got dressed up with rain gear and resumed the ride. After Guwahati’s maddening traffic and heat, we were enjoying the rainy weather, cool breeze and open roads.






It was around 15:30 when we reached a small village before Bhairabkunda. We had to lubricate chains and I had to tight bolts for Aux lamps. Luckily, there was a small shop there selling fast-food and Tea. That’s all we needed for a quick lunch.




Soon after, we reached Bhairabkunda, which is in Assam but shares an international border with Bhutan and a state border with Arunachal Pradesh.



We spent some time there reading boards outlining the importance of the place and interacting with a few young locals from nearby villages who had come there for a Sunday picnic. They shared their experiences when they had traveled to Bombay. We spent some time interacting with them.





Rain had stopped by the time we resumed our journey towards Shergaon. Arunachal border checkpost is hardly a few kilometers from Bhairabkunda. It was almost 5 PM and we wanted to reach at least Shergaon for tonight’s stay. It was a flat land journey from Guwahati uptil Bhairabkunda but from here we started a hill climb towards Tawang. Weather was amazing with lush green surroundings, hills partially hidden in clouds and perfect temperature.





After submitting a copy of our ILP and other details we entered Arunachal. Roads were in bad shape from the Arunachal border up till the first village (Amatulla) we crossed. After that village, roads became good and soon we started hill climb with good roads.

Few minutes into the ride, it started raining again. To make matters worse, a thick fog blanket surrounded us as we reached higher altitude.





Coming from the hot weather of West India and this being the first day of our ride, we were loving the weather and rains. Little did we know that it will be a daily routine for the next few days





We reached Kalaktang just before sunset. After a tea and snacks break we pushed towards Shergaon. Rain and fog was getting intense followed by dark night. We 4 friends have ridden together in the past on various rides and have the same temperament and riding style. It helped us to ride together at similar speed without losing sight of anyone. My helmet communication system really helped us to cross Guwahati together but it became problematic thereafter. If any device moved out of range then we had to do resync to connect to the other device again.As we were riding in the hills it became impossible to keep the devices connected throughout. The good old convoy rule helped to keep our small flock together.
We crossed Shergaon & Rupa and were aiming to reach Dirang but there was a problem. All the bikes were in reserve and only fuel pump in Bomdila didn't have fuel. Though, we crossed two fuel stations around Shergaon but we ignored them thinking fuel would be available in all the towns. It was 9:30 PM when we reached Bomdilla. Temperature was 8 degrees celsius but it felt like 5 degrees as we were wet. All the shops and restaurants were closed. After a few tries and run-arounds we finally got a hotel to stay who was also ready to serve us dal-chawal. We all were drenched in water since afternoon and a nice room and hot meal is all we wanted. Bonus point of the stay was it had a personal covered parking. In hilly areas, and especially in small hilly towns, its a luxury to have private parking and that too covered. In the absence of it, we would have had a hard time unloading our luggage and keeping the bike secured with enough space to put our rain gear for drying. Being the first day of the ride we had some difficulty in removing all the luggage from the bike but it became a routine after a few days and we came up with few innovative ideas to tie and untie luggage. After a much required hot shower and dinner we called it a day. It continued to rain throughout the night.

Learnings from the day:

1. Sun rises up early in the morning hence start early and ride throughout the day. You will be able to cover more places in daylight, will be able to search for a good place to stay and probably good food as well.
2. Nothing can replace gumboots in rain. Our riding boots were drenched in water on the very first day and we all had to buy gum boots the next day.
3. Not single, not double but triple layer plastic covering is required for clothes.our clothes and accessories inside saddle bags were under plastic bags and saddle bags were covered through rain liner but incessant non stop rains reached to unimagined places inside the saddle bags and us
4. Memorize important places enroute for the day to avoid wasting time in getting mobile out of 3 layers of rain protection and then asking for directions.
5. Your gadgets can die anytime because of any reason.
6. Follow convoy rule to avoid waste of time in waiting and finding other riders
7. Fill your tummy and vehicles fuel tank at the first opportunity in remote places
8. If you are not sure about places to visit in Arunachal but want to apply for online ILP, you have an option to select all checkpoints on the map and apply. We were not aware of it, and initially we had applied only for Tawang & Bhalukpong circuit. But we later realized this option and applied for ILP for all the districts in Arunachal for our travel duration

Highlight of the day:
(1) Locals we met at Bhairabkunda, very jolly people who even invited us for dinner.
(2) Performance of Himalayan. Low end torque and sorted suspension is all you need in the hills and bad roads.

To be continued......

[Shubhendra]

Day 3: Bomdila to Tawang via Sela Pass
Today’s route: Bomdila -> Sela Pass -> Jaswantgarh -> Jung -> Tawang
Total distance traveled: 181 kms

We were greeted by this view when we woke up.



It was a cold and gloomy day with non stop rains and few momentarily views from the hotel. Bomdila being situated at around 8000 feet from MSL is comparatively a colder place and temperature hovered around 8-10 degree celsius during our visit. None of us were carrying any warm clothes/caps etc. Based on lessons from the previous day, we wanted to go to the market and shop for gumboots, some warm clothes etc. Hotel guy sent a person who took us to the shop where we purchased gumboots , plastic bags etc. We were wet by the time we reached the hotel.
By this time we had also realized the intensity of rainfall we were going to face in the coming days. We did some repacking by using additional layers of polybags inside the saddle bags. By 10:30 AM we got ready, had filling breakfast, loaded all the luggage, dressed up with partially dry rain gear and headed to the petrol pump. It was dry and we got to know from the attendant that the road between Bhlukpong and Bomdilla was closed yesterday because of heavy rains and resulting landslides. We were lucky that we didnt take that route yesterday. We were also told that we shall get fuel in Dirang which is around 40 kms. With no other options, we started a mostly downhill journey to Dirang at around 11 AM. we must have covered half of the journey on switched off bikes (not advisable).

A stop enroute Dirang





We had a surprise upon reaching the Dirang fuel station. Because of fuel shortage everyone was being given INR 500 worth of petrol (as per govt directive). Although we could have reached Tawang with that fuel. But Tawang might have been facing the same problem and probably worse as tankers use the same route, and Tawang is farther in the same route with higher population to consume more fuel. We started getting our bikes refueled with a casual discussion with the pump attendant. Pump attendant was from Bihar and I have been to Bihar a couple of times and have a geographical and demographical understanding of the state. Magically, during our conversation he agreed to fill petrol with INR 1000/-. A pleasant surprise instead.

Tent accommodation behind Dirang Petrol station. We stayed at the same place while returning.





We all were cheerful despite the rains and were hopeful to complete the Tawang, Bum-la circuit with the same fuel.
Happily, we rushed towards Sela Pass with plan to have lunch at the top. But hunger took over me and some 20 kms before Sela Pass we had a quick bite.

Local kids were happy when we offered some chocolates



Roads were good so far and unaware of what was coming ahead we had planned to reach Tawang by early evening. All hell broke loose a few kms before Sela Pass. Though rain was a consistent part of this equation, road and temperature deteriorated very quickly. Although gumboots and rain suits were holding good, water drenched gloves froze our fingers. The anti fog helmet visor didn’t work in thick fog and forced us to open the visor for better visibility. Rain and cold wind directly to the face was not a pleasant experience either. Road widening work was in progress for a few kilometers before Sela pass and it was pure mud and rocks in this section.
A kilometer before Sela top,a few bikers waved at me to stop. Their rented classic 350 had some issues and was giving starting trouble. visually inspected the bike but couldnt find anything amiss, i removed spark plug covers, cleaned the tips and voila problem solved.

Mesmerising cloud formation before Sela top



We then took a pitstop at Prahari Cafe (run by Indian Army) on Sela top which fortunately had a working tower heater to get us warmed.



Lake after Sela top







Few black coffees and some time in front of the heater, we came back to our senses. Army person was kind enough to suggest an army shop (open for civilians) in Jaswantgarh where we can purchase some gloves and thermal wear. It was almost 4:30 PM with chilly wind and rain when we started towards JaswantGarh. While at Sela we saw a couple of local riders without gloves. We tried to ride for some distance without wet gloves and it was indeed a good decision. Because of rain and wind, Inner portion of wet gloves were a notch colder than the outside temperature and the trapped cold was making fingers numb. A friend and I rushed towards the Jaswantgarh shop to buy necessary stuff and the remaining two friends spent some time at the top.

Descending from Seal Top. These were second set of gloves (after Rynox Storm Evo gloves) which didn't work in rain and cold and I had to ride without gloves until JaswantGarh



Scram 411 was more fun to ride in twisties





Jaswantgarh is actually famous for the war memorial on Late Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat Ji MVC ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaswant_Singh_Rawat ). A must read wiki information for all of us. We got woolen gloves and water resistant gloves with thermal inner (these proved to be non water resistant in continuous rain), thermal head gear etc. This shop is like an oasis in the desert for unprepared folks like us
At this shop we met a bus full of old travelers from Poona who were as unprepared as us. A special mention to the free tea being served here by the Indian Army. It had a lot of ginger and Ajwain to keep you warm.
Roads were good for the next few kilometers until we reached Jung checkpost. Road widening and repairing work was in progress and they had dug one lane. Another operational lane was narrow and very muddy because of recent rains, heavy trucks, and construction machines. Being single lane and being on a motorcycle, we had to stop for oncoming trucks and move bikes closer to the road end to give them a pass.
I must mention that the traffic sense of Arunachal is the best in India i have seen so far. And except 7 states of North East, I have traveled all the states in India. If you are behind any vehicle and want to overtake, you just need to be patient for a few minutes. Vehicle ahead gives you the side even if he/she has to stop the vehicle on the curb and yes even truck drivers follow this. The icing on the cake, you don't even need to honk to make your presence felt, most of the drivers keep a close eye on vehicles behind.
It took us some time to cross that muddy road section until we reached a bridge where we regrouped.





After this patch roads became better after we got down from Jung and started another climb towards Tawang. With the company of rain and cold, we reached Tawang by 9:00 PM. We had to spend close to 30 minutes to reach our hotel. Google Maps must have had a lot of fun watching us losing our way again and again by following their maps. Roads in the main market of Tawang are dug up for pipeline & drainage work and are slushy. This is the only hotel we had booked in advance as it was a prerequisite to mention the name of the hotel in the ILP request form. And it was at the center of the congested market, on a one way road, next to a dug up sewer line with no parking or shed. And because of road construction there wasn't any space to park the bikes. We had no other option as it was late in the night and finding another hotel and food at this time was a difficult task.
We unloaded our luggage in the cold, rain and mud and checked into our rooms. Despite being covered in rain liners, the outer of the saddle bags were filled with kilos of muck and water. We had to haul wet and dirty bags to our rooms on the second floor. Thankfully rooms were better than the location of the hotel. Hotel had wooden floors and well appointed rooms with clean toilets. We had booked 3 rooms online as they did not have twin sharing rooms. A good decision in hindsight as we got enough space to get our clothes dried. As usual, it was way past midnight when we hit the bed for another interesting day.

Learnings from the day:

1. Sun rises up early in the morning hence, start early and ride throughout the daylight is key mantra. You will be able to cover more places in daylight, will be able to search for a good place to stay and probably good food as well.
2. Don't get fooled by online pics of a hotel, do thorough research. This was the only hotel booked online on our trip and there was a hell lot of difference between online pics and real condition
3. Potatoes are added by default in chicken curry in this region. Our dish had more potatoes than chicken. If you don't like potatoes in chicken gravy, you need to explicitly mention not to put potatoes.

Highlight of the day:

1. Traffic sense and law abiding people of Arunachal Pradesh
2. Performance of Himalayan. Low end torque and sorted suspension is all you need in the hills and bad roads.

[Shubhendra]

Day 4: Local tawang sightseeing and permit for Bum-la

Today was going to be a lazy day with focus on getting the permit for Bum-la pass and to cover a few local places. It was a cold and rainy day with continuous rains. As suggested by locals, two friends went to the DC office armed with all the documents at 8:00 AM only to realize the documents were not correctly sequenced. Lady officer helped them to get everything in order and by 11:00 AM we got the first permit from the DC office. We had to then submit these documents to the Brigadier’s office at the War Memorial. Army issues token the following morning to Bum-la pass which is valid for that perticular day.
Friends came back by 11:30 and after a quick breakfast in the market, we started local sightseeing which included Buddha Statue, Tawnag monastery, War Memorial, Khinmey Nyingma monastery (beautiful location and beautiful view of valley).

War memorial







Giant Buddha statue










Tawang Monastery









On the way to Khinmey Nyingma monastery that rare moment in Tawang when it didn't rain



First view of the beautiful monastery




Colourful and gorgeous structure. It was late afternoon when we visited the place and main temple was closed. However a child monk offered to get the keys and open it but we didn't want to bother him and explored the campus of monastery





A graceful statue





A calm, peaceful and serene surroundings



These beautiful gates are at the entrance of each road/village/town and enhance the grandeur



We wrapped up everything by evening. All above places were typical touristy places and can be completed in half a day.
We had realized the previous night that the brake pads of one of the bikes were worn out, we found a competent mechanic who changed the pads for 2 bikes and we purchased another set of pads for emergency. I tell you, these hill roads consume brake pads like fuel . We also did a quick shopping of thick rubber gloves which can be worn over existing cloves and keep them dry. While interacting with local boys at the bike workshop, they highly recommended Zemithang over Bum-la. Based on everyone’s feedback, we decided to do Tawang, Bum-La, Sungester lake, Zemithang, Tawang. There is a longer and better route between Tawang and Zemithang which we had decided to take on our way back to Tawang to complete the circuit.
As we had extended our hotel booking by a day as we had littered our rooms with belongings and wet clothes/gears.
A quick round of drying session with the help of a room heater (Paid 200 extra for the heater) helped to an extent.



After the sightseeing, when we reached our hotel in the evening, we got the bad news that the hotel was fully booked for the next day and we will have to vacate the hotel next morning. Our initial plan was to vacate the hotel the day after our Bum-la trip but this wasn’t going to happen now. However, the hotel owner was cooperative and got us booked to another hotel for the next day. Now the plan was to pack everything and leave for Bum-La and the new hotel owner will collect our belongings and we will go directly to the new hotel after our return.
This sudden change of plan made us fight for the only room heater to dry as much clothes as we can. We had to spend a few hours getting everything sorted and packed up, we were only going to carry our tank bags tomorrow. With the alarm clock set for 5:00 AM we slept by 1 AM.


Learnings from the day:
1. It is not clear if the DC office gives permits to rented bikes. But, neither they asked about ownership of our bikes nor did we tell them upfront. Official fee is ~ 100 INR per vehicle (yes, not per person) and it's not a difficult process. You may have to spend some time waiting to get everything done but the agent charges 500 INR per person. Now you calculate the value of your time and decide how you want to proceed. Hotel guys help you connect with the agent.
Once you get the permit from the DC office, it needs to be submitted at the Brigadier’s office at the War Memorial who gives you a token for the next day. Point to be noted that the token is always given for the next day. You need to submit the token the next day morning and collect the pass from the Brigadier’s office. The Army has the right to not give tokens depending upon weather conditions.
2. If you want to save a day, you can connect with your agent while on the way to Tawang to get the permit for the next day. They need all the docs on whatsapp and can get you the permit for the next day. For people like us who avoid touristy places, there is nothing much in Tawang except the giant Buddha statue and monastery which can be done in an hour. If you calculate the cost of one day stay, food etc, getting a permit beforehand makes more sense.
3. There is nothing great about Bum-la pass if you have been to Spiti, Ladakh etc. Had i been aware, I would have skipped Bum-la and permit requirements and directly would have gone to Sungester lake - Zemithang, stay a day there and return towards Bomdila. This would have saved us one precious day as you don't need Pass to do this circuit.

[Shubhendra]

Day 5: Sungester lake, Bum-la, Sungester lake, Zemithang and Tawang
Today’s route: Tawang -> Sungester lake -> Bum-la -> Sungester lake -> Zemithang -> Gispu -> Lumla -> Tawang
Total distance traveled: 280 kms

We woke up at 5:30 AM, it had been raining since the previous night and the temperature was around 5 degree celsius. We got ready, packed & consolidated our luggage and left it in a room and rushed towards the War Memorial to collect our tokens. By 6:45 AM, we were off to Bum-la pass.
After crossing the first checkpoint and no photography zone



Rain had subsided a bit and we saw the beautiful Buddha statue in all its glory, rising between clouds.






But we didn't have much time as we had planned to cover all these places in a day. As we started the uphill ride towards Bum-la, it was getting colder and soon the weather was engulfed in fog followed by rain. All the theoretical planning of thick rubber gloves with thermal/woolen gloves inside was not working out much.
Enroute we stopped near a lake but couldn't see much due to fog








A few kilometers before Sungester lake (Madhuri lake) we stopped at a standalone shop for tea. Shop lady was nice enough to ask us to come inside the shop to the kitchen, around the fireplace are and get ourselves warmed. Few black teas later we pushed to Sungester lake.

It was a mistake as we should have gone to Bum-la pass first then Sungester lake and onwards to Zemithang. As we had to come back to this area to go towards Zemithang valley.
Anyways, with rain being our constant companion, we reached Sungester lake. A very beautiful place indeed in that area. We spent some quality time there and moved on to Bum-la.
Weather god was kind to us and rain became drizzle by the time we reached here and fog also reduced leading to better visibility of this beautiful lake.



















On the way to Bum la Pass (border between India and China)




Supposedly the highest cafe in the world (I don't think its true)







After the submission of our tokens, we reached the parking lot. We had a tasty breakfast of Samosa and Soup here.





Army people included us in the group and took us to the border but because of fog , there wasn’t much to see around.






By the time we reached the parking lot the downpour started. We were literally freezing because of rain and cold. We also realized our mistake of covering Sungester lake first as we have to now go back to Sungester lake and follow the same road farther to reach Zemithang.
To be continued in the next post......

[Shubhendra]

With the company of rain and cold we moved towards Sungester lake and after crossing the lake the road became deserted. Slowly the fog started to thin out and temperature started to rise and we were presented with very beautiful views of waterfalls, clouds and valleys.



It was a wonderful ride with no traffic, umpteen hairpin bends and falls of all shapes and sizes.

These bunkers are remains of 1962 Indo-China war. You can see these bunkers even between Tawang - Bumla road.







Variety of waterfalls















We must have encountered not more than 2-3 vehicles in those few hours up till Zemithang. It was an awesome ride with countless bends and beautiful scenery. The only problem was unavailability of eating joints and there was no cellular network in case of any problem. Although we stopped at multiple places to soak gorgeous views, we did not click many pictures. We reached Zemithang by late afternoon and after spending some time there, interacting with locals at a shop over a few biscuits, we decided to push towards Tawang as we were still 90 kms from Tawang and had not eaten much since breakfast.

At Zemithang



This being a less explored place, Army guys had stopped at one place and interrogated us on purpose for our visit. We briefed them about our occupation, origin, further travel plans etc. As usual they were very courteous but a little perplexed why we were traveling on a bike in such rain. It was around 5 PM when we started for Tawang. We were not going to go back by the route through which we came here. But there is a slightly longer, different route to Tawang which we had opted for.
We called the new hotel guy from Zemithang as there was a cellular network here and placed an order for dinner. Few kilometers Into the journey and rain got intense and it got dark pretty soon. With empty stomachs we really pushed ourselves that evening to complete those 90 kilometers in two hours non stop. We literally rode like rally riders, pushing the limits of our bikes in rain and darkness. As expected, aux lights fitted in my bike were not very useful in the rain but I just love the normal halogen bulb in Himalayan. A no nonsense, simple halogen bulb is sufficient for these kinds of situations.
We must have reached our hotel by ~ 8 PM. The new hotel was a few times better than the previous hotel. It was a proper hotel with parking space, garden, restaurant etc. Most importantly, although it was away from the hustle bustle of the congested main market, travel time to the main market was just 2-3 mins. They were nice enough to get our luggage from the previous hotel, cleaned the saddle bags and tried to dry them in whatever sunlight was available throughout the day.
After a quick tea and hot shower (it was cold in Tawang), we had a sumptuous dinner. They have a well appointed dining space and a menu card with local and standard Indian dishes.
We had a long discussion with a fellow traveler from Balipara who was well versed with Arunachal to decide the next destination. Although we couldn't decide anything that night, we decided to stop at Dirang the next day and relax for a day and then decide the next destination.
As usual it was post midnight when we all went to sleep with another long day tomorrow.
Learnings from the day:

1. All the different gloves which we had purchased didn't do much and we all rode bare hands after some time. I have ridden in sub zero temperature in the past a few times but this was the first time it got unbearable. I think age is catching up or probably rain made it worse. We were better off without gloves and did the ride without gloves for the remaining day
2. Even if you have a pass, the Army does not allow any vehicle to enter Bum-la pass check post after 11 AM and you can not stay at Bum-la after 2 PM. Please plan accordingly.

Highlights of the day:

1. Performance of Himalayan. Low end torque and sorted suspension is all you need in the hills and bad roads. We hardly saw any Xpulse and based on our interaction with local mechanics Xpulse feels underpowered in these areas with load and pillion.
2. Hospitality of the new hotel, very interactive owner, family and staff. They made sure that we were comfortable during our stay. It didn't rain much during the day in Tawang and they were so thoughtful that they cleaned our saddle bags, rain covers and put them in the sun to get dry. A priceless and much needed help for us….

[Shubhendra]

Day 6: Tawang to Dirang
Today’s route: Tawang -> Nuranang falls -> Jung -> Jaswant Garh -> Dirang
Total distance traveled: 152 kms

Yesterday was a cold, long and tiring day and we woke up late. Lucky for us, it was not raining and the sun was battling with clouds to come out. Our new hotel had a direct view of The Tawang Monastery from our terrace.




Our hotel rooms had a big connected terrace and we used this opportunity to try (unsuccessfully) to get our riding gears, helmets, and shoes dried. Although it was an unsuccessful attempt, we also used this opportunity to get poly bags dried/cleaned and repacked our stuff with dry & wet clothes.



A general observation that throughout the northeast we saw maintaining beautiful gardens/plants etc. Even small houses/huts have few plants in the front. Our hotel was no different, They had some beautiful plans with few rare plants as well. Best part was the interior of the building/rooms/terraces had lot of earthen pots with the plants.I forgot to click the picture of how they had laid out the plants but below are a few I clicked in the morning.







After a relaxed breakfast, we loaded our luggage, lubed chains, did a preliminary inspection as yesterday was a rough day for the bikes.



Our hosts did a small felicitation with traditional robes before we say them goodbye.



Few meters from our new hotel we came across this view.



Landslides around Bhalukpong which occurred 3 days back were cleared by this time and we got our fuel tanks filled at Tawang only. Weather conditions were improving with no rains since morning and few glimpses of the valley.

Our first stop was Jung falls (Nuranang falls) which incidentally is the highest waterfall in Arunachal Pradesh. Although seen from a distance, the waterfall looked magnificent and menacing at the same time. And with recent rains it was in its full glory.
Before entering the road towards Nuranang falls



Sun was up when we reached there and after a quick visit to the falls from the parking lot (we didnt go down to the base of the waterfall as our bikes were loaded with the luggage) we pushed towards Sella pass.







As we started climbing towards Jung village, those single muddy roads gave us a tough time. We had to stop a couple of times and move our bikes to give space to big vehicles and with loaded bikes, steep inclines and muddy situations, it wasn't easy.
Few minutes before weather deteriorated





Weather gods were clearly not happy by looking at our smiles and as soon as we crossed Jung, clouds started forming together, visibility decreased and Jung top welcomed us with rain, fog and cold. We had to take shelter at the hotel at the top of Jung to get our rain gear on and we 4 together marched towards Sela Pass.

We had a quick stop at Jaswantgarh military shop for a rain suit as a friend had a tear in rain pants. But he was unlucky and we moved towards Sela pass cursing our luck. I think, by this time we all had got accustomed to rain and cold as we all were really enjoying our ride. It was fun riding Himalayan on those steep roads with mud and potholes, we simply flew over them.
We reached Sela pass by lunch time and stopped at Army cafe for a quick Maggie and tea break. Weather started to open up by the time we finished our lunch.

At the Seal top





Few hundred meters after Seal pass, we saw these breathtaking views





We met a few riders from Bangalore & Kerala and after exchanging notes with them we resumed our ride. We now had to descend all the way to Dirang in open weather with a beautiful valley view. We had planned to reach Dirang by late afternoon and relax but road closure after Sela pass threw spanner in our plans. But, we weren't complaining, as it was not raining

Clicked few pictures when we were waiting for road to be opened







New tar road is being constructed





During the road blockade, we had a long conversation with a gentleman from Tawang who is a government officer and has roamed across Arunachal. He suggested a few new/offbeat places instead of Ziro Valley and Mechuka (we had initially planned for these). He used to bike a lot in his young days and was happy to see four middle aged men roaming aimlessly in his state. After 30 minutes the road blockade was opened and we bid our goodbye to the gentleman.

After crossing the Sela top


To be continued in the next post......

[Shubhendra]

We were so happy with the clear weather and temperature that we took just too many stops to soak in the scenery, have tea, play in river water etc.

While descending from Sela top we cam across this first clear view of the valley





It was fun to ride through these loops in a clear weather



We stopped at a place which had a little stupa, prayer flags and amazing vibe (we all felt a very positive vibe here)









At the bottom of the valley.







We met a family at Sela Pass and during our conversation they told us about the wonderful homestay they had stayed at Dirang which was supposedly next to the river. We got the contact details of the homestay from him and called the homestay owner. Owner didn’t receive the call but we assumed that place to be good and decided to directly go there for Dirang stay.

With the confidence of sorted accommodation we first went to the petrol pump in DIrang (opposite end of the town) to get the tanks filled so that we could leave early tomorrow morning. We came back to the town following Gmaps and proceeded towards homestay. It took us to the end of the road at a secluded hill with a steep incline filled with rocks. It was a pain to take a U-turn from that incline. Nevertheless we came back to the town and figured out the correct way. After 15 mins of ride we finally reached the homestay but there was a problem. Owner never picked our calls since afternoon and upon arrival we realized that they didn't have 2 rooms together and it was in the middle of a small settlement nowhere next or close to the river.
We wanted a peaceful place closer to nature hence we decided to go back to the town and figure it out. It was almost dark and we were getting restless to check-in somewhere. Few good samaritans suggested a few places and they all were in the middle of the town with too much noise/traffic/population. One of my friends had seen a tented accommodation behind the Dirang petrol pump and he wanted to check that out. That place being new, not many locals were aware about it (condition, tariff, availability, contact numbers etc.) hence we all went back to the petrol pump to check that place out. Because of the rain and offseason, it was empty. They had 6 tents which even being on the smaller side were well laid out and were very clean and tidy. Although with our luggage it wasn't easy to settle in tents but that place had such a nice vibe that we decided to stay there. And this was the best stay experience of our trip. This place was opened in 2019 and is run by a middle aged couple. It had rustic vibes to it, no concrete rooms, most of the things were made of bood. Those tents were small but very clean and well maintained. Although they had common bathrooms/toilets, they were probably the cleanest ones on our trip despite the rain and resulting mud.
We parked our bikes in front of our tents, unloaded luggage and settled into two different tents.





Behind the tents, they had a big wooden deck on a cliff, overlooking the Dirang valley. We spent quite a bit of time there with black tea to unwind and it started raining again. We went back to their dining area which basically is a big room with a bed for the family on one side, a cooking area on the other side and a sitout place next to the bar counter.
We had some really nice discussion with our hosts about the places around, animals, old hunting practices and our future ride plan. We got to know that he is not well for a few days and we gave him medicine from our kit. Host was also a rider in his young days and covered that entire region in his Suzuki Fierro. We gelled well with him and he promised us to take a few remote places tomorrow to meet and experience rural life. Initially our plan was to stop at Dirang just for a night and move on further. But the hosts were so humble and warm that we decided to extend our stay by a day
We all were enjoying the place and hospitality and the wooden deck with stars (weather again cleared by the time we finished our dinner). I dont know how much time we 4 spent at the deck with never ending discussion topics and hearty laughs over our adventures so far.
It started drizzling again and we had to move to our respective tents for a sound sleep.
Bikes parked next to our tents.




Highlights of the day:

1. Our stay at Dirang and hosts. Although it was not a fancy place, everything was well organized and clean. Their view from the deck and food quality was icing on the cake.

[Shubhendra]

Day 7: Dirang local sightseeing (Chug valley, Dirang monastery, Sangti valley, Mandala top)

Total distance traveled: 143 kms

Although tents were a bit small for full/over grown burly men like us BUT they were comfortable and we had a sound sleep with background symphony of rains and crickets/grasshoppers.





As usual we woke up late with a nice tea, chirping of birds and magnificent views of the valley from the deck.





It was surreal to sit on the deck and have tea.



We few used hammock to relax for sometime



During dinner last night we expressed our desire to eat the breakfast which our hosts prefer everyday instead of our preference. By the time we were done with morning rituals, they had set up a table full of breakfast on the deck.



Local breakfast of dumplings, dry chana sabzi and green chilli and cheese sauce. It was indeed a filling and tasty breakfast



It was a tasty and filling breakfast. We had no agenda for the day as such other than to go to Chug valley with the host. Our host was working with a local carpenter to build a central deck for group activities, one of my riding friend is a civil engineer and he helped them with dimensions/level etc. It was a relaxed morning and we used that opportunity to wash clothes as our hosts were more than happy to move clothes inside the shed if it rained (which eventually happened

Our host left for the market which is closer to Chug Valley and asked us to join him once he was done with his shopping. We got ready and moved to Rama camp (some 15 kms from our stay), our host was waiting for us and he led our convoy car to the valley.
The serpentine road to the Valley





First view of the valley





We first stopped at a place with an old ancient stupa, next to a shop selling tea/coffee etc.









After the tea break, we went to the last house in the valley.
It had a vantage point from where the entire valley was visible.



Owner’s wife is from this place and after a tea and some history of this locale, we moved to the last village of this valley. It was an old mud/wood house being run by an old lady with all old cooking wares and utensils.
We probably spent an hour here listening to the old time stories, we were also treated with local corn beer to keep ourselves warm Weather was sunny and sitting with locals listening to their stories, talking about different old & indegenious weapons (it was a common interest for me and them) was an unforgettable experience. They were amazed to see my ancestral weapon collection and so was I looking at their old indegeneous weapons.
We went a few hundred meters ahead where road ended and deep jungle started



While our host decided to stay back we bid a goodbye to them. On our return journey, we stopped at the river to chill out for sometime. Weather was just perfect to spend some time in the river







There was a local person who was roaming nearby and we stuck a conversation with him. This valley is less popular compared to Sangti valley with no hotels/home stays hence still serene and uncrowded.





This is the bridge which connects valley to the civilisation



Around 12 PM, we decided to move back to the town to get some small bike repairs on our way to visit a few more places.
To be continued......

[Shubhendra]

Dirang Monastery or Thupsung Dhargye Ling Monastery is next to the town and we first went there. It is a recently made monastery with a well laid out plan with so many designs, colors and themes.
Thupsung Dhargye Ling is a temple and learning institute for the study of Tibetan Buddhism by laypeople and monks, located in the Himalayan village of Dirang, India. The name, Thupsung Dhargye Ling was given by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and means: "Place of Flourishing of the Buddha's Speech".

Above information courtesy an article in Tripoto







We couldn't stop ourselves to click a few pics with the bikes





Monastery is situated at a height overlooking Dirang Valley



There is also a big terrace from where you can look at the valley



The entire campus has so many intricate designs carved out that its a treat to visit the campus. Imagine the time and effort to create the designs and paint them (an important aspect to highlight the designs).





A WIP design



After spending some time at the monastery, we moved to Sangti Valley. As the main road leading to this place is currently being widened , PWD closes it a few times in the day. Thankfully they had put the schedule as its a deserted road and getting any information about road opening is difficult.



With the help of locals, we found another way to circumvent the blocked road.



Few locals were enjoying fishing enroute.



It was quite an effort for them to find a fish in gushing river.



It started raining again with dark clouds on the horizon. Nonetheless, we reached the valley and maybe because of heavy rains and fog, we didnt find it interesting and returned to the town. We didn't click any pictures as it was raining with thick fog.

It was around 4 PM when we reached town and after a quick samosa chai break, we headed to our stay. Weather was gloomy and rainy, hence there was nothing to do at the place. Our host mentioned about Mandala top which was around 32 kms from our place but it was at the height meaning hilly roads in rain and dark. We decided to check this place as we had nothing much to do anyways. We again got ready and moved towards Mandala top, roads were mostly good and it was raining for most part of the trip.
In the olden days, only locals and hardened adventurers crossed it. As per the accounts of F Kingdon Ward, the plant-hunter, they hiked over Manda La to reach Dirang Dzong from Sheragaon through colourful rhododendron forests. A few years ago, the area achieved fame suddenly as it started attracting birdwatchers. Around the same time, a new project was conceived to construct the 108 Manes at the top. I think this goes well with the present trend of building massive structures all over the Tibetan Buddhist world, from Ladakh to Spiti to Sikkim to Tawang. So, the Mandala Top is now home to these 108 Manes while the sparsely populated hills around it are a paradise for birdwatchers.
Above information courtesy travelling sacker.com


Roads were in between thick jungles with a sporadic view of the valley.








Enroute we also saw bird watching centre developed by Mandala Phudong Khellong circuit (MPKCCA). That location itself needs at least a day stay and a must visit place for Bird watchers.
A reference image from traveslacker.com


Once on top, we couldn't see much of 108 mane because of thick fog but we enjoyed the ride. It was getting cold, temperature must have been around 5-6 degree celsius with strong winds






In case of clear weather below is what we could have seen (picture courtesy travelingslacker.com)



There was a small hotel nearby where a lot of BRO contractors were chilling out. Mandala is very close to Bhutan and currently BRO is working on a road which would connect India to Bhutan. We reached there for tea and spent an hour there speaking to these people.
Board outside the hotel explaining the importance of this location.



During our conversation a person asked us about the location of Pune (in geographical terms), we all had a hard time to explain the same as he had never traveled anywhere in India. We had to use Google Maps to show him where we were currently and how far Pune is.
He was amazed to see Google Maps and important cities of India in the map.
Sometimes we take these small things for granted which is a luxury for someone. Most of these contractual laborers were from Orissa, away from their families, working in extreme weather conditions.
Life is tough for many people in India, I tell you.
It was already 6:30 PM when we started from Mandala top with continuous rain and fog. We rushed back to Dirang market to collect some souvenirs from a shop which closes by 7:30 PM. After some small souvenir shopping, we reached our hotel by 8:30 PM.
Today we were to have dinner in the kitchen cum dining area because of the rain. Here we met one tour guide who arranged customized trips for the groups. He was a friend of our hosts and was waiting for his tourist group to arrive from Guwahati. We got talking and he helped us prepare an itinerary for our remaining days.



After a sumptuous meal of chicken, fish and local vegetables with a lot of chit chats and armed with the new itinerary, we wished everyone goodnight and moved to our tents.
Rain was relentless and we had no other choice but to retreat to our tents.

Highlights of the day:

1. Hospitality of locals. I found people in Arunachal are very friendly but well mannered and always happy to talk, help and share food.

[Shubhendra]

Day 8: Dirang to North Lakhimpur
Today’s route: Dirang -> Bomdila -> Bhalukpong -> Balipara -> Biswanath Charali -> Gohpur->Narayanpur -> Banderdwa -> North Lakhimpur
Total distance traveled: 358 kms

During the dinner yesterday our new friend had written down an itinerary for our remaining days of leaves.
Armed with this piece of paper we were all set to start the second half of our journey.



Little did we know that our itinerary would change a few times later

We woke up with the sound of chirping birds and started getting ready for the day. It was such a nice place that, If we would have had some spare days, we would have stayed at this place for one more day to chill with our hosts. But we had to move on……
While loitering in the property, we saw a pressure washer in a shed. We asked the owner's permission to wash our bikes and he was okay with it. Our bikes had a lot of muck on them, especially around drive lines, brake discs etc. Hotel owner was more than happy to lend his portable pressure washer and we cleaned our bikes thoroughly, lubed them and loaded our luggage.
We had literally used most of their shed space to dry our clothes, shoes, and rain gear. We spent the better part of the first half rearranging our stuff, cleaning our bikes, getting ready and yes, leisure breakfast at the deck



With the favorable weather, we started towards Biswanath Charali in Assam which was our transit stay on the way to Pasighat/Dambuk. We had abandoned our previous plan of visiting Zero and Majuli islands. Zero, because of feedback from locals and Majuli because of rain. In fact, just 4 days before we reached North Lakhimpur, there was a massive flood and few casualties in this region. There was no point going to the lower basin of Brahmaputra (Majuli), and discussion with the tour guide friend didn't encourage us to go to Zero either.
It was bright and shiny when we started our climb towards Bomdila ( ~ 43 kms), it was getting colder and we stopped a few kms before Bomdilla for Tea. There were two girls managing two tea/nicknacks shops next to each other and they were sisters. Upon asking the reason for two shops. Here came their replies direct from MBA books “How to increase the footfall and avoid customers going elsewhere”. Those two young ladies definitely had business acumen.



We also met two local people going to Bomdila to watch a movie. Rider was curious about RE Scram 411 and how it fares against Himalayan. We offered him test rides of both bikes and he liked Scram 411 as he currently rides FZ250.
After exchanging our riding stories and a photoshoot with riders and shop owners we pushed towards Bhalukpong. It was a downhill ride in the rain until Tenga and then we started the climb. Most of the road from Tenga onwards was under construction , with a few landslides slowing down our progress. In one of the instances, we caught in between the landslide but I think god spared us for some other day.



Weather got cold again with increased intensity of rain. We had a quick bio break around Elephant top and resumed the ride. After this point, there were a couple of waterfalls next to the road and a few were really beautiful. They would have looked pretty on a bright and shiny day. We couldn't click many pictures because of incessant rain.









Surroundings continued to impress us with change in views in every 20-30 kms





Few kilometres before Bhalukpong we came across this place with historical importance. Although I couldn't understand much but this place had some eery vibes even in the afternoon. Would have definitely come back to this place at night if we were staying at Bhalukpong.







We came across this river just before Bhalukpong town and it was in its full fury.







We reached Bhalukpong by late afternoon and stopped for lunch. It was a leisure lunch at a restaurant in the middle of the market where we spent more than an hour. We had ordered Assamese Thali and we really had to push ourselves to finish the food. We took a stroll in the market and got ready to cover the remaining distance.

Biswanath Charali was just 85 kms from Bhalukpong which we could have completed in 2 hours maximum. We decided to push further to North Lakhimpur which was 220 Kms from Bhalukpong. But it was already 4:30 PM. The only solace was that hill roads had ended and we would be riding on plains. But our happiness was short lived, as soon as we crossed the Bhalukpong town and Arunachal border check post it started to rain. And this was the heaviest rain of our trip till now, a proper downpour with big rain drops. It continued to rain for the next few kilometers and just before Balipara finally the rain stopped. A quick stop at Balipara for chain lubing and we decided not to halt for another two hours. We started making good progress and soon crossed traffic infested Biswanath Charali. I never knew that this little town had KFC and some good showrooms and cafes. We were also trying to adjust to traffic patterns in Assam. These roads were mostly 4 lane roads with many under construction sections. But even in functional 4 lanes with dividers, people were using each side for both directions. It was like each side of the divider had its own 2 way road. It was crazy to see vehicles coming from all directions (including police jeeps) and especially after coming from well disciplined Arunachal, it was crazier. We had to be alert throughout the ride in Assam because of this menace.
First view of famous Assam tea gardens.





One of the tea garden had an open road leading to a village. We entered inside the tea garden where few locals were sitting together and chatting. We spent 10-15 minutes with them and moved on to our destination for the day.



Also, the road conditions were so unpredictable. One moment you are riding @ 80 kmph and the next moment you come across a big pothole in the middle of a clean tar road. There were just too many diversions, and villagers had set up markets, shops, parking on these WIP roads.
Nonetheless, it was fun driving on straight roads, we made good and most importantly ‘continuous’ progress. My friend had one incident where an unpredictable ditch resulted in a slightly bent rim. Rest were fortunate and avoided that ditch
After crossing Bhalukpong we were riding in Assam but there is a small patch of Arunachal Pradesh which you need to cross around 40 kilometres before North Lakhimpur. We were By 8 PM we reached Arunachal border and got our bikes filled up. Interestingly, there is a small section of Arunachal for a few kms before you enter Assam again. This was the previous night before the massive rate reduction by the Central Government. We reached our hotel by 9:30 PM ( we had booked it online while having lunch at Bhalukpong). It was on the main road with ample parking and AC, that's it. These were the only positives of this hotel. Rooms were shabbily kept, dirty bathrooms etc. Their cook had left for the day hence we went out to a nice restaurant which was a random find but it had good food and very good owner. We finished dinner after midnight and went back to the hotel.

Highlights of the day:

• After crossing Tenga and somewhere before the top of the next hill (Elephant top) climb we caught in between the landslides. But fortunately, I had almost crossed it ( I heard some noise after passing through and realized that a landslide started) and my friend had enough space between us that he quickly stopped it. Although it wasn’t a big landslide but was big enough for a biker to kill or injure.
• We met a guy with a one month old Yezdi Adventure, he gave us company for some 50 odd kms on an under construction road. I am not sure if the rider was not used to the bike or what but he had a hard time maintaining our pace. And yes, Yezdi Adventure LED lights are not good in rain on undivided roads where you need a good throw.

Lesson learnt from the day:

• It's dangerous to ride in India, people are very very unpredictable and same is with the road. By now, I have traveled to all the states in India except 4 NE states. And there are just so many things on Indian roads which can go wrong and result in an accident. Assam is as bad as GJ and UP in wrong side driving and people having zero regards to traffic rules.

[Shubhendra]

Day 9: North Lakhimpur to Dambuk
Today’s route: North Lakhimpur -> Dhemaji -> Silapathar-> Pasighat ->Dambuk
Total distance traveled: 257 kms

Although hotel was not up to the mark, we had a sound sleep because of AC as the weather was hot and humid throughout the night. The only problem was AC Water dripped on my saddle bag throughout the night and because of high humidity it dropped a lot. Thankfully, my clothes were inside polythene bags and although I had a wet saddle bag but clothes were safe from the water.
We woke up to a really bright and sunny day. We had planned to change the rear tire of one of the Himalayan as it almost wore out. But it was a Sunday and most of the shops were closed and we couldn't find the exact replacement. We decided to change the tyre at the next big town (a big mistake which costed us half a day later in the trip).
During our interaction with the hotel attendant about recent floods, he explained the scale of it and the damage the flood did to the area). My heart goes out to those people affected by it.
There was a bad news waiting for us in the morning. My college friend who is from Arunachal and government official informed me in the morning that Road between Aalo and Mechuka was closed because of landslides between Aalo and Mechuka. He suggested us to move towards Dambuk and Anini.
It was almost 11 AM when we finished our breakfast of poori sabji.





Loading bikes with luggage in hot and humid weather was not a good experience.
Distance to Dambuk was ~ 250 kms and we decided to take it easy and not rush the journey. Thanks to my college buddy, we had pre booked a cottage stay on top of a hill in Dambuk. With stay sorted for the day, we first got the rear rim of a Himalayan fixed in the town.
North Lakhimpur is an important city in this region (Assam) and despite being Sunday it had heavy traffic. Sun started blazing by the time we left the repairing shop and we took one stop after 50 kms for cold drinks.



Roads became better 40-50 kms after North Lakhimpur and we were enjoying the ride. Assam has its own charm of huge green flat lands, swamps, rivers of all shapes and sizes.











By around 3 PM we reached Jonai, the border town of AP and Assam. We stopped for lunch at the local restaurant. They had a variety of fishes on their menu and we might have tried all of them. After a good hour and half break we left for Dambuk.
Thick forest after Jonai



Road condition and traffic sense improved as soon as we entered Arunachal and we quickly crossed Pasighat. After Pasighat, roads were even better and landscape changed as well.

Outskirts of Pasighat




We took a few stops to see rivers, mountains farway and sunset. Roads were butter smooth with lots of twisties. I missed my Ninja 650 on these beautiful roads, it would have been super fun.

















Few kilometers before Dambuk while I was waiting for friends to catch up, we came across a village who had put bamboo dustbins next to the roads urging people not to litter the surroundings. And it was a damn clean village, I strolled around for some time and was highly impressed.
I felt sorry for the empty dustbins which have been put up in my farmhouse and no visitors use them
Just as we entered the Dambuk town, we saw a petrol pump and got our bikes refueled. Our stay was a few hundred meters from the petrol station. The only problem was, it was on top of a hill with a steep incline and the last section being muddy we had our offroad dose of the day. It was an interesting place, situated atop a private hill overlooking the Dambuk village and Brahmaputra river and nestled between orange trees. Everything was built using bamboo. They have cottages of different capacities overlooking the Brahmaputra. Weather had opened and we were able to see a clear sky filled with stars.





A simple yet tasteful dinner of chicken, rice, dal and local leafy vegetable.


We enjoyed that night under the stars sitting on big wood logs with a bonfire and soothing music. This stay was an experience in itself and it was a night well spent.

[Shubhendra]

Day 10: Dambuk to Hyuliang via Tezu
Today’s route: Dambuk -> Roing -> Tezu-> Khupa -> Hayuliang
Total distance traveled: 210 kms

Last night we had a discussion with the owner of the resort about our plan to go to Anini but he suggested we go towards Kaho instead. His reasoning was that the road to Kaho has much more to offer and we can cover more places. Also Dong-Kibithu-Kaho area has started getting more famous and may not be left serene and remote a few years down the line. It all made sense to us and we again changed our itinerary. We decided to go upto Kaho (last Indian village) and then figure out what places we can visit in the remaining days.
We spent our morning looking at vistas, walking around the place and leisurely eating breakfast. This resort was located on a private hill/hillock and had its own charm with orange orchids, direct view of Dambuk river/village and surrounded by hills across.

Dambuk town at night



View from the room


sitout place outside the room


These small banners enhanced the mood


Reason to ride!


Bike parking next to kitchen and in front of dining hut


Dining hall which was used in the morning not just to have breakfast but also to dry our riding gears


A separate hut in one corner of the property for music lovers


Again with a nice valley view


Orange orchid


Shot early in the morning, shows beautiful cloud formations




They also have tents if you want to be more closer to the nature


View of our cottage from the road to hillock


Yes, I LOVE DAMBUK!


Today’s plan was to reach Kaho but unaware of the road condition, we thought it was very achievable. GMaps showed around 8 hours travel time and assuming that roads would be in similar awesome conditions as the previous day we thought it to be easily doable in a day. We were in for a big big surprise. It was almost 10 AM when we started from Dambuk. After negotiating through the steep slopes of the stay, we moved towards Tezu.
Soon we reached Dibang river bridge which is the second longest bridge in India. Roads and weather couldnt have been better.







Butter smooth roads


Beautiful views all around


Tezu was around 100 kms and after some confusion at Roing junction we reached Tezu by 12 PM.



Tezu being a big town, we thought of getting the Himalayan tyre here. We searched around but could not find the exact size. Himalayan has 120/90/17 and everywhere we were getting 120/80/17. We didnt want to compromise on the side profile hence decided to push forward. Rear tyre of that Himalayan was almost bald, Bike rental person was kind enough and had told us when we were in Tawang to get the tyre changed and he would reimburse it. Infact, he reimbursed us for all the brake pads which we had changed during the ride.

To be continued......

[Shubhendra]

Dambuk to Hayuling contd.....

Assuming that the road further would be in similar awesome condition and we may cross bigger towns later, we decided to move further. We were not very hungry and decided to have lunch later (around 3PM which was our standard lunch time throughout the trip). We got our chain tightened and lubed from a mechanic. In the meantime our friend saw a nice bakery across the road and got us some veg puffs and a big loaf of cake. Throughout our trip, other than water we never carried anything to eat as except in a few locations we always got something to eat. These bakery items were god sent which we realized later in the day.
It was unbearably hot and humid in Tezu and we quickly moved towards Udayak pass (Hawa Camp).

A few kilometres after Tezu as we started our climb, we first saw Mithun roaming in thick forest


Roads became narrow and temperature dropped as we started climbing towards Hawa Camp. Upon reaching Hawa camp we saw mesmerizing view of Lohit river.





At Udayak top or Dao top


It didnt rain since morning and it was not cloudy as well. Almost on top of Udayak pass, there is a junction from where one road goes to Parashuram kund. Initially, we had planned to cover Parashuram Kund today but we decided to cover it during return journey. Not knowing what lay ahead we didn't eat anything at the restaurant here and moved towards Hayuliang.
This route has very scarce vehicle traffic with thick rainforest like jungles.




After an hour, we stopped at a small waterfall to refill water bottles and cool down ourselves.



It was a downhill journey to a valley before climbing for Hayuliang. It started getting hot and humid and the road started deteriorating.

Beautiful turquoise coloured water greeted us at the base of valley









Few more mithuns (we must have seen more than a dozen of them today)



Another beautiful river





We were still hopeful that road conditions would improve. We were so wrong
Few kms later literally all hell broke loose. There were no roads, and because of road widening there was a lot of dust which converted into muck because of rains. We crossed the bridge and the road further deteriorated and yes, it started raining again
These roads had either deep mud roads in plains or stones/pebbles/boulders. Water from waterfalls was flowing through the road throughout. That muck was still fine but climbing up/down on stones was not easy and needed concentration to place the tyre correctly. Thank god, we had Himalayan, doing this patch on normal bikes would have been painful.







One of the aux light clamps broke here and the light got stuck in the wheel, had to stop, untangle wires and remove it permanently. Few more kilometers and another fog light gave away, repeating the same process and now I was relaxed as these were the only aftermarket fittings I had on my bike. And I am not fond of these aux lights, as I had them on my Himalayan for a few thousand kms and they were more of a pain to maintain (regularly tighten the bolts).
Hey but locals do these roads on pulsars, REs etc. We even met a guy later who was also coming from Tezu going towards Hawai on a brand new Jupiter. And yes he had a pillion and two cartoons . They are used to these roads and maneuver like a pro. We were making slow progress still with a hope to reach Kaho by nightfall.

A few kilometers later, just before Khupa, we saw road widening work in progress and traffic was stopped just before the river bridge. We also stopped assuming that they would reopen in some time. Soon we got to know that it's a scheduled blockage which happens from 2 PM to 5 PM and it was 3:30 PM. We realized that we won't be able to reach Kaho today. And based on discussion with locals, they all suggested staying at either Khupa or Hayuliang. They also told that there is only a petrol station at Khupa and the Inspection Bungalow is located close to it. Anyways we had to go to that petrol station to get our bikes filled in order to ride to Kaho and back.
We were hungry and there were no shops even to get biscuits.Thank god to our friend who had purchased veg puffs and cakes. We had an hour and half to kill, we first ate whatever we had and then mingled with the locals, discussing various topics.
View from the bridge where we had stopped









While talking to them we saw a small rope bridge nearby . We all took our bikes and went to that place.





You can see a metal cable on river, villagers used this cable system for decades before Govt. built this bridge a few years back








There are 10-12 houses across the river and they used to use metal rope to cross the river. Few years back the government built this small walking bridge using metal ropes. We crossed the bridge but the jungle was so thick that we couldn't see any houses/huts nearby.

While strolling saw rainbow on horizon





We returned to the road as it was almost 5 PM. At sharp 5 PM, they opened the road for traffic. We first went to Khupa petrol station, got our bikes refueled. Person managing the pump was from North India and we got talking. He suggested we stay at Khupa IB as hotels in Hayuliang were bad. IB was a few hundred meters away from the petrol station but it was full. There is another IB next to it which was closed for maintenance activity. It got dark and again started raining by the time we left for Hyuliang which is not far from Khupa. People guided us to the first hotel inside town. It was not good, dingy rooms, ignored bathrooms (fittings were broken), not much ventilation etc. we rejected it and searched for another hotel which was inside a small gully where you can't take your bike and you have to hike for 2 mins to reach this hotel. I won't call this a hotel, that entire place was smelling so bad that we couldn't stand there. We moved further and after 2 kms there was a nice restaurant next to the river. It's being run by a few local ladies, they were helpful but they just had a restaurant without any lodging facilities. They are currently building 3-4 rooms but construction was not completed yet. They informed us that there are no hotels/homestays in the area other than what we had already explored.
We had no other option but to go back to the first hotel and book our rooms. Probably the worst stay of our trip. And he charged 1750 INR for a room with double occupancy. Anyways, we unloaded our luggage and settled down. Because of the rain, there was no electricity in the entire town since afternoon and no one had the ETA.
Although this hotel also had a restaurant on the upper floor, we didn't want to eat there. We all got ready and went to that riverside restaurant. We must have reached there by 9:30 PM and stayed till midnight. Very nice place, awesome food, perfect location and nice hospitality. Everything wasn't so bad in Hyuliang



Lessons learnt from the day:

• Don't go by the estimated duration shown in GMaps for remote locations. Although their estimation is somewhat accurate for major highways and tier I & II cities where many people use GMaps. It's nowhere close to actual time required to travel in remote locations.
• Always stock water, dry fruits and snacks while travelling to remote locations. Although, I follow this practice while traveling by car. But we ignored it in this trip because of space constraint and had to repent

[Shubhendra]

Day 11: Hyuliang to Kaho
Today’s route: Hayuliang -> Dong -> Kibithu-> Kaho
Total distance traveled: 125 kms

We couldn't sleep peacefully last night, there were mosquitos and we had to open opposite side windows for ventilation. Around 3 PM 2 people started knocking on our doors, they were for sure inebriated. We intentionally did not open the door and they went away after a few minutes. Anyways, we had a room for ourselves throughout the night and rain and that was enough

We all woke up around 7 AM, walked to the nearby village square to have tea. While returning, we were casually inspecting our bikes and realized that the worn out tire of a Himalayan finally gave up. It was leaking air when we tried to fill it through a portable air compressor. It was still early for the puncture repair shop to open, hence we waited till 9 AM. Bike rental had anyways agreed to get the tyre changed and reimbursed later. Hyuliang had the same problem of not having the required size in stock. But, beggars can't be choosers and after visiting 2-3 shops, we finally found the 120/80/17. We went to the tyre guy who was already occupied with existing jobs. Thankfully, we knew how to mount/dismount the tyre as the tyre guy had already expressed his inability. After waiting for an hour, he started work on our tyre and work was completed by 11:30 AM.

We had breakfast in the meanwhile and after a quick shower, packing and loading we were able to leave for Dong by 12:30 PM.
We saw a small family of Mithun relaxing at a waterfall. By the way, we must have crossed more than 20 such waterfalls enroute Kibithu and probably 2 dozen small streams.





Road conditions further deteriorated for the next few kms until we reached a bridge from where roads were in much better condition and we started another long climb towards Hawai. Weather was hot and humid but thankfully there were no rains since morning.
View from one such bridge.



There were a few patches before Hawai where road widening/repairing work was in progress but unlike the previous day they used to let traffic go after 5-10 minutes.






After Hawai, the road became more scenic with a variety of waterfalls on the road.
Somewhere between Hawai and Dong valley.









It was fun crossing those waterfalls frequently and after 3.5 hrs and a couple of breaks we reached Dong.
First view of Dong valley







Dong is the main village in this region. It isn't the easternmost point of the country but it is one of the easternmost locations accessible by car. In 1999, it was found that Dong experiences the first sunrise in India, thus earning it the nickname, 'India’s Land of the Rising Sun’. The last village on the India-China LAC in Arunachal Pradesh is Kaho, which lies just north of Kibithu on the banks of Lohit River. Dong also has an Airforce air strip and a big army base.
As usual we had not booked any place and after a tea break and discussion with the local shop owner, we decided to first go to Kibithu (a border village between India and China) and come back to Dong to stay. There is a government-run IB next to the river at Dong. We decided to go to IB for tonight’s stay but upon arrival at that place realized there was no one around. Few locals who were returning from a hot water spring nearby informed us that the caretaker had gone to Dong for shopping and may not be back before 7-8 PM. We were also informed that there might be a homestay at Kibithu hence we decided to cover Kibithu and come back to this place for a night stay if we don't find a place in Kibithu.

Few pics taken from Dong of the surroundings, look at the snow capped mountain. This region is surrounded with such mountains





If you are coming to this part of the country, make sure to have 3-4 days or more to cover various places, treks, waterfalls etc.

To be continued.......

[Shubhendra]

Dong to Kibithu and Kaho
The ride between Dong and Kibithu is scenic, lined with pine trees, occasional views of snow capped mountains, huge waterfalls and cool weather.









A board here shows the first sight of China, couldn't manage a proper click as we were rushing to reach Kibithu before sunset.



A road goes to another remote village Dichu



First look at faraway snow capped mountains









And then we reached Kibithu



Just before sunset we reached an army check post before Kibithu. We got to know that we were not allowed to go further and there is no homestay in Kibithu. However we were advised to go back a few hundred meters to an Army established vantage point with a binocular and a direct view to China. But by the time we reached there the Army jawans had wrapped up for the day. While we were doing some time pass there, a young Army personnel came running with Binocular. Upon his arrival at the checkpost, he got to know that a few riders from Poona had gone to vantage point for a quick view of China and he came running to ensure we don't miss it.
This is the Indian Army for you, salute!
We clicked a few pics here as rest of the area was restricted for photography.




Far off villages visible are in China




Smile says it all


These snow capped mountains are in China




Sun was about to set hence we couldn't get a clear view of the village/houses on the China side but it was an informative session with the Army person about patrolling routes, local terrain etc. By the time we started back from Kibithu, it was dark at around 6:30 PM. We wanted to explore this region more but we had no other option but to go back to Dong for tonight’s stay.
While returning, we stopped at a place for tea, incidentally it's at a junction from where the road to Kaho branches off. The nice lady at the shop gave good news about a new homestay at Kaho. She was very positive about that place but was not sure if the owners were in the village. There is no phone network in this entire region except the calling facility at Dong. Local villagers either use walkie-talkie with a preset channel for each home or phone with international roaming as China has a 5G network in this region.
Local time automatically updated to China standard time


We decided to take the risk knowing well enough that in case of not getting accommodation at Kaho might result in an empty stomach (we just had breakfast since morning) and a shed somewhere to sleep. Nonetheless, we decided to try our luck and also we didn't want to come back again the next day to Kaho. It took us around 25-30 minutes to reach Kaho from that junction on those narrow, twisty, water filled, broken roads in rain and cold.
We were so relieved to see this upon our arrival at Kaho


We parked our bikes on the road and went down to their house. It was a very nice and well laid out setup.


Well appointed drawing room as lot of Govt./Army officers visit this place to meet villagers



The entire family was sitting in an open place next to the young chap who was cleaning and chopping the recently sacrificed goat. To our luck, the place was empty and they welcomed us with open arms.
Our risk paid off, when we were not sure of our stay and food for the night, we were going to get a nice cozy play to sleep and freshly cooked mutton curry to eat. We went to park our bikes near a store room next to the road, unloaded our luggage and kept unnecessary stuff at the store room. It was almost 9 PM by the time we settled here. The house lady was talkative and we chatted with her until 11 PM. Discussed a variety of topics , ranging from the Indo-China war, how China used to exploit these people before they became part of India and so on.
Rain had stopped by the time we had reached Kaho. It was a memorable night, sitting under starry sky, overlooking China villages, next to a valley and a lot of local, historical stories. We had the best meal of our trip here and probably the best sleep too.

We had dinner with our host and family, what a joyful moment it was




After dinner we roamed around for some time, discussing the difficulties these people face because of no network and not much local infrastructure to support everyone’s livelihoods.
House lady had suggested we sleep as much as we want and she will be ready for some filling breakfast in the morning.


Highlights of the day:

• Dedication of young Army jawan to ensure we don't miss the view of China from the vantage point
• Our stay at Kaho. Though a random find but a perfect place with good hosts and awesome food and discussion. It can not be booked online but number is mentioned in the signboard for booking.