[gomzi]

How were you guys able to push a car at that altitude? Awesome work guys

This has been an superb travelogue and pic story so far and I have been enjoying following this, but page 11 blew me away!

What you guys + kid + car have travelled through, the sights you have seen are truly amazing.

Thanks for recording the entire trip and then putting it all up here for us to share in the wonder.

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by gomzi

Thanks for recording the entire trip and then putting it all up here for us to share in the wonder.

Thank you.
We also started some basic fitness regime 2 months before the trip which helped us a lot.


Next Set:
Waterfalls (Flowing + Frozen) & Jaswantgarh Memorial.

















When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.



Frozen...








Jaswant Garh Memorial










Jaswant Singh's letter box!

[mobike008]

Frozen lake picture is simply mindboggling

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Frozen lake picture is simply mindboggling

Hi Avi, I presume you mean "frozen waterfall" unless you do mean the frozen lake in the previous page. If you do mean lake - plenty more frozen lakes coming up.

@ Nazim: I remember several boards by BRO, all were great - some funny, some serious - why not post all of them together so that it becomes a one stop shop for catchy slogans on roads. Ones like "Hug your kids at home, belt them in the car" are truly classics with layers of meaning and humour.

Cheers,

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

...unless you do mean the frozen lake in the previous page. If you do mean lake - plenty more frozen lakes coming up.

Just what I was about to post. Avi, wait till you see pictures of us playing on the Lake on our return from Tawang.

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

@ Nazim: I remember several boards by BRO, all were great

Will post them tonight.



Next Set:











Enjoy the colors of Nature.


Proud to be an Indian.


Arun & me.


I just wanna be happy.
Ohh, yeah, happy, ohh, happy.

Security reasons: can't mention the location or the name of the bridge here.

ADC caught up with us at the bridge.


Prayer Wheels en route to Tawang.

[anurag_p80]

What can I say, the pixs just blew me away. Awesome. Those snow flecked trees, and powder sugar roads- sights for sore eyes. Do continue......

We also started some basic fitness regime 2 months before the trip which helped us a lot.

At the risk of a few irate hydeez, let's have this out too

[Fordmanchau]

Nazim bhai,
Wonderful wonderful snaps, especially of the frozen lakes and the winding roads.
Nice piece of history for us to read about Jaswant Garh. Thanks to your snaps.

[Ravveendrra]

Sorry, the pics were not showing. I will repost it soon.

Cheers,

[adzegeek]

Ravvendra,

Are there any snaps of artillery/Tanks/armoured vehciles moving on roads near Tawang - since you spoke to so many army folks, can you recall the unit/regiments and the equipment they had. I am wondering whether these roads are done up well enough to say take in the new Arjuns/ T90s/ DRDO BMP MkII.

OT but cannot help this Looking at you guys all cosily dressed up reminds me of what I was reading the other day

Chinese attack across the Namka Chu River in Arunachal Pradesh (then NEFA), that had begun on 19 October had continued uninterrupted after the huge gains it had quickly made. For by 23 October the Chinese PLA’s force of about three regiments had decimated the Indian Army’s 7 Brigade commanded by Brig. John Dalvi (taken prisoner) and was within ten miles of Tawang. On 24 October the PLA entered Tawang unopposed. That night they were also opposite Walong at the other end of NEFA. Both, Tawang and Walong were deep inside NEFA. Even in the western sector despite a determined stand made possible by the deft handling of resources by Lt.Gen Daulet Singh the Chinese had by and large occupied all that lay within their claim line here by 21 October. There was a lull in the fighting in all sectors after this.

On 24 October the Chinese issued a statement that after the predictable recriminations made three proposals. They were: I. Both sides agree to respect the line of actual control (LAC) as of November 1959 and withdraw their forces twenty kilometers from that line. II. If India agreed to (I), the Chinese agreed to withdraw to the north of the McMahon line in the eastern sector. (This was significant considering the PLA was quite deep inside NEFA.) III. That the two Prime Ministers meet, either in New Delhi or Peking to seek a friendly settlement. On the very same day a statement was issued by New Delhi rejecting these proposals.

The lull that followed the quick Chinese advances to Tawang and Walong in the east and to the gates of Chushul, instead of causing the national leaders to introspect and inject some realism in them took them on new flights of fancy. The defeats gave rise to a wave of jingoism and euphoria since seen only once after that, during the Kargil conflict. The Lok Sabha praised the “wonderful and spontaneous response of the people of India to the emergency.” Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, always with a way with words, said: “the blood of our martyred jawans is becoming the seed of a new, virile nation that is being born in our country.” Little wonder then that Nehru commented “we never had it so good.”

Instead of taking stock of what went wrong on the run up to the stinging defeat at Namka Chu our leaders persuaded themselves that further battle would beat the Chinese back. When 7 Brigade launched its ill conceived operation, the decision for which was taken by people at the highest level overlooking all advice of commanders on the frontline, the jawans fighting at heights of 12-14000 feet had only light tunics and one blanket each to fight the cold, and ancient .303 rifles with about forty rounds each to fight the Chinese.

what followed later is not worth writing, as you may know.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by anurag_p80

What can I say, the pixs just blew me away. Awesome. Those snow flecked trees, and powder sugar roads- sights for sore eyes. Do continue......



At the risk of a few irate hydeez, let's have this out too

LOL Anurag, we had no choice - we had to be in better shape than we were to do this trip. Thanks to that bit of toning up we did we were able to manage without AMS.

Originally Posted by adzegeek

Ravvendra,

Are there any snaps of artillery/Tanks/armoured vehciles moving on roads near Tawang - since you spoke to so many army folks, can you recall the unit/regiments and the equipment they had. I am wondering whether these roads are done up well enough to say take in the new Arjuns/ T90s/ DRDO BMP MkII.

OT but cannot help this Looking at you guys all cosily dressed up reminds me of what I was reading the other day

what followed later is not worth writing, as you may know.

LOL, you must be crazy. Even if we did see, we were not going to photograph them. Snaps that may have any kind of military installations equipment etc. cannot and will not be posted on this public forum. I know that there is a lot of information on defence related forums but that is not our game. We had taken a policy decision before we entered that disputed area, that any pictures which even inadvertedly show any men, equipment, installations or buildings relating to defence or military forces will remain private. I do not think it appropriate to discuss the details of deployment like units/regiments. I am sorry if my stand offends you but, I see no point in doing anything that might even remotely jeopardise the defence of the country or the very lives of those brave soldiers. Just for your info, I have a memory like a sieve and promptly forget details so there is no way I can recall the details you seek.

Let me assure you though, that the soldiers are far better equipped today than they were 4 decades ago and they are fighting fit.

Cheers,

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

we were not going to photograph them. Snaps that may have any kind of military installations equipment etc. cannot and will not be posted on this public forum. I know that there is a lot of information on defence related forums but that is not our game. We had taken a policy decision before we entered that disputed area, that any pictures which even inadvertedly show any men, equipment, installations or buildings relating to defence or military forces will remain private. I do not think it appropriate to discuss the details of deployment like units/regiments. I am sorry if my stand offends you but, I see no point in doing anything that might even remotely jeopardise the defence of the country or the very lives of those brave soldiers.

+1 to that, Ravveendrra.

I totally agree with your stand, and should be the stand that everyone should take.

Cheers,

[adzegeek]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

LOL, you must be crazy. Even if we did see, we were not going to photograph them. Snaps that may have any kind of military installations equipment etc. cannot and will not be posted on this public forum. I know that there is a lot of information on defence related forums but that is not our game. We had taken a policy decision before we entered that disputed area, that any pictures which even inadvertedly show any men, equipment, installations or buildings relating to defence or military forces will remain private.

very wise and prudent, I acknowledge the mistake, Peace.

[Ravveendrra]

This pic is on Avi's farmaish:


A view of a frozen Pankang teng Tso


A stream besides our nominee for "Most beautiful road".



A waterfall seen from the 'Most beautiful road'.

Christmas day ended with us checking into the hotel and heading out immediately. Once we dumped the luggage in the rooms, we took a stroll in the market looking for phones to call home and for a blower type heater. We did not find the heater we wanted and the phones took forever. We did a bit of window shopping and found one shop which had the same things as the others but was not as expensive. Done with the calls we headed back to the rooms to spend a relaxed evening. We reminisced over the trip till that point over cups of laal-chaai and dinner. The memory cards in the cameras needed some attention so the laptops were fired up and the data moved from the cards onto the laptops. Since we were on a vacation, we put off doing any work i.e. decided to do the processing of the pictures after we got back home. Sitting there legs stretched out and enjoying the heat from the heater (when the electricity was not playing truant) we let the whole thing sink in. The kiddo was enthused enough to play a game of 'memory' with a pack of cards which kept us occupied for a while.

Our digs:







We did turn in early that night. The next morning I awoke and peeked out of the window and lo, I was astounded with a wonderful view of the Tawang Gompa (Monastery).


A view of the monastery from the hotel.

The car was safe and right under the window but things
did not seem very comfortable for it as some workers digging a trench on the side of the road and steadily moving towards the car. Alongwith breakfast came the request to move the car. That window settled our plan for the day which was to get into the car which needed moving and move it all along to the Monastery, then drive around and look about a bit, have lunch and generally take things as they come.

B'fast done, we took another stroll in the market looking for bits and pieces we needed, Nazim managed to capture the new Santa Fe. We then drove to the monastry. That morning the glow plugs sign went off within a few seconds and the car started at the first crank. Unfortunately, we did not let it idle and warm up for a while before driving off so the engine refused to pull up steep slopes that it would normally have despatched with no fuss.

We drove to the Monastery which is situated atop its own little peak with a magnificient view all around.


This is a part of the view that the monastery enjoys:


We parked the car at the gate and walked in to watch a Buddist priest invoking blessings on a new car. It looked very tempting, that ceremony, with included the tying of red and white silk ribbons on the car. I was sorely tempted to get the priest to perform a similar ceremony for the Laura but was held back by the thought of having to wash the car with freezing water before presenting it to be blessed.


The team at the entrance


The monastery was a beehive of activity and an oasis of peace. We walked through the small museum which housed several idols, statues, ceremonial items and items of historical significance.


A picture of the oldest idol in the monastery. The idol is of the presiding deity of the monastery








We then proceeded to the main prayer / meditation hall. It was a challenge to remove one's shoes outside and dash in before the feet froze. The entrance and door to this hall were richly decorated and colourful. Inside there was an unusual kind of silence - a vibrant silence. The smell of yak-butter burning in the lamps pervaded the space and gave it an unique touch. We gazed in awe at the rows of seats and bowed our heads in reverential silence and spent a few moments in prayer before walking around and absorbing all we saw in that dim interior. The hall was dominated by a huge idol of Buddha. This was flanked on either side by several smaller idols of Tara and others. Just above the altar, at the feet of the Buddha was a photograph of the present Dalai Lama. Small lamps lit as offerings by devotees burned at the main altar and the smaller idols. Close to the altar, between the rows of seats were several musical instruments. We spent a fair bit of time gawking and photographing.


A view of the main temple / prayer hall



The entrance and door to the temple



A view of the interior of the temple.

Musical instruments used in worship:










Above and below: Two views of the large idol of Buddha






Motifs flanking the idol of Buddha


At the feet of his lord, serving his people. The Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet, he first came to Tawang using the Lhasa highway


Once out, we walked around the monastary complex, there were not many monks or pupils about and we were told that it was the winter recession. A few pupils and monks were busy moving firewood that had been dumped at the gate to various parts of the monastery.


All stocked up

There were stacks of firewood indicating that they were all set for the coldest part of winter which is Jan-Feb. We watched the monks and the pupils go about their work (or play).


"I might be training to be a monk but, I am still a kid."
I spotted this little bikshu walking very solemnly past the Institue of Tibetan Studies. There was an unmistakable glint of innocent mischief in his eyes. I managed to take this photo and true to my instincts, as soon as he turned the corner his whole bearing changed and he pulled the wheel and stick from behind him and resumed what he was doing before we interrupted - PLAY. My only regret is that he was too fast for me to get a snap of him after he turned that corner.


Another kid another story:

Pensive? Meditative? Oh no. This is a minor tantrum!


Once we had our fill, we got into the car and drove out onto the road leading to Pankang Teng Tso (calling it P.T. somehow conjures up images of school kids all lined up and doing a drill) but we decided to turn back once we realised that it was on the road to Bum La, which we intended to do the next day.



Above & below: Two views of the Monastery from the road to Pankong Teng Tso



On the way back, Arun and Nazim spotted an ATM and got off, I was to park the car and walk about half the way back to meet them for lunch at a place we spotted.


Guide to eating out in Tawang.

Done with lunch, we trooped back to the hotel for a nap. Arun and Nazim had other ideas and went back to the souvenir shop hoping to get some more stuff and souvenirs. That evening we spent quietly walking around and shopping. We also looked for a taxi to negotiate the infamous road to Bum La. One chap near the hotel flat refused to go to Bum La (and I do not blame him). The hotel guys were quite helpful and helped us get a taxi, the car was a Maruti Omni - definitely not the best choice but that was the best we got. Vehicle tied up, it was time to make a call and confirm the permit required to visit Bum La. We were told to contact the next morning and that the permit would be ready by then.

Satisfied with a day well spent, we jumped under layers of blankets and duvets and slept blissfully.

Cheers,

[gajadonga]

Loging in to see your updates.Good work all of you it is almost travelling along with you.Monastry details are good.

[pulsar56]

This post is dedicated to Border Roads Organization - BRO

































Wiki.