TL;DR: This blog is part-3 of my backpacking+paragliding pilot course experience that happened at the start of 2020.
The first part talks about my backpacking to Majuli. You can read it here. The second part talked about my paragliding pilot course in Dirang. You can read it here. The third part is about hitchhiking from Dirang (Arunanchal Pradesh, India) to Guwahati (Assam, India)
This blog talks about the various experiences and impromptu decisions/plans that were done to reach Guwahati. It was full of uncertainties which made this journey a memorable and breathtaking one.
Warning: It’s quite a lengthy but breathtaking blog; maybe someday, I will turn this into a book :)
Outline:
- The Genesis
- Hot spring, Dirang — Rejuvenating experience
- Dirang Dzong (Fort) — The mistaken Gompa
- Bomdila — Best way of exploring a place is by walking.
- The wrong turn!
- “Lal cha” — An elixir for freezing cold to a lactose intolerant being.
- Attaining zen mode on the metal couch
- The landslide
- Reaching Bhalukpong; the border check post.
- It’s Balipara!
- Going around Tezpur, the second time.
- The doctor: who helped dissect the culture
- Guwahati: The Final Destination
The Genesis
It was 15th Jan 2020 evening, we had completed our paragliding course, the next day we had to leave the institute and head back home. Me and Hari, a fellow student from the cohort, decided to go around Dirang before heading to Guwahati, from where we would board our respective flights over the weekend.
There a few places in Dirang that are worth visiting. We decided to hire a private cab that would pick us from the institute and take us around Dirang. The cab would then drop us at Bomdila (an hour away from Dirang), where we would board the 3:30 pm Bus to Guwahati.
Next day morning, we tried reaching the cab driver but in vain. We had breakfast at the institute and left around 7:30 am. After bidding adieu to other folks, we started to walk down the Institute (The institute is situated on a hill equivalent of Nandi hills, Bangalore). The institute does offer transport to the Dirang market, where we could hire a private cab. Still, we decided to enjoy the walk downhill, capturing some beautiful surroundings and nourishing on some Vitamin D.
The plan was to walk till Hot spring in Dirang, about 6 km from the institute. Spend some time and then head to Bomdila and board the bus to Guwahati. About 3km after we reached the main road, We thought to hitchhike and save some time. Also, the downhill was over, and it was rolling terrain till the hot spring and carrying about 15kg backpacks would mean a lot of hard work :). We waved at a Maruti alto, bam the first request, and we had some kind folks dropping us to the Hot spring.
Hot spring, Dirang — Rejuvenating experience
We reached the hot spring at around 8:30 am. At the hot spring, there are very few folks there, locals from nearby areas. The weather was cold, the early morning temperatures here were below 10-degree Celsius. Once you get into the water, you feel so refreshed, and the warmth adds to it. We decided to spend 30 mins and move but landed up staying here for about 2 hrs.
While relaxing at the hot spring, we met a local, Pasang, who was a DJ by profession and was also running a business in Dirang market. Near the hot spring, there was a temple/ religious place of a deity, and he had come to offer prayers. We asked him if he could drop us to the Dirang market, He obliged and dropped us near the market in his SUV. Pasang gave us a packet of kiwifruit grown in his orchard.
It was about 11 am when we reached the Dirang market. We had some awesome Maggi, Momos and Thukpa here. We thought of hitchhiking to Sangti valley (12 km from Dirang) but dropped the idea as it would risk our chances of missing the 3;30pm from Bomdila.
We decided to visit the oldest Monastery/Gompa(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gompa) that we heard from a fellow student at the institute, we dint really remember the name of the Monastery .
Dirang Dzong (Fort) — The mistaken Gompa:
At the breakfast shop, we asked for a place of historical importance/Monastery that was suggested to us that we visit. They told us there is one near the institute, so we told the folks that there is some other place, downplaying that we have sort of known this and are looking for something historical. On our insistence that there is something other than that, they told us to go to Dirang Dzong.
We hitchhiked from Dirang Market in an Isuzu truck to Dirang Dzong (15 min drive). At about 12 pm, after a short hike (from the main road) with our backpacks, we made it to the top of this deserted place. There is a small monastery. The view was beautiful. Apparently, this place was used to keep captives and houses a jail and monastery on the top. Also used during the Vietnam war. (https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/arunachalpradesh/dirang-dzong.html ) .
We sort of undermined the view from our campus at NIMAS all these days, It was of the Oldest Gompa, Kalachakra (https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/arunachalpradesh/kalachakra-gompa.html). Remember, We barely had any network to google it out. I only realized, while writing this blog :), it was not the oldest Gompa we were looking for. What we saw all these days from our campus was the one. The marker in the first picture that points to the old Gompa that we were able to see from our institute. We spent an hour and a half over here. It was about 1:30 pm when we reached the main road.
Being able to quickly get rides/hitchhikes till now, we decided to go all the way to Guwahati hitchhiking and ditching the bus from Bomdila at 3:30 pm. Thanks to some network at the Dirang Dzong, we mapped the route and planned our stops and overnight stay.
Here is the GIF showing the journey done till now and planned ahead.
Bomdila — Best way of exploring a place is by walk.
From Dirang Dzong, we reached Bomdila in a Mahindra pickup 4X4 truck that is used for transporting goods, it was heading to Tezpur. It took us about 1 hr, the driver made a pit stop, and we had some lal chai. It was starting to get cold. On top of that, we were standing behind in the truck to enjoy the beautiful valley view.
It is always advised to keep warm clothing/gear within comfortable reach in your backpack. I pulled out my balaclava and gloves to combat the brisk winds.
We got down at the Bomdila police check-post at about 2:30 pm. We started exploring the town on foot. A local suggested we visit the Bomdila monastery (Also known as GRL Monastery) and the Bomdila war memorial (Tributes to INDO-CHINA 1962 war martyrs). We decided to visit the monastery and then visit the rest of them if time permits. It was about a 25 min walk uphill from main road to reach the GRL monastery or also called Upper Gompa.
There is something about such places. There is a feeling of tranquillity when you spend time here. The Gompa also houses about 100 odd young monks. We spent some time meditating in the prayer hall.
Within no time it was about 4 pm and was getting dark, and the weather was getting cold. We had to make a move. We decided to wear our thermals and freshen up as the washrooms were clean and well maintained here :)
The monk said that we should make our move as the passenger vehicles would thin out after 6 pm and it would be harder to find. He advised us to go to the petrol pump about 3 km away to hitch a ride.
The wrong turn:
We walked down the road, luckily it was downhill, all along the way we tried hitchhiking but without any luck. We reached the petrol pump at about 4:30 pm. For the next 1hr, we could not get any passenger vehicle nor a transport vehicle to Rupa/Shergaon/Orang/Guwahati. We decided that we would try till 6 pm and then we would lodge at Bomdila for the night.
At about 5:45 pm, I headed towards the petrol bunk to ask about lodging facilities while Hari was waving at the vehicles on the main road. We got lucky, there was a Mahindra 4x4 pickup truck that was loaded with firewood and 3 people that were heading to Tezpur (about 150km from Bomdila). He was supposed to drop the firewood to his sister’s place on the way (Well we dint know where it was and at this point we dint care ) . It would be relatively comfortable for us (five in total) then for the rest of the journey.
Ten days ago, while arriving in Dirang, I had started my journey from Tezpur via Orang and thought this vehicle would also go from Orang. From Orang, we would then hitchhike to Guwahati. It seemed all sorted. Excited that we don’t have to lodge at bomdila and experience some night travel in open skies, who needs a sunroof :).
It would ideally take about like 4 hrs to reach Orang via Rupa/ Shergoan route. So by that, we thought we would be at Orang at 10 pm and then 3 hr journey to Guwahati so by max 2 am we would be in Guwahati.
Remember, the 3:30 pm bus we were planning to take from bomdila to Guwahati, would have reached 4 am. Feeling of accomplishment by saving time and experiencing it crudely was all over. This was all in the head, this was actually the wrong turn.
“Lal cha” — An elixir for freezing cold to a lactose intolerant being.
After about 30 mins drive, the driver, Sunil, took an off-road route, When asked he said he was on the way to Singchung to drop the firewood at his sister’s place. At around 7 pm after crossing a couple of valleys and a bumpy ride, we reached Singchung.
After helping in unloading the firewood from the pickup truck, the family invited us for some tea and snacks. I asked for “lal cha” (Red tea prepared without milk), a savored drink in this region. We sat around a large firewood stove in the kitchen that kept us warm.
The people in the mountains are so warm and welcoming. The family was also ready to offer us some blankets as it would get cold in the night and the truck carriage floor had a tarpaulin sheet. I did have my sleeping bag that protects about 10 degrees Celsius, and Hari was decently clothed with warmers and a down jacket.
After about half an hour of tea break and stories of local folks, the family reminded Sunil about the gate closure at Bhalukpong and told us to move swiftly.
Well now the route that we thought and we were headed was totally off, the same destination can have multiple paths, not just spirtual but IRL too, don’t assume it is what we learnt :).
We assumed : Bomdila -> Rupa -> Shergaon -> Orang -> Tezpur . But the driver had Bomdila -> Tenga valley -> Singchung -> Bhalukpong -> Tezpur route in his mind all the while.
We decided that we will go to Tezpur and then hitchhiking would be much more comfortable as it was a town and worst-case lodge if we get too tired.
Thinking about that, I curled up in my sleeping bag, and all Hari had a bed-sheet that he put around.
Attaining zen mode on the metal couch:
This highway road has been under construction for about a decade now. We were told by the locals at Bomdila to avoid as road construction workers might be closing the road and there is no fixed time as the construction work started without much notice.
At 9:30 pm, about after 2hrs of a bumpy ride and crossing a lot of check posts, we finally halt at an unknown location amid the mountain. There was another vehicle ahead that informed us about road closure.
We were barely 2 hrs away from Tezpur. The road would now open only early morning at about 5 am. Which meant that we would need to spend the night in the open sky and on the metal floor.
It was already freezing cold and a local from another vehicle, who was enjoying a smoke and talking to us, estimated near-zero temperature for the night. He spoke of a death that happened in Sela pass recently (Sela pass is on the way to Tawang, is at a higher altitude then what we were at). Local travelers were all prepped for the cold with multiple blankets and layers of jackets.
In an hour, at about 10:30 pm, the metal floor started to freeze. We started using our backpacks as beds that protected the upper body from the cold floor, and for the lower, it was my sleeping bag. Hari was brave enough to just use a bedsheet.
By 12 am, we were unable to sleep, and now the temperature was dropping, adding to this the clear skies was not a good sign and meant that the heat would fall further. We were shivering all the while.
The fear of Hypothermia was all over, my feet had got numb. I had forgotten to wear socks, and they were now in the backpack that I was resting on. There was no way I was going to get out of my sleeping bag and then sit on the floor to remove my sock and wear them. I took off my hand gloves and used them as makeshift socks that cover my toes and a bit of sole.
It was the first time that I was experiencing such a raw cold and that too open in the mountain. The sleeping bag felt helpless as the sheer weather rendered it useless. I was constantly checking on Hari, who was grinding his teething and shivering all the time. Well, also this was a way to check if we were alive :). It was damn scary. Shivering acted as the heat generator. This was the first time I could feel warmth in my body being generated and disappear in thin air in no time.
I recollected all the people in my life (I was probably hallucinating :D ). I reminisced about some good memories. Every 5 mins, I was in an auto mode of checking if Hari was okay :D. Mostly made peace with the situation and was prepared for the worst :). It was about 3 am and I could see a cloud cover coming in or probably that was my sheer imagination. The last thing I remember, I kept smiling and gazing at the sky and then dozed off.
The landslide:
I woke up to engine revving and the time was about 5 am. We finally started heading towards Tezpur. Still curled up in my sleeping bag, I was not feeling cold or instead got used to it. ETA to Tezpur was 7:30 am.
I was all excited and started enjoying the view and was waiting for the sunrise. The last proper meal we had was about 11 am the previous day and barely 2 hrs of sleep. There was invisible energy that was bestowed probably from the mountains, the fresh air and sunrise added to it.
After moving for about half an hour, the vehicle stopped. There was a landslide that was induced by construction work during the night. The sun was up and glaring at us. After Waiting for about 4hrs, at approx 9:30 am, the heavy excavators and bulldozers succeeded in sorting out space for one vehicle to pass through. We were lucky that we got to go ahead first and the folks from the opposite direction had to wait as there was a VIP vehicle on our side ;)
Reaching Bhalukpong, The border check post:
After about 30 mins at 10 am, we were finally out of the curvy roads in the mountains. We took a pit stop at this serene place. A stream of water was running down the mountain. Freshening Up here was revitalizing.
Bhalukpong is a major checkpoint on Assam-Arunachal border. A lot of vehicles here are random checked for two reasons, one being security and other is for bootleggers, for obvious reasons that the cost of booze here is lower than that of Assam (https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Jb0QIdpHOAgJ:https://www.guwahatiplus.com/article-detail/assam-flooded-with-made-in-arunachal-pradesh-liquor+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in)
We are about 1 hr away from Tezpur, ETA 11:15 am. It was hot and flat roads. The pickup van cruising. The warmers made us sweat. Luckily layering helps in shedding them in the open and didn’t need any changeroom :)
Its Balipara:
At about 10:45 am, Sunil stops at Balipara, about 25km from Tezpur. He says this is his final destination and guided us to a place where we could get public transport to Tezpur.
Thanking Sunil and other folks who were kind enough to share the tiny space, we made a move. Fatigue had just started creeping, and hunger began to peak. We decided to head quickly to Tezpur and have lunch.
Going around Tezpur, The second time:
Recollecting how we made it till here gave us more determination to keep hitchhiking till Guwahati and not take any public transport :). We walked a couple of kilometres from the main junction towards Tezpur highway and started to request for hitchhiking.
After about 20 mins at around 11:30 am, we finally got a ride from a businessman named Krishna heading to Nagaon (Ahead of Tezpur). On the way conversing with him, We told him about our hitchhiking and how the past 24 hrs had been.
Krishna told us that we should get down at Kaliabor highway (Kaliabor - the rice bowl of Assam) . The highway junction has most of the vehicles coming from East Arunachal and Nagaland. At Kaliabor, we would have a much better chance to hitch a ride there instead of from Tezpur -> Orang -> Guwahati route. He offered to show around the Tezpur university, a bit off the course. He took us around the campus. We spoke about Assam culture and history of the Ahom kingdom.
Ten days ago, I was in Tezpur. I had arrived from Majuli and took a ride to Dirang. I had walked around Tezpur, and I could remember some of the places on the way, confirmation that my cognitive functions were still sound and intact :)
At about 1:30 pm we reached Kaliabor. We decided to have our lunch (we hogged). It was about more than 25 hours that we had a meal. We ate a sumptuous thali at a Dhaba, stocked up some chocolates and water. We finally started getting mobile network with some good internet speed. We booked our stay at Guwahati. It was time to head back to the main road to continue our journey.
The doctor:
It was about 2:30 pm now. After a meal, all we needed was a nap. After a few let downs at hitchhiking attempts, We almost gave up on hitchhiking and were about to board public transport. We had seen about 5 of them pass by in 20 mins.
Just then we waved at a cruising Renault Duster with a sparring hope. We got lucky. Finally a ride to Guwahati. That feeling of accomplishment.
Abo Bengia, a doctor, native of Arunachal Pradesh, was driving from the Ziro valley and was heading to pick his kids from a college in Guwahati.
Abo, belonged to the Nishi tribe, one of the largest tribes in Arunachal. There are more than 108 tribes in Arunachal, most of them are urbanized. They followed an indigenous religion called Donyi-poloism (Sun-moon) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donyi-Polo.
Girls from the Apatani tribe were known for their extraordinary beauty and were often kidnapped by the neighbouring Nishi tribes until the middle of the 20th century. To put an end to this, they were deliberately defaced with facial tatoos and nose plugs that were meant to evoke fear. Courtesy: http://fototrails.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-apatani-girl.html
Jorabat, A place 15km from Guwahati is a stretch on the national highway that acts as a border to Meghalaya and Assam. It’s quite interesting to see the stretch having petrol pumps and wine shops on the Meghalaya side as the tax is less and hence cheaper fuel :)
I and Abo had some fascinating conversations ranging from the cultures of Arunachal Pradesh to the regional festivals to the recent drug abuse menace happening in Arunachal. It would need a blog talk about it or probably over lunch once the lockdown gets over :).
The Final Destination- Guwahati:
The conversions were so effortless, and we didn’t realize about 3 hours flew by. We reached Guwahati at about 6 pm, and it was dark. We thanked Abo and started walking to our hotel that was a few kilometres away, just to ditch the idea after a KM and hire a cab :)
We had started from Dirang on 16th Jan 2020, Thursday morning at 7:30am and reached Guwahati on Friday 17th Jan 2020 at 6:30 pm. We were tired AF and glad that we made it safe. We headed to the closest restaurant and decided to cherish it. We grabbed a chilled brewed barley and reminisced about the past 36hrs.
It had been a crazy journey that we had been through. It struck to us that what was a tiring journey for us was a typical business day for the local travelers. Mountains teach them patience and acceptance. Life moves at a different pace, and most of the time, things are beyond their control.
While our conversation was going on, one question popped up, Would we have done this hitchhiking knowing it would be such an experience?
A grin on our face was all the answer we had to this question :)