The 1 st Gear
I was looking out of my car window and ruminating the eventful day. The mood in the office was very festive. This festivity necessitated a few extra rounds of tea, over which the festival manifesto of my seniors and collogues were being discussed one by one. I could make out that most of my colleagues were going out of the city during the Puja Vacation. I was not the only one losing interest in the once most awaited event of Guwahati, the Durga Puja. I still remember how exciting Puja was to us as school going boys, even till our college days. We used to visit almost all famous Puja Pandals like the Maligaon Pandal, Lakhi Mandir Pandal, Kamakhya Pandal, etc. one by one. As college going boys we preferred to wander in the nights due to the convenience of lesser traffic jam. Gradually, the city expanded and so did its population. Horrible traffic jams made it difficult to visit the fanciful pandals even during the night hours so most of us resorted to house-parties during Puja. I however, off late have started using the Puja vacation for travelling. I started with a solo bike trip to Arunachal in 2013 and in the subsequent puja vacations made other trips like a bike trip to Tawang on my Yamaha RX100, I trekked to the Dzukou Valley, to name a few. This year we planned for a more dearer dream and the name of it was ‘the Menchuka’. Menchuka is a small hilly town in the North-western Arunachal Pradesh. Its beauty can match to that of places at similar altitude in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. But a trip to Menchuka requires almost a weeks’ time as it is around 900 KM away from Guwahati and the road was still under construction. However, as they say, due to less visitors Mechuka is a less commercial and a pure Himalayan experience.
A Starry Night
Today was a working day and we were all set for an overnight drive. It was almost 12:45 AM when we crossed Tezpur. The night was quiet and Janda (my elder brother) and I was enjoying random chats. I played a coke studio playlist which I had downloaded for this trip specifically. It was a starry night, a long drive, an empty road, tea gardens and open fields by our sides and Abida Parbin’s voice singing “Kahun dost se dost ki baat kya kya”. Could we ask for more!
We passed by Puja Mandaps at small places like Jamugurihat, Biswanath Chariali, Gohpur etc. When we crossed the Gohpur town it was around 3 o’clock. Surprisingly, many people on bicycles crossed us from the opposite side. I could not guess whether they were night owls coming back from their Puja rendezvous or early birds up for their daily routines. When we reached North Lakhimpur the sky became dark blue with the first light of the morning. Just after crossing the town I passed the driving seat to Nitish (colleague) and went to the back seat to relax for a while. After the long night I was drowsy. Every time I opened
my eyes I felt the morning brighter. After crossing Silapathar we stopped for a while. The place was very photogenic with white ‘Kohua’ grass all over. Janda did not miss the chance to capture his first pictures of the trip. Prashant (colleague) and Kashyap (Cousin) were mesmerized by the beautiful scenery of typical North Bank (of Brahmaputra) grasslands and they shouted like kids. The trip was hinting lifetime memories to us.
I took a good nap and we reached Jonai at around 8 in the morning. Jonai is a small border town with India’s easternmost railway station Murkongselek in it. The place of the border gate to Arunachal Pradesh is called Ruksin. Pasighat is the first town in Arunachal Pradesh, on our way and it was 35 KM from Ruksin. We reached Pasighat at around 9:30 AM. Pasighat is a small town roughly around 4 square KMs of size. The NH 13, which passes through it, houses the main market area into both sides of it. At the end of the town is the Airport. The Pasighat Airport was initially built as an Advanced Landing Ground (ALF) for the Indian Airforce due to its strategic location. It has also been used for civil aviation by means of helicopter services connecting it to Itanagar, Dibrugarh, Guwahati and a few interior places of the state until the month of May of this year, i.e. 2018, since when it has been connected to Guwahati by a thrice a week flight of Alliance Air. Pasighat has around four-five decent hotels. I recommend ‘The Serene Abode’ & ‘Hotel Pane’. We had breakfast at a small place run by a local family. They served Masala Dosa which I shall rate as average. We bought the necessary food, used the ATMs and hit the road soon. It is worth attention that the ATMs at most of the hilly towns in North East India are usually cash dry. Therefore, it is advisable to carry cash instead of cards. We left Pasighat Town at about 11 o’clock. At the end of the town stood the Jawaharlal Nehru College. Just after crossing the college we reached at a junction from where the broader highway leads towards Dambuk, Roing etc. and a smaller road to left is the one towards Aalo. The distance
from Pasighat to Aalo is around 110 KMs.
The Machine on The Hills
The road to Aalo goes alongside the river Siang. Siang is the main watercourse of river Brahmaputra, which meets Dibang and Lohit rivers at the easternmost parts of Assam to become the mighty Brahmaputra. I had seen the river Lohit at Parashuramkunda in the Lohit District and river Dibang at Roing in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. Both of them are enormous rivers, specially during the summers. Siang seemed smaller as compared to the other two. However, later I got to know that this is because of the dams constructed on the course of this mighty river in the Chinese territory. I also got to know that the water level of the river increases drastically and suddenly when the water is released from the reservoirs in Tibet.
The road seemed better than our expectations. Though it was an under-construction road, SUVs can easily be driven at an average of 30 KMPH. After two hours we crossed 50 percent of our journey for the day. We decided that we shall halt at Aalo for the night. We stopped for a small break and Janda utilized the opportunity to take a few snaps of the River Siang which was flowing around 100 feet below the road. Due to the changing water level of the river, beautiful white sand beaches had been created. A longer halt at the beach was unanimously decided by us. Janda and I quickly arranged for the lunch while the others helped us with cleaning the utensils, bringing water, etc. After fifteen minutes, the Rice cooker was off the stove, the mixed stew of vegies and dal was being cooked, Janda was busy with photography and rest of us were quietly enjoying the eternal view of an river sitting on camp chairs. It was the first time we were relaxing in the last 20 hours.
Soon enough all but Janda decided to camp in the white sandy beach for the night. But the plan was immediately turned down by Janda. His logic was that none of us knew what was stored for us in the road ahead. Moreover, we needed comfortable sleep after 24 hours of exhaustion which no tent and sleeping bag could provide us. Janda also argued that camping here would mean a much longer journey for the next day. After lunch and a relaxed bath in a stream meeting the Siang river, we were in our car again. The time was around 330 PM. Later the decision of not camping there was vindicated when we heard about numerous flash floods in the river Siang.
After around 25 KMs we reached a T point at a place called Komsing. The road towards right goes to a place called Boleng. We later learned that there is a bridge over River Siang near Boleng which is often visited by tourists and photography enthusiasts. From Komsing, we took left and started travelling towards west from that point. Due to bad condition of the roads through Ziro-Daporizo or Silapathar-Basar, we were travelling on the longest route to Aalo, i.e. through Pasighat. We were taking a long U shaped route. The road beyond Komsing was horrible. Even the SUV could not move at more than 15 KMPH. It was really annoying and boring. The bad road was 24 KM long and it took us around 2 hours to cross that stretch. It felt really monotonous and wearing after sunset.
We reached the Aalo town at around 7:30 in the evening. The trip-meter was showing 720 KMs. Our estimation for the second half of the day’s journey had been proved utterly wrong which was originally estimated at 2 hours for around 55 KMs. But it took us around 4 hours and the journey had exhausted us to our cores. We took accommodated ourselves in a hotel called Min-Ta which is at the starting of the Aalo town. The hotel was clean, professional and reasonably priced. We got two AC rooms with an extra bed at Rs. 4000 for the night. To our relief the food was also very tasty there. We got hot water for bath ate darnk and retired in our beds at around 11 PM. We were sleeping after a long 24 hours’ journey. So we decided not to hurry the next morning and to try to leave Aalo by 10 o’clock in the morning.
Fulfilment of A Dream
We all slept like dead persons due to the extreme fatigue of the long journey. I opened my eyes at around 730 in the morning. Janda was already up. Beauty of the Arunachal Hills greeted us. The view from the hotel window took all our exhaustion and frustration of the previous day away. The Siyom river which is a tributary of River Siyang was flowing just around 50 meters behind the hotel. Janda and I decided to take a stroll to the riverbank. The river was extremely beautiful but was really affected by civilization. Sewerage drains were meeting the river at every 50 meters. But due to less population it could not pollute the river
entirely. We found traces of Pujas (Dry garlands, earthen diyas, plastic flowers etc.) in the riverbank. I tried to imagine the scenery before the first human being had reached there. My imagination blurred.
We started walking eastwards on a small trail by the river. We met strangers who guided us happily. We reached a place where around 5 people were fishing with nets. They did not get any big catch. I got to know from one ‘kokai’ (brother in assamese) standing there that the fishing rights of the river belongs to the landowners at the riverbanks. Usually, during fishing season the landowners hire fishermen from other states. I could sense heavy exploitation of the fish resources of the river. Kokais showed us an alternative way to the hotel and we reached the hotel at around 8:30 AM. In the hotel we met a photographer from Delhi who was travelling solo to cover the entire Arunachal Pradesh for a project of ‘Incredible India’. He mentioned that the road to Menchuka would be of around 8 hours. But the relief was that the road was well built as he mentioned.
We also met Mr. Gebu Sona from Menchuka, who was travelling down to Pasighat and stayed at the same hotel the last night. We were planning to stay in his homestay at Menchuka. Janda did quite some research before the trip and found his place to be the best in Menchuka. Janda also dropped an email to him for reservation but never received any reply. We got to know that the only telecom network available in Menchuka is of BSNL which was down for the last couple of days. Hence, Mr. Gebu never had the chance to check his emails. But he immediately sent an SMS to his wife informing that we were travelling from Aalo. He also mentioned that the network was hoped to go up that day. If the SMS was read, some advance arrangements for us should be done by Mrs. Gebu. We bid adios to Ashish (the photographer) and Mr. Gebu and started our journey to Menchuka at around 10:30 AM.
Menchuka is around 190 KMs from Aalo. Nitish took the driving seat. He is a very good driver and is capable of driving fast. We expected that he would help us covering the good road in a shorter time. The road was better than expectation for the next 40 KMs. The road was very less travelled and we crossed very few vehicles on the way. We crossed several small villages and BRO office/labour camp settlements. The villages in this part were very beautiful inhabited mainly by the Galo tribe. The houses are elevated and roofed with Toko (a kind of palm tree) leaves. Sometimes their houses would be next to their Jhoom (Terrace cultivation) fields. Their fields seemed to be growing millets. After the first 40 KMs of the day, the road became single-lane. On the way, we followed milestones showing names of several places which we expected to be small towns, only to be utterly disappointed to find them to be small villages with hardly 4 to 5 houses. That day a big fleet of around 50 military trucks was going down towards Aalo. We faced real difficulty to give the trucks pass in the narrow road. However, the army drivers were compassionate and accommodating. They understood that we were new in that road and without showing haste allowed us to find place for giving them room to pass. When the first vehicle of the convoy would arrive the driver would show us in finger-sign the exact number of vehicles following him. We should count till the last vehicle pass us before moving forward. We met around 5 such convoys.
At the end of around 85 KMs and 4 hours’ journey of the day, we reached a place called Pane. We saw an eatery towards our right. We decided to stop there for the lunch break.
When we asked about side dishes they told they serve Chicken and Deer meat. We confirmed by asking again. We heard right. It appeared to us that hunting and eating deer meat is not a big deal in that part of the world. Opposite to the eatery, on the higher side of the road, there was a long hostel like building consisting of around 5-6 rooms. When inquired we found that the rooms are rented as hotel rooms to travelers. Initially the building was used by engineers engaged in the construction works of the road. However, we did not bother to enter the rooms to inspect their conditions. Road trippers equipped with sleeping bags may however reach upto this place in a single day from Pasighat which can save quite some time for them. After lunch I took the driver’s seat. On the way, we saw a beautiful waterfall named Siko Dido to the left of the vehicle. We reached Tato at around 4 o’clock. Tato is a bigger place compared to any of the previous villages we crossed during the day. Gradually, the weather became colder as we ascended towards higher altitude. We geared ourselves with warmer clothes. It becomes very boring to drive in the hills after sunset. After going from turning to turning, down to up, up to down, we suddenly saw lights in a distant valley. Our spirits rose high. The place become clearer with every 100 meters of drive. Finally, after long 48 hours journey we were in Menchuka, a place I had been planning to visit since around last 5 years. Just after entering the town and travelling for around 1 KM we reached the main market. It was around 7 PM. But unlike many hilly places in North East India, the market was still alive. We met Mrs. Gebu in the market itself. She runs a small souvenir shop below the SBI, Menchuka Branch. To our delight, she had already received the SMS from Mr. Gebu and had made two rooms ready for us. We reached her place which was less than a KM from the market.
The homestay was more like a guest house. The tourists’ rooms were in two different buildings in the same compound of their residence. The kitchen and dining room was housed in their residential building. The buildings were well made concrete ones with wooden flooring. The rooms were equipped with running water, geyser, TV set etc. The pricings were quite reasonable at around Rs. 1500 per room. We unloaded the whole of our luggage, cleaned ourselves and assembled in the dining room for a couple of drinks. By this time, Didi (Mrs Gebu) had also reached home. Her kids study in boarding schools. The youngest one, a small kid, was home for Puja holidays. The other girls would be reaching home in the next two days. Mrs. Sona was helped by two other teenage boys of the same village. Both of them were very friendly, swift and polite. One of them worked as the cook. He excelled our expectations. Probably, due to their long experience of serving food to tourists, their food was almost like the ones we get in an average Assamese or a less spicy Bengali restaurant. We got an overall idea about the tourist attractions of Menchuka from Didi. There are two monasteries in Menchuka, the old and the new, which are usually on the ‘must-visit’ list of the tourists. The Hanuman Face and the Gurudwara are at half an hour’s drive from the homestay. There is another place called Darjeeling Basti. She also showed us pictures of some offbeat places which were really mesmerizing. But most of those places are located at 2 days to 4 days trek. To name a few, Pasang Sonam Lake trek, Tokak La Trek, Neh Saram trek etc. make Menchuka a paradise for trekkers. We understood that a trip to Menchuka should best be planned as a helicopter ride from Itanagar, Dibrugarh or Pasighat and then two three treks of 3-4 days’ duration each. We also got to know that in January-February the Menchuka town is covered with snow. So, one can just come here and relax for a few days. Anyways, none of us were interested in the religious things. So we settled on a daylong trek and overnight camping at Mr. Sona’s private island campsite. Our guide would arrive at the guest house at around 10 in the morning.
Menchuka
Janda was hurriedly looking for his camera when I woke up. He rushed out before I could understand what he was rushing for. It was 6 in the morning. I followed Janda to the first floor of the wooden building. It was a fine morning textured by magical weaves of light and shade. Janda was busy clicking pictures of a mighty and gorgeous snowclad mountain peak at faraway north. Janda’s morning rush got justified as the view of the mountain was blocked by clouds just within 10 minutes. We could not catch a similar sight seemed like a real hunting camp in a dense forest. We listened to music, danced and boozed. during the next 30 hours of our stay in Menchuka. There were two bedrooms and a balcony in the first floor. There was a hammock made of furry yak skin hung in the balcony. I enjoyed a powernap on the hammock till Janda’s hope for another view of the mountain was over. Janda and I decided to take a scout trip of the town. The river Yargyapchu or Siyom flows from west to east in the valley. The valley is around 12-15 KM long and around 3-5 KM wide. The westernmost part and the southern areas of the town are used by offices, camps and yards of the Armed forces and BRO. The airport and the market are in the middle of the town. The airport is a very small one. Various small government offices, residences of the locals, homestays etc. are scattered in rest of the town. All over the town, one can find horses roaming like cows in the plains. I got to know that they are not wild horses. But the owners don’t bother to confine them unless their services are required. The wooden houses made the view quite different from any other places in Arunachal. There were millet and buckwheat fields next to the houses.
The locals were very friendly and polite. Menchuka is primarily inhabited by people of Memba tribe. They follow Tibetan Buddhism. Even their culture has close affinity with the Tibetan Buddhists I have observed in far-flung Ladakh and Sikkim. The other tribes of the valley are Ramo (Adi), Bokar and Libo. The Ramos are also believed to have migrated from Tibet. They practice Donyi-Polo religion or worship of the Sun and the Moon. Till the Indo- China war in 1962, the residents of Menchuka used to have closer ties with people in Tibet. They would trek through Lola pass to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and barter their goods for salt, garments and cattle, among other things. But after the war, cross border movement was banned by the government. Mechuka became totally land-locked after the war as a result of which the residents faced extreme misery. The problem has been gradually being mitigated by improving road connectivity from the Brahamputra valley in Assam. After a small photography trip we reached back at the Gebu’s at around 8 AM. After breakfast we left for the trek along with our guide Lama bhaiya. The landscape was like alpine meadows with no trees and calf level bushes were the tallest vegetation. It was very much suitable for a daylong trek. The alleviation was approximately 45 degrees. Our guide was a funny bone. He told us so many stories about his experiences with various tourists, from drunk men to rude ladies, from film shootings to the celebrities. We hiked for around 1800 feet from the base and for around 2 hours.
The town looked mesmerizing from that height. We noticed that almost all the roofs in the town are blue in colour. The view of the hillocks towards east looked very similar to Dzukou valley. We relaxed and enjoyed the silence of the valley. The clouds were moving very fast and making beautiful formations. The entire valley was decorated by textures of light and shade. Janda took time lapses, panoramas and wide angles to his absolute fulfilment. We started our trail back at around 1 o’clock. It started to rain just before we reached our vehicle. We reached the guesthouse at around 2:30 PM. After lunch we had to hurry for our next plan, i.e. the overnight camping.
By the time we did some shopping for the dinner and reached the campsite it was already dark. The campsite was not something we expected it to be. First of all, it was an under construction site, construction materials spread all over. It is the site for the Menchuka Festival in the coming November. Moreover, the river was not visible from the campsite due the fences and the positions of the buildings. However, the relief was that it was equipped with a clay made fireplace, one electric bulb, and abundant firewood. One guide had already made the bonfire for us. After we were introduced with the place, the guides left. We cooked our food leisurely. The entire day was drive-free and we all were energetic. We decided to keep the extra day in reserve and move to Aalo, or if possible to Pasighat, the next morning. Nitish and I fixed our hammocks to the poles of the camping shelter. We pitched our tents. The setup
The Longest Day
We got a clearer view of the campsite in the morning. The building where we pitched the tents seemed like one meant for use as the ticket counter cum office in the upcoming November fest. There are two tall stages, where apparently the DJs will be stationed. Nitish and I experience a similar Disco night in Phuentsholing in Bhutan in the last New Years’ Eve in the dry river beds of River Toorsa. That’s why we could guess how the setup would be used during the fest. Janda reached the campsite back from his morning photography session when we were packing our stuffs. We reached at the Gebu’s at around 9 in the morning. We freshened ourselves up, had tea, had breakfast and started our journey back at around 10:30. We thanked the two cute caretakers at Gebu’s. I thought to myself that Menchuka is a better option than prevalent tourist destinations in Himanchal or Sikkim for people in North East India. It is cheaper and convenient provided the Helicopter ride is taken. And its beauty is something beyond description.
We got a clearer view of the landscape just after crossing Menchuka compared to the the dark evening drive on the day of arrival. The Siyom river flows side by side of the road for quite some distance. At times the river would be just next to the road and at times it would be 100 meters below it. Nitish drove the vehicle and Janda occupied the co-driver’s seat. He kept on taking photographs for the entire day. In Janda’s words, he got frames wherever he pointed his camera. The strange part of the journey is that for the first one hour we did not cross a single vehicle or man. Only things we crossed were Mithuns and Cows relaxing in the middle of the road. This is some place really less travelled. We decided not to stay in Aalo that night. We estimated that we should reach Aalo (where mobile phone network is available) at around 6 in the evening. So Nitish suggested we could call some hotel in Pasighat to book rooms. Then we can rest in Pasighat for the night even if we reach Pasighat a little late say at 11 PM or 12 PM. We had some tea at Tato and reached Pane at around 2 PM. As I have already mentioned, Pane is halfway between Aalo and Menchuka. We had lunch at the same roadside eatery where we ate during our onward journey. This time they did not offer deer meat. The hunters were out of luck it seemed. Or the deers had some better luck. From Pane to Aalo I drove the vehicle. Everyone was very tired and the journey was eventless. Just before reaching Aalo we planned our course of action in Aalo as time was very precious for us that day. We filled the tank at a fuel station just before reaching Aalo. At Aalo Bobua and Janda quickly bought some snacks and water bottles while Nitish booked a lodge in Pasighat run by the Serene hotel group. Our teamwork worked quite nicely as we spent hardly 15 minutes for all these. We also called our respective families after 2 days. After crossing Aalo the stretch with most boring drive was awaiting us. But we crossed the 24 KMs bad road sooner than while we came 3 days back, may be because our bodies had already given up feeling the bumps. Just after reaching the T point near Boleng, we all relaxed as there was no bad road ahead. We stopped near the white sand beach, where we had the Picnic on the first day, for a short break. The beach seemed very dark as it was the 6 th day from the new-moon. I counted back. So it was the 3 rd day from new-moon when we planned the camping here. I tried to feel the loneliness and the bizarre feeling of darkness in the banks of a mammoth noisy river. The ambiance there was quite contrary to the relaxed white sand beach feel during the bright daylight. I took a lesson for life that the lunar calendar plays a very important role in the life away from the cities. Anyways, after travelling for a few more kilometers we stopped at a Truckers’ Dhaba for the dinner. We had a couple of drinks too. Janda was the one who did not
take alcohol and he took charge of the wheel. It is worth mentioning that we made some rules for ourselves for the trip and no drink and drive was the strictest one. We reached Pasighat at around 12:30 AM. We tried to find the lodge which Nitish had booked over phone. But there was no one on the road to inquire and we failed to find it. We decided to stay in any hotel nearby. We checked into one Hotel Paaying Regency. The rooms were clean and priced at around Rs. 1000. One good thing about this hotel is that it has got plenty of rooms assuring availability. We retired into our beds and fall asleep immediately.
The off-roading
The weather in the morning was very foggy and windy. The road to Roing is not very
long from Pasighat. So we had in mind a picnic on the way. Bobua and I went out for some
quick shopping. We reached a small market in middle of the town where various assortments
were displayed by locals. The merchandises included various herbs, vegetables, fishes etc.
They all seemed very exotic. One lady was selling smoke dried pieces of big fishes. I could
guess that the size of the whole fish would not be less than 5 KGs. From the scales I could
perceive it would be some species of Masheer. No one was using weighing scales. Rather they
sold them as ‘bhag’s (portions).
After returning from their market we packed our belongings, had breakfast and left the
Pasighat town at around 10 AM. The breakfast was pathetic in this hotel. We started our
journey first to the east towards Silluk. The road was very smooth. But the road will not be like
this for the entire day’s journey. Actually while travelling from Pasighat to Roing, we had to
cross the Siang as well as the Dibang rivers. But the bridge on the mighty Dibang river is
under construction till the date of this blog. But there is an informal road used by the timber
merchants and the stone crushers through the dried river beds of various streams of Dibang
river. At places, watercourses of the river are bridged by wooden bridges made by nearby
villagers, service of which is chargeable with a nominal amount. However, this road is not
taken by many travelers. Even, in google map, the road to Roing from Pasighat is shown
through Silapathar and Dibrugarh. We had awareness about this road as Janda had travelled
through this road just one month back along with 2 colleagues of him who have much
knowledge about this terrain.
The smooth road ended at around 40 KMs from Pasighat. From that point we turned
right beside a stone crusher. After travelling for one KM the forest started. The road was bad
and small. The car was bumping continuously. The road thrilled us. After around 5 KMs and
30 minutes’ drive we reached a wide river bed. We drove through the riverbed for another 2-3
KMs. At the end of it a small stream of the river was there. But the bridge upon it was in a
very bad condition. After inspecting the area, we realized that the road had been diverted
around 100 meters towards downstream where the watercourse is wider and shallower. Nitish
enjoyed while driving in the water. He crossed the river for one more time just to enable few
more angles of photographs.
After we crossed the river, the forest started again. For the next one hour we drove
through the forest. On the way we saw an Assam registration Maruti Alto coming from the
opposite side. We learnt that they came from Lakhimpur and were going to Roing. But had to
take a U-turn as the main course of Dibang River has swelled and is no more crossable. So
they were returning from the riverbank of the river Dibang. We were terrified form the feeling
of taking the same road back to Pasighat. But that would mean we had enough time. So we
decided to at least reach the river to see how big it had become. Janda felt guilty as he was the
lone guide of this route. At the end of the forest, we reached at a tri-junction. From that point
the road to left was going towards Dambuk and Roing. The other road goes to Amarpur. This
road was a bigger PWD road. Just after travelling for around 10 KMs we reached at a long and
beautiful bridge across the river Dibang. We planned that if we could not reach Roing, we
should come back and camp near the bridge.
After around 2-3 KMs from the bridge we reached the unbridged river. It was two
consecutive river streams. First was around 20 feet wide and had knee-deep water. We could
easily afford to cross it with the Scorpio. After that it was an island of around 100 feet breadth.
Then came the bigger stream of around 30 feet wide, deeper and much rougher. We did not
dare the current of the white water of the stream. So we decided to park the car before the first
waterway itself. The view was breathtaking. The river was pristine and clean. The weather was
beautiful. The blue Mishimi hills were standing elegantly at the distant east. We took out our
camp chairs and relaxed. We thought who cared even if we could not cross the river. We
already were enjoying. Meanwhile, one excavator came to the other side of the river and
started working. Some of our fellow drivers who were waiting in our side misinterpreted that
they are trying to widen the river course so that vehicles could cross. We made our mind that
we will wait and watch. If we could not get a way out to the other side, we should camp for the
night and should return to Pasighat the next morning. So now we had ample time.
We understood that in any case we were not going anywhere in the coming one hour.
After a pathetic breakfast in Pasighat, we were feeling hungry by that time. So, Prashant,
Bobua and I started cooking Maggi. Though not in 2 minutes, the noodles were ready soon.
After the brief lunch we felt reenergized. Meanwhile a Shaktiman 4*4 truck arrived and loaded
an Alto which was waiting along with us. One Bolero was also chained to the back of the
truck. The truck driver offered to chain our vehicle behind the bolero. He is planning to cross
the river in the downstream where the river is wider. We felt it to be too risky and declined the
offer. Janda still went to witness the audacious river crossing. After a while we saw the three
vehicles crossing the river towards our south. But they really struggled in between. After
around half an hour Janda came back in a Maruti Gypsy 4*4 with a stranger. Janda told that
the Bolero was filled with water when it reached the other side.
The owner of the gypsy was a Local guy. He is the contractor who is building a bridge
in that point. The excavator working on the other side belongs to him only. He would be
crossing the river using the JCB to pull his Gypsy. He was generous enough to offer
assistance to take our vehicle across the river. We decided to take a chance if we see his
vehicle cross comfortably. The biggest problem would arise if water enters the vehicle. All our
luggage should be wet and the car would be stinky tomorrow. Another risk was of water
entering the engine through the exhaust pipe. Meanwhile the gypsy crossed the river. The car
was drowned upto its bonnet. Now it was our turn. We decided to take the risk even when it
meant we getting stuck in middle of nowhere if something happened to the engine of our
vehicle.
We crossed the first stream driving. Then the JCB driver tied our vehicle with a fibre
rope to the JCB. He asked us to run the engine in neutral and keep the RPM high so that water
cannot enter the exhaust. I was chosen for that duty, not because I was a good driver, rather
because the vehicle belonged to me. Nitish chose to sit in the JCB from where he would take a
video of the river crossing. Prashant played a ACDC number in high volume just to divert our
minds. We kept the car windows open for unseen exigencies. Slowly the car went in the river
and within seconds we could feel water level as high as the car seats, but outside the car. The
door seals were doing an excellent job. Every second felt like minutes. I stepped on the fuel
paddle so hard that Janda shouted to reduce it. Nitish and the driver shouted something to us
which we could not hear due to the loud music. When they signaled with their hands, we
realized that I had steered to left so much that our front wheels were complete horizontal and
they were being dragged by the JCB. God knew if it had already damaged the steering column.
We were finally on the other side of the river after the long and momentous 60 seconds of our
lives. We shouted aloud, all together.
We thanked Tazing, the owner of the JCB for his help. We followed his gypsy to the
point where the small road meets the highway. The locality is called Bomjir as I found on the
map. We stopped for a cup of tea there. Opposite to the tea shop the camping ground of
Dambuk Orange Festival was being developed in the banks of the biggest stream of river
Dibang. The Festival venue was at 5 KM towards north from that point. Tazing offered us for a
party in the evening. He told that they have hunted a porcupine that day so the meat was
awaiting us. We got tempted a bit but Roing was still 50 KMs from that point. So we took
leave from the helpful man and pushed towards Roing. We crossed two very long bridges
almost 4 KM each. The road was smooth, wide and straight and in both sides of the road stood
green forest. After travelling for around 40 KMs we reached at a T point from where we had to
take left. The road towards right leads to Sadia. We reached Roing at around 4 o’clock.
Roing
We did not stop in the Roing town and travelled to Deopani direcly. Deopani is a point
near to the river flowing by Roing. I have visited Roing twice before. The first time with my
family in 2013 and once more in 2014 while in a bike-trip to Mayodia. Mayodia is around 50
KM away from Roing and in the month of January one can expect snowfall there. In Deopani
the bridge was under construction when I visited the last time. Now the bridge was complete.
Janda did not waste time and took some beautiful shots of the blue hour. We checked in a
guest house called the Yatri Niwas which stood in the banks of the river. This is a government
guest house and is leased to private parties for its upkeep.
The contractor maintained the guest house very clean and nice. We hired two elevated
bamboo cottages which were priced at Rs 2500 plus GST. After discount we got it for Rs 2500
including tax. Each of the cottages had an attached bathroom, a bedroom and a small living
room with a traditional styled fireplace. The room tariff here starts from Rs 1200 for a twin
sharing room which can be called quite reasonable. In my last visit I stayed in a hotel in the
Roing town which was very dirty and unprofessional. The prices of rooms were similar to this
place. So a prior booking in the Yatri Niwas should be considered very essential for a visit to
Roing, as there is no other decent place where one can spend a comfortable night.
We took a short round to the market. After coming back to the guest house, we relaxed
near the fire in one of the cottages. The starters were really very tasty. After a drink or two we
decided to pay a night visit to the Deopani bridge which was at a distance of a little less than a
kilometer. The feel was extremely pristine. We relaxed on the bridge staring at the night sky.
We enjoyed mild sips two our whiskey glasses spotting the Milky Way, the Pole Star, the
Mars. It was very windy and the temperature was around 15 degrees. We could see more stars
there as compared to the cities, probably due to clear air and less light pollution. Janda tried his
hands on a few night photographs. Bobua entertained us by displaying bowling action of
Harbhajan. Prashant offered to imitate Sohaib Akhter. He took a long run-up on the Deopani
bridge, jumped and moved his arms perfectly but lost balance and fall on the bridge floor. We
laughed our guts out. But Prashant remained on the floor. We sensed something wrong and
found that he was sweating a lot from extreme pain in his legs. He had a ligament operation in
his right knee a few months ago. This pain had to do something with the ligament injury for
sure.
We returned to the guest house immediately. Our moods were totally off. This was the
last evening for all of us together, as Janda would be leaving for Tezpur the next evening from
Dibrugarh. But our celebration of the evening met an early end. We asked Prashant if he would
like to take a flight tomorrow to Guwahati or Delhi from Dibrugarh. But he preferred to wait
and watch till the next morning. At around 11 PM we went to bed after dinner. Prashant’s
dinner was served in the room. He could not eat and told us that he would eat later. Our moods
were really gloomy.
The Third River
Brahmaputra in Assam starts at the confluence of three mighty rivers Siang, Dibang
and Lohit. We have already witnessed the the prior two in our trip so far. In the last leg of the
trip we were meant to cross the Lohit river at Alubari. I have been to Alubari during an official
visit to Tezu while I was working in a Bank in Tinsukia. That was 2012 or 2013. There was no
bridge over the Lohit River at Alubari then. We had to cross it on a Mar-boat, which is
combination of two large wooden boats joined by wooden beams and planks. The bridge was
complete now.
When I woke up Janda and Bobua had already gone for a morning photoshoot near the
river. I decided to join them below the Deopani bridge where I assumed them to be. When I
reached there, Janda and Bobua were busy taking pictures. But they were very unlucky that
morning as the weather was not very clear. Despite the excellent location, Janda could not get
many good shots. I enjoyed the fresh morning breeze. I did some asanas sitting atop a big rock.
We reached the guest house at 8 o’clock. Prashant’s pain was reduced but still he could
not walk. After breakfast we started our journey for the day. From Roing, Gunanagar was 65
KMs away. But the road was very good and less travelled. We drove at a speed of 120 KMPH.
The road takes a left turn towards east just before reaching the T point where we arrived from
Pasighat the day before. We reached Alubari at around 11 AM. To my utter dismay Alubari
looked quite different. There was no forest near Alubari anymore. After crossing the bridge,
we reached at the trijunction from where the road to left goes to Parashuram Kunda via
Gunanagar, Medo and straight the road leads to Chowkham, Namsai then the Dirak gate, i.e.
the border to Assam’s Tinsukia district.
We took a left to Gunangar. I have mixed memories of Gunangar. I had a friend called
Jehitha from that place. I, along with my dear friend Kaushik, came there in 2013 for a hunting
expedition on Jehitha’s invitaion. We experienced a nightlong bumpy tractor ride which was
very painful during that trip. I would share this story some other time. There is a small
restaurant called the Centerpoint in Gunanagar. They serve tasty local cuisines. We went for
lunch there. I first visited these parts of Arunachal in the year 2012 when I took a bike ride to
Parashuramkunda with my dear friend Nilabh. Those days these places were covered with
dense forests. Now most of these places have become agricultural fields. I was left awestruck
how fast the forest in Arunachal are depleting. The principal reason for that may be attributed
to around 15 big saw and veneer mills situated in and around this place. I felt really sad to
think how long it would take to destroy the beauty of nature in far flung places like Menchuka!
We left Gunangar after Lunch at around 2 o’clock. The dense forest upto Namsai was
no more there. The greed of humankind destroyed a whole evergreen forest. I drove very
sadly. Everyone was ruminating tiny bits from the last 6 days. We were sharing laughter. We
felt emotional as the road trip was coming to an end. We reached Chabua, a town before
Dibrugarh at around 5 o’clock. From there it took us one and half hours to reach the Officers
Rest House (Indian Railways) at Dibrugarh, which was only around 30 KMs drive. That was
because of the Durga Puja traffic in the Dibrugarh town. It was the auspicious occasion of
Maha Saptami.
Just after reaching the guest house, Janda packed his luggage to catch the night bus at
8PM to travel to Tezpur. We four stayed in Dibrugarh for the night. The next morning, we had
the last leg of the Journey, i.e. 450 KMs to Guwahati, in store. That would add the total trip to
almost 2100 KMs which was the highest in lives of all of us. The second longest trip for me is
the Ladakh trip in 2015 which was almost 1800 KMs.
I dropped Janda at the bus stand and came back to the guest house amidst lots of happy
people, colourful lights, and rhythmic beatings of the Durga Puja Dhak (drum). The Dibrugarh
town was enjoying its rendezvous with the Durga Puja celebration. We were tired as if a war
just ended. Prashant was lying in the couch in the guest house. Bobua and Nitish were sharing
some lighter moments. I lounged in the bed. I recalled an ancient Indian saying that the most
successful man is the Yatri who finishes his Yatra. There must be some inner lying philosophy
which I should never understand. Nevertheless, we felt very lucky to finish the trip
successfully and almost as it was planned. I closed my eyes and a slideshow of the trip was
running in my mind. The wide green valley of Dhemaji, the cloud formation of Menchuka, the
noisy Siang River, the wide riverbed of Dibang river, the beautiful Mishimi hills, straight
smooth roads of Roing. A flock of some white birds flew over the road. They kept on flying
over the car. Thousands of them. They faded away in the distant blue hills. Hills faded away
next.
सूर्य ने हँसना भुलाया, चंद्रमा ने मुस्कुराना,
और भूली यामिनी भी तारिकाओं को जगाना,
एक झोंके ने बुझाया, हाथ का भी दीप लेकिन
मत बना इसको पथिक तू बैठ जाने का बहाना,
– हरिवंशराय बच्चन
Hotels
Jonai – Chandra Tara Inn – Rs.1200 to Rs. 2500 : 9864535999, 8638579161
Pasighat – Hotel Pane – Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,200: 0368 – 2222096, 9774763328, 7640954584
Pasighat – Hotel Serene Adobe – Rs. 1500 – Rs. 4,500: 0368-2222382, 8787526138
Pasighat – Hotel Paaying Regency – Rs.1050 – Rs. 2000: 0368-2222137, 7005821229
Aalo – Hotel Min-ta – Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3500: 8794644303
Menchuka – Gebu Sona Home Stay – Rs 1500 : 9436074877, 9402996667, info@gtlhomestay.com,
menchukhatravels@gmail.com
Roing – Yatri Niwas – Rs.1200 to Rs. 2450 : siwundiwinds@gmail.com, 8732811959, 8258889023, 7085687349
