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Preparation for Tawang & NE
Having completed the road trips to Leh, Spiti and Bhuj in the past few years, Tawang was the solo spot pending our intervention. And the same was scheduled for Jun 2019. Our partners in crime of Leh and Bhuj fame, Ashish & Family had since moved away to Vizag, and could not join us for the Spiti drive. But this time around, we planned to meet up at Guwahati to take forward the things from there.
The trip was planned to be undertaken in hired vehicles ex-Guwahati. Accordingly Zoomcars was our first choice. A survey through the app showed about a month prior to the start date showed the price of Scorpio as INR 17000 for a 10 day trip (02 Jun to 11 Jun 19). Ecosport was listed at INR 23000. However closer to the date (about 15 days prior to start date), Scorpio price was at 37000. Hence we did a bit more of a market survey and found a new undertaking called Fabcarzz, which was recently renamed as Fabwheelz, who had few good offers. The only problem was that the vehicles were with white number plates and hence had to be rented unofficially. Notwithstanding, a contract was required to be signed and two identity proofs in original were required to be handed over till safe return of the vehicle.
The choice for route was as follows:-
Delhi - Guwahati (by air) - Tezpur - Tenga – Bomdilla – Dirang- Tawang - Tenga - Shillong - Guwahati - Delhi (by air)
The choice for stays were as follows:-
Guwahati (1st night) - Tenga (2nd) - Tawang (3rd to 5th) - Tenga (6th) - Shillong (7th to 9th)
This time around, taking into account the terrain and heavy presence of the Army, we decided to book our stay with the Army messes. Army accommodation was tied up at all places excluding Guwahati, where we booked rooms at Ginger, IIHM Complex.
1st Day Delhi to Guwahati
The trip to Guwahati from Delhi was by Air India Flight and nothing to write home about.
We were booked for our stay in Ginger IIHM, Guwahati.
After check-in and a quick lunch @ 1500, main activity for the day was collection of the two vehicles for the trip. One was Nuvosport N8 having done 22000 Kms and the other Brezza having done close to 30000 Kms.
The vehicles looked well maintained however, the tire treads were worn out for the Nuvosport which had 22000 kms on its odometer. Nuvosport was the designated vehicle for me. The vehicles were to be released for 40% advance payment INR 9600 for a 10 day trip and with collaterals of PAN and Voter ID in original.
Ashish and family arrived at Ginger by 2100. We again set out to collect the Brezza, which was the designated vehicle for Ashish. Overall the vehicle collection experience was good.
The next day being an early start day, we retired early.
The Guwahati to Tenga Day (2nd Day)
The sunrise was quite early. I woke up at 0520 to a bright sky oozing in through the windows. By 0630 we were ready to hit the road for the first stop of the trip to Tenga.
After due deliberations it was decided to take the Tezpur route to Tenga and return to Tenga via Rupa and Rowta. Apparently the Tezpur route was difficult due to the bad state of the roads and the Rowta route was comparatively much better. Google showed a distance of approx. 330 kms to be covered in 8 hours. Soon we were zipping on the highway. Nuvosport was fitted with a speed governor, which produced continuous beeps as soon as (%kmph was crossed.
The drive up to Tezpur was uneventful. As soon as we entered Arunachal Pradesh, the topography underwent a typical change. The plains gave way to lush green mountains and white water streams. The only road through the terrain was closed daily between 0900 and 1400 hrs for maintenance. Although we reached by 1145 hrs, we were now stuck till 1400 hrs.
We stopped at a roadside eating joint for lunch. We restarted the journey dot at 1400 hrs. The roads were in very bad condition. BRO was continuously on the job for clearing landslides. The ground clearance of Nuvosport being much lower as compared to Scorpio, the undercarriage hit against stones on the way and a self locked plastic part of the undercarriage gave way and started dragging on the road about 30 kms short of Tenga. Luckily as per the advice of the BRO officials Enroute, we located a mechanic 4 kms down the drive, who made temporary repairs to see us through the trip.
In the evening at about 1730, we finally reached the 40 Mtn Div Mess, where Sepoy Awasthi was waiting for us. As per request of Deepali, we were served hot tea and pakoras. The locale of the base was very picturesque.
By 2000, hot dinner consisting of Rice, Chapatis, Dal, Vegetable and Chicken were served. Being hungry, we relished the meal and by 2200 hrs, we were cozy in our beds.
3rd Day Tenga to Tawang (6KM)
The 3rd day started a bit slowly with tea at 0600 and breakfast 0800. The sun shone brightly even at 0500. By 0800, we were ready for breakfast after gearing up and packing all the bags/luggage.
After a sumptuous breakfast consisting of Upma, chutney and tea/coffee, we hit the road. We expected to cover the approximate 200 kms trip in about 6 hours.
We reached Bomdilla in about an hour and half (i.e. by 1000). In another two hours we reached Dhirang. The roads by and large remained much better than the previous day till the approach to Sella pass. As we neared the Sella pass and the height increased, the visibility dropped to almost 5 mtrs and temperature dropped to about 6 degrees.
By 1530 hrs, we reached Jung and we stopped for lunch. Lunch consisted of fish curry rice, Chow Mein and fried rice. From Jung, the balance 35 odd kilometres was covered in about one and half hours and we reached the Khemu 6 KM Army Post (40 Mountain Div) by 1730. The rooms were already neatly marked and we were well received by our buddy. At 9000 feet, the army post was way too cold and misty, but the views of the adjacent valley and the Tawang Monastery were amazing. Tawang was another 25 kms from here.
By 2130, dinner was served. Although the place was booked for us for three nights, taking into account the distance from Tawang, we decided to move closer to Tawang the following day. After a sumptuous dinner we were off to deep slumber.
4th Day – 6KM to Tawang
The morning was a relaxed one as no early morning trips were planned. We had to just shift our venue of stay for the balance two days to Tawang. So we had our bed teas served by 0700 and breakfast by 0900.
By 1000, we hit the roads and were on our way to Tawang. The roads were good for a change and by 1100, we were in centre of Tawang. We started to hunt for a restaurant to snack up prior to checking into the “Come Inn” HomeStay.
After a bit of searching around, we finally homed on to the Snow Valley Restaurant, managed by Aakash. The place had to offer only vegetarian stuff as we were told that Wednesdays was a vegetarian day in the region. The momos and the food served up were very tasty however and filling.
After lunch, we checked into the home stay run by Ms. Jambey Jangmu. The place was a two-storey building with upper floor occupied by the hosts and the lower storey housing five neat rooms equipped with all modern facilities. We felt at home completely and the hosts were very helpful and accommodating. The location of the home stay was amazing and it offered some very good valley views. It was also a 5 minutes walking distance from the Tawang Monastery.
In the evening, first we went to the monastery. The Tawang Monastery housed schooling facilities for the young monks and also had the prayer hall with an 8 meter statue of Buddha. From the monastery we went to the tall statue of the Buddha in Tawang Town, the statue of Buddha also housed a prayer hall where we found monks chanting away prayers in religious fervour.
By 1730, we headed for the Tawang War memorial, where the light and sound show was supposed to be good. By 1800, we were comfortably seated and by 1820, the light and sound show began. The show was conducted in the Subedar Joginder Singh memorial amphitheatre. The Show basically showcased the culture of the region and the 1962 debacle. The show also talked about the role of the army in development of the region. All in all a very good initiative on the part of the Indian Army.
By 1900, we were comfortably seated in the snow valley restaurant for our dinner, which consisted of Thukpa, Chowmein and Thenduk.
5th Day In and around Tawang
The plan was to start leisurely. We had tied up with our hostess Ms. Jambey Jangmu for morning tea at 0700 and breakfast at 0900.
The night was cold, but the blankets and bed kept us warm. The morning tea was served at 0800 and by 0900, we were served breakfast in the main dining room. Breakfast consisted of hot pooris and aloo-chana sabji. The food was great.
By 1015, we were out on our way to the Ptso lake, apparently at a height of 13500 ft. It was at a distance of 12 kms from Tawang, but the roads were good and we reached our destination by 1100. The entire area was immersed in fog. The final stretch of road from the main road to the lake was very bad, but led us to a deserted tourism building. The lake though not very large stood in all majesty, surrounded by mountains and had a lovely walking track all around. Although initially we decided to alk around the ake, we decided against it due to a light drizzle which started. There were lots of Yaks all around grazing. The scenic setting was nothing less than those found in Switzerland minus the snow.
The Bumla pass and the Sangetsar Tso Lake was at a further distance of 15 kms, but we decided against it due to heavy mist all around.
By 1230, we had finished the photo-session and headed back to Tawang. By 1330, we were comfortably seated in the snow valley restaurant for our lunch, which consisted of Thukpa, Chowmein and Thenduk.
By 1400, we were back in the Comeinn homestay and rested for the afternoon.
Evening saw us heading for Dharma Café for some good coffee and pizzas, the first western goody during the trip. True to reviews, the Café was a simple place offering some good ambience. After the coffee, we proceeded to the city centre for some window shopping and dinner as the town itself shut down completely by 1930.
We were in a mood to try out some new places, but found most of them closed and had to head to the reliable snow valley restaurant. The dinner consisted again of fried rice, Thupka, Chowmein and Thenduk.
Since the next day we had an early start for the 200 plus kms drive to Thenga, we retired for the day by 2130 hrs.
6th Day Tawang to Tenga
We started our sixth day with breakfast consisting of pooris and aloo sabzi served to us by 0700. By 0745 we were ready to move.
By 0900, we hit the Jang waterfalls, which gave a good photoshoot opportunity. Rest of the drive was eventless. We planned to stop at Bomdila for lunch. But 20 kms short of Bomdila at 1400, we found a restaurant serving thalis and we stopped for lunch.
By 1600, we reached the Tenga, Guest rooms, where Sepoy Awasthi was waiting for us.
After freshening up with some tea and pakoras, we visited the Tenga Haat, where the AWWA had set up a few shops.
Keeping in mind the approx. 400 kms drive the next day up to Shillong, we retired early for the day. It was planned to take the Rupa-Rowta-Guwahati-Shillong rather than the Tezpur-Shillong route considering the state of roads up to Tezpur.
7th Day Tenga to Shillong
As usual, the Sun poured in through all the windows by 0430. We continued to laze around till 0600 when the bed tea arrived. The breakfast was planned enroute.
We hit the road by 0640, and soon we were cruising towards Rupa. By 0800, after Rupa we stopped for breakfast at one of the Dhabas at Tengaon. We had pooris (resembling Bathure). The roda were much better than that towards Tezpur.
By 1200, we had reached Rowta and by 1400, we reached Guwahati, where we stopped for lunch consisting of fish curry and rice. By 1500, we again hit the road for Shillong. Google Maps showed the distance as 103 kms and 3 hrs for our destination of Shillong Cantt.
Soon we hit the Shillong toll road. However, it started raining along the highway. We had reached about 44 kms distance from Shillong, when I decided to be a little more adventurous and increased speed to about 60 kms. I however did not take into account the downpour and the resultant water film on the road. I realised with horror that the Nuvosport started skidding to the left and as an instinctive reaction I hit the brakes to slow the vehicle and it spun around 180 degrees before settling gently into the side culvert and the vehicle lay suspended at 30 degrees to the right side on the left lane of the Shillong highway.
Thankfully due to some divine intervention, none of us were injured and we were able to climb out the car. A call to Fabcarzz, had a recovery vehicle on the way from Guwahati. One taxi was arranged to shift Deepali Prajeet and dad to Shillong. One more taxi was arranged for shifting the luggage with self. However I waited for Tanzim of Fabcarzz to reach with the recovery vehicle. Tanzim, never the one to shy away from surprises came with a Ford Figo to be handed over to me as a replacement vehicle. I thanked him for the gesture. The recovery vehicle which came in was however unable to pull out the Nuvosport and post-deliberations it emerged that one more recovery vehicle would be required. Completely drenched in rain and due to the insistence of the taxi driver to start early, I started for Shillong after the concurrence of Tanzim.
At Shillong, My dad complained of some uneasiness and pain in the left shoulder area. He was taken to MI Room, where the Doctor informed that all vitals were normal and the pain was due to minor concussions, for which painkiller was prescribed.
In all a grueling day came to an end not in the lines as I hoped, but yes with a sense of gratitude to the almighty for averting a great tragedy.
8th Day Shillong and around
I am Prajeet and I have decided to pick up the thread from here as my dad was unable to travel today.
The plan for the day was to visit the living root bridge, Dawki river and the cleanest village in Asia-Mawlynnong.
I woke up at 8:50 AM and freshened up. As I reached my dad’s room, I realised that the breakfast was not yet served. The food which we had initially asked to be served at 9'0 clock was finally served at 10:30. The day’s breakfast consisted of dosas, idlis and sambar.
After breakfast, we were left for the living root bridge. We had booked a taxi for the trip. but when it arrived we realised front passenger seat-belt was dysfunctional which resulted in me and my mom having to sit in the back seat. Nevertheless we left for the root bridge. It was a 2 and a half hour drive to the bridge. Unfortunately, the car could not go all the way to the bridge and had to stop at the parking lot. We got out and walked for about 15 minutes to reach the bridge.
When we reached the rope bridge, we were all in awe. We read the board beside the bridge which informed us that the bridge was constructed in 1840. We did not have much time for clicking photos as we were not allowed to wait at the bridge. After crossing the bridge, we went towards the river and had a ‘photography session’. We could only move through the root bridge in one direction and had to return through another bamboo bridge. When we restarted our journey to Mawlynnong it started raining.
On our way to the village, we saw a balancing rock which was a tourist attraction. However we did not stop as it was raining at that time. We reached the cleanest village where we were told that cars were not allowed to enter and that we would have to go ahead on foot. When we reached the village, we saw that every house had its own garden and that there was no garbage out of the dustbins. We also saw a tree house from where we could apparently see Bangladesh. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays. We walked a little further and saw a church. We also clicked some photos in front of it and then decided to leave. We told the taxi driver to stop at some restaurant on the way where we could pack some delicious momos. On the way back, we drove through mountains which were fully covered in mist. The drive through mountains lasted for about an hour. Return journey took an hour extra because of heavy traffic. When we reached, my dad paid the taxi driver his due amount of INR 3500.
9th Day Shillong - Guwahati - Delhi
I had hired a taxi for the return trip to Guwahati. The road trip to Guwahati and further air travel to Delhi were uneventful.
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