North East Road Trip - 3 Guwahati - Jorhat - Pasighat - Kamba - Roing

Day 16, Jan 11 2023

Were seen off from Bougainvillea in Guwahati by the amiable Nirmal and Mintu, and headed for Jorhat, our last stop before Arunachal.  The settlements along the Assam Trunk Road seem more prosperous and neat than those in West Bengal and some other places we have passed through.  I was surprised that we passed right through the Kaziranga National park. Signs everywhere warned motorists to be considerate towards wild animals and to drive slowly. Dozens of resorts and homestays dotted the road. We stopped in a rather upscale one to eat lunch in a restaurant recommended by my former student Ayushman as having authentic Assamese food. I must say I like this kind of food that is neither "South Indian" or "North Indian". 

Reached GK Palace Hotel in the middle of the city by 3 pm. It looked a little seedy from outside, but the room is clean and comfortable and well equipped, and everything seems to work, for a change. And we have two towels, not one!

Day 17, Jan 12.  

Yesterday's dinner was a nice interlude of socializing after more than 2 weeks of Kannan and I having only each other for company.  It was good to see Ayushman again in person after many years, and to finally meet his mother, father and brother's family about whom he has talked a lot.  Both the mother and father are interesting people, and lavished warm hospitality on us. Waiting for Ayushman and his father to pick us up and take us to their house for dinner.

Today  we finally made it to our destination, Arunachal Pradesh, after covering 3863 kms!  On the way, we crossed the Brahmaputra again over the seemingly endless Bogibeel bridge.  Although this is the dry season, one could get a sense of the  enormous size of this river. The distinguishing feature of today's scenery was the broad floodplains of the Brahmaputra, that looked like vast grazing lands, and the appearance of a line of bluish hills as we neared Arunachal. Neatly constructed houses on stilts -- a few modern concrete structures, but mostly made of made of bamboo and thatch.  Passed a few busy market towns, but not as disorganised as the ones in West Bengal.

Were surprised to quietly enter East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh without anyone stopping us  or asking to see our Inner  Line Permit. Lodged for the night in our most unusual accommodation yet, a tiny tent like structure with a mattress on the rug and mat-covered floor. But it has a regular attached bathroom and feels cosy. Were met by the smiling owner and 2 friendly dogs.  Before it got dark (at 5 pm), we managed to go down to the Siang  river, a short drive away. It looked almost surreal, bluish green in colour and flanked by hills on one side. A fierce wind penetrated my fleece jacket even though the temperature is not too cold.

Day 18, Jan 13. 

Our first full day in Arunachal was not quite propitious. First, we were surprised to see clouds and raindrops which turned into a steady drizzle by the morning.  A sunny day would have been more welcoming. Then last night I was laid low by a miserable bout of food poisoning. Then our windshield wiper stopped working and getting it fixed set us back by two crucial hours in the morning. But finally we were on our way and coasted happily on a nice road through the hills. 

View from the Pasighat - Aalo road

But after an hour or so we were diverted because of road construction onto  an abominable bumpy slushy track in rainy weather that tested all Kannan's driving skills. By 3 pm we hadn't even had lunch, though originally we thought we would have reached our destination by then. After that it was a tense race to try and reach the resort before dark, as the last part of the route involved driving over a dry riverbed with no markers. Just then, Kannan was flagged down by a policeman for a minor traffic violation in Aalo town, and we lost the race. 

Luckily, the Island Resort people at Kamba were nice enough to send a car and driver to act like a pilot on the last stretch to our destination. Having not fully regained my energy after last night, I was really glad to get into bed with two quilts on top of me at this resort. Hope to see the surroundings tomorrow morning, if it isn't raining too much.

The Siyom near Aalo

The compensation was some stunning scenery on the way. We were delighted to find that this was orange growing country. The sight of neatly planted orange trees growing on steep slopes of mountains was enchanting.  Everywhere villagers are selling oranges by the roadside. We bought a bag of more than 20 oranges for Rs 100 from a place called Orange Farm village! Much better than the Nagpur oranges we get in the cities. Again, we were struck by the warmth and helpfulness of some of the people, from the Nature's Hub owners in Pasighat and the mechanic to the very competent young woman running this place.

(Here is the drivers diary entry for the same day : We woke up to a cold and damp morning with a slight drizzle. Chinna had an unbearably bad night with a Delhi Belly. She went multiple times to the loo and late night threw up all the food in her stomach. All night she was moaning and groaning in pain. She still agreed to accompany me to the banks of the Siang for another look. It was cold and blustery and we did not spend much time there. 

The couple running the homestay made eggs and porridge for us ( we supplied the oats) and gate us a warm sendoff. Our first stop was an ATM where we loaded ourselves with cash as we heard that online payments did not work in Mechuka. Then we started a search for the Top Ten mechanics shop to get our windscreen viper fixed after learning that he was the only one who would handle car electrical problems. It turned out that the shop was call “Mai xxxxx” workshop, and the mechanics name was Tapan which I had heard as Top Ten. 

Tapan turned out to be a competent professional. He identified the problem as a failed motor and then zeroed in on the worn brushes in the motor after which he proceeded to replace the brushes. The whole job took a couple of hours and cost Rs 3000 ( against Rs 10000 for a new motor).

We finally sailed out of Passighat at around 10.30. Initially we had a beautiful road and great views of the river valley. At some point we met with a road closure and a sign diverting us to a steep muddy path going up a hill. 

For the next hour and a half, my driving skills ere put to test and I got to use the scorpio in 4 wheel drive mode (mainly 4WH and 4WL on a couple of occasions). Eventually we hit the highway near Orange Farm Village. Our problems were not over. Though the highway was open, there was hill cutting work in progress with the continuous drizzle, the road was a slushy mess for most of the distance to Aalo. At Aalo, the first thing I had to attend to was get the tyre pressure checked. One tyre, the rear right one was dangerously low at 20 PSI. I must remember to get it replaced with the spare. This tyre has shown low pressure a couple of times before too.)

Day 19, Jan 14.  

When we opened the door at the Island Resort this morning, it was a feast for the eyes! A spacious lawn spread out before us leading to a beautiful river which curved around the island. In the early morning light, a small boat with two men fishing glided past. Hills rising amidst clouds in the background completed the scene. Altogether like a scene from a Chinese landscape painting.

Luckily it started drizzling only after  breakfast, so we managed to take a good 50 minute walk through the unmanicured part of the island across a hanging bridge and back. The bridge is used by the local people, including to transport heavy bags of stuff slung on poles carried by pairs of men.  In the monsoon season, even this cannot be used as the winds shake the bridge too much. Life is not easy in these parts.

After that we were more or less confined to our room by the wet weather. A real pity, as I could have spent the day walking up and down along the river, which was so clear that you could see the stones even in the middle of the river.  But we were shown a video clip of the completely changed river during the monsoon. In that video the rushing waters turned muddy brown, overflowed the banks and poured onto the lawns, covering completely the lower part. For lunch, we had a fairly large fish from the river, steamed to perfect tenderness in a banana leaf with almost no spice -- one of the best I've had.

We enjoyed the relaxed conversations we had with our young host who runs this place.  A private person, with a gravity beyond her years, she nevertheless talked freely and articulately with us about her extended family, her 8 years spent studying and working in Delhi, the experience of running this place, etc. We wondered whether it was not a lonely life for an attractive young woman living on this island with just a brother and a few helpers, especially since she had been exposed to life outside. 

Apparently, apart from people from nearby areas, army and paramilitary personnel also regularly come to this place to hold picnics and relax. When I asked her whether they pay for use of the premises, she said it was mostly in kind, by giving some of their rations. But generally they did clean up after themselves. She mentioned that local people get anxious when they see troop movements in their area, wondering whether it means there is trouble on the border.

Day 20, Jan 15.  

Left Kamba after breakfast. Because of the forecast of rain for the next few days, we changed our plan of going to the much colder Mechuka, and headed instead for Roing in the plains, just an hour or two east of Pasighat. We added another river to our  collection of sights on this trip --

the Dibang. Apart from the bad slushy patch after Aalo, the drive was easier than anticipated. Apparently, the landslide that had forced us into a difficult diversion 2 days earlier had been cleared.  More great views.  We passed through the next major orange growing centre in Arunachal, a place called Dombok, and once again saw piles of attractive wicker baskets with oranges for sale.

After getting here, to Mibo homestay in Roing, our main work was to figure out how and where to pass the next few rainy days, and to fix a tire that was leaking air at an alarming rate. Turns out it had a small nail in it.  A friendly young woman running the tire shop asked me to sit comfortably inside and asked me where we were coming from. Advised me on what to see in this area.

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North East Road Trip 1