From Arunachal to Goa

We started the drive from Guwahati and got to Nameri camp where we stayed in a small Forest Guest House. So far, it seemed like just another trip, but the minute we started the drive to Bomdilla, I started getting a feeling that this was gonna turn out to be a once in a lifetime kind of trip.

Driving on that route was like off-roading all the way. Nobody got any kind of sleep on the way because it was impossible to sleep with the semi roads bouncing you all over the place.

Now since the place is not yet very commercially developed for tourism, there weren’t many food options on the way.

Suggestion: if you are hungry, then stop as soon as you see a place to eat because you might not see one for miles later. The food you get along the way is mostly rice, dal and a whole lot of meat. The meal I enjoyed the most in that weather was hot maggi!

Arrive Bomdilla at 20:30 – Freezing cold+no hotel booking+ not enough warm clothes+no gloves or cap+khichdi for dinner. An electric heater to the rescue!

Bomdilla : I was visiting places whose name I had not even heard of. It was colder than I had imagined (my producers told me that all I’ll need was a warm jacket). Next day we went shopping for warm inners, gloves, monkey caps and I think I was in 5 layers that day. Despite the cold, the people there are so warm and welcoming. When you visit places like these you wonder what a hollow world you’re living in. We drown ourselves in city lives so much, that we forget how to enjoy the simple things in life. In the end, it’s always the simple things, which really make us happy.

We started our drive to Tawang at 12:30, and about 6 hours later, the mud and the stones gave way to snow covered pine trees. I had never seen snow before. It’s just frozen water, but it is so exciting and beautiful!

15:30: We arrive at Sela pass, which is 14000 feet above sea level and is one of the highest motoring by passes of our country. I had goosebumps, not because of the cold this time but because I was just in awe of this place. Words cannot describe it and I don’t think even a photograph would do justice. I hung the prayer flag that I had bought in Bomdilla. You tie it on trees with the rest of the prayer flags and wish for everyone travelling through that path to have a safe journey. When I was standing there praying and tying the flag, I could feel the energy of the people who have been there before and there was a strange connection to the place.