Tawang - A journey full of surprises..

We started Day 2 early in the morning, filled up the fuel tanks to start the Day-2 Itinerary for Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh. Enroute Dirang, we crossed Bhalukpong, Tenga and Bomdila pass. The distance to Dirang is around 180 Km.

From Tezpur to Bhalukpong, the roads are pretty straight and in good condition. Bhalukpong is nearly 45Km from Tezpur city. At Bhalukpong, you need to show your IDs and ILP (Inner Line Permit) at the check post of the Indian Military to enter Arunachal Pradesh. ILP can be obtained online through the Arunachal Pradesh government portal http://arunachalilp.com/. It is desirable to apply for permit well in advance. The Mighty Himalayas has now started. The roads were decent upto Tenga. We had couple of stops in the way to capture the scenic beauty of picturesque waterfalls.

Now, the real twist begins. Its 3:30 Pm on the clock, we are just 8 Km away from the Bomdila pass,the heavy thunderstorm started. We got down from the bikes, put on our raincoat and wrapped the bags with the big poly bags (which we were carrying with us for such unprecedented events) and resumed our expedition. To our surprise, the rain had now turned into a cloud burst. The downpours were hitting hard on our bikes. During one of the turns, we encountered the live landslide right in front of our faces. The soil was flowing alongwith the water. Our 1st rider just had a miraculous escape from this slide. Moving further 150 metres, we came to know that a series of gigantic landslides had occured and the roads has been blocked in many areas.

We had no other potion but to wait in the rain for full clearance of roads. The local authorities has come with the excavators for clearing the road, however continuous pouring were making their task difficult. It took them 3 hours and lots of hardwork, before making the road fit for transportation. We resumed our journey around 6:30 Pm, the roads were filled with around 15 inches of mud making the bikes slippery. It was very difficult to pull the bikes in the muddy road and in no light. Somehow, with the help and support of the local people, army personnel etc, we managed to get through. We crossed Bomdila pass, which is at 7200 feet and found ourselves alone riding in the dark. We could only find our bikes headlights in the otherwise deserted roads at this hour of the evening. The silence of the roads were scary and thrilling at the same time.

We managed to reach Dirang around 8 Pm in the evening. which is around 50Km from Bomdila. Our clothes inside our bags had got wet by the force of the rain, even our polybags were unable to protect them. We checked into the guest house and soon after that the thunderstorm started again which lasted the whole night.

But that was not enough for a day, after resuming our journey at 3:30 Pm, we have encountered Fog and temperature has been dipped drastically when we reach Sela pass, which is at 13700 Ft at 5Pm. However, it is advisable to cross Sela pass before 1pm to avoid any difficulties. Tawang was still 75 Km from Sela and road was in bad shape with daylight faded away. We continued through bad roads, witty weather, intense fog and no day light. No passerby's, the disadvantage of driving on mountain terrain in the night. But by the God's grace, fighting against all odds, we have managed to reached Tawang at 9:30 Pm in the evening.

Enjoy the beauty of the city. Visit Tawang Monastery, which is the largest Monastery of the country and Second largest of the world and the other major tourist attraction of the city. In the evening, around 7:30 pm, the light and sound show has been arranged by the Military battalion on the Indo-Sino 1962 war. The movie give you the goosebumps and filled you with the Patriotism. The day can also be utilized for getting the pass for visiting Bumla pass and Shungatser Lake. The Permits can be requested at the Office of the Deputy Commissioner in Tawang District, and the same has to be stamped in the Indian army cantonment at Tawang town. It is also to be noted that without the army stamp, you will not be allowed through the numerous check posts on the way, which will be arranged by the Travel guides available there.

Hire a vehicle for visiting the Bumla Pass and Shungatser Lake and other undiscovered places on the way. The permit is required for visiting the area. The vehicle will charge you around Rs.5000 and will take full day time to visit the above places. Bumla pass is the Border of INDIA and CHINA. It is situated at 15000 Ft. You can also buy souvenirs from there.

The Shungatser lake is Created by falling rocks, boulders and trees in an earthquake, also featured Madhuri Dixit in the movie Koyla, as a result this lake is sometimes also called Madhuri lake. The lake is situated at 16500 ft. There is an army canteen which serves excellent food at the affordable cost. You can also buy souvenirs from there for your loved ones.

We returned to Tawang and went to the mechanic as our one of our bike was having issues. We got to know by the mechanic that the clutch plate of the Thunderbird 500 had been damaged and need to be replaced. In the entire town of Tawang, we had not able to find the new clutch plate. So, we decided to Tow the Thunderbird 500 upto Tezpur. Another surprised element of the trip.