Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

That's an interesting and inspiring travelogue , beautifully summed up !!!

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Thanks Aswin

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Day 4 (Kolkata to Siliguri – 680 kms)

Atul and I got up at around 6:15am in the morning. Time to get ready, gear up and head for our next destination, which is Siliguri. We would take the Purnia route to reach Siliguri and this route was almost 700kms. With all sorted with packing bags, tying them up on the bike, we started the ride at sharp 7am. It was nice bright Monday morning and there wasn’t much traffic while exiting the city. Once we left the city limits and entered the highway, there was a huge pile up of trucks before the NHAI Toll Plaza. Apparently, this is one of the busiest junction for entering and exiting Kolkata city, trucks being parked on both sides of the highway and huge flow of vehicles makes crossing the section quite time taking. We had to be careful while squeezing through the trucks and other vehicles and somehow after some 20 minutes we cleared the jam and hit the highway. Did a quick stop for petrol in a HP bunk.

By 9am we reached Bardhaman town and this is where we decided to have our breakfast, of not being sure if we would get anything to eat later on. Quickly had some puri, aloo mater sabji and tea. This didn’t take much time and once again after a 20 mins break we resumed our ride. We had the plan of taking very less breaks today and try to cover maximum distance in lesser time. We reached Durgapur and around 10:40am we entered Asansol. From here we had to let go off the highway and take a right diversion towards the Asansol Gourandi Road which would take us to Dumka.






After some kilometers we reached the Ajay River which separates West Bengal and Jharkhand, which means we entered Jharkhand state now. This is when the roads started becoming bad until we reach Naugachia near Bhagalpur to enter the national highway again (few good sections in between though). Most sections of the road were getting constructed, fresh gravel being laid down, huge cranes and bulldozers, road rollers, etc. were the common sight. The ride was a bit painful with the tyres running around the loose gravels and not getting a proper grip onto the ground. Additionally, there was a lot of dust on the road due to heavy vehicles blowing it off by their big tyres. A painful, dusty and tiring ride it was almost for the next four-five hours. We crossed Dumka zilla, then reached Hansdiha and then finally Bhagalpur via Dumka Bhagalpur state highway. Lost a lot of time between Dumka and Bhagalpur trying to ride through extremely bad roads, crowded market and towns, cattle and cows walking on the roads, insensible people trying to cross roads and vehicles coming from all directions. The only thing which was making us sane and keep going was the amazingly beautiful landscape and incessant wind across the country side roads.

















In between, around 2:30pm we entered Bihar state. This wasn’t a very pleasant ride for both of us and we nearly lost patience and got restless. We thought of taking a break for lunch, relax for a while and then start fresh once again. Kept looking for a place to eat, we were also running low on fuel by now. At the next nearest petrol station we filled up Hulk and then around 3pm we stopped by at a local eatery called Spice Villa for food. Ordered simple chicken curry, dal fry and rice followed by tea. This eatery was some 20kms away from Bhagalpur town and we had another 250kms left to reach our destination. This is where we booked our stay for today in Siliguri. Done with food we started our ride with the intention to not waste time. Just before entering Bhagalpur, there was a huge traffic piled up on that two lane highway. More than a thousand trucks were parked on both sides of the road leaving very less place for two way traffic to go smoothly. We somehow tried squeezing between vehicles and find our way out. Even this wasted a lot of our time and we were already running behind schedule.



Bhagalpur is a city with historic importance and one of the largest cities in Bihar. It is a major educational, commercial and political hub and listed for development under the Smart City program. We reached this city at around 5pm and the traffic was a complete mayhem. Google guided us through some interior residential roads and this cut down the jam to a large extent. The city bypass is still under construction and once it is ready it will ease out a lot of traffic for people who intend to go further and not enter the city. Roads inside the city are in pathetic conditions and due to heavy rainfall, most of them are completely filled with water as well. While exiting the city, we crossed the iconic Vikramshila Setu across the Ganges. It is the 5th longest river bridge over water in India and connects to Purnia through NH31.

Around 5:30pm we reached Naugachia (Zero Mile) and connected with the NH31 to go towards Purnia. This road is also called as Barauni Purnia highway and a nice scenic road to cross by. It being a two lane highway yet vehicles move here insanely fast without bothering about the safety of others. Though the roads were in an ok conditions with occasional potholes here and there, Atul could easily keep up pace and cover distance easily. By 6:30pm we reached Purnia and took the Purnia Siliguri highway (this was a four lane highway all the way up till Siliguri).





As we reached Kishanganj, it started drizzling. Looked like there was a big thunderstorm sometimes earlier destroying the trees, tree branches falling on the highway and large puddles of water. We halted at a place with sufficient street lights and put on our rain gears, wanted to reach Siliguri as early as possible before it starts raining heavily once again. There was a lot of water splashing by heavy trucks on the highway which sprayed rain water back on us, rain gear helped us a lot of time when trucks used to almost get us drenched by splashing water.

Moving forward with no breaks at all, around 10pm we entered Siliguri. The freshness of tea estates was still lingering around the atmosphere and there was a mild foggy blanket all around the road. We stopped for a moment and gave a call to the hotel guy saying we would be there in some 20 mins and if food would be available. He asked us to get some parcel on our way as the kitchen was closed for the day. Luckily some of the eateries were still open and we stopped at a place to get some food packed. Took rotis, mutton curry and dal fry. It started raining drop by drop and this time Google Maps didn’t fail us at all. It took us straight to the hotel where we booked our room. 10:30pm and we reached our stay.

Hotel Gitanjali Inn is situated right behind the tea auction center and is in a close proximity to the rail station, bus station and Bagdogra airport. The straightforward rooms are amazingly great for the price we paid (Rs 920 per night for a deluxe AC room). The hotel folks were good too, they let us park Hulk inside the hotel basement and helped us finish check in formalities quickly. We unloaded the bags, got inside the room, quickly freshened up and then sat down to have our dinner. Food was quite nicely prepared and we both ate till our stomach was full, only thing missing was a cup of tea. While I opened the window and looked outside, it was raining quite heavily with thunderstorm and lightening, lucky that we got inside just in time.

A quick cleanup of our stuff which got dirty while the ride, keeping things ready for the next ride tomorrow, both of us decided to call it a day. Around 12am both of us went to sleep.

Here is the vlog for Day 4:


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Day 5 (Siliguri to Guwahati – 475 kms)

Isn’t the excitement of going home, always the best feeling? Same was the case with me today, we were riding home, Guwahati. Both of us woke up at around 6am, packed our bags, freshened up, got ready and just when we were about to leave the room, Atul just took a sneak peek outside and alas! It was raining very heavily. Apparently it was raining cats and dogs the whole night and the forecast for today was equally gloomy, cloudy and full of rain. While we waited out the rain for a while, we decided to load Hulk with the luggage mean time. When it started becoming a bit lesser, we wore our rain gear and decided to not waste time and keep moving forward. We started our ride by 7am.

Not much traffic other than the school buses, army vehicles and some trucks and in no time we exited Siliguri town. Our plan was to stop by at the Coronation Bridge over Sevok/Teesta River which was some 23kms away from our hotel. The moment we were crossing the Sevok Forest, amidst the military base, it started raining heavily and rain gear wasn’t of much help. We partially got drenched and it was a very awful feeling. Somehow we reached the junction of the Coronation Bridge at around 8am and luckily the rain almost stopped. This junction is a very important one, as one road leads to Sikkim, another towards Guwahati and the one we came from leads to Siliguri, obviously.







We parked the bike, took some photos, and enjoyed the beautiful Teesta River and the mountain ranges seen at a distance. While vehicles are not allowed to stop in this bridge, there are small pavements on both sides for people to walk around and enjoy the scenic view around. Prayer flags all over the place, fluttering, makes the atmosphere more colorful. Teesta River is one of the major tributary of Brahmaputra River, flowing through India and Bangladesh. During monsoon the river flow is the heaviest and glaciers supply abundant meltwater. The river is rich in biodiversity and provides livelihoods to the residents along its entire length. The river has been under constant dispute between Bhutan, India and Bangladesh, with India claiming to hold 55% of the river’s water. However, whatever said and done, the river does provide a soulful view, gets you mesmerizingly admire its natural beauty. After a 30 mins break, we resumed our ride forward at 8:30am.



















All the way from Sevok to Hasimara, roads are amazingly breath-taking with rich green vegetation on both sides of the highway, mild mist flowing across the trees, grasslands, numerous tea plantation, trails of Teesta River and fog covered mountain ranges. This is a two lane highway with fast moving traffic so have to be careful and not drift away just by enjoying the view. We stopped at places to click pictures and got off from our rain gears to get dried. By 10:15am we reached Chalsa and decided to stop for our breakfast. Most places were closed and not yet opened for food, somehow got a place where they agreed to prepare something for us – aloo paratha and tea. After food we relaxed for a while, cleaned off some of the dirt from our saddlebags, arranged our rain gears, took a quick petrol break from the nearby petrol station and resumed our ride again at 11am.





















For the next couple of hours, we agreed on not taking breaks and cover distance. After crossing Alipurduar town, we connected to NH27 which turned into a four lane highway but the road condition was highly pathetic. There was huge crater shaped potholes, mud, slush and rain water puddles in most sections of the highway. Most parts of the highway had large road rollers, cranes and construction materials dumped into and as a result the traffic had to take a lot of diversions. For a long while one will not be able to figure out if they are in the right side of the lane or on the wrong. Our saddle bags turned completely dirty and muddy white, thankfully, Dirtsack’s Frogman didn’t let a single drop of water go through the main compartment.

Around 1:30pm we entered Assam and there I was, riding all the way from Bangalore to my home state. The feeling just couldn’t be expressed with words and the excitement to reach home instantly doubled. However, the highway between Kokrajhar and Kochugaon was once again in a very bad shape with big potholes and the hard concrete highway was way too bumpy. It started getting better once we crossed Kochugaon and enter Gossaigaon. It was 3pm and we reached the famous refinery town of Bongaigaon. Our main aim was to keep going until and unless we badly required breaks, both of us were not too hungry as well as the morning parathas were quite filling.











By 4pm we reached Rangia, and this was time for a petrol break. Tank up, filled in air on the tyres we saw a tea stall next to the petrol station. We decided to have some quick snacks and tea. I called up home and informed that we would be home in another 2-3 hours or so, distance to home was just 60kms. Post the tea break and photo break, we started our ride, this time straight to home. Around 6:30pm we entered the Guwahati city limits (crossing the double decker rail-cum-road Saraighat Bridge over River Brahmaputra is a moment of pride for me, brings out all the glorious childhood memories I have with this city and its people). With the second bridge constructed over the river, next to Saraighat Bridge, it has eased out traffic flow in/out of the city, one for incoming vehicles and the other one for outgoing ones. We decided to take the highway route to reach home, thinking it would be faster. However, entering the city was inevitable.







A deviation from highway to go home and a wrong turn spoiled everything for us. The dream of reaching home a bit early became thin as we got caught in between heavy peak hour traffic. People kept inquiring about us, giving us strange looks, some showing thumbs up, some totally confused about who we could be, etc. Google Maps took us through interior streets which I’m remotely not aware off. The city keeps changing so much with each passing day and it becomes really difficult for people like us who get to visit their home only once/twice in a whole year. Somehow I could figure out couple of shortcuts and around 7:30pm we reached the parking of our home.

My mom was already waiting for us in the porch and seeing her I felt so much relief and happiness, all the tiredness from the journey vanished in an instant. Reaching home sweet home is a heavenly feeling I suppose which is priceless. My four-year-old niece came running towards me to hug me, and I was almost in my tears. Traveling 3200kms for this moment is something which can’t be compared to anything else. My brother helped Atul unload all the bags, park it in the garage (Hulk badly needed a shower). We relaxed for a while and went for a quick shower. My folks were immensely happy when we told them that we would stay back for a day in Guwahati as we couldn’t finish Nagaland permit in Kolkata and need to get it here in Guwahati (our initial plan was to stay in Guwahati just for a night and head to Bomdila).

Around 8:30pm we had our dinner, did some quick family talks, I played a while with my niece and then both of us decided to call it a day. 9:30pm, we went for a peaceful sleep.

Here is the vlog for Day 5:

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Day 6 (At Guwahati – roughly some 20 kms)

There is nothing like home for real comfort. Waking up to such comfortable mornings are a blessing. After a sound and peaceful sleep, both of us woke up around 9am in the morning. This is the best part of staying at home, before you get up, your breakfast is ready. We freshened up and straight-away went for hogging. Mom prepared puri, aloo sabji, bread omelet, coconut ladoos, some kheer and tea. Atul was more than happy to have such a lavish breakfast after a really long time (son-in-laws are anyways pampered when they step in to their in-law’s house, isn’t it?). After we devoured our breakfast, Atul and I thought not to waste more time and head straight towards Nagaland House for the ILP as getting the permit today itself was very important.

We got ready, took Hulk and rode towards Nagaland House located at Six Mile, around 7 kms away from my house. By 10:30am we reached the office and requested for the forms and if we could get the permit today itself. We narrated our story what happened in Kolkata and that we have come all the way from Bangalore to explore NE region and getting the permit today is very critical. The officials present there were very helpful and friendly, mentioned that they would do whatever is possible from their end. We filled the forms, provided all supporting documents, proofs, etc. and waited for the officer to hand over the permit to us. He asked us to wait for some 15 mins to let us know when we can get the ILP. We sat outside the office and kept hoping to get the papers as soon as possible. Within some 20 mins the guy came back with the signed ILPs and wished us Happy Journey for our ride ahead. Atul and I were so relaxed to get the ILP finally and thanked the guy. He mentioned that the signatory was about to leave for some official meeting and had signed some forms for the people who would come for the permits today, so that they don’t have to keep waiting until next day. This clearly shows the difference in the level of work commitment in Kolkata and here in Guwahati. The officer also gave us some tips on how to travel within Nagaland, what places to go explore and other necessary details. By 11:30am we were done with the work and we rode back home.



Our plan was to give Hulk a bath before going home. On the way, we saw Express Car Wash and checked if they do bike wash as well. They agreed and finally Hulk was getting a shower after being covered with tons of dirt, mud and grime. The guys cleaned Hulk with so much care and perfection that by far this was the best wash treatment Hulk got till date. They were using foam spray, high speed water gun, cleaning gel to remove each and every speck of dirt from the bike. It took almost 40 mins for them to deliver the bike to us and all this costed us only Rs100. Hulk was as clean as a new bike. We were totally satisfied with the work and the customer service of these guys and recommended them to my brother as well for his car and bike. We left the place and headed for home. On our way, Atul stopped at one of the famous and renowned sweet shop ‘Makhan Bhog’ to have some Rasmalais and Rasgullas. I ate samosa and packed some sweets and namkeens for home.






By 1pm we reached home and Mom was already done with her lunch preparation. With all the food we had on our way back, we decided to have lunch after a while. In the meantime, I cleaned some of our clothes, shoes, boots, riding jackets, saddle bags and other necessary stuff. We also agreed to leave behind some clothes that we wouldn’t be using for the next few days during our ride, this will lighten our bags to some extent. After this I spent some time with my niece and my Grand Mom who was already home to meet us.

By 2pm Atul and I had our lunch, Mom prepared chicken curry, Ilish fish curry, some sabji, dal fry, rice, salad, pickle and papad. A full course lunch is something which we haven’t had for a long time. Such sumptuous lunch is a bliss. A relaxed lunch and then followed by some rest time. We just kept lying on the bed, doing nothing and enjoying these carefree moments which are hard to get. Not sure how time just flew away and it was already 6pm. Atul and I went out along with Mom for a quick walk while Mom had to do some grocery. My parents have been staying in that locality for almost 35 years now and each and every one around that place knows them. It is really a great feeling that even when people are so busy nowadays in their life and work, here people still have time to greet one another and exchange quick words. Back in Bangalore, we hardly get to see this, Atul and I hardly know who our next door neighbors are leaving aside talking to them. Nonetheless, walking along with Mom, doing all small grocery shopping, the bargains, eating the yummiest plate of pork momo along with piping hot soup, each and everything reminded me of my childhood. We returned home by 7:30pm.



The plan for dinner was to go out as a family and have some food outside. Once my brother returned from his work, Mom, Atul, I, Brother, Sister-in-law and niece went out to have food. Dad and Grand Mom decided to stay back and we get parcels for them. We went to this place called Spice Route and ordered rotis, aloo gobi masala, chicken curry, paneer curry, lassi and some shakes. Dinner was quite filling and after the food, we headed back home by 10:30pm.

Made all arrangements we needed to do for the ride early morning, Mom advised us to hit the sack as early as possible. Though I would love to stay back and enjoy the remaining days at home, but reality was to keep going ahead and complete our remaining journey. 11pm and we were fast asleep. End of a beautiful and relaxing day at home.

Here is the vlog for Day 6:

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Waiting for rest of the days

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Day 7 (Guwahati to Bomdila – 335 kms)

Sun rises pretty early in the north eastern part of India and by 5am it is already sunrise. There was a slight drizzle the night before and hence the weather was a bit cool. Mom woke us up at around 5:30am and we got ready, got geared up, and loaded the bike with the bags and other stuff. Mom gave us some tea and milk to drink before we head out. With a heavy heart and sadness, I hugged my Mom, Brother, Sister-in-law (niece was fast asleep so didn’t want to wake her up so early) and bid goodbye. The next section of our ride towards deeper into North East region just started and it was 6:15am in the morning.

We took the Saraighat Bridge exit to ride out of the city and since it was so early we hardly got any traffic inside the city. Took the NH27 for 40 kms after which we had to take a diversion at Baihata to go towards Udalguri. Roads were quite ok for most sections of the ride with few potholes here and there, at least they were in rideable conditions. Infact, some of the interior roads were way better than the main state highways. We kept on riding non-stop for quite some time, amidst remote country side roads, dense greenery and vast crop fields, until Hulk’s petrol indicator started blinking. In this remote village area finding a petrol station was quite bleak and we didn’t want to buy petrol from some bottle or cans kept outside the local shops (it is a very common scene in remote village areas of Assam, local shop keepers store petrol/diesel inside bottles, cans, etc. and sell it for all two wheelers, provided the next petrol station is quite far. Somehow we took a chance and kept riding a bit further until we reached Udalguri town around 9am. Checked with locals around and they mentioned us at the nearest petrol station would be hardly some 3-4 kms away.






Finally, we reached the BP petrol station and astounded to see the huge rush the bunk had. We had to wait almost 15-20 mins for our turn to fill in petrol. I hate situations like this as seeing our bike, luggage, us dressed in full gears, attracts a lot of unwanted attention from people around who approaches with ridiculously nonsense questions. I have no problem people coming close, observing us and asking normal sensible questions, what irritates me is well educated people trying to act smart and ask highly irrelevant and stupid questions. Nonetheless, we filled in petrol, took bio breaks and started our ride once again. From here the ride was pretty straightforward via the Udalguri Bhairabhkunda road, the road was scenic amidst mountain ranges, small water streams flowing through the plains, lush green vegetation and cloudy misty weather.

Around 10am we reached Bhairabhkunda, which is a place as if it is set in a canvas perfectly painted with all the colors of nature. This is a popular picnic spot owing to its calmness and serenity, located on the international border of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. The army presence here is tremendously high because of international proximity but it is a lesser sensitive and tense border place. Bhairabi River and Jampani River which originates in Bhutan merges here to form River Dhanshiri, being one of the most important tributaries of River Brahmaputra, with a lovely view to behold. The place is in a shape of kunda, which means place for worshipping Lord Shiva. We stopped here for a while to click some pictures as the border looked amazingly breathtaking with the river flowing through rocks, distance mountain ranges (beyond those mountains is Bhutan) and mild cool breeze. This is where Hulk also completed 20K on the ODO.



We reached a small town called Balemu on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and decided to stop at a local joint for some quick breakfast as after this ghat roads would start and we weren’t sure if we would get any place to have food. The place we stopped just opened and most of the food items were not available, only chowmein, maggi, some snacks and tea, the lady owner of the shop was about to go out for shopping grocery but obliged to stay back and serve us some veg chowmein (I was moved by her kindness and gentle behavior to serve us food even though she was hurrying for her daily chores). Some of the locals started to strike conversation with us, gave us update about the roads ahead, which were mostly done be BRO (Border Roads Organizations) roads, weather updates and how to prepare ourselves which was quite helpful. The lady served us some delicious chowmein along with cucumber and tea. For ages I haven’t had such authentic and tasteful chowmein. Done with food, paid, thanked the lady and the locals, we resumed our ride. It was 11am and we crossed Assam to enter Arunachal Pradesh. This was the start of experiencing mesmerizingly beautiful Arunachal Pradesh amidst twisted roads, hilly mountain terrains and soulfully enriching landscapes.



As you all would know that BRO develops and maintains road network in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries. It is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers and army personnel on extra regimental employment. Some sections of these roads were under-construction and riding through those were a bit difficult but mostly the ride was comfortable, scenic and enjoyable. There were prayer flags everywhere adding more colors to the view. We stopped at multiple locations to click pictures, enjoy the view, or at times giving way to passing army convoys.













By the way, I would like to mention here that we didn’t take the usual Tezpur – Bhalukpong road to reach Bomdila. Most people take this route, however, Atul through his extensive research of the routes and also from one of my cousin found out that there is a new road which has been just recently opened via Kalaktang and Rupa and is more scenic, less traffic and pleasant experience for riders/drivers. Google Maps kept prompting us to take U-turn and join the Bhalukpong road but we sticked to this new route until we reached Bomdila. The only disadvantage of this road is that when there is a major landslide or road construction happening, the authorities close the gate until the road ahead is cleared and ready to be traversed. There are no specific timings as such and can happen at any point of the day. Some sections were still under construction when we took this road (hopefully by now the route must have been completely done, given that it is already 3-4 months).











By 1:30pm we reached a village called Tenzing Gaon and stopped at a local tea shop for some hot tea. As we were riding up, the air was getting cooler and I decided to wear my thermals. We had few cups of tea to keep us warm, the folks there were also preparing delicious looking beef momos, I gulped down two plates. There was an elderly couple from Guwahati who were driving to Tawang for the weekend and we ended up having a good conversation with them. They were quite encouraging that young people like us prefer to explore our country rather than spending money on expensive foreign trips, when our country is so beautiful in itself and has so much to offer. They wished us all the best for our entire journey and left. In another 10 mins even we decided to keep moving ahead, had another 75kms to reach our stay.





Most part of the ride was smooth and we kept crossing small towns and villages, river streams snaking through the plains and the blue clear sky – this was so blissful. Finally reaching Rupa town. We halted at many places to click pictures and enjoy the landscape. Once we crossed Rupa and was some 20kms away from Bomdila, around 3pm the all vehicles were stopped by the BRO authorities as they were clearing a landslide off the road (a road was getting constructed by cutting through the hills). It was almost done and we just had to wait for some 10mins before they let us through and proceed further.



Around 4pm we entered the town of Bomdila. Locating our stay, Anu Homestay was quite easy as Google took us straight towards the door of the property. We booked this hotel when we were in Guwahati, it costed us Rs2000 per night for a deluxe non AC room. The property is run by a family who are staying in Bomdila for many years and have converted most section of their buildings into stay for tourists who come to Bomdila. We decided to take a room in the ground floor for easy access to bike, loading and unloading of luggage. Owners were quite friendly and accommodating with well-behaved stuff. After all the check-in formalities, we got inside our room, settled with our bags and checked if they can help us with some quick snacks. They gave us tea and some packets of biscuits.





Bomdila is a small town perched amongst the panoramic settings of lofty ranges of the eastern Himalayas. It is known for its scenic environs along with monasteries and apple orchids, attracting adventure tourists with its numerous trekking trails. Most people come here and move further ahead to Tawang as well. Bomdila is a remote destination and like few other Indian towns it has escaped the virtual tourist invasion in recent times. Nature is still protected within the widely spread mountain ranges.



After tea and relaxing for a while, we decided to go and explore the famous Bomdila Monastery as it was just 2 kms away from our stay. Took Hulk, parked it in by the roadside as the actual parking area was not ready and still under construction. The walk towards the monastery was very refreshing and peaceful, no crowd at all at that point of time. Also known as Gentse Gaden Rabgyel Lling monastery, this monastery not only has religious significance but also known for its natural beauty. Stunning vistas that you can see from here is breathtaking and fabulous. One can see a big Buddha statue on a mountain at a distance. We spent some time exploring the monastery, looking around the buildings, the art work, the natural landscape surrounding the monastery, clicking pictures and experiencing the serenity. It almost started getting dark around 6pm and we decided to head back towards the hotel. On our way we purchased few prayer flags to be tied up on Hulk and extra for back home to put up on Skiddy (our car).

















Once we reached the hotel, we started craving to have something hot. Requested the hotel folks if they can give us some tea and snacks. They told they have maggi and if we are ok, we obliged and asked to serve maggi and tea. Within 15 mins, maggi and tea was served at our room, piping hot and super tasty. We also gave order for dinner which was prepared in-house (only veg food though with option to have eggs). While dinner would be served around 9-9:30pm we killed our time relaxing inside the room and it was extremely cold outside to even step out and walk for explore the locality.



By 9:30pm we were called for our turn to have dinner. They serve dinner inside their main living hall and due to space constraints, serve food in batches. Food was simple yet sumptuous – dal, rice, some veggie curry, curd, pickle, omelet and papad. It felt so much like eating simple homemade food, filling not only the stomach but also the soul. We thanked them for the food and Atul decided to settle up with the bills as we would leave for Tawang very early. We met some bikers from Guwahati and they informed us that some sections of Sela Pass are filled with snow on the road and hence it is better to leave early so that we reach Tawang early without any hassle. There was also prediction of heavy rainfall the next day. Done with all the settlement, we went to our room, as usual did some quick packing and jumped inside the bed to go to sleep. 11pm and we dozed off. Next day ride was the focal point of our entire NE ride.

Some more pics from Day 7

Prayer flags everywhere







More from Bomdila Monastery







Passing Army Convoy



Our lids which keeps our head protected all the time





Beautiful town of Bomdila





Meet Moti, the friendly canine from Tenzing Gaon



Bulldozers and the Hulk



At the border of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan



The scenic view of Kalaktang







Here is the vlog for Day 7:

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Eagerly waiting for next days, wonderful vlogs and nice editing. Breaktaking pictures, reading your logs again and again.....

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Amazing writting. Not getting bored in a single line. 👌👌👌

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Amazing pictures and write-up. Glued to this travelogue and eagerly waiting for the upcoming days' log

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Amazing pics and superb write-up. Refreshing the page everyday in office to see if further updates have been posted.

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Great amazing and inspiring ride!!

Also I don't think you have to carry an NOC for short tours.

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Waiting for the upcoming days' logs. Please do share them with all of us

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Full story available in teambhp site bro.

Re: Amazingly magnificent & enchantingly awesome North East India - A 10,000 km Ride!

Thanks bro, will search for the same