We were at Lamakaan yesterday speaking to members of the GHAC about our trip. The first part (took more time than I had expected) was showing them pictures from the trip and then told the entire story of the journey. These pictures are already on our website and at the Hitchhikingindia fan page. While on our trip, we asked some of the people we met what they would do with Rs....
Over a period of one month, we explored the North East of India. A region usually considered remote and often times, dangerous. Tourism has picked up only recently here, after a long period of insurgency and political turmoil. That may be a blessing in disguise however, as most places are untouched by touristy commercialism. Our trip was not just about visiting the touristy destinations; our plan was to do the trip on a very tight budget....
In case you ever wondered how we brought you the pictures and the articles we did, while we were traveling, here’s a list of the important equipment we carried. Backpacks - Wildcraft Alpinist We have put these 55l backpacks on trucks, buses, trains and don’t remember what else. The backpacks have been very resilient all through the rough use. The padding on the back and the shoulder is good too. Have since used it on a 50km trek and didn’t disappoint at all....
After exactly one month of starting, our hitchhiking trip comes to an official end today. Official end for #150aday, not our travels. We will be traveling separately for some time before going back to Hyderabad, albeit without the restrictions we had placed as part of #150aday. Our blog posts will continue for some time too. In case anyone is planning a backpacking or hitchhiking trip in India, let us know and we will try to help in whatever way we can....
The capital city of gateway to the North East (Assam), Guwahati is a bustling cosmopolitan city. We were in Guwahati thrice – first time when we got there from Silchar, second time when we were on our way to Arunachal and the last time at the end of our trip. Our experiences there have been different each time and they only got better each time. The first time, we had to spend a fortune (relative to our budget) and book a hotel room as our host had to leave town on some urgent business....
We had earlier been told that the tourist lodge in Tawang was booked full and we could only get a room if there were any cancellations. Still, we decided to test our luck and walked up to the lodge, a short distance up old bazaar. Luckily for us, we did get a room! The caretaker was apprehensive and was telling us that the rooms were not that great, little did she know about where we had lived in the past one month....
After our hair-raising Sumo taxi ride to Bomdila, we were more careful this time and booked our tickets early to Tawang. This time we asked for the front row seats and got them too – that meant we could get better views of the drive. After traveling in the last row of almost every vehicle we had boarded (excluding trucks where the first and last row are the same), this was a welcome change....
Sela top/pass The lake at Sela Pass (on the way to Tawang) The Tawang Monastery in the distance The main Buddha idol at the Tawang Monastery A procession of the monks in the Tawang Gompa The Buddha in various Mudras The Monyul Autonomous Region office in Tawang
We got what we least expected after a great night’s sleep in Bomdila – stress. After we got ready to go exploring the little town, we were told by the caretaker of the guest house that we would have to vacate the room by 12PM! We were so happy to get a room after our arduous journey the previous day that we had assumed that the rooms were reserved for whoever was in them....
Winding roads in Bomdila The same road, the next morning. A remote Gompa (Monastery). The lower gompa Bomdila - a bird’s eye view The Upper Gompa