Day 0: Preparing for Udupi 24th December, 2022 I rode all the way from my house to Mittal’s, where we both dismantled and packed our bicycles with bubble wrap, duct tape, some cardboard, and Styrofoam. It took us over two hours to do so—mostly because we didn’t have everything in place. I had packed the … [Read more…]
It feels strange to write a retrospective of the year that was after one-and-a-half months of 2022. It has been a significant year in my life. There were three things that marked important changes in my life. Living with my mom after two decades I had left my parents’ house in 2002 to pursue my … [Read more…]
Due to an oversight by my Hotel’s manager, I had no reservation to Guwahati. He was unable to contact any of the drivers last night. Like most people in the hills, they had gone off to sleep early. I woke the Hotel’s manager up at 5:00 am in the morning and walked towards the Sumo … [Read more…]
Dawa came to see me off for one last time in the morning. It was unusual of him to wake up that early. We both had our morning tea with Sangi Thema before bidding them goodbye. Bomdila is situated at a higher altitude than Dirang. Our Sumo snaked its way up through the switchbacks and … [Read more…]
In the next two days, Dawa took me to three villages—Chug, Sangti and Thembang. Chug and Sangti Dawa wanted to show me Chug. It’s slightly inwards from Rama Camp and is famous among Dirang locals for its picnic spots. He had not been there before and had only seen images shared by his friends. When … [Read more…]
Dawa slept till 10:00 am. I should have asked him about his bed timings last night itself. When I called him early in the morning, he didn’t pick his phone up. Since I was already outside, I had my morning tea and paratha for breakfast at the market. Once I was done, I walked from … [Read more…]
That morning I was contacted by the Sumo driver. Although Sumos from Tawang to Bomdila usually left at 6:30 am, the one in which I had booked a seat was delayed due to the cold. He asked me to wait in front of Laxmi Hotel at Jang. The Sumo would anyways stop for breakfast there. … [Read more…]
Jang is mostly known for its military check-post and Nuranang Falls. I had already paid a visit to the former where I had to do my COVID-19 test a week ago. This time I wanted to visit the latter. Nuranang Falls After having puri and tea for my breakfast at Laxmi Hotel nearby, I descended … [Read more…]
For the next one-and-a-half days I walked around Tawang and visited a number of places while spending time with the kids at my hotel. I was not able to notice the Gompa that one spots in the Old Market the day I had arrived. It was too dark to notice anything. It is one of … [Read more…]
I woke up quite early that day to catch a glimpse of the morning sun. Akash and the other kids were awake, too. I shared the morning tea with them. Amit, Lobsang and a neighbouring kid Ranveer—being kids that they were—headed to the terrace and played in a greenhouse made of bamboo and translucent plastic. … [Read more…]
