A Ride To Parashuram Kund, Arunachal

Holy Shit !! What a Ride !!

Only some lucky bikers gets a chance to be so unlucky to say " Holy Shit !! What a Ride !! " on the end of the ride and we were one of them.

When our group " Bikers of Assam " was formed on 20th of Jan 2013 and did an amazing ride to" Lake of No Return, Myanmar " we started discussing what will be our next destination.

Some of our members suggested to visit the Mega Reh Festival, Miao Festival or Mayodia and finally we decided to visit Parashuram Kund of Arunachal Pradesh on 17th Feb 2013 which was nearly 200KM away from Duliajan.

To & fro ride would be
400KM so we decided to start 5 AM in the morning from Duliajan.

Many bikers from all over Assam informed that they were interested & would join the ride. We all were excited about the ride. We designed our group logo & got its sticked in our bikes.

We finalised the route as Duliajan > Tinsukia > Makum > Doomdooma > Rupai > Namsai > Tengapani > Chowkham > Wakro> Parashuram Kund

We requested the members of Digboi & Margherita to reach Makum and meet us there By 6.15 AM

Members of Sivasagar, Moran, Dibrugarh, Naharkatia etc will reach Duliajan one day ahead & halt a night.

As the date of the event came closer some of the interested bikers said they cant join the ride as they were college students and have exam. Some of the bikers said that their pockets became empty due to Valentines Day & Saraswati Puja Celebration. As they were college students or unemployed we can understand how expensive these two days for them. Moreover on 15th Feb the govt increased petrol price by Rs 1.40 & various organisation declared 16th Feb as Assam Bandh. So unfortunately only few bikers were joining the event.

As 16 Feb was declared Assam Bandh Bhargav from Sivasagar who is the youngest member of our group was at Jorhat. He was so passionate that he arranged a scooty & came all the way to Duliajan to join the event.

At about 10 PM of 16feb it started raining. I posted a facebook status " Shit its raining & we had planned a 400+km ride tomorrow :'( " and slept.

17th Feb:
 At 4 O'clock in the morning when I woke up. I saw a sms from Shantanu " Dada Boroxun dise jabo ne ". Santanu is from Duliajan & a trainee engineer in BVFC, Namrup " . So I called him up & decided to ride as far as possible since its not raining heavily.

I had bath, prayed to god, had a cup of tea with mom & started the ride at 5 AM in the morning. As decided Trideep was waiting near the new bus stand of Duliajan with his bike. Trideep is my school friend, a good photographer and a big foodie. I still remember we use to look for his lunch box where he brings lots of fried stuff for us. Actually he use to bring two lunch box one for himself one for us. After school I meet him physically after 15yrs as he changed the school at class 6.

We started our journey from Duliajan & reached BCPL Gate near Tilinga Mandir where Shantanu, Bhargav, Madhurjya Ch & Mrinmoy joined us.

Madhurjya Ch is also a musician from Duliajan & a good photographer. Mrinmoy is a Musician from Moran.

The sunshine brought a smile in our faces. We started riding together and reached Makum where Abhijit was waiting after his night shift duty. He works for Oil India Ltd as Jr. Engineer. He was so excited about the ride that he went to Guwahati and brought new handle bar & new chain sproket few days ago for his cruiser bike (Avenger) but unfortunately it was fitted with fault which broke down the bearings.

We went ahead and reach Doomdoma by 7AM where we had our breakfast. We waited for the Digboi bikers for few mins but they didnt reach there. So we decided to move ahead crossed Rupai & reached Kakopathar. The road condition was superb just like a runway. Our speedometer clicked 80-100kmph. In a beautiful location we decide to do some photoshoot. After few mins the Digboi Bikers also reached there. Though Bijoy & his three friends didnt get much time for photoshoot.

We reached Dirok Gate by 9.30 AM where we got the passes to visit Arunachal. They charged Rs25 per person. After Dirok gate the roads were underconstruction. We crossed Tengapani, Chowkham & Wakro.

We crossed many monastary on our way & refueled our tanks in Wakro as the petrol price was less compared to Assam @Rs67 per ltr.

The views was awesome. We said to each other " Manuhbure bidekhot ki sabo jai jodi amar usorote iman dhunia thai furibo ase "

We reached Parashuram Kund by 1.30 PM. It was bit cold there. We could feel the force of the wind. There was a big wind mill which is used to generate electricity for the entire Parashuram Kund temple & surrounding. There was also solar plates to generate electricity.

Some of the bikers didnt want to visit the Kund as there is a belief that the kund is not visited by people who have parents alive. When we met some visitors they said its just a superstation they have visited the kund many times since childhood. Moreover we saw Akshay Kumar's movie "OMG, Oh My God" a day before so we went down & spent some time there.

While going down to the Kund we went down easily but while climbing up it was damn tiring. Some said there is 150 steep steps but it seemed like 500 steps

We climbed 10-15 steps and start eating the fruits, sonpapri, biscuits & local oranges. We chatted with the Sadhu babas, shopkeepers & we also met some foreign tourist from France.

We spent some time there & went to the Parashuram Kund bridge. The wind in the bridge was so strong that it pushed our us backward. Our bikes were shaking in the stand & moreover it started raining there.

As it started raining we started our return journey, it was about 4 PM. After riding half an hour we reached a small hotel where we met Nandini.

A cute little girl from Arunachal, Nandini is the daughter of the shop owner in whose shop we halted for a few minutes due to heavy rain. The owner said they dont have enough food for us so we decided to have lunch at Wakro. We bought some Chips, Kurkure etc from his shop and was busy eating when suddenly she came out from her fathers lap with a teddy in her hand, standing amidst us without any fear, in her innocent childish way she was saying - "ku kukulle (kurkure) ke packet edhal mat peko, mele papa aake tumhe khub pi pitenge, melle papa boht gussa karte haiii"

We bursted out laughing, and then offered her a packet..

We chatted with her, clicked pics and when we were about to leave she was asking about our bikes- "ye kya bike haii, woh kya bike hai", we answered her questions and asked her "tumhare pass kya bike hai", she said " mele pass to chotta bike hai, mele didi k pass bhi bike hai, boooht bala(bara) wala bike hai"

By then her father also joined in our laughter :-)

After saying bye to Nandini we moved ahead. It was getting darker minute by minute. It was raining heavily.

We dint meet any living soul in the Kamlang Reserve Forest and Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary with dense forest. We could see fresh elephant dung on the road. There was nobody to help us in case of any mechanical fault. Infact we dint have anything for self defence in case of any attact from wild animals.

We rode in a constant speed in a zig-zag formation so that we get a view of the road ahead & its sides. The visibility was very less about 40% as it was raining. My black glass of my helmet made it more difficult to ride. We were getting jerks constantly as there many potholes on the road which were hidden by rain water.

When we saw the fresh elephant dung on the road we just said to each other " Atia kotu aru robo nai dei, Axom pua loike "

After riding for 2 hrs we reached Wakro. It was around 6PM. As we were all wet I decided to stop for a tea break but other bikers repeted " Atia aru kotu robo nai, Axom pua loike ".

I could understand we have to cross one more underconstruction road through the long dense forest. After seeing the fresh elephant dung it not a good idea to make delay.

Now we had very slippery muddy road to ahead due to heavy rain. Our bikes skidded many times. Our hands & legs were shaking out of cold. To ride few miles ahead took lots of time. We were constantly changing our riders.

Many times one of our rider had to get down to push our bikes from the back to make it stable & keep the wheels moving. Madhurjya Ch & Mrinmoy who brough new boots for the ride were filled with water & mud.

I remember once when Madhurjya Ch asked his pilion Mrinmoy to push his bike Mrinoy replied " Roba moi nijey pori golu ".

Mrinmoy fell down in the sticky muddy road :(

We reached Dirok gate at around 8PM. The Army man asked us to stop as a dumper had killed a young boy near Kakopathar & locals are protesting on the highway.

We went to a nearby shop to buy some chips, kurkure & chocolates to eat. We decided to halt a night at Digboi only Trideep will ride back to Duliajan via Tinsukia.

We squeezed our clothes, riding gloves & take out the water from our boots. We realised that we are wet upto our innerwear.

After the break we started riding again. We reached Doomdoma by 9.15PM from where we took a shortcut to Digboi & Trideep continued riding towards Duliajan via Tinsukia.

We were damn tired, hungry, our fingers were numb & whenever we stopped our bikes our legs shake out of cold. Only the engine heat makes it feel better.

We reached Digboi by 10PM. As soon we reached Abhijits room we went to the water tap to clean ourselves. The water which we feel cold normally was like boiling water. We changed ourselves to dry clothes & went inside the blanket to make ourselves warm.

After one an hour we had our dinner with boiled rice, potato and maggie. Next day early in the morning we came back to Duliajan to resume our respective duties.

Thus one of the most adventurous, challenging & memorable trip of " Bikers of Assam " came to an end.

Such challenges makes our bond stronger & helps to understand each other better.

Cheers Bikers of Assam

By – Madhurjya Bindass Axomia

Keep Riding || Keep Inspiring

~~~ The End ~~~

Riding to Reh

Riding to Reh.

 

 After the awesome experience of A Ride to Lake of No Return, Myanmar we came to know about The Mega Reh Festival in Arunachal Pradesh . Celebrated by the Mishmi Tribe. Reh is festival which is celebrated by Idu Mishimis.

 

 It is held for six days and has the priest dance as its main and important feature.This time for first time Mega Reh Festival will be celebrated under one umbrella with great enthusiasm at Teluliang near Tezu in Lohit district of Arunachal.

 

 The Mega Reh Festival was a chance to visit Tezu and Roing township, know its history, importance, On Mishmi culture, art, skills, practices, taboos, history, language etc etc.

 

 We expected that we will get amazing photograph of the Mishmis tribe who will roam proudly wearing their colorful traditional dresses, performing elaborate dances & tell stories of their indigenous culture. We also expected to taste delicious exotic food, tasty rice beer.

 

When we searched our route to Tezu in google map. Tezu is the head quarter of Lohit District located amidst beautiful landscape by the side of the flowing Lohit river.We saw that we have to start from Duliajan reach Dhola Ghat via Tinsukia take a ferry ride to Sadiya Ghat and ride to Tezu or ride through Parashuram Kund without taking a ferry ride.

 

Tinsukia is the ideal stopover for tourist visiting Dehing Patkai region. The commercial town of Assam is situated 500 Km away from Guwahati. The Shiv Dham and Marut Nandan Kanan Park aresome of the added points of attraction for visitors. Tinsukia is well connected to the rest of the Country by rail and road.

 

When we contacted some locals of Tezu they said its better to come a day before the festival or to halt one night as its not safe to ride a night. After a serious discussion with the bikers we decided to dropped the plan of attending the festival but two of our bikers wanted to make it at any cost. To halt one night was out of question as we have to resume our duty early morning very next day but if required they can halt a night at Sadiya

 

Sadiya: About 75 Km east of Tinsukia Sadiya is a sub-divisional headquarter of Tinsukia District. In medieval times, there were trade routes leading from Sadiya into Tibet, China and Burma (Myanmar). Sadiya was the central market for all hill tribes inhabiting the extreme North-East.

 

So on 03-Feb-2013 our biker Jayanta & his friend on his new Pulsar 200NS started their journey from Tinsukia at 5.30PM & reached Namsai where they got their passes to Arunachal.

 

Namsai is a Sub-Divisional headquarter famous for several Buddhist Viharas in the Khampti settlement area locally called ‘Chong’. The Chong of Namsai and Manmao are major centres of Theravada sect in the State. Namsai Reserve Forest has both tropical and sub-tropical characteristics with lush dense green vegetation and a wide variety of flora and fauna. The natural beauty and biodiversity of Piyong Reserve forest is worth visiting.

 

 

 

They had their breakfast at Choukham and reached Parashuram Kund where they stopped for few minutes. Parasuram Kund is situated within the Kamlang Reserve Forest area. The Kund is surrounded by dense forest of Ruddhraksha trees, the fruit of which is considered sacred to Hindu ascetics as well as general believers of the faith. This place on the Lohit River carries a strongmythological link with the legend of Parsurama, a Hindu sage. According to the legend recorded in the Kalika Purana, Srimat Bhagawata and the Mahabharata, sage Parsurama washed away hissin of matricide in the waters of the Lohit river at Bramhakund. Each year thousands of pilgrims from all over the country congregate on Makar Sankranti day, to wash away their sins. A fair (mela) is held during this period.

 

They started riding the 45km hilly roads to Tezu crossing Hailong, Kibithoo, Walong and road on their way. They stopped couple of times to enjoy the beautiful scenery from hill top. The view from Wakro is breathtaking.

 

Wakro is in the hub of Kamlang Reserve Forest and Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary with dense forest and wide floral and faunal diversity. The Sanctuary is home to hollock gibbon, tiger,takin etc,. Glow Lake is a unique example of high altitude lake with breathtaking scenic beauty, offering immense scope for adventure tourism.

 

Walong : One can enjoy the medicinal waters of the hot springs. There stands a War memorial at Walong in memory ofthe officers and Soldiers of the India Army who laid their lives fighting the Chinese Army.

 

Dong: Dong valley is the place where the first Sunrise of the country can be witnessed. It is located on the tri-junction of India, China and Myanmar. Anglingin River Lohit is ideal.

 

Our bikers enjoyed the riding the curvey roads of Arunachal & reached Tezu. Unfortunately the Reh festival was already over by that time. So the decided to have a close look of the Tezu town.

 

Then they decided to go to Digaru Ghat which was 16km away. The route from Tinsukia to Namsai,via Alubari then Tezu without Crossing parshuram kund is not available in google map. They enjoyed 4km of offroading from main road to the river bank.

 

The Pulsar 200NS got stucked in sandy river bank many times. After taking a ferry ride and they reached Alubari Ghat.Then they visited The Choukham Buddhist Monastery which was established in 1968 and also The Golden Pagoda, Tengapani Estd 2010 on their way back to Namsai.Chowkham is the nodal point for Manabahum and Tengapani Reserve Forest with floral and faunal diversity. They reached back Tinsukia at 8.30 PM.

 

~~~ The End ~~~

A Ride to Lake of No Return, Myanmar

A Ride to Nawngyang ( Lake of No Return )

I always had a dream route to travel through the historic Stilwell's Road , which was constructed by the Americans during the Second World War from Ledo in Assam, India connecting Myanmar and China to reach a beautiful lake called Lake of No Return (known as Lake Nongyang in Myanmar) near Pangsau Pass, Indo-Myanmar Border.

During World War II, large numbers of aircrafts were reported to have perished into this lake. Perhaps, the lake served the Allied Pilots for soft landing into the lake water during return mission when the Aircrafts got hit by enemy or out of mechanical snags in the Aircrafts. The pilots had chosen this lake for emergency landing in case of imminent air crash and therefore, many aircrafts were reported to have crashed in to the lake . So the lake came to be known as ' Lake Of No Return '.

The best time to visit Nongyang is during the Pangshu Pass Winter Festival held every year where the Inner Line Permit to visit Jairampur, Arunachal / Pangsau Pass DuringPPWF is readily available in the temporary pass counter for the festival.

When my friend Abhijit told that this year the festival will be held on 20, 21 & 22 Jan 2013 then I planned to visit the festival on 20th which falls on sunday.

As I wanted to ride on bike only therefore I gave a status update on my facebook pages that we are going on a bike ride to the festival so interested bikers can join us. I received several phone call for enquiry & some bikers said that they will join on 20th of Jan 2013.

On 20th Jan 2013 around 12.30 AM it started raining heavily. The trip might got cancelled for rain. I left a facebookstatus " Damn its raining " & slept sadly.

On 20th Jan 2013 I woke up with the knock on the door when I opened the door and became happy it was not raining. Total eight riders on four bikes started our Journey to our destination Nongyang, Myanmar which is 130kms away from Duliajan, Assam crossing Dense Jungles of Arunachal crossing the Patkai Hills.

The road was under construction& so dusty that we could not see anything ahead. We just put the headlight and kept moving. After riding for three hours 100kms we reached The Cemetery of World War-II, Jairampur, India. The recently unearthed large Burial-ground with about 1,000 graves of allied soldiers believed to be mostly of Chinese, Kachins, Indian, British and Americans soldiers who died in Second World War is located.

 

The hidden cemetery covered with thick jungles midst of the bank of Namchik River. The Army had cleared the area and found about 1,000 graves within an area of about three acre. The most of the graves in the Cemetery are damaged due to wild Elephants, wear and tear in the course of time and tempered due to miscreants.

Large number of allied soldiers were reported to have died due to Diseases, calamities and missed in action while fighting. The casualties at war fronts in Burma were reported to have been evacuated by C-47's Ambulance planes and treated at the various base Hospitals at Ledo road and atLedo, Assam, India and most of the dead soldiers might have disposed off at this cemetery. It is also reported that most of the casualties were treated at the 20th General Hospital, the 14th Evacuation Hospital, or the 111th Station Hospital in the Ledo area. In course of time, those Hospitals have also completely vanished.

After riding 10-12 km ahead of the World War-II Cemetery we reached "The Hell Gate" of Pangshu Pass.

The Hell Gate - installed during the World War II, Nampong, India
 Nampong and Pangsau Pass were considered to be " Hell gate " or " Hell Pass" due to difficult terrains in the Indo-Burma Patkai mountain Range. Crossing these places toward Burma were considered to be dangerous and hazardous as Hell during the World War II.

As we moved ahead for 12-15km some policeman showed us a route towards the parking area of a field. We could hear the sound of drum beats & the Folk Songs And Dances. Yes we have reached the Pangshu Pass Festival 2013 Ground.

The Ethnic Food of the various tribes were sold in various food court, the Traditional Sports contest would be organised after the folk song & dance programme. We decided not to waste much time and get the passes to Nongyang, Myanmar. We can enjoy the festival while returning.

After riding 12-15km in steep hilly road for two hours finally crossed the Indian border & reach the no mans land. We walked for atleast 3-4kms in the bad hilly road instead of hiring a typical Myanmar Bike which charges Rs100 per person ridden by young kids. Finally we reached the border bazar of Myanmar near the Lake of No Return.


By Madhurjya Bindass Axomia

~~~ The End ~~~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A ride to unknown destination

A Ride To Unknown Destination.

A ride to unknown destination was a ride through a less traveled route to Arunachal Pradesh from Margherita of Assam. We were not sure about the route & neither the destination. We kept riding our bikes enjoying the bad roads via the Tea Garden & Jungles.