A journey to the land of the dawn lit mountains (2018)

I found this following short entry whilst tidying up my files. what started out as an incredible adventure turned sour in the remote mountains of Arunachal Pradesh. Ive only shared the first part of this story below. Im still not quite ready to share that story. consider this a place holder for it in the future.

Journal entries from a 75hr none stop road trip from Uttarakhand to Arunachal Pradesh in the far north east of India 2600km away.

I'd gotten into the groove of slow life in India and settled back into life on the Ganga. I'd booked onto a Bramaputra expedition later in the month and I was a little rusty in a kayak. A slicy boat and the waves of the Ganges was the perfect place to get a warm up.

After a morning lap from shivpuri into Rishikesh to get breakfast I met Pramod. He said he was also on the expedition but was driving out east early to compete in the inaugural Mechuka kayak competition. There might be a spot in the jeep too if I'm interested…

Of course I was, I cancelled my 3 day train trip and hurriedly applied for the restricted area permits that would allow me to get close to the border to the china border where the festival would take place.

On the 18th we loaded up the jeep. 5 guys and 5 kayaks. It was cosy. Along the way people had advised us that to make the trip none stop would be impossible and dangerous. That's without even considering the lack of insurance, papers and false plates on the car. Talks of car jackings in Bihar and corrupt police along the route still didn't seem to phase the team. If their happy, I'm happy.

Time to get on the road. It was around mid day the next morning when the reality of the drive hit home for the team. Pramod updated Google maps to the festival's actual destination a further 600km and another 20 hours on the proposed journey time. We laughed it off and kept driving knowing that we had to be ready to start the festival in 3 days time.

Journal: 20/11/2018

“And we are still driving, finally over half way there. Despite one challan things are going surprisingly smoothly even the roads (for now.) the reportedly dangerous drive through Bihar has been incident free and even the moustache is still looking strong.

I've also had plenty of time on my hands and I've tried to work out a way to put the scale of this little road trip in to perspective, if I was to set out from Bury and was to drive east... For the same distance I'd end up on the eastern border of Belarus and in only half the time... These are the kind of things you should probably consider before committing to an adventure although even the Indian boys had no idea of the scale of the journey or fully where we are going... (Thank god for Google maps) But what have you got to loose?

A pit stop for a refuel meant it was time for our first repair job. A leaking fuel pipe. Nothing some packing tape, superglue and a flick knife blade couldn't fix.

After driving the length of Nepal we entered into west Bengal, the landscape changed dramatically with dense green rainforest surrounding the road as far as could be seen only broken by the huge grey scars carved by the bramaputra's tributaries. Evidence of the sheer scale of the monsoon here. Warning signs for elephants and rhinos littered the route sadly none where spotted on this occasion.

Traffic jams where expertly negotiated by any means necessary, including a 6 mile drive up the opposite carriageway after building a ramp to cross the central reservation and a detour through a little rural village. The further we drive the more confused looks and smiles the boats and our presence brings.

As dusk arrived we reached Assam, the home leg just 24 hours left to go. We stopped for a chai and smoke break. I had finally been trusted to drive. With some early doubts from myself and the team fuelled by some grinding of gears and dodgy manoeuvres I soon settled into the Indian driving style. Middle of the road, lights flashing and horn on. And despite it being pitch black and like a scene out of wacky races, nobody died. Though a dog did get run over... (But probably for the third time.) After a close shave at a police checkpoint it was time to hand back over the keys. Only a short drive, but it was plenty enough…”

Journal: 21/11/2018

“I didn't think I had slept at all last night and yet I looked at my watch and it was 5am. An early morning stop for chai and breakfast whilst the driver's got some well needed rest. The stall was run by two young brothers who were proficient in there work and in there sweet charming nature. Expertly getting the fire going to fight off the morning chill

A look at the maps had shown that some point in the night we had crossed the Bramaputra, a bit inconvenient as it meant that we where now on the wrong side of one of the world's biggest rivers. But on the plus side it meant that the only way back was to take the ferry. An experience I've wanted to do for awhile and one that I didn't think would happen on this trip.

We are now continuing to drive east through Assam and the scenery is green and beautiful. Happy smiling faces everywhere and the road is over run with push bikes and young children as they make their way home from school. The north east is famous for its tea and Assam is no different driving through miles and miles of tea plantations.

With the last leg or 200km climbing steadily through the mountains the road had suddenly run out. Mud road and dirt track meant progress was slow climbing at around 10km an hour. At 10pm I awoke having had vivid dreams of the road... It was time to stop and get a proper night's rest. The last 60km to mechuka could wait until morning.”

Journal: 22/11/2018

“Waking up in the land of dawn lit mountains, the air is fresh and the landscape is stunning. Green carpet Mountains slowly giving way to snow covered peaks. The team is refreshed and excited for the final push to mechuka.

A selection of Indian road signs, courtesy of BRO:
BE GENTLE ON MY CURVES
HIGHWAY NOT A RUNWAY
CUTTING MOUNTAINS TO CONNECT HEARTS
AFTER WHISKEY DRIVING RISKY
BETTER TO BE MR LATE THAN LATE MR

We arrived in mechuka to find rows of tents, a huge stage and the surrounding peaks creating the perfect pantheon for an adventure festival. The festival opened with a Bollywood actor Salman Khan arriving to huge cheers and marriage proposals.

At this point we found out the race would be flat water starting the next day… not the kind of thing you drive cross country for. Things were not looking good for the kayaking but the festival was great bringing round people from all over, sharing drinks and laughter and best of all this place has no phone signal. What could be more beautiful.”