North East Odyssey: Part Four

Day Four (27.11.2021): Journey to the Bum La Pass

I woke up today with a mild headache. We got ready and had breakfast. Bhushan informed us that we have got the permission from army to visit Bum La Pass. We would be travelling by Sumos today. Tawang is a hill station (at 10000 ft above sea level); and home to many glacial lakes and the world's second largest monastery. The weather was very chilled. Chains were wrapped on each wheel of the vehicle. We started our journey, passed by the Giant Buddha Statue. Though the song playlist in our sumo was great, it was not enough to distract me from the headache and body ache, I was going through. Taking a short nap was not possible because of the highly convoluted snow-covered roads; I was constantly moving here to there. We reached the Peng Teng Tso lake at 9AM.

Peng Teng Tso

Pankang Teng Tso (also called P. T. Tso, Tso means lake) is a high-altitude lake at an elevation of 12000ft, surrounded by the snow-covered Himalayan ranges. We got down the vehicles in our heavy woollens, into the snow deep path. Many photos were clicked and videos of playing in the snow were captured. My headache got worse, even the camphor balls were of no help. I was just standing near our vehicle and capturing the beauty of the lake and its surroundings through my eyes. We drove further through the snow-covered region for more than an hour or so and finally reached the Bum La Pass Reception Centre at noon. The vehicles were parked at a distance, and we had to walk in the shoe deep snow till the reception center.

Bum La Pass

The Bum La Pass is a 15200ft high border pass between Tibet's Cona County and India's Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is also an agreed Border Personnel Meeting point for the security forces of China and India. We were welcomed by the army officials and were served with hot coffee and momos. There were heaters to keep the room a little warm. Even though I was sitting close to it, I had not stopped shivering. We further walked up to a gate where one of the Indian Army officials briefed us on the region and the 1962 Sino China War and how the army is always in action to defend at the border. He also narrated the story of valour of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat. We were not allowed to click photos or record anything. He also mentioned on how Chinese invaded the Indian land and how our army pushed them back. We were almost frozen but thrilled while listening the speech. We got back to the reception center. There was music and dance. The washrooms were behind the reception. The path was so slippery due to the melting snow. Shoes with good grip are a must for snow region visits. I was happy to have reached the Bum La Pass and met our Indian Army, the sole reason to visit Arunachal.

On the return journey, my health got worse and eventually I threw up. I was so embarrassed now because I had done the mess. I was also puzzled because I had travelled so far and never got sick on the journey. We reached the hotel for lunch. Everybody went for lunch, while I just ran away to my room and cleaned up the mess I created. My headache had still not stopped. I was also disappointed for missing out on the Tawang monastery and war memorial. Krupali brought nimbu-pani for me. Post lunch, the bus left for sightseeing. I had the medicine and tried to sleep.

Tawang Monastery

It is the largest monastery in India, second largest in the world. The monastery is situated near the top of a mountain, at an elevation of about 10,000 ft, with an amazing view of the Tawang Chu valley, which comprises snow-capped mountains and coniferous forest. The Dukhang has a large image of Buddha of 18ft height; it is gilded and decorated and is in a lotus position.

Tawang War Memorial

The War Memorial, is a stupa, is dedicated to all the martyrs of the 1962 Sino-India War.

Since I was not fortunate enough to visit, I cannot detail on the structure and interiors of both the monastery and the war memorial. Everyone got back to the hotel. I learnt from Krupali that the sound and light show was cancelled due to weather conditions. We had dinner. Post dinner, I did not join the chat-meet. I was busy drying the jeans and top in front of the heater. I took a shower and slept early that night after having the body painkiller tablet. Tomorrow we were going back to Bomdila. I was hoping to be normal and enjoying the remaining trip.

Read next: North East Odyssey: Part Five