The Bhutanchal Buccaneers

Day 7^th: April 16^th

Guwahati- Tezpur- Bhalukpong

I received a message early morning from Payeng Da that it was time to wake up and put some rubber on the road. He must have been pretty excited. The ‘jugaad’ pulsar was a delight to ride he had found out the day before. Eventually all the guys were ready by 0630 hours and we were getting our noble stallions ready with all the baggage and bungee cords. Payeng Da also turned up at my place and we all set up readying our bikes.

Finally, at around 0720 hours , the five of us – Kenny, John, Doley , Payeng Da and I, flagged off from my place to the meeting point. Gyan and his Uncle were already there. Finally the Buccaneers were together!!

Without much ado, we started off towards the main road and were soon trundling along the highway. We weren’t doing much. The indo jap bikes up front thought the heavier Res weren’t speeding up, while the Res thought we weren’t riding fast for some reason. Then Kenny came up beside me and asked me “Why is everyone going so slow?”. I looked surprised and replied that we thought THEY were going slow. Then he twisted his right wrist and was soon doing 80 kmph. Suddenly all of our machines were on an overdrive!!! We all were making a beeline at 80 kmph, heads turning wherever we roared through. Seven Samurais. On steeds of various caliber. From various places.

We came to the Saraighat Bridge and were crossing into some unfinished roads but nevertheless doing a pretty brisk pace, which was maintained all the way to a small place where we stopped for breakfast. I was told that smoke was emanating from my exhaust and I thought it was due to some excess engine oil. But to my horror I found out that it was nearly running dry!! Fortunately I had one litre of engine oil in my saddle bag and emptied it half way. With some eggs and tea downed, we were set for ripping on the roads again. While we were assembled people gathered around us.

People: “ Are you on Bharat Bhraman?”

I: “ Yes”

People: “ Where are you coming from?”

I: “ Bhutan”

People: “ Where are you going now?”

I:” Tawang”

People:”Where will you go after that?”

I: “Delhi”

People: “You have ridden all the way from Delhi?”

I: “ Yes”

I like to keep my conversation simple. Don’t like paparazzi following us you see.

After the tea break, we were on the roads again. Kenny was surprised at the smooth tarmac and more so at the absolute green foliage that was on both sides of the road in generous amount. There were more sutta breaks in between and one happened to be right in front of a health centre! We were looking forward to lunch at Tezpur, but my engine started to emit smoke again. So I wanted to top up at the nearest Bajaj Service Centre. I found one at a small town and the moment I and Kenny made a stopover, people gathered around us and our laden bikes. The same questions followed and the same answers were given straight out the book! My centre stand had also given away and was clanging against the swingarm. The engine oil was topped up again and we sped off on our way, trying to catch up with the rest of the gang.

We arrived at Tezpur at noon and we made straight to Ceat Tyre Shoppe to have Payeng Da’s rear tyre changed. I and Gyan also made off to the nearest service centres to have our bikes changed. I went off looking for a particular missing engine cover which we suspected helped the engine oil evaporate. The search took me more than an hour, but finally had it.I returned to the tyre shoppe only to find the guys drinking beer sitting at the footpath. It took me a while to register the fact because I wasn’t expecting that while having the bikes’ works done.

By this time people were hungry with all the work done and we headed to a very much recommended KF lounge and restaurant. The lounge was comfy, spacious but the most special thing was it had an enviable assortment of drinks to offer including Glenfiddich and that too at very likeable prices. We splurged on Carlsberg and ordered fried rice for everyone.

With a nicely done lunch we readied our bikes once again. But Dutta had some shopping to do and he went inside the mall on the ground floor to get some shades- he’d forgotten his from Delhi. You see, Dutta has disgust for John Abraham, citing the fact that he looks and acts gay and it can be seen from the contempt he has for the John ads that come up on TV. But the first thing we notice is that the pair of shades he bought was a Fastrack- form the biker collection that John endorses!!! When I noticed closely I also found out that he was wearing a Fastrack watch!! This led to some serious laughs right by the roadside and we begged for some shots of Dutta wearing his shades. Dutta didn’t oblige. Pity. I wonder if his disgust is sincere. Sometimes superficial disdain is a mask for something more affectionate!!! It was during this course that Dutta earned the much talked about alias of John. Hail John!

We filled up our tanks and the jerry cans at a nearby petrol pump and roared towards Bhalukpong. We were all ripping on those smooth roads when Payeng Da had his first accident of the trip. He had an almost dangerous fallout with a stray cow, but managed without any serious damage. It did bend the leg guard though. It didn’t do anything to slow down the rest of the riders though.

We were closing in on Bhalukpong and we came to a turn that took us to the road to Bhalukpong and it was still in construction. So there was a lot of clay and slush around and marked the start of the first off-roading of the trip. The road took us to the Nameri Reserve and we got the first taste of the wild. Elephant trails, dense forests on both sides of the road, green light through the forest cover and a lone road running through it. I couldn’t have been happier. We were finally getting away from civilization and into the wild. Yeah, that’s my favourite catch phrase and it remains my motto all the time we go on a trip. Thanks to Alexander Supertramp! RIP! I always echo his sentiments on Lord Byron’s quote – “I love not Man the less But nature more”.

As we approached Bhalukpong, we could make out the hills, green and inviting, in the distance, amidst the shrinking rays of the sun. The road was shining like a silver river and it seemed hypnotic, beckoning us to ride on and on.

Soon, with all the brisk riding, we came to the check point at Bhalukpong and were stopped for entry by the Arunachal Pradesh Police. There was also a fair presence of Indian Army at the checkpost. We made the entries, which went off without any hassles, although Gyan’s Uncle made the mistake of taking out his handycam and shooting. Photography or videography is prohibited at the checkpoint and he was promptly asked to shut it off and we complied readily.

We had advance bookings made at Hotel Solu at Bhalukpong and went in search for it. It wasn’t hard to find, but there was some confusion regarding the booking. The travel agency at Guwahati seemed to have missed out on informing the hotel about our booking and after some failed attempts to contact the travel agency, the hotel reception allowed us in out of sheer trust. Hats off to these simple people. Really, beauty lies in simplicity and throughout the trip we have been exposed to the subtle yet warm hospitality that seems like second nature to the people of this place. We crashed into out rooms and freshened up as soon as we could. It was 1700 hours and we couldn’t wait to just sit back in the hotel lawn and take in the view of the snaking river below.

Soon we were all pulling up chairs at the lawn, and it wasn’t long before it was sunset and we had fished out a bottle of Blenders from our packs – one of the few bottles we’d packed up for the trip. The hotel staff was amazingly friendly and got to serving us good stuff in no time. I must mention that the glasses they had served us were awesome and the pleasure of downing the whiskey in those glasses, staring down at the moonlit river below was just about doubled.

Laughter flowed freely and so did the whiskey; the night had become just lovely; “with friends surrounded, the river flowing” …….

John started playing with a stray pussy that had come after the leftovers. While I tried to do everything to shoo it off, John did the exact opposite and just fell shy of kissing the pussy all over. Amidst all the jokes and the leg pulling it was soon time for dinner. But before that the hotel staff asked us to get down our bikes onto the lawn down a makeshift ramp. Seems like Arunachal has its fair bit of grand theft auto. We complied and all of us joined hands to bring down our bikes safe down the ramp. That wasn’t all – the hotel person just “unplugged” almost all of our bikes as an additional measure.

After a very fulfilling dinner, we headed to our individual rooms and made ready our sacks for the night. We had to cover Bhalukpong to Dirang the next day and we wanted to start as early as possible so we get plenty of time on the road for a leisurely ride.