A Million Moments

Discovering Bum-La and Sangster Lake: A Scenic Borderland Adventure

After spending our day 5 for acclimatization and exploring Tawang, day 6 was the most exciting part of this journey. We were scheduled to visit Bum-La and Sangester lake. Bum-La provides direct connectivity to Lhasa in Tibet with Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Both cities shared strong relations until the Tibet annexation by Chinese in 1959. His Holiness 14^th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso after realizing that his life is in danger fled Lhasa and entered India disguised as a normal citizen via Bum-La & escaped the Chinese. He further sought political asylum in India along with thousands of other Tibetan refugees in India.

Tawang is surrounded by 101 lakes & journey to Bum-La is very scenic with many lakes on the way. Interesting fact is during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the Chinese had to build a road from Bum-La to Tawang which helped them capture it and hold it for a short duration. It is suggested to start off as early as possible to Bum-La as weather is unpredictable. After driving for over 2 hrs we reached the Subedar Joginder Singh war memorial and stopped for some tea as the traffic was held to avoid over-crowding at the pass. After loitering around for some time we resumed our journey and finally reached Bum-La! The feeling is surreal, there are adequate facilities built up by our Indian army who are stationed 24/7 365 days a year. After registering yourself at the counter in the waiting area, you are assigned a group number and will be taken to the LAC (Line of Actual Control) barely 200m away. You could have steaming hot coffee/tea & of course Maggi. There is also a non-CSD shop where you could buy some military gear or souvenirs. LAC unlike other borders in India is a single line. One step and you are in China! There is no clear demarcation of the border hence there are skirmishes in other places. As per the Havildar who was our guide, Bum-La is peaceful and there are no tensions.

On the border there is a dedicated building for Army-Commander’s meetings which happen between Indian Army local corps commanders and their Chinese counter-parts. The Chinese were barely 5m away and click photos of every group that visits the post but surprisingly we are not allowed to take photos after we move ahead of the waiting area. After taking photos at the photo point we head further to Sangster lake which is another 2 hrs drive from the pass. The views the route offers is heavenly. I was seated in the front seat and utilized it fully! 😛

Sangester lake is also known as Madhuri lake because apparently the “Tanahai Tanahai” song from Koyla film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit was shot here. Some of us were apparently unhappy how someone danced and it got renamed. The lake has trees in the middle of it which were uprooted due to an earthquake and continued to grow inverted. There is an army run café which provides lunch and breakfast for the tourists. We spent good time walking around the lake and enjoying the solitude & clicking images of ourselves and others. We spent another good 2 hours before heading back to Tawang and heading back to Mon Valley restaurant to eat the yummy Veg & Cheese momos once again before we bid adieu to Tawang the next day.

The return journey

The return trip too started with equal enthusiasm and stop for the day was Bomdila. On the way we stopped to visit the majestic Jang/Nuranang waterfalls. Spent quality time there where most of us resorted to clicking pictures and making reels. Later we stopped at Jaswanthgarh, another war memorial.   The journey was nothing extra ordinary until we reached Dirang! My fellow traveller Aankit the lover boy leaned out of the Traveller to call out his new found crush at the first sight while we stayed in Dirang. As soon as we stopped due to a traffic jam he decided to leap out with his wingman Dr. Antho to score a date! They reached Bomdila by a taxi while we reached and waited for the spicy adventure story which was no less than a bollywood movie. Apparently he was successful. Hopefully I’ll write a destination wedding blog? Only time shall answer.

Our stay at Bomdila was at this cute home-stay run by a Sister-duo and their special brother. Everyone wanted to stay longer but our stay was limted to a couple of hours. Next day was the last day of our journey, perhaps a long one. The sisters and brother felicitated us and we started off. It was a tiresome journey and apparently we passed along the India-Bhutan border and even visited the checkpost.

The journey had come to an end when we reached Guwahati and it was a beautiful one. Cherry on top was seeing Prime Minister Modi within a meter effortlessly while his convoy passed in front of our hotel. The last night was just talks, dancing and future trips planning. The next day everyone of us departed to their homes while I stayed back to meet a friend and explore Guwahati but couldn’t as the city was celebrating Bihu. My friend/Mentor, Biswajit Dey did visit me apparently it is the 3^rd time we are meeting in last 7 years! Yes, we forgot to take a picture.

Going on such solo group trips has been something different and I’ve been liking it. You get to meet new people from across the country. Even in this trip I met some wonderful people who believed in themselves and are exploring new things to do in life, stood rock-solid in ups & downs of their lives and continue to do so. It’s become the best means for me to get to know and have met some wonderful people!