Pasighat to Mechuka
There was a lovely road outside Pasighat where it started climbing immediately as we went away from the river. We were on our way to the next finger now - Mechuka.
It was such fun to twist the accelerator and zoom off on this twisty mountain road! WOOHOO!
THIS WAS THE LIFE! I WAS AFIRE WITH EMOTION!
Overcome with happiness, I started to sing into my helmet
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
I heard bawa revving behind me! Good! He was also feeling the fire! I revved myself and started putting a faster pace!
I slowed down to take a long turn up the hill and bawa revved and came up beside me and shouted
‘YOU ARE ON FIRE!’
I gave him a grin and a thumbs up!
‘YEAH MAN! AIN’T IT GREAT?’
He cut in front of me and waved frantically
‘NO NO! STOP STOP! YOU ARE ACTUALLY ON FIRE!’
Eh what?
What?
I stopped the bike and jumped off - and saw that my saddle bag was smoking!
Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!
It was such fun to twist the accelerator and zoom off on this twisty mountain road! WOOHOO!
THIS WAS THE LIFE! I WAS AFIRE WITH EMOTION!
Overcome with happiness, I started to sing into my helmet
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
I heard bawa revving behind me! Good! He was also feeling the fire! I revved myself and started putting a faster pace!
I slowed down to take a long turn up the hill and bawa revved and came up beside me and shouted
‘YOU ARE ON FIRE!’
I gave him a grin and a thumbs up!
‘YEAH MAN! AIN’T IT GREAT?’
He cut in front of me and waved frantically
‘NO NO! STOP STOP! YOU ARE ACTUALLY ON FIRE!’
Eh what?
What?
I stopped the bike and jumped off - and saw that my saddle bag was smoking!
Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!
I quickly undid the ties and buckles and threw the saddle off the bike, away from the petrol tank. Then I opened the bag and hastily emptied the contents.
When I looked carefully , I saw that the cardboard cartons we had used to pack the bottom were smouldering - and as I watched in disbelief, they suddenly caught fire! When I removed the cardboard cartons from the bag, the smoulder suddenly had access to more oxygen and it burst into joyful flames!
AARGGHHH! We both looked at the sight in disbelief!
When I looked carefully , I saw that the cardboard cartons we had used to pack the bottom were smouldering - and as I watched in disbelief, they suddenly caught fire! When I removed the cardboard cartons from the bag, the smoulder suddenly had access to more oxygen and it burst into joyful flames!
AARGGHHH! We both looked at the sight in disbelief!
‘Well, in hindsight it was rather a dumb idea to pack flammable cardboard over a burn area.’
‘Yeah man.’
‘Yeah man.’
Hmmm. I looked at my saddlebag. It had already got a hole in it - now it had a huge scorch mark as well, and a bigger hole.
‘Yeah man.’
‘Yeah man.’
Hmmm. I looked at my saddlebag. It had already got a hole in it - now it had a huge scorch mark as well, and a bigger hole.
‘What do we do now?’ I asked.
‘Well, unlikely to get it repaired or get a new saddlebag here. So the only option is to do the same thing - pack the bottom and duck tape it. But use something less likely to burn.’
’Such as?’
‘Let’s see…let’s check out the ditches on the side of the road.’
So we went around like hobos, checking the ditches for something to use.
Finally bawa said ‘Got something’ - and held up a piece of plywood.
‘Well, unlikely to get it repaired or get a new saddlebag here. So the only option is to do the same thing - pack the bottom and duck tape it. But use something less likely to burn.’
’Such as?’
‘Let’s see…let’s check out the ditches on the side of the road.’
So we went around like hobos, checking the ditches for something to use.
Finally bawa said ‘Got something’ - and held up a piece of plywood.
‘Wood? But wouldn’t that be flammable too?’
‘Nah - not with exhaust heat. This is a pretty thick piece of wood. But it’s a bit long…we will have to cut it! WOOHOO!’
‘Eh? Why the WOOHOOing?’
‘Because I will finally have a chance to use my new Leatherman!’
A Leatherman is a high-quality multitool, and this one had a little saw attachment.
‘Now see the power of Leatherman!’ Bawa said - and started sawing away.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
The little saw was not big enough or the wood was really good stuff, because he surely wasn’t making much progress.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
By this time, he was going purple in the face and his tongue was sticking out.
‘Are you OK bawa? Do you want me to take a turn?’
‘Tchah! Do you think you are capable of doing this?
‘Er…probably not…’
‘Thought so.’
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
Sweat was dripping from his brow and he had made only minimal progress and his blood pressure was rising.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
Finally he threw it down, kept the extra bit on a bit of stone and punched down with his size 11 shoe in rage and frustration!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
‘Take that, you useful bit of shit!’ he shouted.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
And finally - CRRAACKK. - And that obstinate piece of wood broke off.
‘Ah! See? No problem! See the power of Leatherman?’
‘Er…yes …yes…of course…very powerful indeed…’
‘Nah - not with exhaust heat. This is a pretty thick piece of wood. But it’s a bit long…we will have to cut it! WOOHOO!’
‘Eh? Why the WOOHOOing?’
‘Because I will finally have a chance to use my new Leatherman!’
A Leatherman is a high-quality multitool, and this one had a little saw attachment.
‘Now see the power of Leatherman!’ Bawa said - and started sawing away.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
The little saw was not big enough or the wood was really good stuff, because he surely wasn’t making much progress.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
By this time, he was going purple in the face and his tongue was sticking out.
‘Are you OK bawa? Do you want me to take a turn?’
‘Tchah! Do you think you are capable of doing this?
‘Er…probably not…’
‘Thought so.’
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
Sweat was dripping from his brow and he had made only minimal progress and his blood pressure was rising.
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS GHIS
Finally he threw it down, kept the extra bit on a bit of stone and punched down with his size 11 shoe in rage and frustration!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
‘Take that, you useful bit of shit!’ he shouted.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
And finally - CRRAACKK. - And that obstinate piece of wood broke off.
‘Ah! See? No problem! See the power of Leatherman?’
‘Er…yes …yes…of course…very powerful indeed…’
Luckily that piece of wood fit snugly into the bottom of the bag and no more sawing or punching or kicking was required. We taped up the bottom of the saddlebag with a generous amount of Duck tape and repacked the saddles - now putting a disproportionate amount of weight in the other side, so that it would hang down and keep this side away from the exhaust pipe.
Hopefully - no more fires now!
Hopefully - no more fires now!
We had a lovely ride across virgin forests and green mountains - but with strangely little wildlife or birdlife. I would have thought that such green forests would be chock full of birds.
We crossed the town of Aalo, which was the junction point for the trail to another finger of Arunachal - the road to Tuting and Gelling.
The advantage of being on your own vehicle is that you can stop wherever the fancy strikes you, and I duly stopped at a couple of waterfalls and a beautiful bend in the river to chill out and enjoy the beauty, and relax the finger and forearms which were numb and sore from constantly using the clutch and brake levers.
It was getting a bit late now and we were gunning the bikes in order to reach Mechuka before dark, when we were flagged down by a truck driver.
Actually I ignored him - who knows who he was? Maybe a serial killer or a molester or someone! - But bawa stopped and spoke to him. I also turned back to see what was up and he greeted me sternly.
‘There you are! Why didn’t you stop when I waved you down?’
‘Eh?’ I was taken aback by the scolding. ‘What?’
‘I was asking your friend where you were going?’
‘Er…’ I didn’t see that it was any of his business, but no harm in telling him. ‘We are going to Mechuka.’
‘Ah, I thought so! You have no chance of reaching Mechuka before nightfall. The road is in very bad condition and there is no hotel or restaurant. You would have got stuck and would be in very thick soup!’
‘Ah?’
‘Yes. The only hotel here is a small dhaba close by. Go and eat there, and see if he can give you a bed for the night.’
We thanked him and sped off - and found the little dhaba he was talking about.
Actually I ignored him - who knows who he was? Maybe a serial killer or a molester or someone! - But bawa stopped and spoke to him. I also turned back to see what was up and he greeted me sternly.
‘There you are! Why didn’t you stop when I waved you down?’
‘Eh?’ I was taken aback by the scolding. ‘What?’
‘I was asking your friend where you were going?’
‘Er…’ I didn’t see that it was any of his business, but no harm in telling him. ‘We are going to Mechuka.’
‘Ah, I thought so! You have no chance of reaching Mechuka before nightfall. The road is in very bad condition and there is no hotel or restaurant. You would have got stuck and would be in very thick soup!’
‘Ah?’
‘Yes. The only hotel here is a small dhaba close by. Go and eat there, and see if he can give you a bed for the night.’
We thanked him and sped off - and found the little dhaba he was talking about.
We greeted the aunty running the dhaba, and asked her if she had a place for us to stay the night, and she nodded.
The accommodation she showed us was the quaintest I had ever seen! It was the abandoned barracks of some old Army radio station from days gone by! The old radio antenna was still there, rotting away and most of the barracks were full of animal dung.
‘What’s all this dung?’ I asked ‘Do you keep cattle?’
’Na na.’ She replied. ‘Wild deer and Sambar antelopes sleep here sometimes! Be careful - if the male is in rut, then keep a distance from him!’
I was totally sold! Who could pass up a chance to sleep in an abandoned army barracks where wild animals now roam?
What a wildly romantic prospect! Better than any 5 star!
The accommodation she showed us was the quaintest I had ever seen! It was the abandoned barracks of some old Army radio station from days gone by! The old radio antenna was still there, rotting away and most of the barracks were full of animal dung.
‘What’s all this dung?’ I asked ‘Do you keep cattle?’
’Na na.’ She replied. ‘Wild deer and Sambar antelopes sleep here sometimes! Be careful - if the male is in rut, then keep a distance from him!’
I was totally sold! Who could pass up a chance to sleep in an abandoned army barracks where wild animals now roam?
What a wildly romantic prospect! Better than any 5 star!
The next day when we left the barracks and headed towards Mechuka, we realised how right that kind truck had been! There was nothing from that dhaba till Mechuka and the road was mountainous, curvy and very difficult! Thank god for his good advice!
And the road was lovely too, with amazing views! It would have been a real shame to miss them in the dark - Lovely waterfalls (with the charming name of ‘Siko Diko waterfalls’) numerous lovely streams and valley views.
And the road was lovely too, with amazing views! It would have been a real shame to miss them in the dark - Lovely waterfalls (with the charming name of ‘Siko Diko waterfalls’) numerous lovely streams and valley views.
And finally we rolled into Mechuka! Ah! What a relief. That had been a long journey.
I smiled as I saw a sign announcing the local branch of the State Bank of India. I wonder if the manager was happy or sad about his posting to such a remote place?
I smiled as I saw a sign announcing the local branch of the State Bank of India. I wonder if the manager was happy or sad about his posting to such a remote place?
