Day 18 Bhalukpong to Bomdila

So on to Bomdila. After the officer required to let us cross the border finally arrived, having apparently had too much to drink the night before at some local festival and thus needing a car to come to collect him, we were back in Arunachal Pradesh. This side however is quite different. Instead of Doni-Polo and jungle, this side is charachterised by Buddhist temples and prayer flags. The scenery too is quite different, the forests are more sparse, there are more birds and there is definitely a more serene atmosphere. We even spotted some form of jungle cat before it scampered up a bank and disappeared into the forest.

We stopped at a couple of impressive temples before Bomdila and visited Shergaon, home of the Sherdukpen tribe but there was not really much to see though people were friendly, and we were met with looks of wonder. We arrived quite late in Bomdila and after trying a few hotels, finally found a nice one with an excellent restaurant. It's pretty cold here though as we are at around 2600 metres, so we will have to buy some more warm clothes tomorrow, particularly for the route to Tawang, which runs through Sela Pass, at 4400 metres. Tomorrow we will look around Bomdila and then move further north to the supposedly very scenic Dirang.

- Dave