Day 22: Tawang

Woke up under three layers of blankets, scarf and woolly hat... there's no doubting how cold it is here! We started the day at the stunning Tawang Monastery, perched majestically on a cliff edge overlooking a bowl of snow-capped mountains. Unfortunately we had missed the Buddhist Losar Festival, but the monastery was still adorned with colourful decorations and various offerings from devotees. We had a brief tour of the museum which contained artefacts brought over at the time of the Tibetan migration to India, some of which dated back over 500 years. We also caught a glimpse of the young Buddhist scholars reciting various prayers and the national anthem at their outdoor assembly.

Next stop was Ptso lake which is situated at an altitude of 14000 feet... our jeep only made it part of the way there, so we ditched the driver and our 'guide', and walked on for a few kilometres in the snow. Despite our best efforts it seemed to be further than we had thought so reluctantly turned back. Nevertheless it was just incredible to be out in the mountains surrounded by snow-covered trees and occasional prayer flags waving in the chilling wind. The 'genuine' North Face jackets seem a bargain now, even if some of the feathers seem to be popping out already! From there we proceeded on to Ani Gompa, a small nunnery also quaintly situated in the mountains.

After breaking for lunch (veg chow chow, which was the best lunch of the trip so far), we visited the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama and then stopped off at the very impressive War Memorial commemorating the Indian soldiers who had lost their lives in the 1962 Indo-China War. The time was 4:45pm and a bugle sounded followed by the lowering of the Indian flag as a 'salaam' to those who'd sacrificed their lives for this great nation. Even more humbling was the fact that the same ritual is carried out everyday by serving troops all over India.

- Rahul