a woman, very aware of herself, crossing a suspension bridge along the road from Ziro to Majuli
We leave Arunachal Pradesh behind, and return to Assam, and the plains dominated by the Brahmaputra. The descent goes via the Ranganadi dam, in the river of the same name, and then on a relatively small road, which more or less follows the Ranganadi down. Verdant green, jungle-like vegetation, lots of bananas again, and very few villages.
the secondary road to Majuli, of good quality and very green
far below is the Ranganadi river
and no, these are not independence fighters, but hunters
the architecture in this part of Arunachal Pradesh, or is it Assam, hasn’t improved yet
We have to stop several times, for police checks. Which does make me reflect on the bureaucracy of the permit system, a bit. After the initial ‘border’ control, entering Arunachal Pradesh close to a week ago, we have met the occasional check point, whereby for us, uninitiated, it is completely unclear whether we need to stop or not. Our driver knows, however. Sometimes he just gets out, and the police records his name and car registration. Other times we need to show our PAP – the Protected Area Permit for foreigners -, or our passports, or PAP and passports. Which are then entered in the great, big Book of Santa Claus, all by hand, never to be looked at again, never to be found back.
police check, at a plastic table – you just need to know
because a construction like this is usually unmanned, you just need to zigzag through, without stopping
and this is the border with Assam – you also need to know, and stop
Hotels and homestays also need to report to the police when they receive foreigners, there is a special form to be filled in and signed, by us, and submitted. Sometimes, because some homestays seem to ignore this, we didn’t fill in or sign anything. And they seem to get away with it. If judiciously tracked, we would have been AWOL several nights. But there are no repercussions.
Just before we leave AP again, we have to show the papers, once more. When I refuse to leave my PAP behind, because it is my last hardcopy, that is OK, the policeman just takes a picture with his mobile phone. I really don’t think there is any control of movement on foreigners, despite the permit system. It is just to keep people busy. And to make some money on the side: we paid much more for our permit than the official price, and I just don’t think that our travel agent pockets that difference.
on the way: the tea plantation
a suspension bridge across one of the side rivers
quite attractive, especially with people using it
