This picture is of Pei – our local fixer in India’s Northeast for most of our trip: Pei is from a warrior tribe known as the Nyishi which have a fierce reputation. And, of course, Pei’s sword, which he takes with him everywhere, does nothing to dispel this impression. The strap on Pei’s sword is … Continue reading
India is often perceived (and often vilified) as an outsourcing giant. Yet, nothing is black and white in this world. And demonstrating a shade of gray, India outsources too. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is responsible for maintaining the road that runs through Arunachal Pradesh and up to Tawang – The road to Tawang… This … Continue reading
How about those names? I was told that it is also sometimes called Bramdungjung. As impressive as I found the Tawang Monastery to be, I was actually more taken with the small Buddhist nunnery that I shall profile below. The Ani Gompa (Let’s call it that for the sake of expediency) lies several miles farther … Continue reading
I’ve been banging on a lot recently about the road to Tawang… So, what is it that’s so great about Tawang? Well, as I hope my prior pictures will help to demonstrate, a significant component is very much a case of the journey being the destination. That said, Tawang is certainly a worthy destination in … Continue reading
I’ve been discussing the road to Tawang in the past couple of posts… So, I realized it would be appropriate to provide my dear readers with a little additional content to get a feel for the people and places along this amazing road. The road to Tawang may start out in the jungle (of which … Continue reading
The Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is a unique place. Seriously, throw out your mental picture of India because it doesn’t apply here. Old Dirang, the village I am highlighting here, is found on the road to Tawang and I feel it serves well as a representative sampling of the villages one will find on … Continue reading
In my prior post, I mentioned gaining access to the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project through a bombing range utilized by the Indian Air Force. Below is that bombing range… Not all the pictures are not up to normal Velvet Rocket standards in terms of focus or composition, but given that we were not supposed to … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 