A Night in Aalo
Arunachal Pradesh’s hidden gem uncovered
On my last trip to Arunachal Pradesh, this was my first night halt.
Temge Ete lives in a place called Aalo and he belongs to the Walo tribe.
He was very hospitable and so was his wife. They offered me rice husk brew; it tasted like a heady, sweet wine but was black in colour!
His wife gave me “touchings” (snacks) with the wine — roasted tapioca and a spicy chutney made of just chillies, garlic and ginger.
My guide who was accompanying me, had decided not to reveal that I was on a recconnaisance trip so the owners of the homestays I stayed in, wouldn’t go all out to treat me well. It was essential for me to understand what their “regular” hospitality would look like.
After a few refills of the brew, Temge was very concerned about me. He couldn’t, for the life of him, fathom why I was travelling alone in these parts, where tourists don’t come!
I told him that I wanted to explore Arunachal Pradesh, but he wasn’t convinced.
When I got up to go for a loo break, he apparently told the guide (who shared this with me the next day) that he suspected I was a government spy who’d come to check if all government policies were being implemented :)
After a comfortable night in his daughter’s room, we had breakfast of maggi noodles and black tea and bid them goodbye.
As I sat in the car to explore another part of this gorgeous State, I kept thinking, “This IS India. This is MY India!”
Interesting trivia: All Temge’s children’s names begin with “Ge”, the last two letters of his name. That’s the culture in his tribe.
