gay ski week vail The Pinewood Hotel (Rita Rd), a 1920s tea- growers retreat, is particularly representative and looks

The Pinewood Hotel (Rita Rd), a 1920s tea- growers retreat, is particularly representative and looks great at night. The 1902 All Saints gay ski week vail Cathedral (Kacheri Rd) would look perfect pictured on a biscuit tin. Located nearby, the turreted Das-Roy House (closed to the public) lurks behind gay ski week vail a traffic circle that harbours five forgotten Khasi monoliths as well as a mini Soviet-style globe monument.

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights gay ski week vail of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial gay ski week vail tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist gay ski week vail in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman gay ski week vail of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society gay ski week vail and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening gay ski week vail of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!

Sumos leave New Market at 6am for Itanagar ( 450, 12 hours) gay ski week vail and Ziro ( 300, six hours). The bus station has a lackadaisical 7am service to Along ( 150, six hours) gay ski week vail on alternate days depending on when the bus returns gay ski week vail from Along.

567 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES W E S T E R N A R U N AC H A L P R A D E S H THE LAST SHANGRI LA? Recently the government of Arunachal Pradesh gay ski week vail has opened up a couple of new areas to foreign tourists. Possibly the most exciting of these is the road from Along to the small, remote gay ski week vail town of Mechuka, close to the Tibetan border. In the past the Mechuka valley, which until recently had no real road connecting it to the rest of the state, was called the forbidden valley gay ski week vail or even a Last Shangri La. Populated by the Buddhist Memba peoples, Mechuka, sitting on the banks of the West Siang River, lives up to its Last Shangri La status gay ski week vail and is notable for both the 400-year-old Samten Yongcha Monastery and the stunning landscapes surrounding the town, which culminate in a massive hulk of snow- draped mountains running along the border. For the moment tourist facilities (and tourists!) remain virtually non-existent but sumos now ply the 180km from Along ( 300, seven hours, 5.30am). The only accommodation is the Circuit House, but if that is unavailable then it s likely that local people will put you up be generous in your donation. the owners of which have realised that it is possible to buy new tins of paint a fairly revolutionary thought for many hotels in the northeast. Otherwise try the plusher