New Delhi, June 20 -- On the morning of our third day in Arunachal Pradesh, our host Omak Apang, the owner of Donyi Polo tea estate, announced that we were heading up to the mountains to meet a tea farmer. We set off with a packed lunch basket. The drive took us through Pasighat, reputedly the oldest town in the state.

If there's one thing you quickly get used to in Assam and Arunachal, it's the bridges. With so many tributaries of the Brahmaputra, there are bridges of every size and material, from traditional bamboo to modern steel. We crossed a bridge over the Yamne river to enter Upper Siang.

Gobuk village is about three-and-a-half hours from Pasighat and we stopped by the mountain side for a lunch of rice wrapped in leaves, with dal...