Assam Meghalaya travelogue

Assam Meghalaya trip

We as a family are always enthusiastic when it comes to planning vacations but mostly I dominate. However this time, it was a surprise. My son who till now happily accompanied us, actually hijacked all our plans. We were planning some “not so touristy location” this time, when he announced that the trip has to be in a jungle and if you cannot think of any place to go then Tadoba it is. Yeh itna bada kab ho gaya?

I was not so much in favour of Tadoba. A week long vacation should have more things to do. So I started going through Kesari site to see what are ready options available. I always feel that they have well researched optimal options. Started comparing with other tour operators as well. So finally we visited Veena World office and brought along brochures for Ranthambhore (we had done Jaipur last year so Rajasthan again was not so interesting), Pench – Kanha and the most interesting Kaziranga. My son sat in front of the computer and counted the number of animals in each of these parks and decided that Kaziranga had the largest variety. So Kaziranga it was. (Thank you wiki for ruling in my favour). We realized that we did not have enough time on hand to research North East, if we had to arrange everything on our own, so this time we actually went with a tour operator. We booked with Veena. Frankly, we do not like to be herded and that is the prime reason why we are not so enthusiastic about a tour operator. You should be able to spend time at a place you like which is not possible here. What I do like about tour operators is that you meet new people on a group tour and make new friends. They may or may not be forever but they still become a part of your memory. Diwali is my favourite and I love to spend it at home but the school had such less holidays that I had to let go of Diwali this time. While we were full on excited, we got a call from Veena world and they informed that Kaziranga is still closed due to floods and if they dont open during our tour, they will carry out alternate site seeing over the majouli islands. What a dampener. I immediately searched the net and I was so lucky to see a news flash that the government has announced the opening of Kaziranga and the news was uploaded just 5 minutes back. Hurray!!!

Day 1 - We took a flight from Mumbai to Guwahati and as per plan we had to travel to Shillong on the same day. Enroute we were to visit Umananda temple which is located on a small island in the Brahmaputra river. The trip started with some disappointments but thankfully it unfolded beautifully. It was raining heavily in Guwahati and so Umananda temple visit got cancelled. We started for Shillong in a tempo traveller (which by the way is very uncomfortable especially if you are in the single seats which are so tiny.). It seems the narrow roads in Meghalaya cannot handle big luxury buses hence these small vehicles. We had lunch enroute at a place called Exellensia on the Guwahati Shillong highway. Food was really good and the rain, heavy. As we entered Meghalaya we were welcomed by clouds.

Visibility was poor and the rains were now even more heavy. Before reaching the hotel, we had planned to visit Umiam lake. We did stop there but the rains and poor visibility meant that it was a less than 5 minute stop. Next on the route was St. Mary cathedral and since it was getting dark, it was canceled too. Huh! Day 1 was clearly washed away. The traffic inside Shillong is quite heavy and roads narrow, which means that small distances really take a long time. We finally reached our Hotel Alpine Continental in Police Bazaar area. The hotel is good. Good food, good rooms, and a market place called police bazaar just outside meant that shopaholics like me are in for a treat. The travel, rain and the cold had drained us out but you have to follow rules when in a group. We had a meet and greet session before dinner. In Shillong it gets dark at 5 itself and at 5:30 its pitch dark. The markets function till 8:30

Day2- We were all hopeful that today should be our lucky day. So after breakfast, we started for Shillong peak, the highest point in Shillong which offers a beautiful view of the city and mountains. This place is controlled by the air force and therefore you need id proofs to enter. Photography is allowed only after you reach the peak, not earlier. Due to heavy ongoing rains, the personnel decided that they are not going to open the gates for public. Poof!! Another location cancelled. Let me tell you that these were unseasonal rains. The tour manager had a tour in the prior week and the weather was all clear.

We headed to our next destination, the Elephant falls. It was pouring heavily. Suddenly, Oh Wow! What a magnificent waterfall. Just because of the heavy rains, this waterfall was gushing with water. The water, falls down at 3 levels. It seems that last week there was hardly any water there. Kuch nuksaan kuch fayda. This place has a rental shop where you can photograph yourself in traditional attire of Meghalaya. I found the lady very rude. I understand that there was a rush but she and her colleague was not speaking a word to anyone. Whatever she spoke was rude. So I decided to dump this idea.(Charges: Rs 100 for dress and another 50 if you want a photo clicked by them).

We headed straight to out next destination Cherrapunji. We had lunch- at a thali place called Orange roots which serves veg thalis. The lunch was average. I did not fancy it much maybe because I am not a fan of thalis. Today we actually got a taste of Cherrapunji rains. We could not see even across the road, it was so heavy. By the way, Cherrapunji is not a city or village, its a region comprising many villages. I always remember my textbook saying Cherrapunji in Assam receives highest rainfall in India but over there I learnt it is in Meghalaya. Need to check some history and Geography. Shillong was earlier the capital of Assam and Meghalaya was a union territory. Then changes happened. I am not aware of the year in which all this happened. Btw, Cherrapunji has lost its title and the textbooks now teach that highest rainfall is received in Mawsynram.

Next we headed to see the Nohkalikai falls. It is the tallest plunge waterfall in India. It was still raining. The falls were across the valley from where we were standing. Heavy clouds covered the view. We could not see the falls due to extremely poor visibility. Read about the story of Nohkalikai on the net.

Next destination was Ramakrishna mission museum- The museum offers info about the three tribes of Meghalaya - Khasi, Garo and Jaintiya who stay on top of the hills with same name. Culture, dress, utensils, customs followed are all displayed here. Information put up is nice. The replicas of houses fitted with dolls etc is good to see. This place has a souvenir shop but I did not find anything worth buying. Secondly I did not have the time to look around the shop since I spent more time in the museum (remember the time limits).

Next stop as Mawsmai caves. Thankfully it had stopped raining by then. The tour manager said that the caves have ankle deep water and at some places you need to crawl inside. We were advised to remove our shoes because of the same. My husband and son were coughing and I did not want my kid to fall ill so we decided to skip. My kid was damn upset; well me too. Its not easy for parents to deny something to a child especially when everyone else is doing it. Obviously me and my husband too did not go in. Once the group came out they said that there was no need to crawl. The opening was big enough. However, it was good that we avoided the caves because there was water falling through the crevices and people were wet partially as they could not avoid getting wet. Secondly they had to continue further travel in the wet clothes. The caves are good to see. Carry an extra set of clothes.

Our next destination was the Seven Sisters falls. Here again there was a complete cloud cover. We were standing on a road, facing a valley and the falls were coming down the mountains on the other side of the valley. We waited for the clouds to part so that we could get a glimpse but no success. That was also the destination where our tea/coffee stop was planned so we waited for the tea to be ready. A hot cup of chai/coffee is always welcome in the cold weather but even after a lot of time there was no sight of the falls. We decided to leave but a local guy advised us to wait for 5 more minutes and the falls started playing peekaboo with us. We got to see one fall only for two seconds and back into the clouds. We got a second glimpse of it amidst a huge cheer from the crowd and in a few seconds as if a magician waved his hand, it disappeared although this time I as able to take a few snaps. On the back side of the road is a beautiful stream hidden behind the tea stalls.

We came back to the hotel. It had not rained for quite some time so everyone was relieved. The cold otherwise was unbearable.

We took this opportunity to go around the market outside the hotel. I found the Khasi emporium and “Uncles shop” opposite Centre Point hotel very interesting. Do visit.

Day 3- It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. So we went back to Shillong peak (which we had missed earlier) and enjoyed the breathtaking view of Shillong. There was a khasi dress rental shop where I clicked snaps in the traditional attire. Rs 50 for the dress here.

Our next stop was to see the living root bridge. Basically the locals have used an indigenous method of creating a bridge across the river by intertwining the roots of trees and as they grow the bridge was formed. In between a platform is created manually by using bamboos. The bridge is good enough for a person to walk but not for any people to stand on it and enjoy the view. People are appointed there so as to ensure that no one waits on the bridge. The view is awesome. You feel like waiting there on the banks for a long time and enjoy the nice sunny weather. Given a chance I could have easily spent more than half a day there. Must visit. Tip: Park in the lower parking so that you have lesser steps to climb down.

Our next stop was a little village named Mawlynnong. It has been awarded the cleanest village in India and second cleanest in Asia. The village is neatly done. The village itself is so tiny that you can roam around on foot in 20-30 minutes and you are done. We did not see any school or any office (there may be one, maybe we did not explore the place fully) but we definitely saw a church. We had traditional Meghalaya food here. The food is mildly spiced. There is a spicy chilly found there but our food did not have it. The road we took for the entire day today was so scenic especially near the villages. It appeared like small settlements were done inside a forest and the people may have a minimalist lifestyle. I dont know the truth but this is what I assumed. The forest must be providing them with the essentials. The Khasi people erect huge cut rocks (around 10 feet tall fitted vertically) in their cemetery. I saw a few from the bus but was unable to take any photo. You can search on the net.

Balancing rock - Next stop was just a few minutes from this village. A huge rock balances itself on a very small rock. The story goes that the huge rock came down from the hill after an earthquake and fell on top of the small rock and it has been that way for a long time now.

Back to the hotel. This was the day of Laxmi puja and I am glad that Veena world actually arranged for the puja to be done in the hotel. Everyone in our group was enthu and decorated the place with rangolis and other stuff. We had a great puja complete with mithai prasad and crackers. We again took a stroll in the market but the market was mostly closed. Veena World ensured that we did not miss Diwali. Earlier they gave us a hamper of Moti soap, utna and attar for Diwali Narak Chaturdashi. At the start of the trip we got a huge dry snacks packet. In this along with a huge variety of stuff, we also got Diwali faral.

Day 4- It as our day to say bye bye to Meghalaya. We started on our way back and stopped at the Umiam lake and the cathedral which we had missed on day 1. With a heavy heart we bid farewell to the mountains, the waterfalls, beautiful clouds, the small winding roads, the tiny villages and drove to Kaziranga. Its a big highway which has recently developed and makes life easy for travellers. The distance is approximately 250km. We halted at a petrol pump to refill and got to know that we were on the Meghalaya Assam border. The price in Meghalaya was 64 and in Assam 71 so it was a must stop for vehicles here. Across the road i.e. the other footpath of the road was in Assam.

At Kaziranga – Once you are on the road, which goes alongside the sanctuary, we start getting boards announcing the animal corridors. We saw an elephant, rhino and deer on our way.

We were put up at Hotel D'courtyard. Hotel looks good. Please note the word "looks". It's a good property. However there are some things which they can improve. Food was mostly without salt. Tour manager said that this is how they generally make it here. Salt was available but putting salt after serving on the plate just spoils the mood. Rooms are well decorated but the place was extremely dusty. Floors were clean, however curtains were dusty and I think overall the air too was dusty, It was causing allergy to my child. The bathroom faucet handle was broken. The electric kettle had an issue. The handle of the kettle became hot, so hot that when I went to pick it up I burnt my finger. Never used it for the second time. No lifts (trivia for those whom it matters).

Next day morning we headed straight to the Jeep safari. What an awesome day. Full paisa vasool. You go to kaziranga for rhinos and rhinos is what you get, so many of them. We saw wild elephants, a variety of birds and deer. A treat for photographers like me. Luckily our driver was an extremely patient man. He showed us/identified every bird and every animal we saw and gave ample time to click them. He was in no hurry unlike other drivers. The highlight - On our way out, we saw a rhino just 10 feet away from us oblivious to our jeep which had stopped so close to him. We were also few feet away from the sanctuary. It was a dream come true. We purchased a souvenir rhino for my little one.

After the safari, we went to a tea garden which also has a shop of Tata tea. Tata tea shop was closed, however exactly opposite of Tata, you will find a shop of Goodwyn tea. They specialize in flavoured tea. Very expensive, around Rs 500 for 60 gm. The flavours which we saw were kahwa, masala tea, sweet peach n ginger, chamomile, .... You also get combination gift packs of 3 flavours or 5 for Rs 1500 and above.

After the tea gardens, we visited the orchid park. It houses a huge variety of wild orchid flowers and North East has the greatest collection. Basically this park has many more things to offer than just an orchid garden. It has a museum which displays the culture, history, information of archaeological sites, musical instruments, what people wear and use in Assam and the list goes on. Its called the Assam museum. It also houses a medicinal garden and bamboo garden. Traditional bihu dance performances are on from time to time. It's an awesome place to visit. What blew me away was the knowledge of the information person who takes you on a tour of all the above areas. The lady who told us about orchids had an absolute command over the subject. Same goes with the guy who told us about Assamese culture and the lady in the medicinal garden. What talent. Secondly, their enthusiasm to show us around and discuss was great. They were thoroughly professional, energetic, welcoming and super knowledgeable. With such talent, Assam is bound to flourish.

We missed out on bamboo garden due to lack of time. The people were encouraging us to spend more time with them. I have never seen such enthusiasm. After the tour we had some great natural juices of a variety of fruits, not packed, fresh. I had star fruit. All of them are a must try. In fact this place itself is a must visit. I am not describing the orchids here, such rare varieties because the list will go on and on.

Shopping outside the garden is a pleasure. Great variety and reasonable prices. Please don't miss the shopping opportunity here. Bamboo purses, bags, sling bags, footwear, clothes, mekhala sador (chador), Manipuri shawls, wooden combs and what not.

After a memorable day, a fun filled evening was planned on our hotel lawns. Yes you guessed it right, a bihu dance. We too joined in. In the end, the troupe master Hirud gave us details on the dance form, the clothes used, the jewellery and the musical instruments used.

A strange incident happened. Hirud saw me and for a second thought that his sister was standing there. He came and spoke to me, showed me his sisters photo. I don't think she looked like me, maybe she too was petite like me. She was a pretty girl. He clicked a selfie with me. I really appreciated his gesture and realized that the day was bhau beej (bhai dooj). I too clicked a selfie on my phone with my Assamese brother. After the Bihu dance, we put on some dhinchak Hindi and Marathi music and danced till late evening. Our tour manager, Jidnesh, is a good dancer. It was a fun filled evening. We also had couples dance.

The next day was bye bye to Kaziranga. We drove to Guwahati. The road from Shillong to Guwahati is totally hair pin bends and snake curves but quality is good. Kaziranga to Guwahati is an excellent national highway. We spoke to Khogen, our local tour manager and he said that they have seen some unbelievable infrastructure development in last 4-5 years. I agreed because the results were visible. This is also true with internal roads in Guwahati. We were put up in hotel Lily International. It was a good hotel. Actually best hotel amongst the entire lot but food wise I will still say Shillong hotel food was best.

Once in Guwahati, we went to Umananda temple, remember we had missed it on day1. This is situated on a small island inside the Brahmaputra river. The river is huge. This is India's only river with a male name. We took a ferry to the temple. Looks like the temple is quite famous in this area. It was jam packed. The ferry service is run by the government. Once the ferry has approximately 100 passengers, it starts.

Next stop was the famous Kamakhya temple. I really dont know why, but I did not go to the temple. My family and another couple stayed down. Once the entire group left, I started feeling guilty of not going but I dont know why I didn't go. I am still puzzled why I didn't go.

Next we went on a river cuise in the evening. There was a live band playing. The singer sang old Hindi songs and few songs of Bhupen Hazarika. I will rate this as mediocre. Since it was dark outside, we could not even enjoy the boat ride. All we did was have tea and come back. Waste of time.

Back at the hotel, Veena World has a tradition of playing games which were really fun, cake cutting and of course a group photograph. Next day was bye bye to North East and we came back full of sweet memories. I loved the north east. On our way to the airport, we had an Assamese thali at a restaurant called Paradise. Like all typical thalis, it came with more than half a dozen katoris and a heap of rice. I was unable to finish even a quarter of it but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Adios.