Advertisement
I like to travel and see the world, not necessarily the most popular places to visit, but what takes my fancy. Hubby also enjoys travelling but not as much as I do. Daughter has the travel gene from me and hence we have been going on annual family vacations since 2010.
We don't like to join organised tours, but plan our own trips. Having said that the planning is completely done by me. Choice of destination is done in consultation with hubby, but thereafter it is all left to me. Scan the net for information on the place, what to see, tips to be kept in mind etc. But for me travelling also means planning. The fun in reading about places that you would then see is immense.
This year we settled on north-east of India - Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh for exploring.
Day 1 - Dawn on April 13, 2015 arrived and the excitement of starting on a new journey was there. We took the early morning flight from Bombay to Guwahati. We had pre-booked for taxi to pick us up and be with us for the entire 2 weeks. The decided to begin
the journey with divine blessings and visit "Kamakhya Temple" situated on Nilachal Hill. We bought tickets for special darshan and wait was only for about 20 mins. We had a good darshan and sought the blessings of the goddess. We stopped at a view point while descending the hill. You get a good view of the city. A word of caution - traffic is heavy within the city and one needs to cater for the same while planning to visit places.
Day 2 - We left very early in the morning to drive to Shillong. The drive is beautiful and the roads are very good. One unique thing is that the 2 States of Assam and Meghalaya are on either sides of the highway, divided by the divider in the middle of the road. Enroute we stopped at Umiam Lake. This man made huge lake is found as you enter Shillong. After a short break at the lake we drove to Don Bosco Museum. It show cases the culture of the north-east, of the seven sisters, the various tribes present there. After resting for a short while we drove through the city and went to Shillong peak. Unfortunately due
to fog we could not get any view from there. Our next stop was Elephant Falls. The falls are broken into parts and one has to climb done for each level. It is amidst ferns and rocks. There is a small garden at the lower most level. On our return to room we drove through the market area. In Shillong too the traffic is dense due to increased number of cars and very narrow roads. One has to cater a lot of time for this.
Day 3 - Today was trip to Cherapunjee the wettest place on Earth. It is about 60 kms drive from Shillong and the roads are very good. One can enjoy the peace and abundance of nature. Cherapunjee is also know for oranges and limestone caves. Our first stop was Orange Roots and meet with the owner Mr.Denis Ryan. After a hot cup of coffee, we set out to see Arwah Lumshynna caves. The approach to these caves is a short walk of about 20 mins. and lets you be one with the nature. The caves by itself is easy to see from inside. After a breathtaking visit to these caves, we drove to the
Eco Park. The park is big and has lots of trees, but the season was not correct to visit and hence did not enjoy. Then we went to the famous Mawsmai caves. These caves is a singe file path. You have to enter through one end and exit through another at the very end. One cannot turn and go back. Some parts of the caves are little difficult to walk through and one has to be careful but the caves are so beautiful that it is worth the effort. After a lunch break, we visited the Ramakrishna Mission Museum. If you have seen the Don Bosco Museum then, you may skip this one. Our final point was the Nohkalikai waterfalls - the highest plunge of water in India. We missed going to the Nohsngithiang Falls which is also called the seven sisers falls due to 7 streams of water falling down. During our drive back to Shillong we stopped at the Air Force Museum.
Day 4 - Our day was to be spent at Mawlynnong - called the cleanest village in Asia. We also visited the Living Root Bridge - an amazing example of living with the nature. There
are more living root bridges in Cherapunjee including the famous double decker one. But the visit to these is at least a half day trek. The one in Mawlynnong is an easy one and takes only about an hour in all. After spending some time there, we walked around the village, which is very clean and green.
Finally we spent our last evening lazing in Ward's lake, which is in the middle of Shillong city. Quaint green place with ducks and birds. Put in the peddle boats to the scene and you have the best place to unwind.
The whole visit of Meghalaya gave us a glimpse of how to co-habit with nature and be one with peace. Simple life and loads and loads of peace.
Next day will be at Kaziranga...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.145s; Tpl: 0.032s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0723s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb