Our Sojourn to Guwahati and Shillong - Part -II

Shillong city

On our second leg of the tour, we proceeded from Guwahati to Shillong via car. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya State in India and it is a hill town, situated in the North Eastern part of India. Meghalaya is a 'Hindi' word and it means 'abode of clouds'. Shillong is situated at an altitude of 1496 meters or say 13000 feet above sea level. The road was plain and straight till the border of Assam State. Thereafter, hill slope started. Roads were wide and smooth and there were not many sharp curves, as one finds in a hill station. We did not realize that we were ascending a hilly area. Greenery was in abundance along side the roads. On our way to Shillong, we touched the Shillong airport, however, we were told by our car driver that not many passengers use this airport, because due to hilly terrain and frequent rains, flights are often cancelled at the last moment. Therefore, people prefer to take flights to Guwahati airport and then proceed to Shillong.

Places at Shillong

It took nearly four hours to reach Shillong from Guwahati. As we reached Shillong city we could sense the chill in the air, as compared to warm weather in Guwahati. The sloppy roads of Shillong were bustling, when we reached there. It felt like a happening city to us. The weather over there was nippy and chilly, yet pleasant. On reaching at our guest house, we unpacked our baggage and relaxed ourselves. In the evening we hired a car and went to see the famous 'Police Bazar' (Police market), which is the prime market of Shillong city. By the time we reached there, darkness had descended. It was a crowded and a huge market place with every conceivable item available on the shelf. We noticed that many shops were being run by women. Interestingly enough there were many liquor shops, more than one would expect in a normal market place and all were beautiful decorated like brides. Shops were in well defined rows and they were plenty in numbers. We just strolled up and down on the path way to shops and enjoyed the local atmosphere. It was getting colder and we all had to put our pullovers on. We spent nearly one hour doing window shopping and some purchasing in the market and returned to our guest house. We had a quite dinner in the dining area and retired to our beds, as we were feeling too tired.

Cherrapunji

Next morning we planned a visit to Cherrapunji. After having our breakfast, we started for Cherrapunji. It is situated just 60 miles from Shillong. It is one of the wettest places on the earth, as it gets rains through out the year. Cherrapunji , the pristine land with ever-lasting beauty, is perhaps the only place in India, which has just one season - the monsoon. We were told that the rainfall varies from heavy to medium to light, but there is no month without rain at Cherrapunji. Another surprising fact about Cherrapunji is that, it rains mostly at night. The drive from Shillong to Cherrapunji is known for the roaring water falls leaping into deep gorges, including the famed Nohsngithiang falls which lie on the way to Cherrapunji. It is also known for the limestone caves and the orange honey. It is the Centre of the Khasi Culture and literature and it also possesses the oldest Presbyterian Church and an establishment of the Ramakrishna Mission. We were also informed that an amazing variety of rare orchids, ferns, and moss convert each sector into a botanist's paradise. Cherrapunji produces the best quality of oranges as well as pineapples.

We traversed a steep motorable roads, which led up to Cherrapunji. We came across many water falls over there. Finally, we decided to embark on the one of the famous falls called Mawsmai Falls. It was an alluring, spectacular, cascading 1,035-ft-high water falls. It is stated to be the 4th highest water falls in India. We were so mesmerized by the beauty of the fall that we threw caution to wind and jumped in the flowing water from the fall. It was an exhilarating experience taking bath in the water fall. We captured the astounding moments in our digital camera. We had our lunch near the water fall in a restaurant and thereafter we returned to our guest house.

Local Sight seeing places in Shillong :

Next day we decided to visit the local sight seeing places of Shillong. Our first stop was Shillong Peak. It is an ideal picnic spot, just 10 miles away from the city and it is 1965 meter above sea level. It offers a panoramic view of the scenic country side and it is the highest point of the State. We were informed that at the evening the city lights below appear like star studded abyss. We clicked some photograph so as to capture the astounding memories of that place. Thereafter, we proceed to a spot called 'Elephant water falls'. It is just 12 miles on the outskirts of the city. When we reached there we saw the mountain stream descending through two successive falls set in dells of fern covered rocks. It was an awesome view. Then we headed towards the city lake. We stopped there for a break and had our lunch in the huge garden adjacent to the lake. We enjoyed ourselves while riding on peddle boats in the lake. By the time we finished boating it was evening time, the sun was setting and we were getting magnificent view of the orange and crimson sun, while boating. Thereafter, we came back to our guest House.

Journey back to New Delhi :

Next day we had to take the return flight from Guwahati to New Delhi. We boarded taxi and headed towards Guwahati airport. On the way due to traffic jam, we got stuck up. When we were half way to the airport, our car developed some snags and came to a halt. Our driver rushed to call the car mechanic, as we were getting late for our flight. Thankfully, the right mechanic was found and he rectified the defect. Before reaching airport, we were praying that our flight should be late.

However, when we landed at the airport, we were told that flight was in time. We literally run with our luggage towards the Departure Lounge. We were the second last to collect our boarding passes. Once we had collected our boarding passes, we were asked to stand in a long queue. Our hearts were pounding and scary thoughts of missing our flights criss-crossed our minds and we were looking questionably at each other. However, to our relief, we were told that once Boarding passes are issued, all are accommodated to the concerned flight. We took a sigh of relief when we reached at the tarmac, where flight crew was waiting for us.

Once inside the flight, our heart beat became normal and we felt tension free. As soon as the flight took off, we ordered some snacks, as we were hungry since morning, when we had left Shillong. We safely landed at Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi after two and half hours. After we reached at the arrival lounge, it was the usual wait for our luggage to arrive through conveyer belt. It took another 20 minutes or so to collect the luggage. Our memorable sojourn has ended. We took a taxi and came back to our nest. It was one of the most memorable experiences of our life.