Meghalaya, the name itself mean “abode of clouds”, it has many nicknames, the two famous among them are “Scotland of the East” given by British looking at the beautiful landscape and “The Rock Capital of India”, as Shillong the capital of Meghalaya is very famous for vast types of music. More than 65-70% of the geographical area is covered with forests, so you might have understood how rich the state is in greenery. It is also the home for very rare and vast varieties of flora and fauna.
So I’ll guide you on how to reach the destination and explore places over there. I’ll try to make you feel as if you went there in person and are experiencing it by your own-self.
FLIGHTS BOOKED !!! But didn’t finalize the stay, I was just googling the images and was hallucinating about the place. I was really excited and couldn’t sleep because of excitement, as I have never been to a hilly area where I could pass through clouds and smell the true nature which we get to see in movies.
The day has come, 6 O’ clock in the morning I boarded the flight. I was in deep sleep and woke up with the Captain announcing us to fasten seat belts and the flight was about to arrive at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.
I have collected my luggage and headed towards the exit gates, caught a cab to Shillong. Shillong is approximately 120 km far from Guwahati airport. The first 20-30 km of the journey was boring in the city traffic and then the real excitement started, I could feel the ascending road, it is becoming more interesting and picturesque. We stopped at Nongpoh(roughly 50 km away from Shillong) to have a small tea break. I bought a few pickles which are very famous in the locality.
Soon it started raining, as we got close to Shillong the trip got more exciting. There were too many hairpin bends and it was a single lane road covered with tall trees, valleys and could see some tiny waterfalls too. With every curve and every bend and greenery all around, the trip has become thrilling and the way people built their floating bamboo houses on the water was inspiring.
And the most scenic Umiam lake was on the right side of our way to Shillong, there is a nice park next to the Umiam Lake with beautiful viewpoints. There were some fishing activities going on and it has a water sports complex too. This lake is surrounded by hills on all sides.
Finally, I reached Police Bazaar the biggest market place in Shillong. I booked an OYO room nearby Police Bazaar and it was a decent one. After having a nap in the afternoon, I went out and took a bike for rent from some local vendor and went for site seeing. I had some good roll from Bademiyan, one of the best rolls I have ever had.
I was very impressed by the way people follow traffic rules. No wrong route driving, no rushing, and I wonder how organized the people were because there are no traffic signals, they have to obey the rules of a traffic policeman. The roads were around 30-40% inclined at some places and this got me frightened.
I have been to Wards lake for a short spin and surprisingly they were hosting Cherry Blossom’s festival, it was really amazing. Everyone was dressed up so nicely in their traditional attire and the fashion walks were too impressive. The lake is decently big and visitors were boating, surprisingly there were ducks too in this stagnant water. Had some good conversation with locals about their culture, food, and dressing. They really were good with me and answered all my questions. And by the way, Meghalaya’s official language is English. But people of the state can speak English, Hindi and their local languages fluently. Later on, I had some good Khasi meal(local dish) and off to the room.
With the information given by the locals, I have planned my routine for the next 4 days to Cherrapunji, Seven sisters waterfalls, Dawki, Shnongpdeng, Asia’s cleanest village, Jaintia Hills, Laitlum and Mawphlang sacred forest.
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