(from left)Manu, Satish, Mrs&Mr KaustavDay 1 : Drive to Shillong
Two hour long wait is ON since I landed at Guwahati terminal, I submerge myself into an awesome read, "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham. At last, much to my relief I hear an announcement of the arrival of Bangalore bound airport, as clock hit half past three. we embarked on a journey to Shillong, to the south of Guwahati, after exchanging brief plesantries with Manu, Kaustav and Simki. Had had a few brief stops for some tea, smoke and food, and much to relax our stiff muscles. Managed to reach Shillong after some seriously stupid traffic jams just when we were 30KMs away from the city. I pretty much disliked the music played in the cab and cursed myself of not carrying the hip-hop by Himesh Reshammiya. We unpacked the luggage and quickly placed the order for dinner and put ourselves in "Stay-In Guest House", off the Police Bazaar, Keating Road, Shillong.
Day 2 : Cherrapunjee
I wake up with a little of bit of tiredness, and quickly managed to get ready as the cab to take us to Cherrapunjee for sight-seeing is waiting downstairs. Cherrapunjee is world renowned for being the wettest place on earth, and 54 km from Shillong. The road to Cherrapunjee is good and the drive scenic. She is very expressive with its gushing waterfalls and the deep gorges. The scenic khasi hills remind you of Scottish Highlands - just perfect for those summer/winter holidays away from the heat and the dust of India's plains. We visited EcoPark on the hills of Cherrapunjee, blanketed by thick cloud cover, and indeed a pleasure to the eyes. Time for some good Macro-Photography, and tour's official photographer, Kaustav managed to grab some good pics. Major disappointment of the day comes from, seven sisters fall, unable to see as the whole area is covered by the clouds. For those who enjoy caving, Meghalaya is just the place for it.
We take a break near Mawsmai caves, later proceeded to Cherra Resort to have lunch. Tawa Rotis were served with some delicious curries, and we made sure we filled our stomachs full to keep some energy reserves required for the trek. Meanwhile Manu and Kaustav have inquired about the trek to the Living Root Bridge and its feasibility. Assisted by Rivaldo, our guide through the jungle, trekked downhill to Living Root Bridge, a drop of 400m in altitude. The living bridges of Cherrapunji, aren't built, in fact, they're grown and made from the roots of the Ficus elastica tree. This tree produces a series of secondary roots from higher up its trunk and can comfortably perch atop huge boulders along the riverbanks, or even in the middle of the rivers themselves. The War-Khasis, a tribe in Meghalaya, long ago noticed this tree and saw in its powerful roots an opportunity to easily cross the area's many rivers. Now, whenever and wherever the need arises, they simply grow their bridges.
All in all, a great way to start trip, one of the most memorable treks I have ever done, down to the Living Root Bridge. We will do some sight-seeing in Shillong tomorrow and head back to Guwahati to attend Dipu's wedding.
Day 3 : Shillong sight-seeing, Guwahati
Kicked-off the proceedings with the Shillong Peak (1965m), about 10km from town, offers breathtaking views of city spread out against its glorious hill slopes.
Later paid a visit to the Elephant falls, one of the many falls close to the city.
Draped ourselves (Manu, Simki and I) in Khasi attire for a brief photoshoot.
Visited Shillong's popular 18-hole natural golf course, looked like a picnic spot than a golf-course, much to Simki's delight a visit to Tagore House wrap up our local sight-seeing in Shillong and commenced our return journey to Guwahati. Lunched in a Rajastani Dhaba on the outskirts of Barapani, managed to reach Guwahati by 5 in the evening. Ended up @ Geetima's house and danced to some bollywood numbers. As Simki says, She has never seen her spouse, Kaustav, dance the way he did. Manu also, kisi se kam nahin, danced at length to some hip-hop numbers. A much tiring day ends up on a good note, Manu appears to have the sleep in that night.
Day 4 : visited Kamakhya Temple
Day 5 : To Tezpur(The City of Blood) and then to Kaziranga
Day 6 : Elephant Ride in Kaziranga National Park
We put up at the Aranya Tourist lodge last night, to catch those early morning views of Kaziranga from elephant-back. Our morning starts even before the SUN, we now stand in the middle of the oldest national park in Assam, Kaziranga, much famous for its great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. Spread across 400+ sq km, it is a dazzling mosaic of dense rain-forest, tall elephant grass and swathes of reeds interspersed with vast tracts of marshes and shallow pools. Into just two minutes into the ride, spotted one one-horned rhino covered fully with mud, fetching his breakfast of the day.
Later, the elephant had a brief confrontation with the rhino, accompanied by its child. Returned to our lodge after bagging some good memories of the ride and spent sometime in the tea gardens on our way back. Returned to Tezpur by noon ...
Go read the Part2 of this post to know more on our much excited trip to Tawang.
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