In our days of self-isolation, maybe someone is spending time reading books or blogs and watching someone else's movies. Between the lines of celluloid ribbons or the pages of a book, life may still be cut, according to the rules of life. Again, many have the opportunity to think anew about all the beautiful moments of life. Along with a lot of such thoughts, while reading travel stories, I also wanted to tell the stories of my own travels.
Travel means mountain to some, sea to others. To me travel means a few days off in the company of some dear people. Be it mountains, sea or springs. In university life, we all have the opportunity to move around. From there my luck is quite auspicious. From the time I was admitted to the varsity, I saw that the department used to organize tours in different parts of the country. Beyond family rule and social barriers, there has never been an opportunity to move around without a family. Having to cross the city border, one day I didn't even think about the borders of the country without my family. And this article is about the story of my first trip to India and today's episode is arranged from the beginning of the journey to Meghalaya.
The first day
December 2016. I only got up in the third year of university. For the first time in the department I saw a notice of travel outside the country. And the beginning of the journey can be said there. The process of sorting out all the work from the passport to the tour including visa processing has started and the days are numbered. The destination of the tour is Shillong, Cherrapunji, Guwahati, Darjeeling, Mirikh and Kolkata. There were 26 of us on this 9 day tour of West Bengal from Meghalaya state. After a long wait, the day came for us to leave. The first destination of our 10-day tour was the Indian state of Meghalaya. Since I will first go to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, we got the visa through the Dauki border in Sylhet. Our Sylhet-bound bus will leave from Malibagh. Everyone arrived ahead of schedule. From there the bus left for Sylhet at 11 pm.
The second day
I reached Sylhet at around 5 in the morning. The daylight had not yet dawned, so I waited for a while and had breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast we left for the border. I reached there by 8 o'clock. The Dauki border is a bit more stagnant than other borders. There were more people waiting besides our team. Everyone waited for immigration to begin. Finally, the activities of the border started at 9 o'clock. It took a long time for our team to cross the border to grow. Finally we crossed the border at 12.30 pm.
Our Mansoor brother had already fixed the Tata Sumo on the other side of the border. But the cars could not come because of the election campaign there. I waited to get the car. It was about noon. The whole night's journey and everyone was tired of waiting so long. Eventually the car was settled. In Dauki we were supposed to see some more places including the Double Decker Route Bridge, Kransuri Falls, the Sonangpedeng River. But our car was in trouble and Daukita remained invisible. We left a little disappointed. But as I was crossing the Dauki Bridge by car, I saw the clear reservoir of Sonangpedeng from the top of the bridge! It is said to be the most clear water reservoir in South Asia. Even though it was forbidden to get out of the car, I could not control my greed and got down. For this, of course, Bakao had to eat. Then I drove again to Shillong.
The car is moving. As we continued on our way to Shillong, all our fatigue seemed to disappear. Clouds floated like a canvas in the middle of the road surrounded by mountains. The lines of the last book of poems were repeatedly drawn in my mind as I drove away. Thinking about all this, at one point our driver stopped the car in front of a restaurant.
Nice and nice bamboo restaurant. There we ordered food and got fresh. After a while the food came. There is not much difference in the taste of the food, but Shillong serves a pancake on top of all the food, which I find quite amusing.
After eating, we left for our hotel for a while. Then in the afternoon, on the way down to evening. Our driver arranged to play music in his car. Our car was going through the mountains and clouds with Rabindra Sangeet. The sun seemed to be hiding behind the mountains. Our car is running. Darkness descended, and in a moment a strangely beautiful scene was seen. In the heart of the city surrounded by mountains, a lot of light flickered like stars. It looked as if the sky had descended on the mountain.
Finally at around 8 pm we reached the hotel. We were at Hotel Ashiana. The city of Shillong fell asleep very early. As it was night, I could not see anything around. I went to the room and took everyone fresh. After a tiring day, I ate dinner. The next day, everyone met with plans, stories and chats. And waiting for the dawn.
The third day
The next morning I woke up to the sound of the church bell. Everything from the porch of our room seemed like a framed picture. We all went to the roof together. A clean and tidy city. You can get an idea of the beauty of Shillong by seeing the beauty of the colorful houses with tiled roofs.
After a while everyone came down. After breakfast, I set off for Cherrapunji. You have to rent a car on the first day to visit Shillong. The next time you stay in the car will be able to tour the whole city. From Dauki to Shillong, we drove all over Shillong. I set off for Cherrapunji in a Tata Sumo. Cherrapunji is called 'Sohra' in Khasi language. After a two and a half hour drive from Shillong city, we reached Maudok Valley. Anagona of clouds in the middle of the mountains and the surrounding green nature. I got out of the car and spent some time there.
This time I have come to Masmai Cave. All the spots here have separate ticket arrangements for taking cameras with you. Parts of this Masmai Cave are still unexplored. After visiting the cave, we set off towards the famous Nohkalikai Falls in Cherrapunji. It is the highest waterfall in India and one of the wettest places in the world. From a distance, the sound of falling water can be heard. And where the water of the fountain is falling, there is a rainbow.
As it was winter, we did not see the traditional form of the shower. But there was no lack of beauty even though the water in the fountain was low. However, if one only wants to go for the purpose of visiting the fountain, then the rainy season is the best time to go.
Our next destination is Cherrapunji Eco Park. When you enter the park, you will see a set of Dhudhu desert in Hollywood. After going some distance by car, I got down and looked like a lake. Everyone got down there. Playing equipment a short distance away. Going to the park, everyone seemed to forget their age and get involved in the game.
Thus I did not notice when the sun tilted to the west. We went out and ate at a local restaurant. Everything in Cherrapunji is like today. This time I will return to Shillong. We wanted to visit Shillong at night. Since it was all over in the evening, I set off for Shillong before daylight. We reached Shillong in the evening. Some of us went back to the hotel, some of us went out to see the city again. First I went to the busiest police market area. Some are buying SIMs from here, others are busy making dollars by exchanging dollars. Then we tasted the street food of Shillong. I chose different types of momo and grilled chicken from my favorite food. Then I went to the police market.
Another busy city is just around the corner from Police Plaza. Numerous souvenir shops along the road. The place is quite popular for shopping at relatively low prices. Gradually, it is time to return home.
We also ate and drank and went back to the hotel. At the end of the day, the city glows like a star from the veranda of the hotel. The next day's destination was Shillong.
The fourth day
Today is our last day in Shillong. I got up in the morning and had a fresh breakfast. Then we started our journey according to the plan. We left for Elephant Falls around 9 o'clock.
There are many small fountains in this falls. The sound of water gushing from all sides. The tourism authorities of Shillong are very much aware of this. Tourists can go up to a certain distance. There is no way to pollute the spring water if you want. So every fountain is transparent and garbage free. And someone is building everything in nature with his own eyes. Inside this falls there is a system of wearing traditional dress of Khasis. You can take pictures of them wearing clothes and jewelry for 50-100 rupees. And there are also special clothes for boys, with a shield and a sword. There is a joy in going somewhere and reading their traditional dress. Anyway, we are all busy taking pictures after the dress.
Many shops have sprung up around the spot. Someone is taking pictures, someone is busy shopping, someone has captured nature in a frame. Various souvenirs including locally made clothes, shawls, pickles are available there. After a while I returned it and left for the next destination.
It was noon. After having lunch at a hotel in the city at around 2 pm, I left for the cathedral church. This church with blue walls is the largest church in Shillong. I turned around for a while.
Then I went to Lady Haidari Park. The park is named after the wife of the Governor of Assam. Someone is jogging in the park, someone has come for a walk and again small groups like us have come from far and wide. A gathering of people of all ages. It was afternoon. We sat there for a while. Then I left for the hotel. Today is our last night in Shillong. So I went back to the hotel to see the city for the last time at night. After shopping, I went back to the hotel. The night ended with everyone chatting and talking.
And this is how the Meghalaya episode ended. Will meet again somewhere next. I ended up hoping for this.
Thanks to everyone for reading my article