Day 5 – Guwahati

We decided the previous day that we were going to scale the peak which was visible from the cantonment. We were ready by 6.30 and an army truck took us to the base of that hill. We had thought that the hill is close by, but it was quite far away and we had to travel quite some distance. Then we started climbing, initially it was fun, we kept racing against each other and some of us even started running as it was not so steep there.

But after some time, we got really tired and our legs started aching. Actually, we had met some army officers the previous night and they told us that its not that difficult and that even they could easily scale the peak. But we never thought about their fitness, the army training that they have undergone, etc. We were not even half way uphill and it was seeming to be an impossible task. There was a small stream of cold running water. We drank some water and filled our bottles for the rest of our journey. We took some breaks and somehow managed to reach the peak! There was a small temple and telephone tower at the top. Paarth was the first to reach, I was second and Patil was third. Alok was not to be seen for a long time. After some 10-15 mins, he arrived quietly.

We could get a beautiful view of the Brahmaputra from there. We clicked some photos and started our journey back downhill. It was such an easy thing to do as compared to climbing the hill, the only thing required was a good grip in our shoes, due to the lack of which Jaideep had a great fall while he was trying to overtake a few of us. But the pain in our thighs was overwhelming, so we all descended slowly. We sat in the Army truck and went back to the cantt. We were very hungry, very sleepy and really very tired already.

On reaching the cantt, we got ready and went to have breakfast. People gulped up 5-6 batoras easily and fell asleep, only to wake up 2 hours later for lunch! We ate some lunch and as planned, left for Kamakhya temple! The journey this time was even more torturous and with the heat at that time of the day, it seemed like an eternity as we reached Kamakhya.

We had to walk for some distance before reaching the temple and as we had passes, we were led to a different entrance. Even there, we had to wait for 20-30 mins. As we were waiting, we saw a group of commandos in the temple premises who were getting ready to escort an Army big-shot. I think he was the head of the North-eastern region, he arrived and left in just a few minutes. The main temple is at a lower height than the temple and we have to go downstairs for reaching the Garbha Gudi. We get only a few seconds there and the temple priests start pushing you to leave. Once we came out of the main temple, we could finally breathe. There were a lot of animals there ready to be sacrificed. This is a tradition in Kamakhya, which is banned in many temples in India.

There was an ATM outside, we withdrew some money for the journey and left the place. Our train was at 10.30 pm (Kanchanjunga Express). We reached Cantt, had dinner and immeditely left for station in a local taxi. We were so lucky that the status of our ticket was RAC, from wait-list! We had atleast a berth each for two people. Four of us were in one coach, the rest were in different coaches. Luckily, Jaideep and I got confirmed seats and the others in RAC did not turn up. The train journey was boring and tiring. As we reached New Jalpaiguri, people without reservation started entering the reserved coaches and that made our journey even more troublesome.

As we reached Burdwan, we barely got out of the train and the train started moving as the doors were really crowded and a lot of people got down there. We went outside and walked all the way to the bus stand with our luggage. We saw a private bus leaving for Durgapur which was really crowded. Then we asked the conductor if we could sit on the top, to which he agreed! It was a nice experience to sit on the bus top (my first time). On the NH-2, with the bus at its top speed, it felt really cool. But we had to be careful not to get knocked off by tree branches when we entered some towns on the way to Durgapur.

We reached Durgapur by 8pm and ordered food from Hotel Tandoor. Food arrived as we took bath and got fresh. Then we started copying the pics to the computer and discussing our successful trip and narrating the incidents to the others in the hostel.

Day 4 – Jakrem

The previous night we decided that we were going to Jakrem as none of us had ever seen a hot water spring. As usual, we left early in the morning and we left quite early as we had to come back to Shillong and then leave for Guwahati and we were told by Paarth’s parents that we better reach Guwahati before dark.

We started our journey, the driver had never gone to Jakrem before, though he is a regular in the Guwahati-Shillong route. So, he was not sure about the route to Jakrem. So, we had to stop at many places and ask for the route. The way again was full of scenic beauty and in this journey, we saw a lot of villages also, so we got to know more about the people of Meghalaya and the life there.

We reached the hot water spring and at first, we could not guess where the hot water was, because we saw a big stream of water flowing, which was of course not hot water. We then realized that the hot water was pipe-lined into a few bathrooms. We then found the source of the hot water, that was between 2 rocks and decided that we will directly jump into the source.

Jakrem

But we thought that it won’t be fun if we go into hot water first. So, we all jumped into the ice-cold water stream! For a few seconds, I could not feel anything, my whole body went numb. That was the coldest water that I had ventured into in my life. We played in the water for some time, by the way, we were taking bath after 4 days. Then we went to the hot water spring and jumped into the hot water there. Paarth could not bare the heat in the water and got a few burns on his body. We had a nice time there in Jakrem and left the place.

Hot water spring (bluish green water)

We then went to the guest house in Shillong and packed up all the things and loaded them into our Sumo. Then, we again went to the Police Bazaar as there were a few things that were to be exchanged, had lunch there and started for Guwahati. The journey was very calm as everybody fell asleep fast. When we were just about to leave Meghalaya, people started realizing the fact that Alcohol is really cheap there. And some people said they wanted to taste wine. So, we stopped near a wine shop and bought some red wine for people in college. There are a lot of wine shops near the Assam-Meghalaya border. One out of every 5 shops is definitely a wine shop!

We reached the army Cantt in Guwahati at around 8pm, had dinner and started planning for the next day in Guwahati.

Day 3 – Cherrapunjee

We woke up early in the morning, with the notion in our minds that the day will be really good as we had planned to go to Cherapunji. We had tea in the guest house and left. The early morning scenery was all the more beautiful and the journey was an ultimate experience. I had never experienced near zero visibility in my life. I was thrilled when we were passing through the clouds! We had breakfast just before reaching Sohra (Cherrapunjee), the place is called Duwansing Syiem View Point, where we saw a map of different viewpoints in and around Sohra. The speciality of the bridge at this viewpoint was that nothing on the opposite side of the bridge was visible! All the way, we saw a lot of amazing valleys and we did not hesitate to click some photos.

scenery on the way to Cherrapunjee

We first visited the Seven Sister Falls. Though there was not much water at that time, it was an amazing view, 7 streams of water falling from such a height. And we were lucky in the whole tour as the weather was on our side. Wherever we went, we got the suitable weather to get the best out of the place. Only in Shillong peak we were not so lucky as there were clouds covering the view of the city. From the 7 sister falls viewpoint, we could also see Dauki, the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Then we visited ThangKharang Park, all these places are just a few kilometers away from each other. We saw some beautiful plants there and Santosh and Tushar also got a place to “download” stuff. We also found a very colorful insect there.

colourful insect

We then visited the Mawsmai Cave, where we first had our lunch and then entered the caves. And as it happens usually in Sohra, it started raining heavily. There is a well lit cave and a map showing the caves, where people usually go and come back to the starting point. We thought that it was not much fun to do what everyone else does and we started venturing into different caves there. It was really fun and we found new caves where some adventurists had come and written their names earlier! But at one point, we were at the interior of a cave and could not see anything. It was absolutely dark and that’s when it got scary. I was leading from the front and at that time I realized that we fear the most when we don’t know what lies ahead of us! I had no idea about the animals that could have been there. That was the point when we decided that we would return back. It was a thrilling experience nonetheless.

Mawsmai Caves

We then got back our car and started for Eco Park. It was already raining heavily and we all were already wet and feeling uncomfortable in the car. We reached eco park and were left stunned by the beauty of that place. It was absolutely amazing, with the clouds, rain, the high altitude of the Eco Park and the greenery. The 7 sister falls, that we had visited earlier originated from this place itself. The water falling from the end of the cliff and the clouds which was covering the view of the nearby mountains was giving an effect of “The end of the world”. We just did not want to leave that place.

End of the World

We had some tea just outside the park and started our journey back to Shillong, where we had to cover a few more sites. On the way, we saw a large Air Force base too. We first visited the Lady Hydari Park, where there is a small zoo also. There is a good collection of the animals, plants and flowers that are found in that region. The park is a nice place with a lot of buzz. We then visited the Wards Lake. There is boating facility there, but we did not choose to go for it as all we could see there was couples. There is also a costly cafeteria there, where we had coffee.

Lady Hydari Park

We then went back to the guest house and took some rest, changed our clothes which were making us feel miserably wet, and then again left for shopping to Lewduh market. We had dinner at a restaurant there and came back to the guest house and discussed about the plans for the next day. We had two options: Dauki (Bangladesh border) or Jakrem (Hot water spring).

Day 2 – Shillong

We started the day very early as the Tata Sumo that was booked was there at around 6.30 am. We got ready, had our breakfast in the mess, packed our bags and left for Shillong. The driver was very good and we did not have any problems making him our friend as he was almost as old as we are. The journey from Guwahati to Shillong is the best journey and you should not miss the fun by going in any Public Transport. We stopped the car at many places and even more when we were nearing Shillong. Parth had quite a rough time as he was travelling by road after a long time and that too in a hilly region like that.

As we approached Shillong, we saw a massive dam, then we saw a few big lakes. We stopped at a lot of places all along the way. The scenery was exotic, all we could see was mountains, clouds, greenery, clean water and cool breeze. One of the lakes particularly, known as the Umiam Lake (bada pani or big water) is the biggest lake there and very beautiful. We reached Shillong at around 11 am. We stayed at Sainik Aaram Gruh, which was booked by Paartha’s dad. We had lunch there and again left for some local site seeing.

beautiful lakes

We went to Shillong Peak first. And just before reaching the spot, some fees has to be paid and that had created a small traffic jam. We took the full advantage of the opportunity and ventured into the forests a bit. Shillong Peak is the highest peak in Shillong and we get a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding areas from there, but of course if you are lucky enough and there are no clouds blocking your view at that time. We saw a biker gang who were riding all the way from Guwahati in their macho bikes like enticer, eliminator, bullet and wearing black leather jackets and helmets. We all thought we would definitely come some day biking to such a beautiful place!

Then we went to Elephant Falls. That is also a superb place to visit, the water fall there creates a beautiful view. That area had been known to be very earthquake prone and that was the reason of creation of the Elephant Falls.

Elephant Falls

Then we started our journey back to the Shillong city. When we were near the market area, we saw one of our juniors who is from Shillong itself, Deeptanu. We asked him about the nearby places and he also took us to the market there, Police Bazaar and showed us some shops where we bought some clothes for very reasonable rates. We all got so carried away by the quality of clothes there and their rates that we forgot about our budget and went on a buying spree. While we were shopping, we entered a cloth shop, in which there was a lady who was being very nice to people, she was talking a lot to the customers. She started asking us about our whereabouts and when we said that some of us were from Karnataka, she said that even she was from Mysore and started talking to us in fluent Kannada! That was a big surprise to all of us, we bought some t-shirts there and had a nice talk with her. It was already closing time there, so we had to hurry up and even the guest house timing was 8pm, so we left the place early.

Patil and I had nice south Indian dinner at a south Indian restaurant there, while others were catching chicken. Then we returned to the guest house. We were alloted 2 rooms, but the rooms were so big that 1 was enough for the 9 of us. We gave the driver 1 full room and all of us occupied the other one. Then was the time for some KUKRI FIGHT, for the want of more blankets and pillows. We got so involved and fought that we started feeling hot and had to open the windows for some time!

Police Bazaar

Day 1 – Guwahati

It was raining in Guwahati. As soon as we reached Guwahati, there was an army truck waiting to take people to the cantonment from the railway station and we got into that truck. After a journey of around 1 hour, we reached the Narangi cantonment and we were taken to the place we were to stay. It was like a guest house, and was just next to the Officers’ Mess of EME. There were two rooms (rather appartments) which was booked by Parth’s dad for us. That is where we got the theme of our trip “The Kukri Wars” as somebody quoted a famous dialog of an infamous film “aadha kukri idhar, aadha kukri udhar”. It was a really nice place and everybody started to relax. Then a person from the Officers’ Mess came and told us to get ready and have breakfast which was kept in one of the rooms and as soon as he left, we all attacked the sandwiches and it was over within seconds.

outside the guest house

Parth’s dad came to see all of us and asked our plans. We decided to go to Umananda Island on the Brahmaputra and Fancy Bazaar, just next to the river bank near Umananda. We had our lunch

in the Mess and visited Parth’s house and met his mom, brother, grandfather and left for Umananda in the army truck that had brought us to the Cantonment. There is a rule that there will be 4 jawans in the truck apart from the driver and a navigator whenever the truck leaves the Cantonment area. So the four jawans with their SLR rifles were there in the truck with us, which kind of felt odd (for us, useless people). The navigator that day, turned out a kannu to our surprise as well!

Umananda island is supposedly at the narrowest part of the Brahmaputra, and even that seemed to be very far away! Then we understood the might of the Brahmaputra. We took a ferry and sat on top of it and enjoyed the ride to Umananda. It is one of the few places where Golden Langurs are found. We tried to click some snaps with them, but they refused to cooperate with us. There was also a temple on the island and we visited it and left Umananda.

We then went to Fancy Bazaar and some of us did some shopping there and that is where we recognized Vijay as the best bargainer among us. We returned back to our rooms in Narangi and then walked all the way to Parth’s house, which was atleast 3km from there. We had nice dinner, thanks to Parth’s mom and then returned back to our rooms, excited about the next day. We kept chatting for hours and with Patil’s jokes, we were up till atleast 2 in the morning.

in Umananda

in the truck