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