MEGHALAYA

Meghalaya is one of India’s eastern most states and has a long border with Bangladesh. Due to the geographical position and size of India, India technically falls under three time zone. The country however only follows one time – the Indian Standard Time. Since the Sun rises in the East, this essentially means that the day starts and ends early in the eastern states of India. It is recommended to start your journey earlier in the morning so you can finish your day by 5pm ( around the time the sun would typically set in winters). I highly recommend to start your journey/day early to make most of the day light.

During our trip, we stayed in Shillong for three nights and organised two full day trips from Shillong  and spent one day exploring Shillong city. One of the day trips we took was to Indo- Bangladesh Border, Dawki river – which was absolutely stunning and Mawlynnong  village which has been awarded the cleanest village in Asia. On this day we also hiked to the live root bridge at Rewai village. The other day trip we took was to visit Cherranpunji – it once received the maximum rain in India and was know to be the wettest place in the world. This record is now held by a nearby town.  Here we saw some amazing waterfalls and a cave.

The drive in Meghalaya is a total joy. The hills are lined with Pineapple and Bamboo trees along with fern and other unique plants.

Dawki

Our visit to Dwaki was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Meghalaya. The Dwaki river was absolutely spectacular. We arrived early at Dwaki which is 100% recommended. Our driver had warned us about the bad traffic jams at Dwaki so we left our hotel early. When we arrived at the river, our car went right to the point where you can walk down to the river. The river has crystal clear water through which you could see the beautiful pebbled river bed. The boat ride was peaceful and refreshing . Just being in a boat on the crystal clear water was mesmerising. We did the boat ride for 30 minutes. There were also options for 45 and 60 minutes boat trips but for us 30 minutes was just perfect. By the time we left, there was a car jam at least 2 kms long on the approach road and thats how long people were walking to reach the pathway to go down for boating. We were definitely glad to have reached early.

Indo- Bangladesh Border

The manager at our hotel told us that we must visit the India- Bangladesh Border, we had not thought about it until he mentioned it. He had also warned us that our driver and the locals at Dwaki river will discourage us to go until the border, so we were prepared. We left Shillong early and drove straight to Dwaki river.  After much discussion at Dwaki , on our insistence our driver continued towards the border. The border is a good 30 minuets drive from Dwaki river and is not just the other side of the bridge as the locals insist to defer you from proceeding to the border. The road was not in a very good condition and there were many trucks enroute. Yet the visit to the border was quite interesting. The India- Bangladesh Border is an open border. The gates were open and vehicles from both sides were travelling across the border. We met a couple from Bangladesh who was also travelling with their child and got to interact with the guards at the border. We also met a young Bangladeshi boy selling sliced fresh vegetables and pickles made of berry. Our conversation with him was brief but certainly quite interesting. We also saw lambs/sheep walking around. According to the Border security, the sheep were Indian and interestingly, they also keep to their territory and didn’t cross over to graze on the grass on the other side.

Mawlynnong village

A short and beautiful drive from Dwaki river, is Asia’s cleanest village. As we entered Mawlynnong village , we paid a nominal entrance fee. Mawlynnong village is breathtakingly beautiful. It is like you are entering a fairly tale right out of a Disney movie. Each house has a tiny garden with colorful flowers blooming. As you walk up and down the tiny and clean streets you witness the girls and boys running around the tiny streets, playing and some drinking water from a hand pump. The tiny streets of the village are lined with tiny souvenir stalls where you can find some unique things. The village also has a good number of home-stays incase you are interested in staying overnight.

Rewai village.

Our next stop was Rewai village and our hike to the single decker live root bridge. The walk from the car park to root bridge took us around 30 min and was mostly downhill on the way there. We had never seen anything like this before and it was definitely worth visiting. Meghalaya to a number of live root bridges , handmade by the Khasi and Jaintia people to navigate the mountains.

Cherrapunji

Our day trip to Cherrapunji was not very exciting but it was good. Cherrapunji is famous for its waterfalls and the rainfall it receives. Cherrapunji is also home to a beautiful Eco Park. Overlooking the Sylhet Plains of Bangladesh, the park offer breathtaking views. Our next stopping Cherrapunji were the limestone and sandstone caves of Cherrapunji. The caves are not for the light hearted. There is one way in and one way out. Some areas are narrow and only allow one person to pass by at a time. The water dripping from the walls with the dim lighting inside the cave makes a platform for the perfect spooky movie.

Shillong Sightseeing:

• We spent our last day in Meghalaya exploring Shillong.
• We visited the Elephant Water fall, the Damn, Shilong Zoo which is small yet fascinating.
• The Church, built in 1936 it is the principal place of worship of the over 300,000 Catholics of the Shillong.
• In Shillong we also visited the Golf course. The Golf course in Shillong is located in the heart of the city. It was created in 1889. It is the third oldest golf course in India with 18 holes course. We are not golf players so we just had a quick photo-stop here.
• One of the most interesting places in Shillong is the Don Bosco Museum. The Museum focuses on showcasing all the indigenous communities of the North East of India including their culture, food, costumes and traditions. It was truly a fascinating learning experience.

Food

When we planned our visit , there was a lot of uncertainty about what we would get and what we wont viz-a viz food and facilities. I didn’t find a lot of information online but what I had read, only confirmed that the there were limited food options outside the major cities and since we were travelling with a 6 year old, we wanted to go prepared.

Shillong which is the capital of Meghalaya, is like any capital city, you get branded clothes, multi cuisine restaurants, corner shops with anything you need to stock up for long drives.

This said, during our excursions to Cherrapunji and Mawlynnong /Dwaki, there were hardly any corner shops or restaurants or proper shops for shopping. This of course added to the charm of visiting the countryside. The tourist spots at these places are lined with roadside shops selling caps/stroll /souvenir. You will also find small shops selling instant noodles, chips, biscuits, and lots of freshly cut pineapple (which was delicious). Most roadside eating joints preparing food for tourist have a standard thali ( fixed meal). You get rice, dal (lentils) and a dry vegetable along with chicken or fish. This is the standard menu across Meghalaya.

Cherrapunji has been popular with tourist for a while now, so there are a few hotels here where you find city food. We found one such place and after a few days on the road, I was really looking forward to eating there especially once I saw the menu. However, the waiting was too long and we were famished to wait.

If you are travelling with kids, go prepared. Have a heavy breakfast and pack some fruit cake and instant soup packs for lunch. You can buy ample instant noodle boxes enroute.

On our second excursion to Dwaki and Mawlynnong, the only option for food were the fixed meal roadside restaurants. There was no place to eat in or around Dwaki so we had our lunch at Mawlynnong. There were three small eating joints in the village, they all served the same food and charged exactly the same. The village was very crowded and we took a table at the first joint where a table was available. My daughter ate the dal (non-spicy) with rice. I quite liked the vegetables myself. If you have a weak stomach, you should definitely carry a packed lunch.

I had combined by trip to Assam and Meghalaya. It is recommended to spend 7 nights in Assam and 3 nights in Meghalaya.  You can make two separate trips or do it as one tour.