Hitchhiking in India

Pictures from Meghalaya

Posting some good captures from Meghalaya. There are tons of them left. Will Try to post them some other time.

The Bara Paani or the Umiam Lake near Shillong

My Fav place - The Ward’s Lake in Shillong

Up for sale near Police Bazaar, Shillong

A handicrafts shop in Shillong - A Not-To-Miss Activity here

Cherrapunjee - Got the taste of the wettest place on Earth

Tripura Castle, Shillong - a Castle turned Luxury Hotel

Mawsmai Caves - Cherrapunjee

The Shillong City

The Famous Shillong Golf Course

A busy day in the Police Bazaar streets

The locals call this the Titanic Building

A day of the longest bus ride..yet

We were falling in love with Shillong and the beautiful girls there, but then we realized that the one thing that stays constant in a traveler’s life is change. We stayed 4 days and 4 nights in Shillong and covered almost all the city on foot and got used to the city so much that we were even able to guide routes to new people :) The only disappointment in the Shillong stay is that we couldn’t visit couple of places partly due to the weather constraints and partly the budget. The Cherrapunjee visit was a dampner of sorts. Though we were happy that we got the taste of the wettest place, the mist made the visibility zero and so were our chances of savoring the beautiful Waterfalls and picture perfect Sceneries.

The journey to Agartala from Shillong, though just 450 KM apart, is a slow 18 hour ride. Most of the journey is on the dangerous Jantia hill stretch, so we couldn’t risk asking truck drivers for rides. So, we did the next best thing, took a bus. We were told that it takes 18 hours to reach Agartala from Shillong and adding to the woes, we had the last seats possible on a bus - seats 40 and 41 on a 39 seater bus (don’t ask me how they have 40 , 41 on a 39 seater). Little did we knew that this was the least of our woes and the journey would end up much more than 18 hours.

After bidding farewell to our new found friends, we started to Agartala. The bus was already late by couple of hours. Meanwhile we had a nice little chat with another new found acquaintance who was a local. He, in his state of inebriation, narrated his perception of how Meghalaya should not be a part of the Indian Union (which in fact was not the only one we heard till now in this part of the country). The bus started around 19:00 and we were to stop in Agartala next day afternoon. After 3 days of walking and touring, we just couldn’t stop doze off the moment the bus started. I was sitting by the Window and Ajay to the aisle and to make the matters worse, i had the bumper of water trickling down on me from bus top. The view of the Shillong city in the night was spell binding. There were thunders in the sky continuously. I tried to capture the city with my camera and you know what will be the result of a picture taken with high exposure, from the last seat of a bumpy bus ride - here it is 

Next morning we woke to the news that there was a landslide and it might take some very long time to clean it up. We had no water, no food, it was unbearably humid and were sweating like a sieve. The drivers blocked the road on both sides not making it possible for the other side trucks to go and it made matters worse. 

The bus took off after some 10 hours after stopping and we laid like logs in the bus totally exhausted until he reached a hotel sometime in the evening. After stuffing ourselves with food like someone who hasn’t been eaten for days, we set off again only to stop near Kumarghat, in North Tripura. The bus stops here as all the buses are allowed inside the Tripura forests only during specific times of the day. Lucky for us we could arrange our accommodation in Agartala from there (thats a different post!) 

The ghats of the Tripura were indeed very scenic. But you have CRPF and TSR men with their Guns on every turn in the forests. After 41 hours of grueling Bus ride, we reached Agartala. May be because of the Shillong effect or we were totally exhausted by the bus ride, I felt the City of Agartala a just another Indian City unlike Shillong which has it’s own culture and character.

Almost forgot to tell, We got free accommodation even in Agartala, in a Church near G.B Bazaar.

10k runs in the NE

I have not been able to run my 10k in Shillong as promised - have pain in my right leg because of a suspected shin splint. However, to compensate for that, I wore the Hyderabad Runners t-shirt the whole day today in Shillong and will be wearing the same to Agartala.

So you do know how comfortable that t-shirt is right? Join the Hyderabad Runners and get one for yourself!

— Ajay

Cherrapunjee - a wet experience

Just 50kms from Shillong, the weather is so different, you would wonder if you came to some other land. We have been having warm and very pleasant weather (early 20s - celcius) in Shillong - it does cool down in the evenings and is even a little chilly. There has been some rain too - only a little, but nothing prepared us for what we encountered at Cherrapunjee - the wettest recorded place on Earth.

After enquiring about the modes of transport available to get to Cherra, we decided we could spend more time at all the places if we could arrange our own transport. However, there was no way of doing this trip on the cheap. So we went on to Bada Bazar where we had to spend more time to find out where the shared taxis to Cherra would be available. We finally got into one which was almost full with places just for both of us (taking the total # of passengers to 9!). The drive to Cherra is exceedingly beautiful - the hills and the deep valley on one side of the road make for amazing views. Of course, our co-passengers were all blase about it.

Once we got to Cherra we started asking around for taxis which would show us the sights nearby. Here, our limited information got us into trouble - we found that it was much more expensive to arrange your own transport and go around! We were cursing ourselves for not taking the tourism department’s conducted tours. After a lot of bargaining, we found one driver who seemed reasonable, and started off in right earnest to Thang Karang park and Mowsmai caves which on the way to the park. Alas, our luck gave out soon when it started, well, raining! And not your ordinary drizzle or shower - but it started pouring! We got in and out of the Mowsmai caves without any trouble - water was dripping from the roof of the cave though. But it was an amazing experience - walking doubly bent through really narrow spaces, watching your step so you won’t slip on the rocks and the brain patterned rocks.

As we got out of the caves though, the rain had really picked up - our raincoats were good though and we made it safely to the taxi. We proceeded next to the Thang karang park, from where it should be possible to view the plains of Bangladesh. However, just a little while after we started from the caves, the rain stopped and gave way to our next nemesis - fog. Well calling it fog would not be correct - because we were INSIDE a cloud! We could hardly see 5m ahead of the car, but our brave driver was zipping past the bad roads and was able to avoid oncoming vehicles just at the right moment. We got to the park and realized there was nothing to be seen - except the dense white mists. Quickly finished up here and asked our driver to take us back to the bus stand so we could get back to Shillong.

Moral of the story -

• take the tourism department bus if you want to do the Cherrapunjee trip on the cheap
• You can never predict the weather at Cherrapunjee
• What you can expect at Cherrapunjee is, well, rain!

More pictures

Adventures with dogs, a cemetary and an elusive waterfall

As we hadn’t seen much of Shillong yesterday, we decided we would do some of the sights here. Got up pretty early and went to Lady Hydari Park in the south of the city. Nothing much to write about the park other than that there is a small zoo also inside. There were very few people inside as it was very early in the day. We loved looking at the majestic Serpent Crested Eagles in the aviary though! From here, we had planned to do a short hike up to Shillong peak on a walking track on wikimapia. However, the guard scared us saying that it was very steep that way and the other easier way was about 8km. We decided we would go to Crinoline falls instead.

It wasn’t easy finding the way to the waterfall - the way is actually past a swimming pool and is a short hike on a cobbled trail. Up we went the trail - and, kept going - and, couldn’t find the waterfall. We weren’t disappointed though as we had instead reached a heavenly place. Tall trees around a small clearing with a nice breeze - how could we ever be disappointed! However, we asked some people about the waterfall and learned that we had to take a diversion on the trail which had walked on. We went back, but were now disappointed - there was very little water and no waterfall! Shillong has been unusually warm this year and it hasn’t been raining much here.

We had an appointment at the tourism department and went to Lower Lachumiere (an area in Shillong) for the meeting. But, we were asked to come back later so thought we could use this time to visit the Tripura Castle, which earlier was the summer retreat of the Maharajas of Manikya dynasty in Tripura. We tried using Google maps to get to the castle and failed miserably. After walking up steep roads, we ended up at a cemetary! There was a building nearby, but we couldn’t find any approachable way to get there. An old lady from the nearby locality collecting firewood showed up and she led us to the building (which was a pastoral home - I don’t know what that is!) on a narrow trail. The librarian here showed us the way to Tripura castle, which was nearby. We were a little hesitant when we got to the gate because of this sign.

We decided to carry on bravely and then realized our folly - two ferocious, snarling dogs rushed towards us! We were saved only because the dogs were on a ledge at the top and we also called for the guards who then reined in the dogs. The castle is a heritage hotel now and we looked around a bit before heading back. We spent most of our time around government office though. And walked a lot! Did I write why I think Shillong is a pedestrian’s paradise? Remind me to.

The lakes and the streets

We started the day a little late today - waking up until late in the night to write blog posts does that! Most travelers spend just one day at Shillong and then go to Cherrapunjee apparently. But since we’d already lost half a day, we thought we’ll take it slow and spend some more time here (that’s another way of saying we are yet to figure out our travel and acco plans for Cherrapunjee). So after we got something to eat (that didn’t fill us up) at a small snack shop, we started inquiring the directions (cheapest way) to get to Umiam lake (Bada pani). We wanted to visit the lake while it was still bright and didn’t want to worry about getting back in the evening. You do know how it works with getting directions in India - you get directions alright, but every person you ask will give you different ones - and sometimes exactly opposite of what another person just said. So, we spent about an hour looking for the right place to hop on a shared taxi which would take us to Bada pani. It was a good walk up and down the hilly streets of Bada Bazar (Iewduh market) and soaking up the local scene. Fruits, different kinds of meat, plastic toys, lottery tickets - you name it and you have it here. But don’t mistake Shillong for just these, you do have stores selling branded clothes, billboards with advertisements for cellular operators and so on - not very different from any other big Indian city. Oh yes, one thing sure is different here - a lot more taxis than autorickshaws. And, they do follow traffic rules!

Anyway, coming back to our journey to Bada pani - after running around and searching for the shared taxis, we had to relent and engage a taxi just for ourselves. Our driver Bareb, was informed and chatty too. Enjoyed his company and the drive to the lake (the views we missed yesterday as we had arrived after dark). You can see the NEHU (North-Eastern Hill University) campus too on the way. Its location is so scenic - on the slopes of a mountain, overlooking hills and a lake. I hope we will get a chance to go visit the campus, if not we will atleast try to tag it from Shillong peak which we plan to visit soon.

We went directly to the Lum Nehru park at the Umiam lake and frankly were very disappointed. Sure, it was very peaceful, green, etc - but it just missed something and I can’t put my finger on it. We just ate the food we’d got packed from Police bazar and went back to the main road so that we could catch another taxi back to the city. And then, we saw the board saying there was a resort and some boating facilities also available here. We headed back down another lane so that we could check these out. The resort (Orchid Lake resort) is managed by the Meghalaya tourist corporation and sits right next to the lake. We didn’t dine there (not within our budget for sure!) and headed back to the city.

We still had some time before it got dark and we started looking for Ward’s lake. Inder even found directions on youknowwhich maps on his phone and we walked a circuitous 3km to the lake. Here we were pleasantly surprised, this lake was absolutely gorgeous! A section of the lake was sectioned as a lotus pool and a small wooden bridge at the center. Boating is available too. Ward’s lake is much smaller than Umiam, but I felt that it had more character. We spent some time here on the lawns and then headed back to Police bazar. Some more pictures from the chowk and we were ready for dinner!

sightseeing

Change of plans and getting to the Scotland of the East

Last night, we were so tired when we got into the hotel that we didn’t even ask for sheets - we just crashed on the beds. Plus, the huge amount of money (Rs. 600) we had to pay for the hotel room had really got to us and had put a doubt in our minds if we would be able to keep up with the #150aday challenge. But a good night’s sleep rested our minds and got our resolve was back again. We both agreed that this was just a temporary setback and we would be able to average the extra expense out in the next few days. So, here we were with no intention of staying on in the hotel but with no other place to go to. Also, it being a sunday, we would not be able to get the ILPs (Inner Line Permits) required to enter Mizoram (which was our first destination in our plan). Added to that, there was a call for an Assam bandh (strike and general shutdown of all business) which would make it impossible for us to get the ILPs on Monday and also make it hard to go around the city. So, we decided we would head to Shillong (Meghalaya), which is the closest town to Guwahati.

We wanted to come to Shillong and attend the Bob Dylan fest but this was the only option to get out of the jam we were in. Also, at a little less than 100km, we could aim to cover the distance to Shillong in a few hours (compared to the nearly 24hrs it took us to get from Siliguri to Guwahati - about 400km). So, we packed, wore our rain gear (it is already raining in Guwahati!), ate, packed some food for the way and got directions to NH31. Obviously, the directions we got were for taking direct buses to Shillong, but we were more interested in getting out of the city limits and on to the highway so that we could ask for rides. BTW, here’s an interesting sign which will keep your thoughts in the right place when you are stuck in traffic (G.S road, Guwahati)

Some other interesting wall art we found near the TRP stadium (definitely better than spit marks and other such in the cities I have been too) 

The place we got to (after consulting online maps from youknowwho) was Khanapara, near the Agriculture University, south-east of Guwahati. The bus conductors, in typical private-bus-conductorsy fashion mobbed us and wanted to take us to Shillong in their buses - it was easy to fend them off by just ignoring them. So we walked a little distance along the Shillong highway and set up our base for asking rides. It wasn’t easy work - we’d put on our rain gear and it wasn’t raining anymore - instead we were getting baked inside the pant suit. The funny thing (and very irritating) is, there is so much dust on the road and just a little distance away, there is slush from the rains. So we stuck out our thumbs, and waited and waited some more. We had kept a deadline of 4pm after which we would take a bus (after our experience in Siliguri where we started late in the evening). One local who was watching us for some time came up to us and explained the futility of asking rides from trucks here because none of them would stop. We were close to losing hope and just then, a truck on army duty stopped for us!

To say that the driver was garrulous would be a great understatement. I can assure you that I know about all his troubles, the money he makes, how many good deeds he has done and whatnot! Ajit Singhji, a Punjabi driver settled in Assam a really long time ago and was sure that it was god’s will that we had to be at the exact place where we were and he started late that day although he didn’t have to. God’s will or not, he had agreed to take us both to Shillong for Rs. 60 (buses charge this much per person). Of course, added to the deal (which we didn’t know at the time we got in) was that we would listen to his stories as he talked continuously for the 4 hours it took us to get there (Inder escaped some of it by dozing off though!). Pity, we neither got a picture of him nor of his truck.

You are in the hills as soon as you get out of Guwahati towards Shillong. The road is winding, narrow and a little dangerous too. One good thing I have noticed is that there is very less honking on the highway. Although it got dark about an hour after we got into the truck, I saw enough to say that it is b-e-a-utiful! NH31 joins NH40 at Jorabat - the other branch at this junction goes to Manipur. The climb gets really hard after Nongpoh, but our truck and driver made easy work of it all. On the way, Ajitji stopped to get us snacks (he also reduced our carriage fee by Rs. 10!, so we got a ride to Shillong with tea and snacks included at Rs. 50) and off we were. Nothing much to say about the journey after it got dark. But, there is a noticeable mist and chill as we kept getting closer to Shillong. We were both thinking the same - Meghalaya does stand up to its epithet - Scotland of the east!

We got dropped off near the Civil hospital and then walked on to Police bazar where we had a free room waiting of us in a hotel (which we had arranged for in Guwahati) - I will not explain the methods we have used to secure accommodation, etc right now - lest I endanger my future chances :). Once we were in the room, we got right to calling up family and then to writing these long posts. We plan to go around Shillong tomorrow and see the sights, we don’t have a very firm plan but we will be moving to Cherrapunjee soon.

Day’s expenses -

Lunch/packed food - Rs. 110

Ride to Shillong - Rs. 50

Dinner - Rs. 68