Solo Travelling Tales, Post No.1 - Jordan, few fact

Lots of people think (and I was one of them before this trip) that JORDAN is not a safe location to visit, due to its close proximity to Syria and Palestine, but let me tell you at times I felt, safer than Delhi. Also the culture there was very modern compared to other gulf countries so much so that it is known as the Amsterdam of Gulf.

The Treasury @ Petra

If I have to summarize my trip in one word, that would be “Unforgettable”. There were so many “firsts” to this trip, which obviously made it unforgettable for me. This was the First time I was travelling to a Gulf country, first time I was travelling alone, first time travelling abroad for work, first time staying away from home for 2 months and many others J

Location: I was stationed at Amman as my client's office was located there, and on weekends I took excursions to visit the places. Jordan is a very small country. All borders are at a maximum distance of 350-400 Kms from Amman and hence that was a workable plan for covering the whole land.

People: 60% population of Jordan consist of Palestine Refugees and now few refugees from Syria have also found shelter here. The country and its people are very warm and welcoming in nature. During my stay at Jordan I might have taken atleast 100 taxi rides and I don’t remember any Taxi driver not asking “Are you from Hind?” and saying “Welcome to Jordan”.

Two very naughty ones.. Especially the one in red

Weather: The most beautiful surprise after landing at Queen Alia airport Amman was the weather, the pleasant breezy spring weather was a superb and refreshing break from the heats of Delhi. During spring (March, April & beginning of May) the weather is very pleasant and all the roads in Amman, road side houses were full of beautiful fragrant flowers. December and January are the coldest months with some snow fall. And for rest of the year 38-39 degrees is the maximum mercury goes to.

Goodies from Hotel: Baklava 

Topography: Most of the region in Jordan is a barren desert. Amman is situated on little hillocks making the evenings and nights super romantic with its awesome views and weather, other cities are mostly deserts except Aqaba which is at the sea shore.

Best Time to visit Jordan: As per me, April is the best time to visit Jordan and my reason for that is the weather. And if you are going for touristy purpose 7-9 days is the ideal tenure for visiting Jordan for covering all major attractions/ places.

Food: If you are a non-vegetarian then Jordan is a paradise for you. You get all kind of meats seasoned with Medeterian spices. Mansaf is a must try (it a rice dish served with minced meat) and for vegetarians Falafel + Mutabal / Humus are definitely and only options to try from the local cuisine. Whether you have sweet tooth or not but you should definitely try Kanafeh & Baklava from some nice sweet shops (not all make it nice). 

Others: Alcohol is not sold is open here, you can only get it in Fine Dining restaurants.  But smoke is oxygen for country, everybody (and I mean literally) smokes everywhere. One of my colleague from Client site told me that she had to fight a lot to make separate smoking zones in the Office otherwise earlier people used to smoke on their cabins/workstations itself.

Solo Travelling Tales: Part 2 - Places to Visit in Jordan

Panoramic view of Southern Theater

Unlike my usual self I didn’t google/ researched anything about Jordan before going there. So the second surprise I got as soon as the hotel taxi picked me up. The taxi driver took me through all the places (with hopes of getting some business) that I could visit during my stay in Jordan.

Amman: Amman is the capital city of Jordan and most developed of all and itself has quite a few tourist attractions such as citadel, Ampi theatre, King Abdullah mosque, Down town.  For more details of Detailed link coming up shortly
Petra: One of The Seven Wonders of World, is the most visit tourist attraction in Jordan. It is a Nabataean city carved through the Rock Mountains. It is the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. As per our guide before 2013 (before the outbreak in Syria) there used to be 100s of meters long queue for its entrance. Detailed link coming up shortly

Treasury @ Petra

Dead Sea: Beautiful turquoise blue waters forcing your body to float instead of sinking, black mud at it shores has skin healing properties and salted water makes it impossible for any living being or plant to survive in it. Floating in Dead Sea is one of those things that was part of my bucket list. Detailed link coming up shortly

Floating @ Dead Sea

Wadi Mujib: If you love adventure then this is the place to be, there are 4-5 different options (both wet & dry trails).  I would not be writing much about it but suggest to experience trekking in the river having knee height water, climbing on the rocks against the cliff through a rope, sliding from the top the small cliffs feels like a steep water rides in an amusement park but in natures lap.

Wadi Mujib.... PC GoogleSearch as it didn't carry any camera on the trail

Wadi Rum: Wadi means Valley, and it is the largest valley of Jordan. It’s a desert red sand desert with high barren rock formations. The last habitation here is the Rum village, after that it’s all desert. The desert safari, camping and star gazing is one of the highlights here on a clear night (though nothing can be compared to Nubra Valley, Ladakh) are major activities here. Detailed link coming up shortly

The red desert @ Wadi Rum

Aqaba: It is the city on the shores of Mediterranean Sea. It borders Saudi Arabia on one side and Israel on the other. And if you take a boat ride in the sea 10 mins, into that one can easily see Egypt. It is famous for shopping and beaches. Temperature here in general is 5-7 degrees higher than Amman. It city has beautiful corals underneath its water one can enjoy Glass bottom ride, snorkeling, scuba diving etc.

Reef as seen from top of the water @ Mediterranean 

Jerash: Jerash is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. Within the remaining city walls, archaeologists have found the ruins of settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age, indicating human occupation at this location for more than 6500 years. 

It is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. Entrance costs 10 Jordanian Dinar (JD, as of April 2016) for all foreign visitors, which includes the Jerash Archaeological Museum.

Sunset @ Zeus Temply, Jerash

The entrance to the Archeological Park is through the Hadrian's Arch, the southern gate of the city followed by Hippodrome partially restored, roman era stadium. The Visitor's Centre is located at the entrance to the archaeological park (just south of the Hippodrome and the Arch). Various sites such as the forum (the oval plaza), the south theatre, temple of Artemis, Nymphaeum are few well restored historical structures in Jerash.

Hadrian's Arch

Just outside of the archaeological park is a small souq—an outdoor bazaar, of sorts—that provides a well-rounded offering of Jordanian souvenirs and handicrafts. Many of the shop keepers are amiable and are willing to bargain over prices. Local children and teens will try to sell you Roman coins and other small artefacts found on the site though it is not advisable to buy from them as it is illegal.  

Ajloun Castle (also Rabadh Castle), an Islamic fortress, is one and half hour away from Amman. The castle is located on the top of a mountain just outside the small city of Ajloun. The castle is an interesting maze of passages and levels, and offers a wonderful view of the surrounding area, northwestern Jordan, and off into Galilee. I clubbed Ajloun and Jerash together on a single day excursion from Amman.  

Entrance to Ajloun Castle 

Al-Karak also known as just Karak or Kerak, is a city in Jordan known for its Crusader castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak lies around 150 Km to the south of Amman on the beautiful King's Highway. It is situated on a hilltop and is surrounded on three sides by a valley. The castle is divided in two sections upper court and lower court. The lower court has been converted to a museum. The architecture of the galleries in both the upper and lower court are similar. However as per the information board, the lower court is magnificent, unfortunately it was closed for renovation when I visited.  

Alleys @ Karak Castle

Mount Nebo is an elevated ridge in Jordan, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land. The Dead Sea, West Bank of Jerico, Jordan River Valley and Jerusulam is visible on a clear day, and the day I visited was no less than that. Here I met a very friendly and nice Tourist Police Officer who knew good English and guided me to the entire site, gave insights and offered me a help if I ever need for any travelling plans in Jordan though I never utilized it. 

Serpentine Cross Sculpture @ Mount Nebo

Madaba: After visiting the church at Mount Nebo I headed towards the ancient town of Madaba. Madaba is the city know for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics. I chose to visit St George's Church & the floor has a mosaic map of the holy land, been protected in bits and pieces. 

Map of Holy Land @ St, George's Church

Before viewing the map, take a look at the full-size replica in the ticket office, making it easier to spot the details that you want to focus on in the church. There is a beautiful market around the church shops selling souvenirs of all shapes and sizes.   

Chittkul, a small village in Kinnaur, where time stands still and nature gazes from every nook and corner!

Chittkul.. The Last village of Indo Tibet Border!

When I went to Kinnaur I was in dual mind, whether to visit Chitkul or not, as I was running short of time. But skipping a chance to visit remote village seemed a very difficult option, so I went ahead with reduced time.

We planned to start early (5.30 AM) in the morning and did I tell you, that here the sun is in full glaze by 6.00AM. A very lean (just manageable for four wheelers) road connects Chitkul with rest of the world. It offers some breathtaking views of lush green Sangla Valley, some landscapes starring melting glaciers, sharp blue sky with beautiful formations of white clouds. I was lost in the scenery all-around, little did I know, destination ahead, will make me forget every other landscape I have witnessed!!

Chitkul @ a minutes drive from here.

On the way to Chitkul

The moment we crossed that last bend of road, we stepped into a dream world leaving our chaotic lives far behind.  The snow covered speechless white mountains on one side creating an effect as if you have reached end of the world, green mountains one the other side signifying the life in this serene place, river Baspa flowing nearby, the green farming fields at the center of those huge mountain and a small village amidst of this heavenly beauty is Chitkul.

One of the regular houses at Chitkul

First look at Chitkul

There is a Buddhist temple at village has beautiful and intricate exteriors (couldn’t go inside as it was closed). It is the last point of Kinner Kailash Parikrama as you can hike from here-on.

The Buddist Temple

Temple Corridor

It’s a small village with total population of 860, having steep & narrow paths leading inside the village. As we went inside, we got a chance to witness the lifestyle of the villagers. They had a water mill to grind the grains which the operated by the fast current of the small tributary of river. Wooden houses having lot of storage space for winters when village gets disconnected from Sangla.

The Arch

The actual border is 90 kms from here, but civilians can’t go there without special permissions. One of the villager told us that there is a route through the hills which leads to Rishikesh. If he was to be believed, he can reach their earlier on foot than we can by car.

View toward Tibet Border, India last check pot lies somewhere near that huge white mountain

I spent time by the river side just looking at the huge snow covered mountain in front of me, thinking particularly nothing and imagining that Sun-rise would have been a real experience here. Suddenly, Rahul called me from behind, informing that we have to go.

I made a promise to myself to return soon as we left for Rakcham again through those picturesque roads!!

Route to and fro chitkul

Tips: Very few homestays/ basic rooms are available here for stay. Stay here is recommended only if you just wanna relax and admire the beauty and vastness of nature. You won’t find any viewpoints/ things to do, unlike regular hill stations, though village in-itself (with its surroundings) is a treat to eyes.

Chand Baori, the Step Well

Chand Baori & Sariska

While browsing internet I came across a blog which showcased the photographs of Chand Baori, the photograph was so gripping I immediately knew where I am going next. But my wanderlust wasn’t going to satisfy with only Chand Baori, so I kept on googling.

The Chand Baori

Now it seemed a pretty interesting trip (with Sariska and Bhangargh) with jam packed schedule to follow.   Although I had to drop Bhangarh on the last day due to my laziness of waking up early!

After a lazy morning we started towards our first destination Sariska. Soon after we took a left from NH8 somewhere near Bhiwadi, we entered into the Aravali regions. We were accompanied by some awesome views of rustic brown hillocks shining under the gazing Sun. After a comfortable drive of 3.5 hrs, we reached Sariska at around 12 PM.

Very First Sight of Sariska Palace

Sariska Palace was our bet for getting some royal treatment at the Royals of Rajasthan, though it didn’t live up to the expectations. The first Look of the Room was pretty impressive but at a closer look, it needed big time maintenance!

Sariska National Park has a similar topography as Ranthambore, though it’s bigger in area. While visiting Ranthambore I got to know that 3 tigers were relocated from Ranthambore to Sariska last year itself!! I was not very keen on spending 3000 Rs for the Safari as the probability of spotting the Big Cats was pretty less. So we took our own car into the national park till the Hanuman temple (21km) with an entry fees of Rs. 250. The peacocks and monkey can be located in abundance in the park. It’s worth paying a visit to the temple.

Next day we started late for Abhaneri, verified the route with one of the hotel staff, it took us around 1.5 -2 hours.

Baori and Harshatmata Temple were built in the 8th century by the King Chand, the ruler of Abha Nagri. The village was named after the glow (abha in Hindi) which is reflected through the well (Baori) water during full moon nights. It is known pronounced as Abhaneri.

Mere one look at the Boari is enough to boast about the rich heritage & culture Rajasthan has! As soon as we reached near the Baori, a flock of hundreds of pigeon flew (twice) just over our head to change their resting area, probably due to change in the wind or sun.

The Chand boari is a square shaped well, having a total of 3000 stairs symmetrically carved on its 3 sides, contributing to the beautiful Top view of the Boari. Earlier the 4^th side was a ramp, and later the King of Jaipur converted that side into his Summer Palace to get relief from the scorching heat.

The baori is fenced from the other 3 sides, it’s not allowed to enter the well. Three years back only, it was fenced for safety purposes when an Italian women slipped over the inside stairs of the well. Though I was disappointed with that restriction as I couldn’t have a closer look at it, but it didn’t lessen the sheer pleasure of sighting that beautiful piece of architecture.

Our guide told that earlier it used to be a source of ground water but now it was filled with green rain water at the bottom. We strolled around the baori, heard the significance of various statues placed at the nearby corridors and admired its beauty as well as magnificence.

Closer Look at the depth of Chand Baori

Suddenly, I saw a college going girl who seemed modern and (at least) graduate, ignoring all the notice and crossed the fence entered the boari. Despite of the security guard’s and her very own friend’s shouting, she didn’t move out an inch until her “SO CALLED PHOTOGRAPH” was clicked. After this she had a proud smile on her face as if she had won some righteous war. I mean SERIOUSLY!!

Harshatmata Temple against the blueish-grey cloudy background

Harshatmata Temple is dedicated to the goddess Harshat. The temple was destroyed during the Mughal and Turkish invasion in north India. After destruction locals tried to rebuild the temple, but it was never the same. Few pieces and statues are also lying in the forbidden corridors of Chand Baori!!

While returning we were accompanied by some awesome weather with rain, cool breeze, good road, awesome views and soulful music, all the ingredients of peaceful and refreshing drive back to HOME SWEET HOME!! 

Matheran & Alibaug

Matheran & Alibaug

Although it’s little late to tell about these small tales from yesteryear's, but I believe in better late then never! So here is one of them.. 

These travel stories are from the time I just passed college with zero level of maturity & stability in my thoughts. I was staying alone in Hyderabad with no friends in the city, may be that was the trigger for my never satisfying desire of travel. To fulfil those I did two things: One made lot of friends in Hyderabad to have some travel companions for nearby places, Two I used to pay monthly visit to Mumbai where I had quite a few friends and a lot of options for weekend excursions.

Unlike current me, back then I had no idea where I am going, whats the itinerary, what should be the must dos, how are we travelling and where are we staying, where ever it is, I am ready to go!! 

This was in 2008 and still the memory is fresh like a lemon juice.  Matheran and Alibag was the destinations, (I didn’t even know that what are these) where I travelled by my 6 colleagues, except two, I hardly knew anybody, and we two were the last minute inclusion in the plan, arranging bus tickets from Hyderabad to Pune was a little difficult but not impossible. Friday night we boarded the sleeper bus and left for Pune from there 4 more were about to join.

At Pune we got in to a Tempo-traveller and started-off towards Matheran accompanied by some of the nicest weather at the Western Ghats. We halted at some unknown hillocks near Lonavla. This was my first trip to Western Ghats, lush green mountains (not having even a single patch of brown soil) with misty weather and cool breeze had every element to turn your mood on and I immediately fell in love with it!! With many more such trips to follow!!

The road as seen through the Wind Shield of Tempo Traveller

With lots of stopover for clicking pics, for bathing under a small water fall, for enjoying the weather and of course filling to stomach we reached Matheran around 6.30 in the evening. 

We tried to get the toy train (the only means of transport to reach Matheran) but the entire track was submerged in water due to rains so it wasn’t operating. So we had to rely on the pair of own individual feet. The walk through the red soil path with drizzling was memorable. Finally at around 8 PM we reached the hill station with no electricity and no room and no network in our mobiles. So all got divided in group of 2-3 people each and started looking for hotels.. After an hours hunt we finally got a hotel with basic facilities.. The first thing was to change and relax as we all were damp and tired. Then after dinner enjoyed the night roaming around the streets.

Plan for morning was to walk inside the jungle, walk by the lake side and getting drench under the water fall again near Charlotte Lake, while doing all this visit few touristy points such as King Gorge point, Echo Point & Suicide point.. 

Morning Views inside the jungle

Somewhere in Matheran

I have this inclination towards these suicide points as most of them offer spectacular views of the valley while clouds play hide and seek (especially in monsoon). And the thrill which you feel when you are standing on the most external edge of the cliff where one small push and you are gone forever.

Dangerously fascinating Suicide Point

The drive to Alibaug was through the lean beautiful roads, having greenery both sides. And suddenly out of nowhere you reach the Alibaug beach. It has small hillock at one side and beach on the other side (though you can find quite a few such sights while driving through the Konkarn region.

The Greenery that can blind you

Again the fight was to find a hotel with atleast 5 vacant rooms at 11 PM.. We could find one though very bad one, but that was the only option we had, with dipping celling, damp beds smelly pillows, and small fungus spots on the bed sheet, I was definitely in for a sleep. 

After checking in, me, yogita and abhishek went for a walk towards the Alibaug beach.. The high tide was predicted that night.. I sat on the stairs, watching the very high tides breaking at the shores, giving an occasional gaze to the full moon peeing out of the clouds at times, lost in my own world!! Suddenly I heard somebody shouting for help, I looked at that side and then realised that it was Abhishek, who slipped through the ramp right at the edge of shore, and he can easily we taken away by the shoring high waves any time. I couldn’t imagine how the hell he managed to slip down!!

Our mobile phone weren’t working so we couldn’t call our other friends so now Yogita and I had to pull him out. Somehow we managed to find a thick stem of tree, one of us stood right above the ramp another went a little down with holding others hand, Abhishek managed to climb and that slippery and damp ramp, and somehow we all three held each other’s hand in a chain and managed to pull rescue Abhishek.. Then again we sat at the edge this time much carefully then before and laughed our heart, spoke only about that incident/accident.

Entire night we spent chit chatting anyways I wasn’t looking forward to sleep. Early morning (4.30 AM) we went to beach to watch the Sunrise, but due to clouds there was no such sight. The water was atleast a km back from yesterday night and kind of still and very low. We took a “Tanga ride” towards the Undheri Fort (AKA Sea Fort) on an island inside the sea. It offered spectacular views of the sea. The water rapidly running towards the shore with the Rising Sun, we hurried towards the shore while playing with the rising water level.

Tarun posing at the beach

We went to another beach spent some time there while playing with water, before we headed back to Hyderabad. But that wasn’t end of our adventure, due to traffic jam we barely managed to reach the railway station for our journey back to Hyderabad. As Tarun read the wrong departure time, we were relaxing at the station and Abhishek went to pick up some burgers for us. Suddenly, the announcement was that the train has already started, we ran ferociously towards the train, while calling Abhishek. Finally he also managed to jump inside the running train!!

That’s how the fun filled trip was concluded with lots of stories to remember.

PS: Photographs are mostly clicked by my friends.

Munsiyari.. with an icing of Binsar!!

Generally managers (especially in India) believe that one should not get any holidays apart from Saturday/Sunday/Statutory Holidays (those too, only when you don’t have work)! In such circumstances asking a leave without some medical/legal emergency, without some relatives wedding is like a Non-Bailable Crime and I have been guilty of it not only once but many a times!  And yes, I shall continue to do the same in future also, as I can’t live without travelling to unknown routes, meeting people from different culture, breathing the clean and fresh air of some distant mountains, dipping feet in the cold stream of water.. and the list continues..

As I had recently switched job and took quite a few leaves when I got married (one year back) I started to think about the options I had for taking the leave.  After much of brainstorming I decided to try to convince my boss for the actual reason i.e. travelling. Believe me it was much easier, as I didn’t have to think of a lie for every counter question he asked. That was an unexpectedly pleasant start to my trip planning activities..

Early Morning View at Munsiyari

This time it was Munsiyari, the trekkers paradise and we were not going there for trekking! After the June Floods in UttaraKhand, I had to alter my plan a little, had to drop Dharchula from my itinerary as the road was completely washed-off especially near Jauljibi, so I included Binsar in our trip and struck Dharchula off with a heavy heart, not that I regret it now, as Binsar offered some equally awesome memoirs to remember.

We started from Delhi on Friday night, took a train to Kathgodam, from there on we had pre-booked a taxi. Morning 5.30 AM when the Sun was still asleep under the blanket of dark clouds, we started our road travel.

Total 12 hrs road journey through the broken roads, water crossings, few distant recent landslide areas, unmatched mountain views and awesome monsoon weather of hills, a normal drive through the clouds. We reached Munsiyari at evening 5 PM. If I have to describe the village in one line than: A small and pretty tribal village with a daunting view of Snow covered Pachachuli Peak from almost every nook and corner of the village. You are likely to find a lot of trekking groups as lot of small & long, easy & difficult treks start from here.

The distant landslide enroute munsiyari

Road through clouds

Next day morning I woke up early in the morning, to my luck it was a clear morning with awesome view of the Snow Cladded Mountains. As the day progressed the clouds come up and cover the higher peak. The only things to do in munsiyari either go for a trek or just laze around and embrace the stillness, calmness, and listen our own heart beating against the cool breeze. For a change I did the later..

View from our room

Nandadevi temple is located right in the middle of lush green high mountain peaks and offers some awesomeeeeeee paranomic views of snow covered peaks, The small walk till the temple is through the tall green pine trees. I thought of spending some time at one of the benches but the house flies were guarding the place like anything!

View from Nandadevi Temple.. though covered under clouds but thats a small price you have to pay enjoy weather that awesome

Rainbow on some unknown road @ Munsiyari 

Spent the evening walking around the village, sitting on the edge of some unknown road, watching the sun-set behind those huge Blue Mountains having small patches amber-pink clouds. That pristine sight was captured in my heart for ever and ever!!  To have an un-interrupted encounter with nature, I didn’t carry my camera that evening, to avoid any urge to click the photograph.

Next day we started early morning for Binsar accompanied by some heavenly view and landscapes. We halted at Kali mandir which is supposed to offer some awesome views but by the time we reached there, the entire atmosphere was full of clouds, though there is no comparison of such hilly monsoon weather but we were devoid of some spectacular views. We were walked amidst of clouds, removed our slippers and entered into the old open corridor of temple of Goddess Kali..

Suddenly, our driver stopped the car and pointed towards a distant falls and told that is Birthi Falls, from road it seemed a little far, so we decided that we will walk to have a somewhat closer look and come back.. As I started walking, my feet started itching to reach the falls.

There was not a single soul near the falls or enroute to falls. As we reached near the magnificent and loud falls. The Cool breeze of air, the water mist, the grey cloudy sky gave a feeling of rain though it wasn’t. It was totally worth to climb through that steep and very slippery route, just to experience that surreal environment. 

First Sight of Birthi Falls; I couldn't do any justice while capturing the magnificence but still.. 

It’s not that I haven’t seen huge and magnificent water falls, but there was something different about this one. Maybe it was the (rainy) weather, serenity, calmness & stillness, solitude or it was my state of mind, but it looked Divine!!

The broken road to Heaven

While driving to Binsar, we were accompanied by the Ganges for a long time, also the ‘Sangam’ (confluence) at Bhageshwar can be easily seen while crossing the city. By the time we reached Binsar the Wildlife Sanctuary was closed so we headed straight to our resort. The huge glass window in our room gave an un-interrupted view of the sun-set behind the snow-cladded white peak..

Sunset at Binsar

Early morning we went to the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, while tracking we saw few distant peaks. But could have the paranomic view of the Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, Panchachuli, Chaukhamba and Kedarnath because of clouds, but the track itself was worth an early morning walk.

After a filling breakfast we headed to Rahul’s favorite hill station i.e. Nainital, and did some touristy activities such as boating in Naini Lake, visiting the artificial Caves, roaming on the mall road, taking a cycle rikshaw ride on mall road (must do in Nainital) etc..

The everrefreshing beauty: Naini Lake @ Nainital

With this pleasant evening our trip was summed up and we were refreshed to go back to our hectic corporate lives with fixed schedules, until the next holiday!!

Shillong

Our Itinerary:
Day1: Delhi-Guwahati-Cherrapunjee
Day2: Cherrapunjee & Cherrapunjee - Mawlynnong

Day3: Mawlynnong & Mawlynnong - Shillong

Day4- Shillong + Day 5: Shillong-Guwahati-Delhi

We reached Shillong again at around 6.30 PM, by now it has become our official checking-in time for any city. As it was 26^th January (Republic Day) the entire market was closed, my first task at hand was took look for some open bakery to purchase a cake for 12’o Clock Birthday celebrations. The each and every shop in the market was closed, all the passages were empty as if, there is some curfew, but we kept on driving here and there. Finally out of nowhere I found one very nice looking bakery, while walking my eyes got glued on bakery only and I fell into a Deep (around 2 feet) drain kind of thing. Never the less I immediately got up and completed the task to purchase an awesome and expensive cake!!

Mawphlong Dam @ Shillong

**Interesting Fact # 7: Awesome Non-Veg Food

Shillong is a hub for Non-Veg food, and some really awesome non-veg food is prepared and served here, we had to rely on other tourist feedback for that. While deciding for dinner options our driver told that around 300 Pigs are consumed every-day in Shillong itself!!

Shop Selling Raw Meat

Our booking was with Aerodene Cottage, a homestay run by two ladies with a purpose to serve this heritage cottage. As soon as we looked at our room, we simply fell in love with it. The entire room decorated with whites and all items placed in a tasteful manner. Icing on the cake was a private sit-out to spend the evening having beautiful plants all around.

A cup of tea, some cookies and endless calmness, what else one need to complete your evening!! The dinner was being served at common dining area at 8.30 PM. At the dinner table we met a girl who had quit her job and was on indefinite vacation spend some time with herself. I envy such people so much, who have a courage to quit everything to follow their heart!!By the time we were finishing dinner met we met Amit he was there for work. He does exactly the same job (to earn bread and butter) as I do. So we got a common topic to discuss and got some tips for Shillong as he knew that region pretty-well.

For morning we had plans to go to the Scared Forest in Mawphlong. We took a guide named Bond and he told us some stories associated with the forest and while doing so he was also collecting each and every food/beverages wrappers littered in the jungle. An idea just floated through my mind, instead of cribbing about the litter, if we also do the way Bond did, who knows Delhi also might become cleanest capital city!!

Bond was kind enough to invite to his home for some refreshment, we had a good discussion with his father who seemed to be a respected man in their village. After that Nanu parked the car in an open complex kind of thing and took us to climb few stairs by the side of a huge wall. Suddenly out of nowhere we reached a beautiful Mawphlong Dam, and there was nobody not a single living soul to admire the deep blue river surrounded by the mountains and imprisoned by the Dam.

Mawphlong Dam

**Interesting Fact # 8: Land of Waterfalls

Meghalaya has several waterfalls in each and every corner of the state. There are numerous waterfalls in and around Shillong, the famous ones are:  Bishop Falls, Elephant Falls, Spread Eagle Falls, Sweet Falls, Crinoline Falls and Beadon Falls. In Cherrapunjee (Sohra) also, the heavy rainfall has sculpted beautiful rock formations and waterfalls namely: Nohkalikai falls, Dainthlen falls, Khoh Ramhah, Kynrem Falls, Nohsngithiang Falls.

Sweet Falls @ Shillong

We skipped to go to the most famous tourist destinations as we just has half a day remaining with us, we shortlisted few of then began with our little touristy stuff like visiting Shillong View Point (entire city can be seen from here), Sweet falls (Distant View of Falls with no-one around, Some locals say that these are haunted falls) & Cultural museum (Museum showcasing the culture and tribes of Seven Sisters, very informative), roam around in the market (nice small market with quite a few good cafes) to do some souvenir shopping and finally headed towards the Dinner at Tripura Castle.

Next day morning we got up early, had our morning tea at the sit-out, got ready and headed for dinner. At breakfast again I met one of my old colleague, we did some general catch-up as again Rahul got bored listening to our office talks. While chit-chatting we also got delayed by 30-45 mins so we had to skip Watch Lake and directly head towards Guwahati to catch our Flight back to Delhi.

We bade our final good-bye to this Fairy Land with heavy-heart and the feeling that, we could have spent some more time here..