Green Hills and Flashy Waterfalls ft. #Meghalaya

I took a morning flight from Kolkata to Guwahati and reached Guwahati Airport at around 11 am or so.
Since I did a bit of research about my trip so I knew how to reach where in the cheapest way possible.
I took a bus from Guwahati Airport to Paltan bazar Police station(main bus stop) aka Guwahati Railway Station.
I took a shared cab for Shillong, which costed me 350 rs.
P.S: One should not sleep during this journey as the route is filled with lush green Hills and awesome roads
I reached my Hostel (Isabella Hostel) in Shillong at around 5 pm and had a good Homemade Vegetarian Dinner over there.

So, I did my first Solo Trip to Meghalaya in Feb, 2019.
The most unplanned trip (made the plan a day before, got cheap ass tickets like 4k round trip from Kolkata to Guwahati) turned out to be the best trip of my life(till date)

Shillong, is the center point of travel in Meghalaya. Wherever you want to travel to, you have to come to Shillong and get a cheap cab from here.
For a solo traveller in Meghalaya , getting shared cab is tough and state transport busses too don't give you much of an option, so you are left with two choices either you have to shell out money and rent a private can or you can search for fellow travellers with matching itineraries. Luckily I found a group, pheww😪

Now we took a cab from Police bazar in Shillong that will take us to couple of places like Mawlynnong (Cleanest Village in Asia), Dawki, Living root bridges and Shnongpdeng.
Again, One should not sleep during the journey..Man that was beautiful AF!!

Btw cab drivers may turn out to be bitter or an ass as they will try to rip you off by telling extrapolated charges for these places. When you come at a charge of mutual understanding they might tell you in the end that you have to skip some part of your journey (like my can driver told me to take another cab for Shnongpdeng from Dawki if I want to go there, he will not take me).. Rest it's awesome

If you are a pork lover , Shillong is a place for you people...you will see every restaurant with a special pork menu and even see pork hanging on thelas in main market just like bangles and jewellery in a normal market.

Now it was time for me to bid adieu to Shillong and travel to the most wonderful place on this trip i.e Nongriat aka "Home to the double decker bridge"

I took a shared cab from Shillong for cherrapunji and reached there at around 11 am.

Cherrapunji is a very small quite and neat village where one can find beauty, serenity, peace and can be oneself for as long as one wants.
PS. I didn't include any touristy or common places in my trip. Peace & Calm it was!!

One can take a shared cab from cherrapunji for Turns( base of  Nongriat village) which will take you around 45 mins to an hour.

After reaching tyrna, there are around 2500 odd steps, bridges with ups and downs leading to a mesmerizing view for the eye...there comes a village out of nowhere, in nowhere.. surrounded by green hills from all the sides with little communication to outer world..Calm, Peace, Serene and beautiful ..Nature at its very best !!

I woke up at 5 am in the morning to start my trek to rainbow falls which was around 1400 steep and slippery steps..I took a healthy and full of protein breakfast at my homestay and started my trek.
I was the only one doing this trek so early so it was a bit scary but peaceful..I could feel the sun rising up, forest chirping with the morning birds, a cool breeze that was passing my face and the fresh air my nostrils were breathing...Damn it was refreshing.
The journey to rainbow falls was a bit difficult as it rained last night and all the step(naturally made of stones) were slippery and there paths where you have to slide your body...but the end was something of an aww...there was this blue waterfall that falling at pace, I couldn't wait to get to that blue pool..I just rushed down the rocks and went straight to that blue,chilly and clear water...
If you ever got the feeling of relaxation it was this all the tiredness was gone, every pore of my body could breathe and I felt a bit of rejuvenation.
After spending an hour at the falls I came back and explored the village, talked to the natives (khasi tribe) and fellow travellers and sat with my thoughts for the remainder of the day.
I wished I could stay there for the rest of my life..if only!!

Next morning I started my trip back to tyrna village and then back to Shillong, where I took a bus for Guwahati Airport and then boarded my flight back to Kolkata.

I will always remember Meghalaya especially Nongriat for its rawness, peaceful and life away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

                   "We go where the gate takes us"