Meghalaya Misadventure #Only3000

We went to a cemetery of British generals, a park, and a waterfall. In-short we just went about walking in the rain for the next two hours trying to see Cherrapunji but with the clouds and the rain we couldn't see anything. Soon we were tired and after eating dinner where they probably replaced the meat pieces with some old paneer and it tasted pretty bad, we went to our room, took a hot shower and slept like a baby.

The next morning we got up early, checked out of our room and walked around four kilometers to Maswmai caves with our bags. We were the only ones on the road out that early in the rain but it was an amazing walk. We thought we would be safe from the rain inside the caves, only to realize that it was flooded with about a foot of water, waiting to soak our already drenched shoes.

The caretakers switched on the lights inside the caves so that we could go in without fear. We ventured further in to see water falling from the top in some places, complete darkness in another, natural lighting seeping in some corner, slippery rocks and amazing formations due to the rain and corrosion. In between all this, there we were, trying to squeeze ourselves and our bags through nooks and corners of the cave. We spent a memorable hour there.

After exploring the cave we decided to go to the living root bridge. We were told that it required us to walk about 3,000 steps downhill to reach the bridge. Since we had already covered five kilometer in the morning we took a taxi to the start point of the trek instead of walking all the way there, about ten kilometers away. We reached the base by around noon and had a hot cup of Maggi before starting our way down. Another 150 Rp out for food and taxi.

8,000 odd steps! That is apparently what we did that day, after our five kilometer walk in the morning. After doing the usual 3,000 steps down to the root bridge, we were not impressed by it. The journey was much more amazing than the destination there. The path until the living root bridge was exhilarating.

We crossed two bridges made up of just metal bars twined together with metal strips built over gushing river water. It had no footing, no planks of wood for us to place our feet. It was just metal bars bent in a “U” shape, and some pieces of bamboo over it, where we had to hold on to the edge and place our feet on the base of the U. There were vertical bars at the base of the U to give our feet some extra support, but the sides were left open. And you could walk only in one direction, and if someone from the opposite side came, it would create a traffic jam.

Since the journey was better than the destination we arrived at, we walked further down the same trail. We saw that no one was walking ahead or behind us anymore. It was just us. We reached a ten-foot wide stream an hour later, which we thought was a dead end. We sat there by some rocks taking in the rain and the lush green nature. Luckily for us, four foreigners walked by right then and crossed the stream. They gave us a hand to do the same, enabling us to go further.

We let them walk ahead faster while we slowly tried to make our way ahead when within ten minutes we saw them heading back saying the next stream was more dangerous and they couldn’t cross it. Disheartened, we still went ahead to see it. This stream was smaller but was against a cliff so if we missed our step we could fall down the falls. And since it was the rainy season the water flow was fast, pushing us into the cliff.

Yamini tried once, holding onto my hand but it was too risky so we walked back. But after walking for two minutes we stopped to think. We would not come back here anytime soon, so we should go ahead and see the waterfalls we thought (the foreigners told us the trail leads to a falls)

We went back and Yamini found a place for her foot in between the rocks which gave us a sturdy footing. Holding hands, and placing our foot in between the right rocks, we crossed. We walked ahead for another forty five minutes before we saw the waterfalls. A mighty waterfall it was. By the time I reached the falls, I had somehow managed to lose my water bottle again. It randomly fell out of my bag, never to be found again. Opening my mouth to the skies, I quenched my thirst with the rainwater this time.

We then walked back those extra 2,700 steps we took to reach the double root bridge. Once back, we were told all rooms were full and no one had a place for us to stay. While trying to get a place, a hotel owner helped us by calling his friend who had this wonderful cottage in between the forest away from the main crowd. Here we even had a facility to build a fire in the room, all for just 500/- a night. We tried drying our clothes which were all wet due to the day's trek.

There the owner told us that no one would venture to the falls on the same day as their hike down, and most importantly no one would go alone. They had to hire porters from the village and then they would lead them across those raging streams, either holding our hands or by carrying us across. We had done something no one had done in a long time. We spent 200 Rs for warm maggi, eggs and coffee, so we had a good dinner to make up for the energy spent.

Next morning we got up and got ready to head back up those 3,000 steps. My periods started that very morning as well making the climb up more memorable. We started walking by 10 AM and made it to the top by noon, only after listening to Coldplay’s up Up&Up on a loop to give me the stamina to push myself up.

Once at the base, we tried to find a taxi to take us to Mawlynnong, the cleanest village in Asia, but the only thing we found was that on Sundays none of the shared taxis ran. We hitched a ride to Cherrapunji with a hiker who was travelling alone. There, the private taxis were charging 3,000/- to drop us to the village. After debating on what to do, we decided to head back to Shillong for which the shared taxis were available and leave for the village the next morning from there, for a cheaper rate.

We made it to Shillong by 7 PM, tired and wet. We got into a restaurant, gobbled up our dinner and only then after our stomachs were satisfied did we start looking for a hotel. As luck would have it, they were all full. Not even a single room was available. There we were, two of us at eight in the night with no place to go to.

Random men on the street now knew we were looking for a room and asked us if we needed help. Luckily I had a junior who lived there and I called him. His mom helped us as we were just two girls and gave us a room in the hostel campus of her college. He picked us up and saved the day.

Next morning his mom arranged two seats for us on a tour bus to Mawlynnong and Dawki. This we had to pay 300 each, emptying our funds almost. After our adventures until last night, that was a very simple day. On and off at every spot, another root bridge which wasn’t that impressive, a big rock hanging on a small rock, a good lunch at the cleanest village where we spotted three wrappers, off to Dawki which was supposed to have crystal clear water but due to the rain was muddy, the India-Bangladesh border, viewpoints and finally back to our room in the hostel that night. We had a really good sleep that night as our bodies were so tired from our previous adventure.

After spending the night, we took a taxi back to Guwahati the next morning and a bus back to Gangtok that night. By the time we got a local bus to the main bus stand it was 6 PM. Soon, we were at the interstate bus stand only to be told our bus was delayed by another two hours. We left Guwahati at 9 PM that night, through bad and flooded roads. After a bumpy ride, we reached Siliguri at 9 AM next morning, took a taxi to Gangtok and were home by 2 PM. Home sweet home.

Thanks to my junior form college, we got two nights of free stay and food. The other two was within 750/- person and another 1500/- went for food and travel for those four days. We were back in Gangtok on day 5 after doing an adventurous budget trip and exploring this beautiful state.