The end of December marks the starting of vacation. The time is to escape from the busy schedule. There is Christmas in the air, followed by New Year to Bhogali Bihu and picnic. Parents are being forced to take holiday to take care of their children. There is time to meet relatives. Most importantly, the idea is to have fun while exploring new places, interact with locals, eat and enjoy culture. But the real difficulty is to choose the right destination for a leisure vacation. Rich people have natural tendency to plan foreign trips.
But the North East has plenty of lesser known unexplored destinations. National Highways have opened up opportunities for tourism. Assam being the gateway of the North East is not very popular either. Its only hill station, Karbi Anglong, is yet to be explored. Only Kaziranga could carry its name. Come what may it quickly gained momentum now after Namami Brahmaputra/Barak festival and Awesome Assam Campaign.
Nagaland has contributed significantly through Hornbill Festival. The other geographically isolated NE states are facing difficulties to attract visitors. Tourists rarely find history amid natural beauty of Arunachal Pradesh. Mizoram and Tripura are largely inaccessible through road. Manipur has been crippled by economic blockades by Naga groups until recently. But neighbouring Meghalaya is cashing in on its tourism industry. So does Sikkim, she proved travellers’ expectation.
Last Christmas, our family set off for the beautiful Shillong, often referred to as the “Scotland of the East” due to its striking similarity with the Scottish highlands. It is the most preferred destination as it is easily accessible through incredible roads from Guwahati.
After an hour-long smooth driving, a generous menu for breakfast at Jiva felt very pampered and refreshing. And suddenly we woke up after a glimpse of vast scenic reservoir of beautiful lake Barapani surrounded by hills. It is a favourite place to experience boating and collect beautiful memories of that serene lake while Orchid Resort offers facilities for motorboat rides. The Umiam was the first hydro electric project in the North East.
While entering the city, we found a serpentine queue of vehicles with AS series of number plates. Being weekend, traffic was painstakingly slow. Kudos goes to Shillong Traffic that put the road discipline in order. We saw a large radar at the top of a mountain at a distance that is monitoring air and terrestrial traffic of Bangladesh border. Strategically it has great importance of air surveillance to control enemy airspace. It is Shillong Peak, the highest point of Shillong. A great view of Shillong is visible from the Peak View Point, Laitkor, which is often surrounded by dense fog. The only cumbersome was to wait long for entry pass from the Radar unit of IAF. There were fresh potato, tomato and green vegetables sold at roadside shops along the way.
The cool breeze caressed our face. The pine trees swayed in the breeze. Down the mountain shadow, Eastern Air Command of Indian Air Force stands tall as an epitome of India’s defence establishment.
Shillong golf circuits are one of the oldest and natural in the world.
The entire valley is dotted with thick vegetation. There are old Churches embracing Catholicism. The people were in festive mood. Visitors were mesmerised by the steep hills, glittering waterfalls and stunning green canyons along Cherrapunji border. The view of Bangladesh was mesmerising.
Meghalaya houses many unexplored natural caves. Indian Navy organises caving expedition every year. It was a treasured hunt inside Mawjymbuin cave there. Being isolated, the villages are scattered near Cherrapunji. Finding an eating joint is a thorny task there. But boiled rice and fish curry somehow satiated our hunger. Visiting Elephant Falls, Root Bridge, Ward’s Lake are just a short picturesque drive away. The Don Bosco Centre Indigenous Cultures is a place to explore the vast culture and tradition of the North East.
As time passed by, darkness was surrounding us and we felt intimidated travelling from Upper Shillong.
The heritage buildings in Shillong still hold the legacy of the bygone British era. The famous shopping haunt at Police Bazaar was crowded and found no way moving even late at night.
The hotels and home-stays are all booked during festival. People here are really passionate about their music. There is no dearth of local talent. We came across good drink-dinner cum entertainment at Polo Towers. Surely it was a memorable trip that could inspire everyone to revisit to this spectacular view of Khasi hills. The Jaintia and the Garo are other communities which add colour to this romantic city. It was truly amazing!
(Contributed by Kamal Baruah, Guwahati)
