Drawn by curiosity and a spirit of adventure, Esha Chaudhuri writes on how a travel vlogger from Italy falls in love with Meghalaya’s culture, people and pace of life.
In an age when travel vlogging has transformed from a niche hobby into a global phenomenon, millions of viewers now discover places through the eyes of independent creators. Armed with little more than a camera and curiosity, these travellers often venture beyond conventional tourist circuits, documenting cultures, landscapes and everyday encounters that rarely make it into glossy brochures.
For one travel vlogger, Stefano Manganini from northern Italy, a journey to Meghalaya became much more than another destination to add to a growing list of adventures. It became an experience that challenged assumptions, deepened cultural understanding and left a lasting impression long after he returned to London, where he works in real estate.
“I was born in a small village in Northern Italy and have spent nearly half my life in London,” he says. “From childhood, I was fascinated by travel and often daydreamed of becoming an explorer, drawn to distant places and unfamiliar cultures.”
His fascination with India’s North East began unexpectedly.
A few years ago, while sitting in a café in Delhi’s Hauz Khas, he struck up a conversation with a stranger from Nagaland. During their exchange, she encouraged him to visit Shillong.
“At the time, I knew almost nothing about this part of India,” he recalls. “But as I began to read, my curiosity grew. I found myself imagining Meghalaya’s dramatic landscapes, its rich tribal cultures, and the feeling of being immersed in a world so different from my own.”
What started as curiosity soon became an obsession. For someone who chooses destinations based largely on instinct and intrigue, Meghalaya seemed impossible to ignore.
“In my part of the world, many people would struggle to place Meghalaya on a map,” he says. “That sense of mystery only made it more compelling.”
When he finally arrived, however, it was not the landscapes alone that surprised him.
“I expected Meghalaya to feel like just another part of India,” he admits. “Instead, I found something far more distinct: almost a country within a country, where local cultures and traditions have been beautifully preserved rather than absorbed into a flat, pan-Indian identity.”
That sense of cultural distinctiveness became one of the strongest themes of his visit.
Although he spent only four days in the state, he explored destinations such as Sohra and its famous living root bridges, as well as Elephant Falls. Yet some of his most memorable experiences happened away from the major tourist attractions.
“My main plan was to enjoy Shillong almost as a local would,” he says. “Imagining what it might be like to live there, savouring its slower pace of life, and, why not, enjoying a good night out in one of the city’s many beautiful bars.”
The city’s rhythm stood in contrast to many of India’s larger urban centres. Walking through markets, meeting residents and spending evenings in local establishments gave him a perspective that guidebooks often miss.
One seemingly ordinary restaurant encounter became a lesson in cultural pride.
The traveller had ordered paneer tikka, one of his favourite dishes. The restaurant owner, however, gently challenged his choice.
“He jokingly pointed out that ordering paneer tikka was perhaps not the best idea in Meghalaya,” he recalls. “I should, he said, try Meghalayan cuisine instead. And let me tell you, he was right.”
The exchange stayed with him.
“He could simply have served me paneer tikka, but instead he wanted to make sure I experienced Meghalaya properly. I am very glad he did.”
Soon he found himself exploring local dishes such as Jadoh and Dohneiiong, while also attempting to recreate Pumaloi rice cakes after returning home.
Food, however, was only one part of the story. The people of Meghalaya left perhaps the deepest impression.
Travelling solo, as he usually does, opened the door to spontaneous encounters. In Shillong, those encounters often turned into friendships.
He speaks warmly of Freddy, the taxi driver who accompanied him to Sohra and featured in one of his videos that can be found on his YouTube travel channel Spaghetti Stef.
“In the video, only some of our conversations appear, but during our time together I can honestly say we became good friends.”
Another memory unfolded one evening after meeting a group of locals at a bar near Nehru Stadium. Later that night, while trying to make his way back towards Police Bazaar with a dead phone battery, one of the people he had met noticed he seemed lost.
“One of the people I had just met saw me and went out of his way to give me a lift, even though he was heading in the opposite direction,” he says.
“It is something I will never forget.”
Those moments reinforced a perception he formed repeatedly during his stay.
“The people of Meghalaya are incredibly kind.”
Even language barriers rarely became obstacles. Having taken a short Hindi course before visiting India, he relied largely on English and goodwill to communicate. He also tried to learn a few Khasi phrases, believing that making the effort is a sign of respect.
“Communication is almost always possible when both sides are patient, open and willing to make an effort,” he says.
Beyond cultural experiences, Meghalaya also challenged some practical assumptions.
Because of its relative remoteness, he had expected a less developed region. Instead, he encountered good infrastructure and what he describes as a strong civic sense.
“I found good infrastructure and a strong civic sense, both essential to protecting its extraordinary natural beauty.”
Not everything was perfect, he quickly adds with a laugh.
“Shillong’s traffic is truly crazy.”
For a travel vlogger, however, even the inconveniences become part of the adventure.
His own journey into travel content creation began years earlier in Tbilisi, Georgia, while sitting alone in a riverside restaurant enjoying one of the best meals he had ever eaten.
“I felt a little sad because I had no one to tell about it,” he says. “In that moment, I decided I would always take a small camera with me.”
What began as a personal record eventually evolved into a YouTube channel, though he remains refreshingly detached from the pressures of online fame.
“I do not take myself, or travel vlogging, too seriously,” he says. “That gives me a different edge from creators who do this for a living, because it gives me complete freedom and ensures that my interactions remain genuine.”
His videos from Meghalaya are, in many ways, an extension of that philosophy — less about presenting polished tourism advertisements and more about documenting genuine encounters.
As he reflects on his time in the state, it is clear that Meghalaya offered him something increasingly rare in modern travel: surprise.
He arrived expecting beautiful scenery. He left with a deeper appreciation of a place whose identity remains proudly distinct, whose people welcomed a curious foreign visitor, and whose culture revealed itself through conversations, meals and chance encounters.
The honey from Sohra and the handcrafted scrubs he carried back to family and friends may have disappeared quickly. The memories, however, remain.
“In many ways,” he says, “my videos are a tribute to that experience, and a way to show gratitude for the places I have seen and the encounters I was lucky enough to have.”
Manganini may not be the first travel vlogger to document Meghalaya, but his journey was shaped less by the places he visited than by the people he met along the way. From learning snippets of Khasi to sharing meals, stories and unexpected moments with strangers, he embraced the state with curiosity and humility. Long after the honey from Sohra has been finished and the souvenirs shared with family, it is these human connections that remain his most enduring memory of the Abode of Clouds.
