Ah…what better day to look back at Shillong – a Saturday when I’m stuck at the office! So I let the mind drift off…
On our penultimate day at Shillong we woke up to a delightful, rainy day. I was up at 4 am – too excited to sleep (and I do this all the time when we’re on holiday - to my husband’s horror). I opened out the windows – let the cold in – and breathed in the fresh air. It was so silent. Just the sound of water. What a sense of peace I felt! I must have sat there and stared out of the window for at least an hour. Finally the rest of the family stirred – because apparently they were feeling cold. I was cursed and asked to shut off the windows. My daughter however woke up and we both gleefully took off for a walk in the rain. She with raincoat and umbrella – me happy to get wet. By then the rain had reduced to a light drizzle anyways. We went to the pantry of Aurobindo Institue of Culture. (For those who came in late the first two parts of my Shillong trip can be accessed here and here.). The cook was happy to serve us chai (yeah black tea again) and it felt so good to drink it in the rain.
Fortified with chai we went back to the room and woke the man of the house, bullied him into getting ready fast and organizing a cab for a day tour of Shillong. An hour later – after a breakfast of garam rotis and green moong + aloo ki sabji we were off for sight seeing.
First halt was at Sweet Falls. Located in Happy Valley (which is an army area) – a truly dil khush place amidst scented pine forest, Sweet Falls is a breathtaking sight. The water falls an incredible 96 mtrs before it hits the rocks below to form a pool. The place was truly beautiful and the weather was fantastic too – cool and windy. Perhaps it was the combination of two – that had us mesmerized. We just sat there and gazed at the falls for ages. No one felt like getting up from there and moving on. We tried trekking down a bit – but it was slippery after the rains so we gave up on the idea and just plonked ourselves there and simply stared at the beauty around us. Only Nature has the power to humble you with its strength and make you feel calm.
We reluctantly moved from there to our next destination – the Shillong peak. At 2000 mtrs above sea level this is the highest point in the state. It offers spectacular views of the city from all sides – in a sort of semi circle. And as with view points in all hill stations this one was also overflowing with kiosks selling all sorts of things. We devoured the fresh pineapples and corn that were being sold. We also tasted some wannabe lychee type fruits – very sour! My daughter dressed up as a Khasi tribal girl and we even found a shy, reluctant Kahsi groom for her! And I finally got my doodh wali chaihere. Ah…bliss.
From the peak we drove down to the butterfly museum. This is a privately owned museum in the basement of a home. The lady who runs it took it over from her father and brother – both ardent entomologists. The entry fee – at Rs 50 per adult is a bit steep and so is the photography charge of Rs 10 per picture! But she does have an amazing collection of the insect world all neatly pinned and labeled inside glass cases. There are some species of butterflies from the Amazon among other places. Apart from butterflies there are moths, beetles, bugs and spiders...ah yes the Tarantula spider is there too – along with some of its lesser known cousins. We had an eyeful of the insect world – ranked our favourites and were off to see Don Bosco Museum. But our driver seemed not to have understood. He took us to the church instead. We were in such a happy, chalta hai mood that we did not even argue with him. We saw the beautiful church, admired its stained glass windows, sat there in silence for a few minutes and set off again.
It was time for lunch. The driver recommended a place called City Family Dhaba. A neat place (Yes, the loos were neat too!) – and apparently a very popular place from the way the crowd kept pouring in for lunch. I ate veg momos – the tastiest I’ve ever had. For Rs 50 he gives 8 large momos- and they are simply yummmmmm. My husband had chicken momos, chicken soup and a fish fry. All were rated as excellent. (Contd in comments)
