10 Places You Must Visit in Stunning Shillong (Part 3)

After our return from Cherrapunjee, we spent the next day lazing around. Shillong does not have too many 'Tourist Places of Interest'. There are many small tourist spots, such as Lady Hydari Park, the Botanical Garden, etc. But don't go there with high expectations. It is a laid back place with a laid back attitude. If you intend to stay in Shillong for more than 3 days, be prepared to do nothing (and I say that in a positive sense). Sit back and enjoy the warm people, the beautiful mountain views and the awesome weather. So, the next few days were spent lazing in the room, wandering around the city and generally taking it easy.

Getting back to the countdown, the next interesting place you must visit is the Don Bosco Museum.

No.8 - Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures. This centre, called the Don Bosco Museum by locals, is housed in a 7 storied building. The museum consists of various galleries showcasing the land, people, culture and way of life in the North East. It is a bright, clean and very well maintained museum. A visit is well worth the effort.

Main Entrance

The Hallway

Various Galleries

*****************************Opinionated Comment********************************

Sadly in India, a museum has come to represent a musty, smelly and dusty affair with moth eaten artifacts placed in a boring and unimaginative setting. Going to a museum, which for many was never an experience to look forward to, is now further down in our priority list with the availability of instant information and interesting tidbits on google and the internet. However, such instant gratification can never match the real learning value of a museum. It is similar to expecting a child to learn about an apple from a 3D interactive image on an IPad. You need to touch, feel and taste the apple to truly learn and understand it's qualities. A museum is the closest many of us can get to experience various aspects of life, whether science, arts, history or any other aspect of human endeavour. Worldwide, museums are evolving and adapting by creating a more interactive, interesting and immersive experience. Museums in India seem to have given up without even putting up a fight.

*********************************************************************************

No.9 - Wankhar Museum of Entmology. Another museum, but on a very niche interest. More popularly known as the Butterfly Museum, this is a privately owned museum, displaying the vast collection of butterflies, moths, beetles and other insects, collected by the Wankhar family over the years. The museum is actually just one room, located in the basement of the family home. They don't seem to have too many visitors either. When I went there, the lady of the house led me to the basement and unlocked the room. I was told to inform them whenever i left. I had the entire museum, which of course is just a room, all to myself. The collection is fascinating, and strange (depending upon your view), at the same time. There are beautiful, colorful butterflies, rhinoceros beetles, huge centipedes and millipedes and many other insects. They have all been carefully preserved and laid out in glass cabinets. Worth a visit.

Museum is in the Basement of this house

No.10 - Siat Khnam. And finally we reach the tenth and final must see in Shillong. This final entry is not a place, but an event. Everybody loves a lottery. After all, who doesn't want to win big on just chance and luck; no special effort or talent required. In Shillong, it is the way the lucky winning number is chosen for the lottery that makes it interesting. The people here love Archery as much as lotteries. So they have combined these passions to create the Siat Khnam. Every evening, archers, along with spectators, assemble in a small ground for deciding the lucky numbers for the day. A bamboo target is put up in the centre of the field. When the go ahead is given, the archers commence targeting it with their arrows. On completion, the arrows are removed from the target and carefully counted. The total number of arrows stuck to the target decide the winning numbers. You can see all kind of people here - the hardcore gambler who is only interested in the result, the casual gambler who has come to try his luck, the tourists who are there to see the spectacle, and finally the hawkers selling tea and snacks (probably the only ones who are actually making a regular profit). The entire atmosphere is festive and is a great experience.

Result board found in shops all over the city


An Inconspicuous Entrance

Archers taking up positions

The Target (Before)

The Target (After)

Counting in Progress

Arrows being arranged in sets of 10

The Hand Crafted Arrows

Snacks for spectators

The Snack Platter to choose from

Conclusion

This land and it's people have so much more to offer than just these Top Tens. In Shillong itself, I have left out the Shillong Golf Course, many a waterfalls, many more museums, etc. And I have not even ventured out into the hills which are largely unexplored. In addition, Shillong is the music capital of the country. Many international rock and heavy metal bands come to India, giving a performance only in Shillong. Many music festivals are conducted here. It would be worthwhile to check if any music festival or concerts are on during your visit and plan your trip accordingly.

Shillong Golf Course


A Golfer in Action :-)

**************************Opinionated Comment************************

Meghalaya, and the other North East States of India, are still clean, pristine and relatively unexplored. The great mass of the Indian middle class tourists (which, of course, I too am a part of) have not yet descended on these places. It is therefore a good idea to see it before further commercialization and tourist generated junk turns these beautiful places into mediocre, overcrowded and dirty destinations. So be sure to plan a visit to the North East soon.

*******************************************************************

In conclusion, we had a great holiday, thanks to the great place, and more importantly, because we had great friends to enjoy it with.

Let me know if I have missed any place in my countdown.

Read More

10 Places You Must Visit in Stunning Shillong (Part 2)

The second phase of our journey was to Cherrapunjee, once the wettest place in the world. Most tourists visit Cherrapunjee, which is now officially called Sohra, as a day visit from Shillong. However, in my opinion, you should at least stay overnight as it allows you to do justice to the natural beauty of this wonderful region.

So the next day we started early in the morning and headed for Cherrapunjee, which is 60 km from Shillong. It is a 3-4 hr drive through a beautiful and scenic road, winding along the hills. We had hired a Maruti 800 for Rs.4000, which included sight-seeing around Cherrapunjee, the night halt and return the next day after the trek to the Double Decker Living Roots Bridge.

Our First stop - Dympep Viewpoint.
 This is a viewpoint along the route, which gives a perfect view of the V shaped valley. As most viewpoints in India, the road is now filled with vendors selling snacks, china-made toys, and other knick-knacks. They have also setup a zip-line/ flying fox gear for tourists to slide for a short distance. The view is nothing spectacular, but is a decent spot to take a stretch break and do some photography.

 

 

Second stop - Wah-kba falls
A 10 min walk from the parking got us to the falls. They have fixed an iron railing across the top of the falls, and you are literally standing in the middle of the stream looking down on the falls. Of course, the stream had sufficient number of rocks and dry patches to stand on and enjoy the view.

 

I am sure, this stream and falls would look even better after the monsoons. We played in the cold flowing water.... and took lots of photos as usual. The weather itself was fantastic, with a slight chill in the air.The mist added to the beauty, but made it difficult to take good snaps.

Another path took us to a viewpoint from where you could see the waterfall itself.

Being the first proper waterfall we were seeing, we enjoyed the sight. However, i am not sure how we would have felt if we had visited it on the way back.  After half an hour we got back into the car and continued towards Cherrapunjee.

Third stop - Nohkalikai falls
This is the fourth highest falls in the world, according to Lonely Planet. The spot is not actually the falls, but just a view point for the falls. At a distance, on the opposite hill side, we could see an incredibly high fall, looking majestic and beautiful. The milky water dropped into a blue pool at the bottom, with a fine mist and spray all around it.

  

The story of the falls is however is quite gruesome, to say the least. A lady named Kalikai had a daughter whom she loved a lot. On the death of her husband, she married for the second time. But the new husband was not happy about looking after his step-daughter. One day, when Kalikai came back after a hard day at work, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her husband had cooked a hot meal for her. After eating her food, as she reached for the betel nuts, she found a piece of her daughters finger. Uuuggghhhhh. She immediately realised what had happened and was grief-stricken. She commited suicide by jumping off this falls. So the name Nohakalikai – the leap of Likai.

The viewpoint opens out onto a table top with magnificent views and vistas. There is a flight of stairs which goes down to an Exciting Viewpoint. Yes, that is the name – Exciting Viewpoint. So with great excitement , we went down the steep staircase. As we went down, our excitement diminished, with the thought that we would have to walk all the way up. By now the fog had increased and we could not see anything. All we could hear was the falls getting louder. Finally, we reached an abrupt end of the staircase, followed by a mud trail. The track did not look very promising, so we decided to just hunker down and have our lunch, which we were carrying with us. By the time we finished eating, we had turned back two other groups.

 

And then the fog lifted, and we found ourselves staring at the waterfall. It was much closer and afforded a great, though not exactly exciting, view. Not yet close enough to reach by foot, but close enough nevertheless. We took a few photographs as we were much closer to it, and then trudged back up. Later we were told that another 10 min walk would have brought us to the base of the falls. This information is not confirmed and should be checked before heading out onto the mud trail.

On reaching back on top, we wandered around the flat hilltop as the weather was great...and had chicks and goats to keep the kids busy. After some wandering, we headed for the next point.

Fourth Point - Ramakrishna Mission
It is a simple anthropological museum, school and prayer hall. Check prayer hall timings before going. Nice peaceful place, but nothing great. There isn’t much to see from a tourist point of view. However, you will appreciate this place if you are spiritually inclined.

Fifth Point - The Welsh Presbyterian Church
This small church at Nongsawlia, established in 1848 and rebuilt in 1898 after an earthquake, was the first Church to be built in the North-East. It is a quaint little structure which looks as though it has been transplanted in India from a small town in the US. The church was undergoing renovation when we visited it.

Sixth Point - Mawsmai Cave
Also called Krem Mawsmai. Cherrapunjee is dotted with caves and is a favorite destination for caving in India. There are many great caves, but all need specialists with equipment to guide you. For us lowly tourists, we have Krem Mawsmai. There is an entrance and an exit, and we walk, kneel crawl and pull ourselves through it. It is quite a weird sight. Everything reminded me of the eggs in Aliens, in various stages of incubation. The cave also resounds with the noise and chatter of bong tourists, bawling children, etc. But overall a worthwhile spot.

The jungle behind the caves are also interesting, with stone formations bringing to mind the jungles in the Indiana Jones movies.

Seventh Point - Stone Monoliths
Just short of the Mawsmai Cave complex is a group of stone monoliths. The Khasi people erect these monoliths or menhirs to remember their anscetors. The lonely planet guidebook told us that these monoliths are ‘impressive’, and as monoliths, they probably are. But their location, in a small patch of land, with roads, houses, etc right next to them, totally deglamorize their appeal.

We in India seem to have this special ability to bring down anything extraordinary to the level of ordinary, or at times, even lower. :-(

Eighth Point - Seven Sisters Falls
No, seven sisters did not commit suicide here. Whaat, you didn't imagine that ???.... Need to work on the way I think. Just a view point of many waterfalls. We were done with the view in no time. So we just headed off along the road...... in the spirit of exploration. Found a cemetery on to of a hillock. Walked around in the overgrowth, among the tombs and graves. The sun was very low in the horizon giving a ethereal glow to the entire setting.

As we headed back, a strange sight greeted us..... lots of bamboo baskets immersed in a large pool. We asked the guys working there, but they did not speak either English or Hindi. Later, we found out that they were betel fruits soaked in water. As part of the preservation process, the betel fruits are placed in bamboo baskets which are immersed in specially constructed ponds. These ponds are constructed near a stream to ensure a steady supply of fresh water. The fruits are left in the water for 4-5 months, the outer husk fermenting and rotting in the process. Though the water was supposedly fresh flowing water, it looked and smelled rancid. We didn't have the courage to touch or smell the fruits themselves. After 4-5 months, the nuts are taken out, dehusked and the nut dried for sending to various parts of India.

Cherrapunjee, we realised, was a self sufficient pan shop. They grow betel leaves, process betel nuts and quarry the limestone for the lime. that, of course, explains the rotten teeth most locals have. in fact, among the Khasi people, the red betel stained lips are considered a sign of beauty by many.

But of course, the distinct red stains, sadly, are not limited to the lips alone…….



Limestone quarrying on Cupcake Hill (name coined by me) :-)

Ninth Point - Eco Park
Where the Seven Sister Falls originates. The park itself is totally avoidable. However, the stream, which becomes the falls, may be more impressive during and after the monsoons.

We thereafter headed to our place of stay, the Coniferous Resort. Not a very good experience. One of the rooms stank. The response of the staff was less than satisfactory, and arrogant. When I mentioned the power of adverse comments on the internet, he told me that it really didn't make any difference as they would continue to get guests because there weren't enough rooms available in Cherrapunjee. Sadly, that may be very well be true. Met the owner, who seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. But the staff was atrocious. Had a run in with them again during breakfast. We left the hotel with a bad taste.

Tenth Point - Double Decker Living Roots Bridge
The next day, we started off for the trek to the double decker bridge. You can find a detailed post on the trek here. All of us stuffed ourselves into the Maruti 800 again, with Aru in the most  inconvenient position, sitting with a leg on either side of the gear shift. We headed for the village of Tyrna. We had spoken to the hotel staff for a guide. The guide was required more for assistance in case Ananya found it difficult to walk, rather than for showing the way. However, that didn't work out. We reached the village at 0945 and started the trek. We saw the incredible double decker bridge and had a private pool party in the beautiful stream and falls nearby. It was probably the best experience of the trip, and thus deserved a post of it's own.

You can read all about the trek at http://mnitin73.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-incredible-living-root-bridges-of.html
 

We finally got back to Tyrna at 1400 hrs and headed back to Shillong, reaching our new rooms, at Laitmykrah, in the city, late in the evening.

As far as the Top 10 Must See countdown goes, I am counting The Day visit to Cherrapunjee as No.6, with Wah-kba Falls, Nohkalikai Falls and Mawsmai Caves as the highlights. At No.7 is the Double Decker Living Root Bridge, which without any doubt, deserves a place of its own.

That ends the second installment of our trip to Shillong. In the next post, we will look at some of the other interesting sights and activities at Shillong, as we wind up the Top 10 countdown.

Read More