Meghalaya Ride 2018

Full Playlist here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i49fSMsnNHs&list=PLU8RMeEq5-qm3xe5S_93x9aXO_7YCpOON

Back in 2017, while scrolling across my Facebook feed,
 I struck upon this. Intrigued and fascinated by the photos, I took a screenshot and divs ed deeper. I knew, I had to do this. It remained saved in my Google Keep waiting to be archived... someday.


Nongriat and its clear waters compelled me to sway amidst the abode of clouds, Meghalaya. This is not a Trailer like I have been posting for my older travel series. But, this is a brief description of the journey.

So, 4 couples on 4 motorcycles signed up. Aditya n Payel, Arghya n Ekta, Ayan n Kasturi and Me and my Love, Priyanka.

Maa Durga decided to come at the right time offering a bunch of leaves for the vacay. It was Choturthi when we left the city of Joy at its most joyful time, trying to find our happiness amidst the clouds.

Kolkata to Siliguri was a route I had done numerous times before and every time it surprised me in a different way.

16 hours and a tired body was ready to ride to Guwahati, the next day. "Coronation Bridge" or "The Bridge to Heavens" as I call it, had to be admired with the evergreen Teesta here, hiding itself as the valley turns. The roads were good but 500 kilometers of good roads become monotonous. So, the authorities decided to keep a few rough stretches, to massage your tired muscles.

woooo.... with 1100 kms, we reached Guwahati and the mile munching days were gone. Highway lovers, its time to change the theme and lean onto the curves the mountains have to offer. Drop a gear and burn the less used rubbers. Indeed, the roads from Guwahati to Shillong were butter smooth. Though, the angle of banking could have been a bit better at some places, I bet you won't miss the fun.

For most travelers to Meghalaya, Shillong is a night halt for sure. But, a state like Meghalaya is hard to cover in one go, specially for people like us on short leaves. Anways, you can't miss Umiam Lake on the way. It was beautiful and vast. Short of time, we headed straight to Cherapunji for the night and camped at Sohra View Lodge. It was colder than usual. 8 degrees at night to be precise. Eve and Stripe - None of us can forget those four legged friends and the evening parties around our tents and campfire are memories to cherish.

Our camping place was in the middle of nowhere, but gave a wonderful view of Cherapunji from far. The clouds played along all day as we rode across Cherapunji, visited a few caves but were too late to visit the tallest plunge of India. Moonlight and long exposures kept Nohkalikai captured in my lens but my naked eyes still yearns to see it. Maybe, next time. There's actually a brighter side to missing a few places. You have to visit it again to cover it all.

And, then came the day when that note in Google Keep could be archived. Starting with a Food Fiesta, we watched how pork chops were made and savored them with some good coffee. The food at this restaurant at Cherapunji was delicious. Tyrna village, 16 kms away from Cherapunji was the starting point of the Nongriat Trek. We trekked through a few quaint villages amidst a lively jungle full of pineapples and butterflies. There were too many hanging bridges and natural root bridges to get excited. But, 3700 steps later you meet a small waterfall that passes underneath the Double Decker Root Bridge, a marvel to watch. Nongriat had a lot more to offer and so we headed to the natural Swimming pool where you would have to be spellbound by its clear waters. Yeah... Yoga poses everywhere. We had some great fun. Settled at a homestay, just beside the Double Decked Root Bridge, I find it hard to explain how the ambient sound of the waterfall in the evening, with a hot bowl of maggi and coffee felt like.

The next morning got us trekking back upto Tyrna and back to Cherapunji. We had Dawki on our minds and inspite of quite a few jolts, we reached Shnongpdeng late at night. Reaching your destination after sundown always mystifies your surroundings and we were eager to see the clear waters of the Umngot River with the sunrise. We relaxed in the river, took a few crazy shots and enjoyed a walk across the hanging bridge as well. Somewhere down the line, I missed you guys, Arghya n Ekta. Shnongpdeng, a bit away from Dawki village was definitely a much better place to camp and relax.

Time flew like the blink of an eye and even before I had started to soak myself under the spell of Meghalaya, the trip was coming to an end.

All these awesome moments and more came with quite a few twists. A broken motorcycle to be carried on a truck and a broken throttle cable with 3 hours on the clock for a train to catch. Life has its own ups and downs and so has every journey.
This is One Living Life with The Living Lives signing off for now.
This was just the trailer. There's a story to tell.

Oh!! Did you know, the total cost of this trip for 2 people for 9 days inclusive of fuel food stay and every other small little thing amounted to just 14,000.

Episodes and details posted at Youtube.com/OneLivingLife