A tempting offer came from my friend Aditi to accompany her on a tour to North East of India with Foliage Outdoors! But... the dates were 22-30 Nov and that meant leaving my husband to manage everything from both the kids' school and classes etc. for 9 whole days! Tough decision, but Sumedh being the sweetest person and husband, agreed immediately and I did the flight booking and started daydreaming, especially after getting to know more at the pre-camp meeting about the places we were going to visit!
And then, Aditi had to cancel due to an emergency and I had a really bad back sprain and a minor fracture in my foot! But thankfully I recovered enough in time to travel and with some encouragement from Aditi and other friends, also managed to overcome my anxiety of travelling with a group of strangers.
Day 1: Tuesday, 22nd November 2016
Reached Guwahati by flight with some of the co-travellers and our group leader Bishwajit Bezbaruah. A mini bus that was going to be our mode of transport for the next 9 days was waiting for us. On the way to the hotel, we saw some prominent landmarks and buildings in Guwahati including the memorial of the great singer, composer, writer - Bhupen Hazarika. Also quickly managed to shop for some handicrafts.
We met our other fellow travellers at the hotel and after dinner got the next day's briefing and a souvenir as a gift from our group leader "Jit Da" - as he would like to be addressed for the rest of the tour. The next two days would be spent in Majuli - largest river island district in the world!
Day 2: Wednesday, 23rd November 2016
Started from Guwahati after breakfast and proceeded to Jorhat where we would be taking the ferry to Majuli. On the way, we passed through some tea estates and some part of Kaziranga and we had the first sighting of the one horned Rhino! A first time for me, so it was really exciting, though it was far away.
After some souvenir shopping, we reached Jorhat in time for the 3:30 pm ferry that would take us to Majuli in one hour. It was a fun experience as we fought for a place to sit on top of the ferry, for the view. Just about managed to squeeze in between the two-wheelers that were being parked.
This was my introduction to the great Brahmaputra. The width of the river, the calm waters and the small islands in the way - it was mesmerising! After the initial excitement, everyone became quiet and enjoyed the tranquility till we reached Majuli and witnessed a sublime sunset.
Our resort was a quaint little resort of bamboo cottages owned and managed by an ever smiling and friendly person - Mr. Manjit Roshing. The rooms were named after flowers and luckily - I got to stay in a room called "Keteki".
The food was served in our host's kitchen, also built of bamboo where we could watch the food being prepared on an open fire where we could also warm our hands. Many kinds of traditional preparations of rice, vegetables and fish and chicken were served, some very delicious, others not so suitable to my taste. A pickle of a local fruit "Jalfai" was a hit with everyone. The kitchen and dining area was a great place to mingle with everyone over meals and we also got to taste the local rice beer "Apong".
Bamboo is used in so many ways here - right from houses to small boxes, baskets, even mugs and we met a person who has built a bicycle entirely from bamboo and he even rides it every day! Makes me wonder why we need to use so much plastic.
Day 3: Thursday, 24th November 2016
The day started with black tea and a refreshing long walk around the village of "Mishing" tribe. The bamboo houses built on stilts to protect them from frequent flooding of the river and almost all houses have a handloom below where the women make beautiful traditional patterns on sarees and scarfs for themselves and also to sell. We walked among the fields along the river bank, saw many birds, large and small and took in our lungs, as much unpolluted fresh air as we could.
After breakfast, we visited two "Satras" or Vaishnav monasteries in Majuli. Each monastery pursues a form of art to teach spirituality. The first one we visited - Samaguri - practices the art of mask making and drama using these masks. We saw many masks and a small demonstration and understood the process of making these masks. The second monastery - Kamalbari Satra - practices the form of dance.
 |
| Mask making stages |
 |
| Finished masks ready to be used in performances |
Day 4: Friday, 25th November 2016
After a leisurely breakfast, we bid goodbye to Majuli knowing that it will always hold a special place in our hearts. We took the ferry back to Jorhat and after lunch reached the Hollongpar Gibbon Sanctuary. As we had just about an hour before dark we had a quick walk inside the sanctuary with an armed guard accompanying us. We spotted Caped Langoor and Pig-tailed macaque. It was a tense moment when the guard smelled a leopard and loaded his gun! The stay that night was in Jorhat.
Started early morning for Shillong with Lake Umiam on the agenda. The blue waters of lake Umiam was a breathtaking sight, but unfortunately, the picnic spot developed there was too crowded and the loud music being played spoiled the atmosphere. So we enjoyed the view from the top from a viewpoint along the road.
The landscape changed as we approached Meghalaya and so did the houses and the clothes, especially of the women. Cherry blossoms greeted us on the way which gave an opportunity to the photography enthusiasts to capture their beauty in the cameras.
Narrow, winding roads led us to a vibrant city of Shillong where we stopped at the golf course and the lush green grass and the gentle slopes brought out the child in all of us - right from age 21 to 66! We enjoyed group games conducted by Jit Da, some cartwheels and lots of photos. We all laughed heartily like 5-year-olds!
 |
| Shillong's natural golf course |
 |
| Busy Police Bazaar, Shillong |
Day 6: Sunday, 27th November 2016
I didn't know then that this day's experience would be the most memorable for me. We went to a place called Dawki which is the last village on the border of India and Bangladesh. The Clear blue-green water of the Umsning river could be seen from the road, with fishermen in small boats. We visited the border guarded by the BSF, clicked photos in no man's land and had breakfast at a local food joint where the jug of water on the table had a small fish swimming in it! (No, this wasn't the most memorable experience )
Across the border, we could see a large crowd on a sand patch in the river. The contrast between two sides of the border was noticeable.
We returned to the river for a boat ride and a swim. The bonus was jumping in the clear water from a rock!
The water was a little cold but refreshing. This jump was the most memorable experience, the highlight of the trip for me - one thing ticked off my bucket list.
In the afternoon we went to Mawlynong (meaning God's own garden) which is the cleanest village in India and proceeded to see the living root bridge. Local villagers have planted rubber trees on either side of the stream and have trained their roots in such a way that the interwoven roots form a 'living' bridge across the stream that is used by the villagers daily. It is really a wonder - man-made as well as natural!
Day 7: Monday, 28th November 2016
Today's plan was to go trekking to another living root bridge - this one a double decker. From the starting point, we climbed down around 3,000 steps, crossed two hanging bridges and reached the last village on the route and the double decker living root bridge.
 |
| Hanging bridge. (PC: Bishwajeet Bezbaruah) |
The climb down the steps was taxing as the steps are too small, but once we reached the hanging bridge we saw the water gushing over the rocks and flowing into a blue lagoon and the sight was totally worth the trembling legs.
The double decker living root bridge and it's surrounding area seemed something straight out of a fantasy movie! So calm and serene and peaceful! We sat with our feet in the water and the fish gave us a free pedicure. Didn't want to get up from there at all, but did so reluctantly after some time. But the image is still clear in my mind - gently falling water on big and small rocks, clear water pools with the natural wonder of the living root bridge above, not many tourists around, everyone picked their own spot to really soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the tranquility!
After a local lunch of "Maggie" noodles, we started our climb up which was equally exhausting, but the 66 years 'young' trekker among us reached up only 10 mins after the two youngest members of the group aged 21 years.
Day 8: Tuesday, 29th November 2016
We started for Pobitora after breakfast but there was one more exciting adventure to be done on the way and that was - caving! This was another first for me and though I am not claustrophobic, the darkness inside the cave and the possibility of disturbing the bats resting inside was unnerving.
We reached Pobitora in the evening and checked in into another cute resort with bamboo huts and a lawn in between. Enjoyed the last evening together chit chatting.
Day 9: Wednesday, 30th November 2016
In the morning, went to our only safari in the tour hoping to see the magnificent one-horned rhinoceros and they did not disappoint us at all! Saw two of these herbivorous giants from a very close distance and a few more too, including some babies. The photographers had a gala time doing a detailed photo session with the rhinos, clicking them from the front, back and sides.
The morning misty atmosphere in the wildlife sanctuary with dewdrops shining on the blades of grass made us feel we should have stayed here longer. Saw a few birds too.
North-East, I am definitely coming back!
