2023MAR NorthEast Trip [WIP]
Itinerary
Guwahati --> Kaziranga --> Majuli --> Kaziranga --> Shillong --> Cherrapunji --> Guwahati
Experience
(Guwahati to Kaziranga)(Kaziranga to Majuli)
Ferry rides to and fro Majuli. Bamboo cottages and mosquitos.
(Majuli to Kaziranga) 11th March One horned rhinos. Hornbill. Orchid garden and local dance performances.
(Kaziranga to Shillong) 12th March Umiam Lake, boating, skipping stones, cool winds. IIM Shillong waterfall experience, more like the first trek of the trip. Needed focus and solving problems. I might appreciate rock climbing as well.
(Shillong to Cherrapunji)
Amazing first day stay at "Sa-I-Mika?" with valley view. HUGE wooden cottage with ample space to dance and hangout.
Trek to double decker falls, rainbow falls. 14000 steps, cold water, rain and hail on the way back. Trusty, helpful and agile guides. Friendly cats and dogs. Wise to ziplock your phones. Drinking loads of electrolytes (ORS) helped. Hungry, shivering and tired, simplest of maggis taste insanely good. Met random strangers on the way back up. An insane feat indeed. Human body is one heck of a machine. I'm now convinced of it's limitless potential. Next two days of rest included good food at Jiva and "??" resorts.
Cherrapunji is a great off-the-grid experience for people who find comfort in solitude. The uncertainity of cellphone network, internet and even electricity constraints you to focus more on what's in hand -- cool winds, warm sun and unpredictable rains and hail. I've found that meals were my most sought after event of the day. Hot, cozy, freshly cooked food mixed with petrichor with good music and nice people make every meal worth it.
My cellphone got exposed to water during the trek and was rendered useless throughtout the rest of the trip, making it an even better experience in my opinion.
(Cherrapunji to Guwahati)
The rainy Sunday ride back to Guwahati has been breathtaking. Brown-orange vegetation, huge mossy wet boulders in the landscape.
"What did the small rock say to the big rock? It wanted to be boulder!" a pun that reminds me of a friend S
Constraints on the trip
1. Majuli ferri could only carry 3 cars max on one go.2. Rain. Keep ziplocks for your phones
3. Electricity. Carry power backups
4. Cash. ATMs are scarce.
5. Cold. Keep a jacket on you.