My summer vacations had just started, and I was desperate to go to the UK to visit my cousins. Unfortunately, my new passport wasn’t sent yet so we could only travel domestically. Which is when my dad came up with the idea of taking us to Assam and Meghalaya to see more of the country we live in.
I thought this was a good idea because, aside from going to visit my relatives in Chennai, we haven’t seen much of India at all. So I was on board, and so was everyone else, besides Srishti (my sister). She also wanted to visit our cousins.
Now remember when I say I would make it brief in my blog where I talk about my trip in the US. I did not keep it short. This time I will make it brief for real.
So, let’s get into it.
MAY 3rd
It was 5:30 in the morning. We had just taken the cab to the airport. Now, my mum had asked me to make a record of all the things that would happen each day of this trip. She also asked me to bring a few books to read. But I had forgotten to pack them in my bag!
Everybody wasn’t happy (obviously), and I had to buy a new notebook for writing stuff down, as well as a book to read. Anyways we reached the airport and got our equipment checked, but in the middle of it, they had to re-check my bag for some reason. Didn’t know what that was about.
Flash forward, we get plane, land in Guwahati, Assam, and get treated nicely with gamosas (scarf like garments). The rest of the day doesn’t matter. We drove for 3 hours till we reached Royale de Casa (our hotel), we enjoyed our dinner, and we slept.
See, I told you I would try to make this brief.
May 4th
This was probably the best day of the whole trip.
We were planning on seeing the wildlife around us in Kaziranga, and that was exactly what we did. So, right after freshening ourselves up, we ate at the breakfast buffet and got on the safari jeep. We saw several rhinos and deer, as well as buffaloes and different birds like eagles and pelicans.
One thing I really hoped to see was a tiger, but it is too rare to spot one apparently in this park, but that doesn’t mean they are nowhere to be found there. The safari had finished around lunchtime, so we decided to take a swim in the hotel pool before we ate lunch. Man! Could this day be better?
We quickly ate and took a one-hour nap, before we had left for an orchid park that was close by. It was just the fact that we did not see any orchids. But there was a concert on Assamese culture in general, so we were not totally jobless.
When we had entered, my dad had spotted a treehouse settled above an unsafe, rickety ladder. Of course, like how any sane person would, he asked me to climb it. And I, being the coward I am, said no. Ok, I did attempt climbing it, but I had only gone up like five steps. My dad tried to show me how to climb it, but he just ended up climbing the same number of stairs as me. Then we found a tall dinosaur model at a playground in the orchid park and my dad asked me to climb that too. By that time, I just wanted to show my dad that I wasn’t scared to do it, so I did it. And a bunch of aunties yelled at me. Thanks daddy.
An hour later we saw the concert and enjoyed it. I had a bit of a headache in the middle, but it wore off quick enough.
This one wasn’t as brief. I apologize. Trust me, the next day will be super short.
May 5th
This day was just a nine-hour drive to Shillong, in Meghalaya. I saw a bunch of football fields and watched the IPL match that day. We reached Phoenix Residency (our new hotel) where we just chilled and slept.
That’s about it.
May 6th
Boy! This day was interesting, in both good and bad ways.
This day, we were supposed to travel to Malwynnong Village, to see more of rural India. This was a big challenge for me, as well as my mom to be honest. In the middle of our drive, we saw a bunch of football fields.
Before we had reached the village, we stopped at Dawki Lake, which was apparently the border between India and Bangladesh. It was extremely pretty; I won’t deny that. We had been on a boat ride, which was also pleasant. We had also stopped for collecting stones as souvenirs because , why not? They looked cool. After that, we returned from our boat ride, and that was when my stomach kicked into the story.
I was feeling a bit gassy, and I needed to go to the bathroom, but the public bathrooms there were horrendous, so I suggested I would poop when we reach for lunch. Little did I know that when we were driving, a tree would fall and prevent a bunch of cars from moving forward. We had to wait two hours. Apparently, this is normal in that area. I wonder how the people manage the bathroom situation. They would probably just go beforehand, like I should have. Idiot!
Anyways, even when I did reach the bathroom, it was an Indian style one, and I wet my pants while trying to wash my butt. Sorry for disgusting you, but I just had to write this down. After lunch in the storming weather, we decided to run in the rain to see the village and get even more wet. Perfect!
At least the Root Bridge was a beautiful landmark to observe.
Not the best day of this trip.
May 7th
This was probably the most forgettable day of the trip. This doesn’t mean that it was bad, it’s just that I couldn’t remember most of it. I had to take a few seconds to remember what we did while writing this.
On this day, we were supposed to go to Cherrapunji, one of the rainiest places in the world, and it was marginally sunny outside. Go figure. When we reached, I saw a ziplining activity that was closed. My parents wouldn’t let me go anyway. It was from cliff to cliff.
We also saw the Garden of Caves, in Cherrapunji, and ate at a resort for lunch. Right after that we saw the remarkable Seven Sisters Waterfall. It’s called that because the falls flow into seven different streams. Then we just returned to the hotel while seeing football fields along the way.
May 8th
This was a day just meant for leisure activities and fun in the city of Shillong, so there was a plan that my dad, Srishti and I were going to take part in a momo eating competition for lunch. As you would expect, I was trying to eat as little as possible for breakfast.
In the morning, my dad wasn’t with us, so my mom, Srishti and I visited a lake and saw a museum that was basically all about the Seven Sisters (Tripura, Manipur,Nagaland,Meghalaya,Assam,Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram) and One Brother (Sikkim) and other stuff like India’s contribution to space and different religions. There’s just too much information there I could fit one into a whole blog.
Anyway, after that we met up with my dad in a restaurant and I was so ready for the challenge, but in the last second, my dad was feeling unsure about it so he said we will do it later. I was a bit disappointed, but I was ok with it. We ate lunch and then my parents wanted to do a bit of shopping, so I just followed them. A bunch of the shoes there were fake.
Anyways, this was another day that wasn’t too memorable but wasn’t that bad either.
May 9th
So, the original plan was to go to Mawphlang, a forest in Meghalaya, but my parents didn’t want to go to a place where there was no food nearby. So, we saw the Great Canyon of Laitlum, and it was great!
I sat on the edge of the canyon and talked about walking on the path down that had no railings, scaring my mum like crazy. It was great! Jokes aside, the canyon was a marvel to look at and was a great destination to stop.
Next, we visited an air force station, and I was just jealous of the facilities they had there. They had a basketball, football, tennis, and volleyball court all in the same area. We also saw the entirety of Shillong on top of a tower. After that we ate at a café, cause Shillong is famous for its cafes.
Pretty good day!
May 10th
This was the day we had to say goodbye to Shillong and move on to Guwahati. We stopped in the middle of the drive to see the Umiam Lake. Usually I’d touch the water, but then I just wasn’t feeling like it. We just kept driving (aside from a few stops) till we reached Guwahati. We stopped at another hotel. It was great. I drank hot chocolate with Srishti, and I watched Avengers: Endgame in Hindi with English subtitles. What’s not to love.
Right after, we got on a cable car ride. You know those cable cars that are tied onto ropes attached from one end to another. Not scary at all. If it drops, I’ll just swim to safety. But seriously it was a bit frightening since I do have a fear of heights, and the car did rock a lot. I enjoyed it regardless. Right after, we got on a cruise that lasted an hour. There was singing, food and a lot of alcohol. Still, the cruise was cool and relaxing. Finally, we returned to our hotel.
Another great day!
May 11th
On this day, we were supposed to go to the Kamakhya Temple and then leave for the airport as this was our last day on this trip. It was simple. Just wait in a queue for a bit, send our prayers and leave. If only we knew what was coming for us!
When we reached it, at first it looked like a regular temple. Then we see a bunch of goats and bulls in the temple. At first, I was questioning what that was about. Then we sat in a room waiting to see the deity of Goddess Shakthi. While we were sitting, my dad googles on the temple and finds out that it’s a Tantrik temple, a temple that uses the practice of sacrificing animals. What was even scarier was that there was an incident of five human sacrifices that happened at the same temple. At this point, I was justifiably freaked out.
Then a few minutes later, my stomach decides to mess with me again. This time I desperately needed to poop, but now there weren’t any bathrooms at the temple. I just had to hold it for supposedly an hour. My parents said they would take me home if it was 10am and the doors didn’t open. It was 9:30am and I had held it in for an hour. We had finally started moving but we stopped again. But this time we were locked in a claustrophobic room filled with people. Don’t forget I was still holding in my poop.
At this point it was 11am and I had been holding it for 2 and half hours. There was no sign of anybody moving or the door opening, we had a chance of missing our flight, and I was still holding my shit. The funny thing was that most of the others were in the exact same situation as we were. It was 11:30am and we were slowly moving step by step.
When we reached the deity, we found out that we were in a giant three- layered cave. In front of us, stood a deity of Shakti, showered in flowers. It was so loud I wasn’t even able to pray for a second. Then I turn to my left, and what I see… is four chopped up goat heads and a chopped-up buffalo head. I was so scared I thought I pooped my pants by mistake. I just wanted to move as far away from it as possible.
Now, here comes the most significant, the most life-changing, most horrifying moment I have ever witnessed in my entire life. As we go further down the cave, there was another man carrying the buffalo head as well as a bucket to fill with blood. Without noticing… I touch the buffalo’s eye, as well as the blood that dripped from the head. I was traumatized and I almost cried.
The rest of the story doesn’t matter, cause I’m just too lazy to write the rest. All I can say is that this was the weirdest, most violent temple I had ever been to. Srishti was so traumatized, she couldn’t speak. Anyways I put that all beside me, as this was the last day of the trip and I had to say goodbye to Assam and Meghalaya.
So, we left and returned home.
Conclusion
This trip was weird.
I felt so many happy emotions, and well as there being so many bad incidents occurring. It felt like so little happened, while so much happened. Even though this wasn’t my favorite trip, it was an experience I needed. This trip helped me get out of my comfort zone and taught me things to remember while travelling places.
Did I love this trip? Not really.
Did I think it was necessary? Absolutely.
Except, the Kamakhya Temple. Don’t go there. Seriously don’t!
Bye!
Very well written. Way to go