Off to the offbeat places of Meghalaya

As we started off from Guwahati at 11:00 am to our destination Shillong the notion we all had was that Shillong must be having a very cold weather at present as it rained cats and dogs in Guwahati the previous night. So to combat the cold I had my bag packed with all warm clothes. After a travel of around 3 hours we reached Shillong. To our utter surprise Shillong was not that shivering cold. The sun and the cool breeze altogether made a pleasant climate. Since sightseeing in Shillong closes by 3:30 so we decided to travel further towards upper Shillong to reach Mawlynnong, Asia's cleanest village. It would take 2 and half hours more to reach there. So we had our lunch and booked a cab for Rs 1500 from Police bazar. At 4:00 pm we left for Mawlynnong. Though it was dusk the climate still was moderate. We did not encounter that cold to put on our sweater untill suddenly we approached the heap of clouds floating over the curvy roads and the steep hills. The wind which howled there added more to that chill. To drive in such a condition requires expertise. Nothing was visible except those fog lights. The drivers drove along the white lines which were the partition for the roads on the two sides helping the drivers to be along their own path. After few kilometers as we went downwards from the high altitude the clouds disappeared and the climate changed again. We could see the fields across the road and as we almost approached we saw jungle all over. After travelling few more kilometers we finally reached the village, Mawlynnong at 7 pm. It was dark already. Our cab driver was kind enough to help us in finding a cottage to stay. It was a homestay. A small room for four of us costing Rs 1800. The bamboo cottage was cozy. In this world of electronics and technology, this is a completely different world. No phone networks. That is the best of all. The phone besides having the advantage of bringing the far ones closer it has taken the nearer ones far. We are busy with mobile gaming and chatting not bothered about the company around us. But this place doesn't allow that. We can enjoy the company of our closest one in the lap of nature without any intrusion from the techy world. We freshened up and went out for a walk. The village was so cool and serene. Beautiful flowers in the garden and everything was so clean. There were dustbins kept at every places and the villagers themselves have taken the pain of preparing those dustbins out of bamboo. Since it was already late for the day so we returned back to our room and satisfied our gluttony and were off to sleep so that we could start afresh the next day.