Tuesday, 12 December 2017

Meet the Seven Sisters

An uneventful flight with a couple of gins at 39,000 feet and after a good night out in Kolkata we start our adventure to North East India.  

Shaken not stirred Miss Moneypenny (Check the guy snorting champagne)
The Seven Sisters referred to in the title are the names of the seven states in this out of the way part of India.

Seven Sisters - India top right!
The flight to Shillong is just an hour and a half so what could go wrong!
Flight delay, fog stops our pilot from seeing the runway and we divert to Guwahti and eventually land some 100km from our destination (our guide Prachu is waiting in Shillong).

No problem – as I leave the plane a member of the ground crew hands me his mobile and I’m in contact with Prachu.  We are put in a taxi and start a four-hour torturous journey back to Shillong.  After a couple of hours we rendezvous with our Prachu and driver, Mr Kamal at the Orchid Java Veg.  Another hour and we arrive at Rikynjai which is suberb.  Our room overlooks the lake and we get up early to enjoy the sunrise.

Not a bad way to start the day
Our journey begins proper today with the first stop at the Don Bosco Museum which is housed over 7 floors leading to a roof walk in a ‘birdcage’ which gives amazing views of Shillong.

Now I know how a budgie feels
Shillong - State capital of Assam - also known as Scotland of the East

Next stop is the Elephant Falls waterfalls named because the Brits thought that a rock resembled an elephant (which went in an earthquake so we’ll have to take their word for it).  

Where's the elephant?
Along the river and the falls we spot our first birds on the trip - a couple of redstarts and a spotted forktail.

Spotted Forktail
Crested Redstart
The route to Cherepunjee takes in long climbs and hairpin bends.  The mountains are cut with deep gorges and provide picturesque views although we are often a little too close to the edge for me.

On the way to Cherrapunjee

And we round the day off serenaded by a surprisingly good boy band who provide an impromptu concert for us at our hotel.

Cherrapunjee X-Factor....and it's a YES from me!

3 comments:

  1. Good stuff. You've squeezed a lot into the first few days. Look forward to the next installment. X

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  2. Brilliant photos - hope everything's going well, all the best, Colin

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  3. Following you both, your photos and comments say it all,your having a great time,and I'm enjoying it as well ,xx mum

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