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.
The Seven Sisters referred to in the title
are the names of the seven states in this out of the way part of India.
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.
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).
Along
the river and the falls we spot our first birds on the trip - a couple of
redstarts and a spotted forktail.
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.
And we round the day off serenaded by a surprisingly good
boy band who provide an impromptu concert for us at our hotel.
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Cherrapunjee X-Factor....and it's a YES from me! |
Good stuff. You've squeezed a lot into the first few days. Look forward to the next installment. X
ReplyDeleteBrilliant photos - hope everything's going well, all the best, Colin
ReplyDeleteFollowing you both, your photos and comments say it all,your having a great time,and I'm enjoying it as well ,xx mum
ReplyDelete