This is a blog on my tour to the North-Eastern Marvel Meghalaya:
Click here to read the previous page: Journey around the green hills: Shillong, Mawsynram, Jakrem, David Scott trail
Day 3 - Laitlum Canyons and Krang Shuri falls
This was a long day. Left to Laitlum Canyons and reached there around 11am. Laitlum canyons has a good view to smit village. We also sat at the rock edges and enjoyed an exhilarating view of the valley. We could see villagers including 5 year olds carrying luggage up from Smit village to Laitlum. Meghalayans have 3 tribes and they look a bit different. We noticed a few with Mongolian face, some were having Asian face. Generally they are short people and ate very less and less spicy food compared to us malayalees. We had to order more than one meal to satisfy ourselves. After Laitlum canyons we left to Krang Shuri falls. This was one of the most beautiful waterfalls i have seen. The falls and pool are dreamlike. The enthusiasm took us no time to jump in the cold water. No amount of shivering stopped us from swimming there for more than an hour. After the swim, we ate some tasty momos, chow mein and noodles from the nearby home food stall.
It was nearly sunset by the time we left there We straightaway went to Shnongpedang near Dawki. Dawki is near Bangladesh border. The climate there is warm and humid like Kerala. We stayed by riverside tents in Umndong river. A bonfire was setup by the friendly owner Mickey and the ambience of the moonlit riverside and the pedestrian bridge was inexplicable and the picturesque is not something that could have been captured by a camera. We spent a lot of time on the anchored boats watching stars and singing songs. A sleep in the long shaking bridge was also unforgettable.
Stay @ Mickey’s: +91 - 8974227204
Laitlum Canyons
Krang Shuri Falls
Krang Shuri Falls
Day 4 - Shnonpedang and Dawki
The morning was a bit hot and we were woken up by voices of villagers crossing the river. We opened the tents and there we could see the crystal clear Umngot river and a multitude of differently coloured boats anchored to the shore. The scene was priceless. It was definitely worth posting an Instagram picture with a Hashtag #morningsbelike. After enjoying the riverside view for another long calm two hours, we went for a late breakfast and planned to do boating in the river. They also had some adventure activities like cliff jumping snorkelling etc. arranged by Pioneer adventures. The boating on the crystal clear water was like no other and we couldn’t resist some silent time listening to the smooth ambiance of countryside fishing etc.
After about an hour of boating in Shnongpedang, we took a Maruthi cab (400Rs.) to Dawki to see Bangladesh border and do a boating there too on the downstream of the same river. The river is not the clean at Dawki as there is plastic waste deposits and the water was not that clear too. (Maybe at the time there was a less flow in the river which made it muddy. We left from there to Shillong to pickup our 7th trip mate who had campus interviews in IITG. We waited for Aswathy at Dylans’s cafe. This restaurant was in memorabilia to Bob Dylan and had continental food with Indian flavour. We ordered one item each of almost everything on the menu (Burgers, sandwiches, momos, pasta etc.) and bill was not that pricey. After our 7th friend came, we left to Cherrapunjee to Sunshine’s lodge.
Stay @ Sunshine (lodge): +91 - 9612088320
An alternate option to stay is in By the way lodge in case you are a group of bachelors.
Umngot River @ Shnongpedang
Serene countryside living @ Umngot river
Umngot River @ Shnongpedang
Umngot river @ Dawki
Sunset at Bangladesh border @ Dawki
Dinner @ Dylan's Cafe: Shillong
Click here to continue reading: Of the jungle and root bridges: Cherraunjee and Nongriat
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