By Lisvan Rodrigues
Another Day in Paradise
It was just another day -- a day at work, so mid way through the busy schedule, I took a break and met an old friend -- Nawaz.
Nawaz and I had graduated in the same year from a journalism college. We sat a while and briefly discussed bout where our lives were heading (well, Y'all don't want to know where) but clearly we were bored being stuck in the 'matrix', that's when he suggested we take a trip to the 'Abode of the Clouds', Meghalaya.
We looked at eachother with a gleam in the eyes and without hesitating for one second 'set our souls on fire' -- of course we were going to Meghalaya.
Let's avoid all the sad details and jump to the part where two of our friends decided to join us at a later date, in Shillong. We didn't want them to miss the fun in Meghalaya and decided to stay in Guwahati or move to Assam and kill our time till they come (What we needed was a holiday, right?).
We booked our flights, packed our bags and travelled from coast to coast (Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, almost there). We planned with the help of google but it wasn't an accurate plan-- that did cost us a hole in our pockets but experiences priceless or not?
We landed in Guwahati, a day after we left our homes, a place where the sudden ghush of wind made us forget where we came from and also forget where our lives were heading. We had three days to kill before we got to Meghalaya and that's when Nawaz, suggested that we could take a trip to Bhutan."
The heart is set on fire, the soul is asking to be freed, all those emotions coming all at once and screaming, Let's go to Bhutan!
So we booked a cab from Guwahati and reached the closest border from Guwahati 'Samdrup Jhongkar' -- Let me tell you, Of course you need a visa, or a visa on arrival, or a permit as they call it if you are an Indian. To get this permit you'll need a copy of your passport or your Voter's ID, a reservation in a hotel room in Bhutan and a form from their immigration office filled with all the necessary details.
We entered Samdrup Jhongkar and had a word with the immigration officer. On inquiry, he told us that we could enter their country but couldn't go further than a 4km radius. The dejection on our faces was clearly visible and that is when he told us that we could go through another route to get into the beautiful country built on the mountains, ruled by a king and the only one that runs on Gross Domestic Happiness.
There are three gates to get to Bhutan -- Phuntsholing, Samdrup Jongkhar and Gelephu, but one can only enter and explore Bhutan through Phuntsholing.
We had to go from Samdrup Jongkhar Phuntsholing which is located on the West Bengal border. Another cab ride for 7 hours! Our bodies were tired but what kept us going was our soul and our desire to travel.
We reached Phuntsholing but the journey didn't end there. We had to get our permits ready and thus we made our way towards the immigration office nearby and waited in the queue. We were lost and had no clue as to what has to be done, that is when a friendly Bhutanese agent walked up to us with a cheerful smile and asked if we needed some help.
We breathed a sigh of relief and asked him what is to be done he told us about the documents we required and asked us to visit to the main office, which was quite visible from where we were standing. He went on to tell us that the office closes at 5 p.m.
Nawaz asked me to hustle and Igunuinely obeyed the orders for obvious reasons. It is 4:45 p.m. on our watches and we started walking towards the main building. That's when our new friend from Bhutan called out to us and told us that the office must be closed.
Nawaz gazed at the watch and said, "But there are 15 more minutes, we can do it," the friendly guy smiled at us, knowing what was happening and told us, "No my friend, it's 5:15 p.m. We follow Bhutan Standard Time not Indian Standard Time."
And that was it, we had a night to spend in Phuntsholing, so we redied our documents and had a good night sleep after we put the Plan of Action (POA) in place for the next day.
People who know me might be shocked but, yes, we got up 6:30 a.m. and went to the immigration office by 7. The earlier the better, because we wanted to scale the Tiger's Nest the next day in the morning. It did rain heavy the previous night and as a result the servers were down. The administrators were puntual but none got their permits until 11:30 a.m. -- that's when the internet began to process our thumb imprints.
Another cab ride, over the ghats for 6 hours and we reached Bhutan, Paro -- Finally!
Taktsangh - In search of the Tiger
Everything said about Bhutan can be an understatement. Awestruck as i was, i could hardly believe my eyes, as our taxi climbed on a hill to have an aeriel view of the tiny yet beautiful international airport in Paro.
Our driver, a jolly good fellow said, "You may catch a glimpse of a flight landing, but I can barely see any flights on the ground, maybe you have to be lucky for flights to land at this time on the airport," as he laughed.
No, we didn't want to see a flight landing to be honest, we were just happy that we were in Paro after a rollercoaster.
But the universe had better things in store for us, just like they say 'expect the unexpected' (in all the best meaning, we had all good things coming our way, on th trip) and Lo! a plane prepared for landing miles away from us!
That night, after we checked into our hotels -- we went around hunting for souvenirs, and everything around was so expensive that I decided to buy some postcards and post them instead -- The cards, till date haven't reached my house (weeps bitterly). We entered a bakery, ate some cakes and everything we could lay our hands on before we headed to a Karaoke Pub, Yoshira, welcomed us and sang a few numbers -- eventhough she called herself a bathroom singer her voice was pleasant. And just like that, we made another new friend in the Happiest country!
A good night sleep is all we longed for and we tucked ourselves in the bed at around 1? We had an appointment with the tigress next morning, not the one from Kung Fu Panda, this one was different. She was the flying tigress!
Legend has it that Guru Riponche also known as the second Buddha flew to the cave here on the back of a flying tigress. That tigress was a trannsformation of his Tibetan concubine. The Guru then meditated in the cave for 3 years 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days before he subdued the demons.
I understood why he flew on a tigress and didn't just walk uphill, when I started my climb. It was a chilly day and to add to it the rain gods decided to make their presence felt making the path slippery and even more beautiful. We started the ascend to the nest placed 10,000 feet above sea level at around 7.30 in the morning with a stick in our hands and barely any bags (travel light -- always remeber that). We did't have our breakfat nor the early moring coffee but what we had was the fire within us that kept us going (I still feel we should've had some redbull though-- gives you wings?)
We huffed and puffed our way up and met very few people along the way making the climb up. What shook me was that, there were people of all ages, all races and all genders making their pilgrimage, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 7th century temple (now rebuilt after a fire destroyed it in 90's).
The climb was difficult, but we are travellers and we are in search of beautiful destinations, are we not? We walked for nearly 3 hours with a lot of breaks, we also broke sweat in tempratures as low as 3 degree celcius.
Let me not drag it further, Yes, we reached the Tigers Nest! After keeping our cameras, mobiles and sticks in the safe we made our way to the temple, the ticket to which costs Rs 500.
The spritual surroundings just took me into the realm of gods. I didn't want to get back to reality. After meditating for some time in a cave with a couple of monks we walked out to explore the place further and as we climbed up a stairway to 'heaven' (upper floor), I whispered to Nawaz, "Do we really have to go back home?," Nawaz looked at me, shrugged off his shoulders and repliee, "There is a taxi waiting, at the foot of the hill."
Y'all would understand my urge and desire to become a monk after visiting the place (Being a monk takes about 3 years 3 monts 3 weeks and 3 days locked in a room away from any human contact). I walked further still in hypnosis, spritually touched and heavenly blessed to an edge which was built by a lowly wall and leaned over to look down. All I saw was a blanket of cloud asking me to jump on it, promising me a flying tigress would catch me and fly me to heaven!
As tempting as it seemed, I returned back to my senses and walked back, to where the taxi was waiting for us, greeting everyone we met on the way and motivitaing the dejected souls who thought they can't make it to the Tiger's Nest.
It's not just the Tigers Nest up there -- Trust me, It is heaven!
And as I sat in the car, to go back to another place, I recollected the words of a monk we met in the temple, "Your lives are so full of stress and worries, look at me, I don't have any stress, I am at peace, I don't have worries of tommorow."
Box Bhutan
Itenary
*You can take a direct flight to Paro, which is more feasible then going by road
*Puentoshilong is the only gate that allows entry and exit in Bhutan, if you are travelling by road.
*The closest stations to Puentoshilong are Aliduarpur and Hamoror.
*If you're going by road, you need to get a permit from the immigration office at the border. Requirements: Passport/Voters ID, A hotel booking reciept in a city in Bhutan (Thimpu/Paro), An immigration form to be filled.
*Carry warm clothes as the temperatures drop as low as 3 during summers.
* Cross on Zebra crossing, avoid wearing shorts especially if you're visiting the Dzongs and government office. Avoid pointing out at things/people.
*Bhutan is a Happy Country, Be happy and don't get yourselves into any trouble.
Journeying to the abode of Clouds
Worrying about tomorrow was exactly what we were doing, we had to get back to India and then Guwahati, where we would meet our friends, Zennin and Andrew. Our plan now was to get to Meghalaya and get lost there somewhere over the rainbow. Somewhere under the clouds!
This time around we decided to save some money and get the train to Guwahati from Aliduarpur in West Bengal an hours drive from Phuntsholing. We had no reservations so we had to take the tickets in the General category. Travelling in General in India is the most ferocious adventure you can think of especially when you have trekked to the Tiger's nest with no flying tigress.
Our feet were numb, backs broken but luckily like I said before, expect the unexpected) we manged to get two seats to relax abit, we were expected to reach at around 4 a.m. and we did, with black eyes, sore bodies which were making thier way outside the station with the help of the sticks we used in Bhutan on the trail.
Andrew and Zenin arrive!
After a long wait, our two beloved friends finally arrived with heartwarming simles, making us forget about the pain we were in and at once we took another cab to Shillong -- once in Shillong we rarely wasted any time, before we hopped onto another cab which would take us to Nongriat.
Cheerapunji -- Nongriat
We meet Mayborn!
Who is Mayborn and why does he get a special mention in our adventure story? Well, Mayborn is the coolest dude you could encounter, "Whoooaaa," he said while we ascended a ghat, "once you reach the bottom of this hill oooooo and you see up, you'll wonder, where is India," he laughed as he told us about the paradise we were setting our foot in.
Mayborn was our cab driver, a jolly good fellow, tall, lean and a great Bob Marley, John Lenon fan. But sadly he didn't stay with us for long. He dropped us off at Nongriat and bid adieu. Now we had to make our way through the forest trail to the double decker root bridge.
How to get there? You just walk down -- thousands of steps -- and you just walk to an extent you feel you are on a 'boulevard of broken dreams'.
So all four of us, we started our descend with the backpags one carrying atleast 8kgs on their backs. We were trekking to the double decker root bridge. These briges are built using the roots of Ficus elastica, and then they build a pathway over those roots covering them with sand and laying wooden platforms, it takes nearly 15 years to build one. Fascinating right?
As soon as we finished a few thousand steps we got to a single decker bridge, we didn't waste much time there because we were loosing light. Fun fact, the sun rises at 4:30 and it's pitch dark by 6:15 or so in this place. So we had to rush!
After a few miles we came to a standstill as we stared at the long cable brigde we had to cross inorder to get to the destination. We were scared! Yes, but we started to walk on the bridge which looked like the one in the Movie Shrek, when Shrek goes to rescue Fiona who was locked away in a tower protected by a fire breathing dragon and the only way to get to the tower was a feeble bridge with fires ranging from underneath -- Does anoyone remember how scared the donkey was? -- Well, I was as scared as that donkey.
But I walked, and as I reached mid way, I felt the bridge dancing , swinging from left to right, I saw the majestic nature surrounding me, the ghushing waterfall beneath my shivering feet and the feeble shaky bridge helping me get to the other side, and all I could think about was -- what if I miss a step?
Zenin looked at me as the bridge moved and the fear in her eyes destroyed the little confidence I had, as Icalled out to Nawaz, "Walk slowly, the bridge is moving (and we are all going to die)," We cautiosly walked our way through and what a relief it was as we got on to the other side.
We walked a few more miles and saw the beautiful bridges built by man with the help of the nature. Wouldn't the earth be prettier if man always thought so sustainably? I wondered.
We went ahead and kept our bags in the house we were supposed to spend that night! a house just below the waterfall (a dream come true). We changed our clothes and rushed to the chilly stream and plunged into the waters. The legs shivered, but, there was joy, there were smiles. We survived yet another day!
Where the Rainbow meets the water
A night in the jungle can be an intersting one, living on the edge of a waterfall is even more thrilling, the sound of ghusing water, the crickets cheerping, the rain drops on the roof, oh and fresh air!
But life isn't a bed a roses, is it? Well, add to all the beautiful things there were mosquitoes buzzing, coackroaches swelling up in the sky, insects unknown were visible and even a stone crab came to visit us, Wow! But to all these things we had one solution, The good ol' friends in the company of good ol' 'Jack'!
Tales were told, memories shared, laughters spilled before our tired bodies gave way.
Next moring we woke up at around 7:30 p.m. me being the last person to get up and made our way towards the Rainbow Waterfalls -- an hour long trek. We were the only ones travelling the road usually less travelled, obviously because we had other plans later in the day.
There were no stairs, there was just a path leading through the forest and another cable bridge to be crossed. Well, there is something about Dogs joining us on treks, and this time around it was 'Ghost' -- Andrew named him after the 'Game of thrones Direwolf' for obvious reasons, he looked like 'Ghost'. Well, Ghost led the way for a while and delayed us on the cable bridge, maybe he was scared to cross or was waiting for us to cross before him. But he stood there blocking the way until we decided to go over him and he followed.
After climbing the rocks and crossing the bridges through the forests of Nongriat, we looked up and just like Mayborn said 'There is no India, there is heaven down there) we saw the waters ghushing down on a lonely rock right below it, as timid as the rock was, as stong the force of the water softening it. But oh my! it was majestic! A heavenly flow right from the clouds, if there is paradise somewhere, it is here!
Ghost relaxed for a while as we enjoyed the waterfall and clicked all the pictures we could after 'living the moment' -- This was important.
Back to Shillong
On our way back on the top of the hill, we walked under the heavy raindrops subottaging our road ahead -- an uphill task that was already difficult, the heavy rains of the wettest place in the world drenched us, almost killing our spirit. It was our third trek. Third Day!
We ran, we walked, we stopped, we crawled, but we made it back to the top. I don't remeber many names but this yound boy Tensein helped us change into something dry and that was such a blessing! So we thanked Tensein and invited hime to Goa, the young chap in the yellow jacket smiled and said, "My mom and dad have a shop up there and I help them, so when I grow big like you I'll pack my bags and come to meet you'll," we smiled and asked him to follow his dreams before we took his leave.
We were on road yet again, having another drive on the ghats but this wasn't a 'rollercoaster' as we got stuck in the traffic. If you ever get stuck in a traffic in Shillong, I'd suggest you start walking if you aren't patient. The roads there are single lane, with a dozen of curves (not the ones we fancy, obviously), and endless traffic that goes at the speed of a snail.
Why we were tensed, or a little hyper is because, we had to meet a guy called Harsh. Harsh owns a business called 'Camping Co' and rents out a vehicle with a tent attached on the roof. We were supposed to meet Harsh at 4 p.m. but ended up reaching Shillong only at 6 p.m. We lost the light, the sun had already set, when we met the guy who had our to be house for two day.
He gave a brief Demo about how to set the tent and told us about all the basic amenities. He also suggested us some places to camp at night. Andrew and Nawaz, here were very good students, they did everything right, to make Harsh feel his car and his portable house was in good hands while Zenin and I just stood there as if to say 'Can we get the hell out of here already, we are hungry'.
After all the formalities were over, we bid adieu too Harsh and set the wheels rolling, they didn't roll fast, not at all -- Yes! traffic'. We were now on our way to 'Black Bridge resort' a place in Cheerapunjee. We halted on the way and got all everything in sight, eggs, rice, salt, sugar, oil, spices, chips, chocolates, teardrop of an unicorn and blood of a virgin.
We then made our way towards 'Black Bridge resort' following the google maps and managed to get cose to the spot but all we could see was darkness, forest and no signboards as Andrew tried calling the owner of the place.
He answered and initially told us that they are closed for the night because he thought we were from a Camping Company which would commercialise his place. It was only later that we explained to him that we dont have a place to sleep in he let us inside his gate.
Black Bridge resort, isn't really a 7 star or a 5 or 3 star resort, it is a billion star resort with a few cottages, stituated at the foot of a hill, lush green grass, a river that passes by and conficourous forest surrounding it.
As we enetred the place it started drizling and we wasted no time to set up our tent. The tent attached to the roof of the car can be installed in seconds. Unclock the velcro's take off the rain sheeter, unlock th eladder right on top and pull it down to the ground. Lo and Behold! your house is ready!
Since we got all the material to cook our own food we went to a group of people who were by a fire place and lit our coal with their help. The generous souls saw our hungry faces offered us some pork and Andrew and I devoured it like demons eating a lamb (overexxagerated). We the tried frying some eggs but there were some issues with the oil (it didnt smell nice or something) so we cooked maggi which miracuosly was cooked in 2 minutes or so. That was the only meal we could prepare before the rains ended the party that night and yet again it was the good ol' Jack that put us to sleep.
The next morning was a bright and sunny one, we boiled the eggs and had breakfast by the river as we dipped our warm feet in the ice cold waters. We relaxed a while just when Nawaz asked us to move faster and visit places before the sun could set.We kept our phones for charging solely because we needed navigations from Google while i had a brief chat with the owner of the place, "I love travellers!" he exlaimed, "You'll should've given me a call in the moring I would've taken you to place untouched by humans," he said, as my eyes gleamed.
"I love to travel," he continued.
"Your heart and soul should be ready for it, that'll all. I'm 60 and i want to travel till i'm 80," the retired truck driver lit the fire withing me and by now it was burning bright.
After being enlightened for a while i asked him to guide us to a few place around and he asked us to visit Dawki and the surroundings and return before dusk. However mid way through on our road to Dawki we changed the plan and stayed around Cheerapunji. We drove for another hour or so to a waterfall which was more of a tourist destination just before I forced the troupe to take another trek.
Day 6- Trek 4 - Sai Wong Dong Waterfall
Everyone was tired but come on, another day or two and we'll return to our boring usual lives, typing on a computer, posting stuff on social media, treating patients or teaching in a school. So we decided to take the trail.
We started asking for directions on the way and the time it might take us to get there and suddenly everyone was being sexist and claiming that 'the girl wouldn't be able to trek to the place.'
Zenin, more determined than ever was in full swing to make the slipper descend to Sai Wong Dong. We parked the car on the road and started the descend. The trail was interestingly steep but there were ladders to help us down. Ladders were the first hurdle tahn came the slippery rocks and narrow pathways and just when we thought we were going in the wrong direction we met a group of locals who told us we are right at the foot of the fall.
Camping -- A roof over our heads
A step or two and ther it was, one of the most beautiful waterfalls i've seen. We relaxed at the foot of the divine waters as the water flowed into the stream. A while late it was time to get back to the car and drive bak to wherever we would camp.
This time it was Sa-I-Mika resort, scenic and beautiful surrounded by the hills by a riverside, lush green on the surroundings and a beautiful sunset that welcomed us as we got there. We set up our tents the one on the floor and the one on the roof of the car -- our fortresses were ready to protect ourselves from the stormy nights of Meghalaya -- before we set the wood on fire.
The car had a barbeque set as well so we put it to use and barbequed some chicken -- thanks to Zenin's marrination and prepartion, it was delicious. Sadly we didn't have goof ol' Jack to keep us company that day, and we just sat there by the fire below the starlight hoping for it to be a good night.
Rains of Megalaya are as unpredictable as a single, isolated atom of radium-226 will spontaneously decay to randon. As we went to sleep i could literally see the stars from my tent and there was a point in the middle of the night -- i wake up all drenched from head to toe, my body bag is wet, my blanket is wet, i'm wet. I couldn't understand what has to be done, that is when i realise the tiny window from where i could see the stars is the window from where the water came and soaked me and everything else around me.
I went out and put the rain sheeter in place and kept the body bag in the trunk of the car before i went inside to complete my sleep, or rather cath some sleep.
I barely close my eyes and i see andrew holding the tent -- like Hanuman held the mountain as he was taking it to Lakshmana. I ask him, "Andrew what is wrong?," he replies, "Dude, the tent is going with the wind." I get up and help him hold it as he goes out and puts the hooks in place.
'Indeed the storms of Meghalaya are untamable.'
As rough the night was, there was rarely any sleep my eyes could steal as the sun shone bright yet again in the moning as if nothing went wrong. For everyone else it was a pleasant sunny morning, for me?
Well what made my morning beautiful was a fresh pair of clothes and a good breakfast with the strongest coffee i could get.
We didn't do much cooking so we gave away all we had shoped to the resort guys, because we dont like wasting food (wink).
All's well that ends well
And that was it. We were off to Guwahati (that is where we had to return the car to) after a rough night and didn't look back. It was about time we got home and gave our bodies some rest. Now what is important is to have an adventure and have it to such an extent that you are done with it heart and soul.
We did't leave our heart back in Meghalaya, maybe, a little in Bhutan. But we got all the souvenirs we could get, Sticks, Stones, flowers (that are dry) and postcards that i posted (which are probably lost).
Here we are, Home again, back to our lives, earning that money and hoping for another trip to wherever the winds take us.
Till then, Hasta La Vista Baby!
By Lisvan Rodrigues