The start of holiday planning is a phase of weaving between a frantic kind of excitement and “oh, I’ll have to leave the comfort of my kettle and tea / my bathroom / my patch of sunshine on the porch”. It’s just so convenient to not have adventures. “Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things”, as Bilbo Baggins…
Category: Travel
Meghalaya, till we meet again!
All too soon, it was time to head back for home shores. This was (and I’m embarrassed to admit) the longest holiday I’ve ever had in 16 years of working. That it was possible for a life to change in 15 days, was not in the realm of possibilities for me. I experienced and learnt…
Season in the lemony wintry sun
Our penultimate day in Shillong was spent walking, sunning, inhaling the fresh mountainous air, drinking soulwarming beverages, and appreciating the company of good people. Now, that’s a great way to send off a holiday. Reena woke up all excited to take us to all the places she enjoyed the day before. So, as she and…
Doggies and markets galore
Arriving in the dark, to the biting cold of Shillong was a – well – chilling experience. Our new friend in high places, Mrs. Phanboh of Sa-I-Mika invited us to stay at her resort/ guest house/ cottage in Shillong town. It’s called Ken & Twill Cottage (named after her parents) So, we booked it, and…
Sinatra voice: “The wood is ready and we have to make tea. La da di da..”
On our last morning at Nongriat, I woke up early, and sat around and took in as much of all the sights, smells and sounds of Serenity Guest House, as possible. A few minutes after I was up, I saw Byron’s wife with sweet sleepy eyes step out, smile and go about her day. Then,…
Homebody 2. Return of the prodigal sun
I woke up to the memory of the laughter, the night before. The three Aussies at Serenity, George, Luke and Drew regaled us with pictures of their cats and dogs. One of the funniest was Luke’s cat Cfor. As in, Cfor cat. And how hes a happy cat who is so large that you can’t…
Christmas in Nongriat
We soon got used to the rhythm of the guesthouse. Here are some facts: Byron sings like an angel. He is besotted with his wife and sings to her. He has written all this literature about the origin of Khasi people, the story of the villages, local lores, etc. He has five kids, and he…
Down the mines of Moria
We knew that we’d come back to Sohra late. So, we had asked the Sa-I-Mika folks to keep a room for us. That was room 1 at Ken and Twill Cottages, next door to good old Sai-I-Mika – owned by the same people, but operate under different names. We met this young man in charge,…
The eye of Mordor. Or is that sunset?
That’s how the day ended. The day started with… That’s just the view from the loo. The thing about all of Meghalaya that we experienced: best hygiene of anywhere in this country! The campsite loo had a lock that latches snug, the loo was as clean as the one at home, and stayed that way…
There and back again 