MEGHALAYA - DAY SEVEN : CHERRAPUNJI - RAINIEST PLACE ON EARTH

            For six days, the gods had favoured us with perfect weather and excellent roads for biking. Well, it looked like Day Seven was going to be different. The day dawned overcast and drizzly. Anyway, rain or sun, the show had to go on. We awoke and quickly packed up, becoming more and more efficient at it as the days progressed. My plan to depart by 8 a.m to beat the morning traffic, was foiled by breakfast being served half an hour late. 

            We ended up leaving only by half past eight, and got stuck in the absolute thick of morning office going traffic. Inching our way out of the polluted and crowded city, it took a whole hour before the Himalayan could open up her throttle and unleash her roar. It was almost impossible to believe - the starkness in contrast between the beauty of the Meghalayan countryside and the unpleasantness of its capital. 

              We fuelled up as we left the city as we were headed into the less developed south, and were not certain as to the frequency of encountering petrol pumps. A steady drizzle had begun, and with it the temperature dropped as well. My unprotected knuckles were freezing on the handle bars, and I stopped at Smit Town to buy a pair of goalkeeping gloves (the only kind they had).

        We first headed to Laitlum Canyon Ridge, a cliff overlooking the majestic Laitlum canyon. However, as luck would have it, the whole ridge was covered in an almost impenetrable fog, and driving in the chilly, stinging drizzle was no pleasant experience. A trifle disappointed at missing out on the stunning view, salt was added to the Laitlum wound when we realised we now had to traverse nearly an hour on almost non-existent roads before we hit the highway to Cherrapunji.

Thawing Frozen Knuckles

       The curtain of fog seemed to exist only at the top of the peak however, since the moment we descended, it cleared up, bringing into view the lovely Meghalayan countryside. After a couple of stops for cups of tea (and nursing bruised buttocks), where the substitute for milk and sugar was Condensed Milk, we let out sighs of relief as we hit the Shillong - Cherrapunjee highway. The mist however had returned, and once again, visibility was nearly zero all the way till Sohra, when it finally cleared up, allowing us to see a few waterfalls, cabbage patches and green glades as we passed through. 

Dorm Room - All to Ourselves

      At the end of a seemingly endless descent consisting of dozens of hair pin bends along a narrow road, we finally arrived at Laitkynsew village, and the resort at the far end of it. We had decided to stay in the dorm room here as it was one of the few resorts that offered the facility. It turned out that we had the entire resort all to ourselves as there were no other guests. We tucked into a hearty lunch after which the nine bed dorm room beckoned for a quick siesta. At around 4 PM, we decided that laziness never paid, and decided to head out. 

               As we had decided to move on to Dawki the next day, doing the five hour trek to the Double Decker Living Root Bridge at Nongriat did not seem like a very good or practical idea. We therefore decided to visit the nearby Single Decker bridge at Laitkynsew instead. Able to take the bike almost all the way down, only ten minutes of trekking was required for us to reach the Bridge. The precision and imagination of the villagers in building this natural, yet man-made wonder was incredible. Designed to strengthen over time, a second root bridge was in the making above the existing one. 

Plains of Bangladesh

          From here we climbed back up the hill and crossed the ridge on to the opposite face where the Laitkynsew View Point had been constructed overlooking the endless plains of Bangladesh. Not wanting to get caught in unfamiliar territory after dark, we headed back before the sun set. Returning to the village, we decided to have a cup of tea at the nearby Cherrapunji Resort before heading to ours. 

The Sun Bidding Farewell for the Day

         A better establishment, the view from the terrace was magnificent. Very soon, the sun set beyond the distant peaks, shrouding the evening sky in twilight. We met a gentleman from Bangalore who told us about his travels across the North East so far. Hiring a Zoom car, he had decided to travel to Tawang, a decision I had intentionally dropped as the sheer distance and hard terrain did not seem to make optimum use of time. 

           By nightfall, we were back in our dorm, and rested awhile before heading up for a tasty dinner of fried rice and chilly chicken. Soon we were both tucked into cozy blankets as a downpour blanketed the resort.