Moments from my travels - 1. Forest in Meghalaya 2. An old boat in Shnongpdeng 3. Fish Mint 4. Local Cinnamon

Traveling has always been a passion of mine, but my approach to it has evolved significantly over the years. Initially, my travels were all about ticking off famous landmarks and indulging in simple, familiar meals. However, as I began to embrace the concept of slow travel, my perspective shifted dramatically and I understood how essential Slow travel is.

Slow travel is about immersing oneself in the essence of a place, rather than just skimming its surface. It’s about taking the time to enjoy a destination, interact with local people, and understand the nuances of their culture. This approach has allowed me to form deeper connections with the places I visit, creating a personal bond that draws me back time and again.

One of the most profound changes in my travel experience has been my relationship with food during travel. I used to view food merely as sustenance, something to keep me going as I travelled to any new place. But now, I see it as a language and a history in itself. Each dish tells a story, reflecting the region’s heritage, traditions, and way of life.

Experiencing local food has become a highlight of my travels. I seek out local markets, where I can see and taste the produce and spices that define the region’s cuisine. I enjoy meals at family-run restaurants, where recipes have been passed down through generations. These experiences have taught me that local food is not just about taste; it’s about the people who prepare it, the ingredients they use, and the cultural and historical significance behind each dish.

Interacting with locals has also enriched my travel experiences. Conversations with residents have provided insights into their daily lives, their challenges, and their joys. These interactions have helped me understand the uniqueness of each place, beyond what any guidebook could offer.

This deeper connection with the places I visit has instilled in me an urge to return, to explore further, and to experience the region in its entirety. Each visit feels like peeling back another layer, revealing more of the destination’s true character.

Spice2Nuts Online Store

If I were to credit someone for changing my perspective on travel and food during travel, it would undoubtedly be Mr. Harish Bali, a popular YouTuber who runs the channel Visa2explore. His focus on unique travel stories and local culinary experiences across India has opened my eyes to some of the hidden gems of India's diverse culinary and cultural traditions. Harish Bali is perhaps one of the few Indian travel vloggers who delves deeply into regional food and spices during his travels.

For instance, I learned about fish mint or ja mardoh (picture above) from Meghalaya, a herb with a distinct fishy smell, thanks to his videos. Similarly, I discovered that Jakhiya seeds are used for tempering almost all types of vegetables and curries in the Garhwal region through his explorations. And the list of such fascinating insights goes on.

Thus I was overjoyed when I recently came to know that after a successful 8 year YouTube journey, Mr Bali is planning to take his passion a step further by offering something special to his subscribers by bringing us “Spices from the places of their origin”.

His new venture, Spice2Nuts (Link : https://spice2nuts.com/) , aims to bring some of the finest, top-grade spices to his audience at very competitive prices. . These are not just the common spices you find on grocery store shelves but are sourced from the regions that produce the best variants of these indigenous spices.

The online shop will have some unique spices which are not found widely in retail stores. One of them is Kala Jeera. Don’t yet conclude that it’s a common spice because this is not your everyday Kala jeera/ Shahjeera or Kalonji that you might find through a quick Google search. This particular Kala Jeera is grown in the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas, specifically the Lahaul and Pangi valleys. It has a distinct, slightly bitter flavor and is often used in curries, bread, and pickles. Unlike the typical Shahjeera or Kalonji, which is tempered in oil, this Kala Jeera would lose its aroma if tempered in oil. Himachali Kala Zeera is used in mixed spices, flavoring curries, soups, sausages, bread, cakes, pickles, and chutneys. It can also be used to make tea or added to smoothies for extra flavor. The seeds can be roasted and used as a topping for salads or yogurt. Rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, it is also believed to have anti-cancer properties and can aid in weight loss..  Do you know what is even more interesting about this spice? The Government of Himachal Pradesh has registered the Himachali Kala Jeera under the GI (Geographical Indication) Act 1999 and the spice has a GI tag now. And the best part? You don’t need to travel to Himachal to enjoy this spice, as Spice2Nuts is making it available right at your fingertips!

Another example is Kerala spices. Kerala's spice trade dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE. The Malabar Coast of Kerala was a meeting point for Arabs, Chinese, and European powers, and the spices of Kerala were highly sought after. The warm, humid climate of central Kerala, combined with the loamy soil rich in organic matter and reasonable rainfall, contributes to the production of the best quality cardamom, clove, and black pepper in India. When I visited Kerala, I brought back boxes of local cardamom and black pepper, which added a luscious flavor to my biryanis and curries. Spice2Nuts will offer these beautiful Kerala spices online, ensuring that people can get the highest grade of these spices, often reserved for international exports, right at their doorstep.

One of the most sought-after spices Mr. Bali plans to offer is saffron. Followers of his YouTube channel would know that he explored saffron in the Pampore region during his Kashmir travels. Pampore Kashmiri Kesar, sourced from the fertile fields of Pampore in Kashmir—often referred to as the "Saffron Town"—is renowned for its exceptional quality. Cultivated with meticulous care, this saffron is a cornerstone of Kashmiri agriculture and a symbol of cultural pride. While it’s one of the most iconic spices of Kashmir, tourists often hesitate to buy saffron from just any shop in Kashmir, fearing they might get duped. I had the same concern when I stopped at Pampore to buy kesar. That is why Mr. Bali is putting a lot of effort into identifying the right source to guarantee the authenticity of the saffron you will find at Spice2Nuts. Original saffron, which he plans to sell, has a distinct, slightly bitter taste. When dipped in water, it releases its rich colour in just a few hours, and after 8 to 10 hours, if you rub it between your fingers, it should fade away. This is a natural characteristic of high-quality saffron, distinguishing it from the cheaper, diluted versions found in the market.

And this is just the beginning. Knowing Mr. Bali, he will go to great lengths to bring even more unique and lesser-known spices hidden in India's diverse culinary culture through his Spice2Nuts endeavor. His love for India's spice heritage and his understanding of the challenges people face in procuring authentic region-specific spices in an era of common adulteration drive this venture. He aims to solve this problem by offering a transparent and reliable way to purchase spices directly from their place of origin. The key driving factor for this venture is the experience of buying spices that come straight from the regions known for producing them, ensuring they are fresh, pure, and of the highest quality.

I believe this initiative by one of our most beloved YouTubers is not only a boon to his subscribers but also to expats and people living away from their hometowns, like me, who will benefit greatly as they no longer need to carry back their cherished hometown spices. Harish Bali’s new spice venture, Spice2Nuts, is not just about selling products but about offering an authentic culinary experience. His vision of promoting Indian culture and cuisine is being realized through Spice2Nuts, making it the perfect way to bring these experiences to life while supporting local farmers and showcasing the true value of high-quality spices.

As I was saying in the beginning, slow travel has transformed my journeys from mere sightseeing to meaningful experiences. It has taught me to appreciate the depth and richness of each place, to savour its food, and to cherish the bonds formed with its people. This approach has not only made my travels more fulfilling but has also left me with a lasting desire to revisit and fully experience the regions I have come to love.

And the person who literally made me re-think about the way I used to look at my travels is now going to add a new dimension to all our travel memories by bringing the flavors of places to our plates so that we can re-live some of our best culinary moments from our cherished travels.

A few snapshots from my second visit to Bhutan - Paro's Kaja Throm

Radha Madhav during Pushya Abhishek on 6th Jan 2023

First of all wish you a very happy new year. I have been away from blogging for a while now as I was visiting my hometown Kolkata and wanted to take things a bit slow and enjoy my time here. There are a couple of places I visited while I am in my hometown and will write one by one about them. One of the places I visited in the very first weekend of 2023 was Iskon Mayapur. This was on my bucket list for long as I had really enjoyed visiting the Iskon temples in Mumbai and Pune. So the beginning of the new year felt like a perfect time to visit this holy place. 

Though one needs to hardly do any planning for visiting the other Iskon temples, for Mayapur you need to have a proper plan in place if you want to get the complete essence of the place, especially if you are visiting Mayapur for the very first time like me. I read a lot of blogs, went through a number of videos to create a detailed plan and schedule of my travel. And you will know why planning is crucial once you go through all the details I have given below. Also I thought it would be good to make a complete summary of the travel plan so that anyone planning to visit Mayapur finds it easy to plan themselves. 

If you are visiting for the first time I would recommend you to stay for at least a night so that your itinerary is not very hurried and you can cover everything at a relaxed pace. I will be talking in details about the overall Mayapur experience in my next blog where we also covered Ghurni and Krishnanagar Rajbari on our way back. This post is mainly for capturing the entire details of Iskon Mayapur which will help you plan your trip. We visited Iskon Mayapur in the first weekend of January 2023, so all the details mentioned below are as per current information.

1. Where to Stay: 

Iskon has several stay options with various tariff ranges, within the campus itself. And without a doubt these are the best options for you, as everything will be within walking distance. Some of the most popular stay options inside the campus are (Rates are as of January 2023):

Bus Timings

Car: You can easily access Mayapur by road, which is located at a distance of around 130 km from Kolkata. 

The full dome planetarium theater is a major attraction in Iskon Mayapur. Located close to Govinda’s restaurant on the ISKCON Mayapur campus, it’s twelve meters in diameter, has 108 comfortable inclined theater seats, and features a tilted dome to give audiences a 360-degree immersive experience.

The theater is currently hosting two films. The first, entitled “The Churning,” offers a unique look at the Srimad-Bhagavatam pastime of “Samudra Manthan,” or the churning of the Ocean of Milk by the demigods and demons to produce Amrit, a nectar that would make them invincible. This show utilizes classic paintings from Srila Prabhupada’s books mixed with 3D graphics.

The second film, 9 Steps to Eternity, explores the nine islands of Navadvipa, and the corresponding nine forms of devotional service to the Lord. It uses parallax motion effects against a surreal computer-generated cosmic universe. However when we visited in Jan 2023, the second film show was suspended.

Elephant Falls

We visited Meghalaya at such a time when tourism was just reopening after the long Covid shutdown. The already beautiful vistas of Meghalaya seemed more untouched with very few tourists around. 

We started Day 2 as decided but almost 30 minutes late than planned time. As mentioned in the previous blog, the plan for the day was that we would split up in 2 groups - 

• Group 1 would go for the Mawryngkhang Trek. We heard that it takes about 4 -5 hours to complete it and hence once they complete the trek they would join group 2 where ever we were at that point in time.
• Group 2 would start with Laitlum Canyon, come back to hotel for breakfast, wash and change and then proceed with the local sightseeing.

Group 1 comprised of my cousin and his mother. And the rest four of us were in Group 2. Since I was not part of group 1 hence I do not have a first hand experience of how the overall trek was. However I would jot down some of the overview from what I heard from my cousin and some nice pictures which will give you a glimpse of the terrain in the next blog in this series. 

Laitlum Canyon

Laitlum Canyon:

• Entry Fee : Rs 50 / group
• Parking Available : Yes
• Covid Document Check : No
• Mask Mandatory: No

From Harish Bali's Meghalaya video and other bloggers videos it was very apparent that Laitlum canyon looks like a paradise if you visit it in the wee hours of the morning in monsoon season. Since we were not visiting during the rains I thought that at least if we can be there by 6 AM we would be able to see some clouds in the valley. Accordingly I told the time to the group and no one seemed to be excited by it. Finally I managed them to all agree that we should be at the spot by 6.30 AM. 

But it turned out to be easier said than done. Group 2 started from the hotel at around 6.15 AM. By that time Group 1 was still waiting for their car. It took us around 30-35 minutes to Laitlum Canyon. We went straight from our hotel following the main road, across the circle crossing the entire market which was looking sleepy. People in Shillong are pretty early risers, we would see joggers and morning walkers as early as 5 AM on the streets, even when the light would not come up. Especially you would see lot of youngsters running on the street in the morning. With almost zero traffic at that hour and good roads with various gradients, its a very good natural cardio that one gets. 

There is something about Meghalaya that makes you wake up early. Maybe because its in further east which brings the dawn pretty early. Or maybe it was the sheer excitement of being able to travel after such a long and trying year made us wake up sharp at 5 AM everyday during those 9 days. I for one, who doesn't wake up before 7 on usual days would beat the alarm every single day! And it gave us so much more time to enjoy the day.

View from the parking space

Walk down the paved path towards the canyon

Landscape keeps changing throughout on the way to Laitlum. From city limits to meadows, low-lying pastures and quaint towns would keep you company. Almost 10 km from our hotel we came across a small village which I believe is known as Smit village. Time stands still here and technology doesn't seem to have permeated yet into the lives of these simple villagers. Traditional Khasi houses, wicker fences, fields of crops, little children playing on the road (because hardly there were any vehicles on the road apart form our car at that time), ladies and men pushing a unique looking trolley to carry water and other amenities. We even saw a small boy pushing a trolley with water. Since it was a Sunday and a Mass day so we also saw many Khasi villagers dressed up in their traditional attire walking towards the village church with their kids tagging along.

If you love the virgin air of early morning and like to get lost among the vastness of nature then definitely visit Laitlum canyon. This beautiful untouched secret of a place lies about 30 km from Shillong. Laitlum Canyons literally translates to “end of hills” and it does justice to its name. A paved concrete way leads you on towards the canyon.

Once you reach there you will see there is a designated parking space for the cars and bikes. We got out of the car as our driver found a parking spot. The first feel was - this is what infinity would look like! We couldn't see the vantage view of canyons from the parking, but we could already feel the boundlessness. The view form this side looks very pretty with undulating layers of hills covered in greens waking up to the sun. As we started walking towards the main area we saw the hill top is a vast area surrounded by fields and meadows, with just a couple of houses/tea-snacks shop on top of the hill.

While driving to Laitlum, our driver had shared a lot of stories about his film shooting crew experience at this place. He told us about the time Rock On 2 crew was here and shooting on the canyons. he also told that recently Ayushman Khurana was here for a month shooting for his upcoming film. He used to take him in his car to Laitlum and other places. After hearing this story I again checked out which part of Rock On was shot here as I had not watched the part 2. It seemed they had created a stage on the edge of the canyon for a song shoot. Frankly speaking once I knew it was shot here it felt oxymoronic. I could not believe such a concert stage tearing through the tranquility of this place which was the main asset. 

We kept walking towards the canyon, it was like a 2-3 minute walk. As expected by the time we reached there was not even a spot of cloud anywhere. The sun was high in the sky and the grassland looked more yellowish at this time of the year. I could only imagine how pretty it might look during the rains with lush green rolling grasslands.

Laitlum Canyon is also known as the amphitheater of Meghalaya and rightly so. You feel like crying out - "I am on the top of the world!" once you reach the ledge of the canyon. The breathtaking gorges and steep winding stairways that snake their way down to the lush valley makes you feel like a speckle in the landscape. You feel miniscule taking in the all encompassing nature around.   There is a small viewpoint created at short gaps where you can stand and have a look down the deep valleys and gorges. You can see a serpentine silver river snaking through the forest land below. Though the sun was up it was very windy and cold. We saw a few families had got some food and tea and were enjoying their food on the grassland. There were cleaning ladies deployed as far as our eyes could reach to pick up stray litters. It is really impressive to see how cautiously the people in Meghalaya maintain the cleanliness of the places everywhere and not just at the 'Asia's cleanest village - Mawlynnong'. 

We learnt that a long, narrow  and steep flight of stone stairs snake through the edge of the Laitlum canyon to the tiny hamlet of Rasong. It is the only route form this village to the nearest market, has almost 3000 stairs and takes almost 5 hours for the hike. There is a rope rope-way from the top to the village, which supplies the urgent needs to the village. It is only meant for goods transportation and not human.

While my mother and granny waited at one of the viewpoints, me and my uncle made way along the fenced ledge deeper into the canyon grassland. I must say even though it looks pretty flat at a glance but it is not so. There are places where you need to cross some kind of a thin stream and it can become tricky. Also the land is very uneven at places and if you are not used to hiking, you might even feel shortness of breath after a while. This especially happens when the weather is cold and you struggle to breath in the cold air during a brisk walk. We kept going for some time and saw a patch of potato plants. I never knew how a potato plant looks but my uncle being a specialist in this area pointed out to me to take a note of those pretty plants. We had been seeing them even on our way towards Laitlum at many places. Small plants with pretty white flowers planted in rows very abruptly in a patch on the grassland. have a look at these pretty things below in the photo series. 

Potato Flower

Potato Plants

Potato Farming Patch

Village of Rasong at max zoon form my camera

A playground (?) beside the village

We spent some more time navigating through the terrain until we decided to walk back. We had a packed itinerary today and wanted to be back to our hotel by breakfast time. After getting some more pretty photos of the place we left for our hotel. On our way back we saw a group of bikers coming towards the canyon. The group even had lady bikers. Some more construction was happening at one side of the canyon and it seemed they were coming up with some staying options and washroom facility. 

Tips: 

• Visit the canyon as early as possible in the morning e.g. 5 AM to view the sleeping clouds or before 5 PM when the clouds again start settling down in the valley
• This place is best visited during the monsoon when it is stunning in green
• If you are carrying snacks or food, do not litter the grounds. There are trash bins placed at places, put your trash in designated bins only

We reached our hotel and decided to meet directly at the breakfast table. We had got information that the other group had already begun their trek to Mawryngkhang and almost half way done. So we anticipated they would be able to meet us pretty soon at some of the next viewpoint we were planning to go to.

The breakfast was served at the rooftop restaurant in Poinisukh. It was a buffet breakfast comprising of the very standard menu like - breads, sandwiches, fruits, cakes, tea/coffee, eggs, puri - subzi and some south Indian options like vada, idlis and chutneys. Unfortunately by the time we reached the place the previous group had already wiped the vadas clean and the hotel informed that they would not be repeating the vadas. I felt the south Indian menu was the best in the whole spread. We finished a nice breakfast and then headed for our next destination. The plan for the day was to do as many local sightseeing as possible. The original plan was like the below: 

• Elephant falls
• Umiam Lake
• Shillong View Point
• Don bosco museum
• Bara Bazar & Police Bazar
• Churches of Shillong

However we had already done Umiam lake the day before. So that was out. And as expected, our driver intervened in deciding the locations. He said Shillong view point was closed due to covid restrictions ( we didn't argue with him because there was no point). After this I simply submitted to his judgement and let him plan the day for us. The first place he took us was the Mary Help of Christians Cathedral. 

Mary Help of Christians Cathedral (both levels)

The first few things you notice about the church is the pretty powder blue color, Gothic style of architecture and how huge the place is. This church is located in the Laitumkhrah itself and was like a 5 minute drive from our hotel. This is a Roman Catholic Church and also known as the Cathedral Catholic Church. Dedicated to mother Mary, the Cathedral Church of Mary Help of Christians was built by the Germans in 1913. According to history, the construction of the present shrine was built after the first church got destroyed due to a fire accident in 1936. It got the status of a shrine in 1980, on completion of the Catholic Church's 100 years in North East India. This church falls under Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Shillong and is the principal place of worship of about 3,00,000 strong Catholics of Ri Bhoi and East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

The church is built on a sort of high plateau and one has to take a steep short flight of steps or a gradient to reach it. The beautiful church has two levels. Each level had a church. While the lower level is a small chapel that has a prayer hall and is filled with candles and prayer books, the upper level is a huge cathedral with big seating capacity. The upper level church seemed to be for the elite and higher class while the smaller chapel was housing the tribes of this area and less well off class. The church has high arches and stained glass windows which add to its grandeur. 

Second Level - Main Church

Garden in the second level

Since it was a Sunday and a mass day, we saw people dressed in their Sunday best waiting in a queue to get into the church. We also saw a board by the entrance to the church which said tourists not allowed inside. Maybe because of it being a mass day, the restrictions on tourist was in force or maybe because of the pandemic the entrance was restricted to outsiders - I am not sure of the reason here. So we didn't try to go in but just walked around. There is a small garden outside where you can sit and enjoy the atmosphere. We could hear the choir inside playing. People were dressed so well it appeared they were here for some high class party. We even saw ladies in LBDs and gents sporting their best suits. The upper level has a huge parking area. There are a few buildings surrounding the parking area, one of which was a bookshop/ souvenir shop. We spent some time in the open area and then headed back. There were beautiful poinsettia blossoming in the garden which added a sharp red contrast to the otherwise muted landscape.

Before getting into the car we heard that the other group has completed their trek and will be heading back soon. We gave them our next coordinate which was going to be Elephant Falls and asked them to directly meet us there.

Poinsettia blossoming in the garden of the Church

Elephant Falls

Stairs going down towards 2nd level

Traditional Baskets made into litter bins

The bridge at the second level

Light & Shade on water

Level 2 waterfall

As the name suggests this waterfall has 3 different levels and each level has a different beauty. The third and last level is the most pretty one. We visited on the last day of October and still the falls had good amount of water. I could only imagine how much more prettier it would look during the monsoon. While the first level of the falls can be easily reached by going down about 20-25 steps, the second and the third levels are much more difficult to navigate as the steps are tall and steep. Its almost 100 more steps down to the final level after the first level. Litter bins are available all over the trail so make sure you are not unnecessarily littering the place.

3rd level

Boating at the 3rd level

Our adventures for Day 2 will be continued in my next Meghalaya blog. Till then stay tuned and if you haven't already checked out the other three blogs in this series do check the links at the end of this blog.

Important Takeaways from this part:

1. If you plan to visit Laitlum Canyon, then make sure you reach there by 5 AM max or come in the evening time just before sunset. 

2. Laitlum feels the best in monsoon.

3. You can also hire local taxis for half or full day sightseeing in and around Shillong.

4.  If you are planning to trek down to the Rasong village, do carry water and snacks as there are no shops around the area.

5. Elephant Falls is a must visit place. Till Level 1 everyone can walk down. Level 2 & 3 are pretty steep and not recommended for people having any kind of mobility issues. Ample seating is available at Level 1, if you want to sit and enjoy.

6. Carry a small bottle of water with you when you walk up and down the levels, you will feel dehydrated with the tedious climb. 

7. Refill your bottles with the aquaguard placed at the entrance of the 1st level. The aquaguard is fed by the mountain water, is super chilly and tastes wonderful. 

8. Wear good shoes, especially if you are going there during the rains. The steps might become slippery.

9. Paddle boating facility available at the 3rd and lowest level of the falls. You are however not allowed to go into the water for a swim.

10. Trash bins are available everywhere in Meghalaya viewpoints, so try not to litter any spot you visit.

11. Pay and use washroom facility is available at Elephant Falls. We did not see a functional washroom at Laitlum.

12. Ample parking space available both at Laitlum and Elephant Falls. 

13. Food/snacks facility is available at both the spots.

14. Mask is mandatorily used within Shillong city limits but in both the viewpoints we didn't see people wearing masks and it was safe. 

To be continued in Next Part 

Other posts in this series:

• Meghalaya Trip Summary
• Meghalaya Travelogue - Day 1 (Part 1) - Umroi Airport, Umiam Lake
• Meghalaya Travelogue - Day 1 (Part 2) - Umiam Lake, Shillong, Laitumkhrah, Police Bazar