After we had spent a considerable amount of time sitting we decided to head back. Once back to the car I noticed some kind of a watch tower peeking form behind the canopy of trees and bushes. It looked pretty so I drew the attention of my cousin towards it. He was equally curious. So we decided to look for it next. leaving behind the baffled team of elders me and my cousin darted towards the park looking for a path to reach the watchtower.

We started with a dead end but eventually found the way. It was right along the shoreline. There was a tiny bridge you need to cross which leads the way towards the watchtower. We were pretty pleased with ourselves when we finally spotted the watchtower in the distance. We were kind of sprinting to save time, so I had to catch my breath a couple of times. But the air was cooler in this part as it had a dense foliage cover around. You might even wonder whether it is a legit way to go but after like 2-3 minutes of brisk walk you would spot the watch tower.

Once we were at the tower we saw a lady and her mother climbing down the stairs of the watchtower. I was quite surprised as we caught the mother trying to scale down a uneven rocky step with the help of her daughter. And yet they didn't look hassled at all. The old lady was all smiles seeing us and we had a quick chat with them. That encouraged me, because all I could see was an uneven rocky step that led to the first steps of the watch tower. If she can do it without apprehension so can I ! Little did I know that I would be scaling many unbelievable terrain in the coming 9 days.  The mother daughter duo was from Mumbai and since both me and cousin have stayed in Mumbai, it didn't take us much time to strike up a conversation with them.

First glimpse of the watch tower

Once they left we climbed up the two storied watch tower. It looked like the watch towers from all those shooting games, giving me a vibe that an enemy might appear any moment :D. My day dreaming mode gets activated very easily you see!

The view from the top was pretty. if we had time in our hands we could have sat there for a bit. But we knew we had left behind some probably angry faced elders at the parking lot. So we wrapped up the photo session quickly and made our way back to the car. If you ask me was it worth going all the way? I would say yes, youngsters can definitely check out the watch tower for some good view and photo opportunity. Elders can give it a skip, as you would need to climb quite a number of stairs to the top. 

So after spending some good time at the Water complex we started towards our hotel. Since the driver had already informed it would not be possible to do sightseeing late afternoon we were mentally prepared. It is said the best time to visit Meghalaya is post the rains. Though we didn't exactly reach post rains but still the place had the post monsoon lush green look. We passed through the busy part of the city and reached a place called Laitumkhrah where our hotel Poinisukh was situated. One good thing about Meghalaya is that you would find ATMs of different banks at convenient locations. The most popular bank in Shillong seemed to be Meghalaya Co-operative Apex bank. We came across the branches and ATMs of this bank at regular intervals.

Laitumkhrah has a slightly colonial feel to it because of the old architectural buildings.  Though we could also see many new structures coming up right around the central chowrasta. This place is relatively cold as compared to other places in Shillong. The famous Cathedral of Mary is one of a highlight of Laitumkhrah. In Khasi language ‘lait’ meaning ‘free’ and ‘umkhrah’ is the name of a river. So ‘Laitumkhrah’ means a place where the river “Umkhrah” originates. 

The Stay: The Hotel Poinisukh

A relatively narrow road which is known as the Laitumkhrah main road leads to the hotel. This road is of historical importance in the sense that the British made and used this road for their horses to go down to Polo grounds via the Goralane-assam rifles roads. 

Frankly speaking, you might even miss the hotel entry if you are not aware. It stands parallel to the main road right before the main chowk (Police Point). Hotel Poinisuk is in the heart of the city, in Laitumkhrah, beside the Laitumkrah Post Office. They have a big parking space in the basement. Our driver dropped us in the parking. And immediately we had bell boys from the hotel tend to us. The entrance to the hotel is pretty with lots of plants along the walls. In general in whole of Meghalaya we found people are overtly plant loving. Purchasing saplings regularly is a very common affair here. 

The lobby was chic and well decorated like any 3 or 4 star hotel. they also have a metal detector at the entry, which buzzes every time you cross it. They have installed automatic sanitizer dispensers everywhere around the hotel. At first glance you will like what you see in the lobby. The local ladies at the reception were in traditional outfit and welcomed us. We had a corporate booking in the hotel so we were entitled to the premier rooms with balconies. 

Second Floor Room

The formalities included giving them the dual vaccination reports, ID card and reservation email. We were given 3 rooms, 2 at 3rd floor and one at the second floor. We took the lift to our respective floors while the bell boys brought in our luggage later. The boys were very cordial and helpful. Since we got the premier rooms, the size was pretty big. It had a double bed, flatscreen tv, mini refrigerator, safety vault, big cupboard, electric kettle, a separate seating section with plush sofas, a small table and chair and a small balcony. They have ample plug points so it feels like a boon for people like me carrying N number of gadgets. The bathroom is also pretty spacious with a big bathtub and hand shower and a separate shower section. Standard set of toiletries were provided in the bathroom. At first glance the room definitely looked premium. But the trouble started soon after. 

Out of the 3 rooms, ours was the one which had a bunch of problems from day one. Since they only had 4 premier rooms and none empty they couldn't move us around. The first problem detected was the door to the balcony didn't close, so at night it would be a problem when the temperature dropped. The second problem was that the key card when inserted in the power slot would not work at times, hence we were not able to switch on the lights at times. The third problem was the bedside power switches were made in a funny manner and you wouldn't really understand which is a functional switch because it looks flat like a empty slot on the board. And finally to get hot water you have to keep the geyser running all day long and even after that let the water flow for about 5-10 minutes before hot water started. So over the 2 days of our stay in Poinisukh we had to call for housekeeping staff multiple times and at some point it started feeling like they would surely throw us out for making so many complaints. So to sum up, even in premier rooms we faced certain challenges. However I would say that the particular room on the 3rd floor had all these problems. The other two rooms we had got for our group didn't face most of the challenges apart from the hot water issue.

We had decided that we will check out the nearby market area and have lunch somewhere outside (We had only two meals with our package so for lunch we were on our own). Once we were done with check ins we stepped out of the hotel. There is a small grocery story right across the street which sells some pretty fancy stuffs as well. Some of the food items and drinks I saw there was pretty unique. There is also a KFC bang opposite to the hotel. So if you are craving for some fried chicken, you know where to go.

KFC & Post Office on the right hand side of the hotel, photo taken from balcony of 3rd floor room

Main Chowk on the left hand side of the hotel, photo taken from balcony of 2nd floor room at 6 AM

Around the Hotel : Laitumkhrah Bazar

On both sides of the main road of Laitumkhrah just after the chowk, you would find vendors selling different things on the footpath. It becomes a busy bazar area after 11 am. There are also many big shops on either side of the road. You can find all sorts of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, chicken, snacks, flowers, saplings, seeds in addition to the grocery and other stores. We even found an Archies there. We had learnt many of the fresh produce comes from Assam, hence the cost of fresh produce was a tad more expensive in Shillong. Also our driver mentioned that the bazar of Laitumkhrah was expensive compared to the other vegetable markets like Bara Bazar. I would agree to that as most of the things were priced at rates which you find in any metropolitan city. In fact they costed more than what we get in the local produce market of my locality in Kolkata. So yes its expensive. be ready to shell out more if they get a hint that you are a tourist. We were fleeced by a shopkeeper on the last day of our stay, but I will come to that story later.

So the main purpose that day was to explore what unique produce we can find in Shillong which is not that common in Kolkata. And to add to that, I love exploring local produce markets wherever I go. It feels like a treasure hunt to me and I end up buying something or the other. This time also we had planned that we will do produce shopping when we come back to Shillong the day before we left for Kolkata. 

1 & 2. Some unique vegetables - one looking like kundru but is spongy in texture, 3. Herb with fishy smell

Even though expensive we found the market to be very vibrant and interesting. There was a lot of flower shops as well selling bouquets and floral wreaths. I have mentioned before that the people of Meghalaya absolutely love plants. We saw small Maruti Omnis parked with potted plants and saplings and local people were thronging to buy plants. Since we were new to the place, we didn't know that even seeds were being sold for potting. So we went to one vendor who had laid out a basket containing what looked like Sichuan peppercorn and rajmas. I was actually on the lookout for Sichuan pepper  so I was overjoyed. But when we started asking the vendor about price he informed that those were seeds that needs to be planted and not to be cooked as is. It was a little funny as we realized our mistake. 

The most attractive thing was the different vegetables some of which I saw for the first time like Dhekiya Shaak (fiddlehead ferns), fresh bamboo shoots, wild mushrooms, Sohphlang, tree tomato (looks like small brinjals)etc. These tomatoes grows on a seven feet tall plant and is mainly used for chutney or Tung tap (fermented fish chutney). Other than that there was the usual squash, yam, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, tiny potatoes (signature to this part of the country), broccoli, different types of mustard seeds etc. Then there was a herb, forgot the local name, but the locals have it raw as a salad. I had seen it in Harish Bali's video as well, so when we saw it we tasted it a bit and immediately almost threw up! the herb had extremely fishy smell - felt almost like eating raw Hilsa. I am not sure how the people consume this but for us it was not palatable. And coming to chillies. One would get baffled by the number of chilli variety you would find here. They come in all shapes and sizes and the heat content is also different for each. the most famous chilli of the region - Bhut Jholokia (Ghost chili, king chili) is sold in abundance in all produce market. There was a peculiar type of banana being sold. On the exterior it had hundreds of spots and looked as if it is spoiled, but when we tasted one it was super sweet and awesome!  If you love exploring bazars, the view of these will definitely make your heart happy!

Spotted Bananas

1. Fish Shops on the footpath, 2. puti mach

Local Food: Tasting 'Jadoh' at Hamkom Pyrbot Jadoh Stall

All this exploration of the produce market made us hungry. It was already close to 2 PM so we decided to have lunch. Now from the suggestions that I had got in TripAdvisor of the local food to try Jadoh was one thing I definitely wanted to give a shot. Being a Bengali and a foodie, gastronomic adventure is equally important for me as is the real sightseeing adventure. I had already looked up for the recommended jadoh stall in Laitumkhrah - Hamkom Pyrbot, it like 10 minutes walk from the hotel.  I managed to coax half of the group to have Jadoh while the rest decided to go for a safer option KFC. 

Jadoh is to Meghalaya what Biryani is to Hyderabad. It is Meghalaya's traditional dish of the Khasi tribe. In Khasi language, 'Ja' means rice and 'Doh' means meat. Jadoh is a laboriously-made dish made with rice and meat. Being a Khasi cuisine, it takes hours to get the recipe done. Jadoh is red rice, cooked with generous amounts of pork meat. Sometimes, it is also cooked with chicken or fish. A mix of green chilies, onions, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and bay leaves is made. Pieces of pork are then added and fried off, after which the red rice is added and cooked off. The addition of turmeric imparts the rice its rich yellow color and an aromatic flavor.

Hamkom Pyrbot Jadoh Stall

Located within walking distance from Laitumkrah Post Office Hamkom Pyrbot is mostly frequented by the locals looking for some mouth watering Khasi food at pocket–friendly rates. Tourists who love trying out indigenous food over typical restaurant food, you can give it a try. It is a small place and nothing fancy like a big restaurant.  The seating arrangements are also very basic - some wooden long tables and wooden benches (somewhat like what we see at chai tapris). The place maintains basic cleanliness. The restaurant starts operating form 9 Am and different dishes are made in batches all through the day. So if you come very early you might not get everything which you get at lunch hours. Again if you come late, most of the options would be already sold out. So go around 12-1 PM which is the lunch hour. 

The different menu items are all laid out on a big table behind the counter. For those who are not aware of what to eat, can have a look ad then decide like we did. This place offers plenty of vegetarian and non vegetarian food options like Doh-mud which is Pork liver curry, Doh (pork) Khelia - salad made out of minced pork, onions and chillies, Dohjam which is a mixed pork curry, a pungent salad made of mooli, Ja-stem made from rice and turmeric powder, bamboo shoot and chilli, river fish fry, yellow daal, a couple of different chicken curries (which I tried) among many others that this place serves. The food has a lot of smokey flavours as it is cooked over wood fire. I opted for Jadoh, some salad, vegetables and fish fry while the other members tried Jadoh with Chicken curry and vegetables. The mooli salad was something I loved. The total bill came around Rs 280 for 4 people.

Jadoh being cooked on charcoal oven, the non veg and veg plates

Array of dishes you can try

Now coming to the important question whether we liked Jadoh or not? When I tried it the first day I liked it, because by that time we were super hungry. I wont say it was super amazing but it was like homely food, low on spices and with local flavors. Also, the fish fry was good, I liked the fish better than the chicken. The rice was adequately moist and flavorful. The vegetable fries were simple and good. The salads were very unique and I liked them as well. But the second time I tried it with the Bamboo shoot curry I didn't like the flavor of the bamboo shoot as it was too overpowering for me. I have had bamboo shoot earlier, but for me these were very strong flavored and not much of my liking. Overall its good for one time experience for any food enthusiast.

Since I love exploring local food, so while doing research on Shillong I had created a list of restaurants one should check out in Shillong. This is based on the suggestions of locals in Tripadvisor forum and some of the Shillong travel videos on Youtube. I am giving the list below if it helps anyone:

Sightseeing: Police Bazar

After lunch we came back to our rooms and had some rest. The sun sets pretty early by 4.30 PM  in Shillong. So by the time it was evening Chai time it was already dark. We all came together in one room for a chai time adda. After chai, me and cousin decided to visit Police Bazar. The rest of our group bailed out on the plan because they were tired. So we got dressed warmly considering it was getting quite cold by 5 PM itself and made our way out of the hotel.

Here let me tell you that we had already planned what all sightseeing points we wanted to cover in and around Shillong. My cousin however wanted to do a particular trek known as the Mawryngkhang Trek. He wanted to do this trek badly. Now Mawryngkhang Trek is famous for being one of the scariest treks in Meghalaya. So very obviously we could not take the senior folks over there. Even I have some problem of heights when trekking so I opted out of that trek plan. I had told my cousin to choose a buffer day when the rest of the gang would either rest or do some other sightseeing while he can go for this trek. Originally we had thought it would be the day we travelled form Dawki to Sohra. But it seemed that the trek route was nearer from Shillong than from the other route we had planned. So he changed his plan and wanted to do the trek the day after while the rest of the group proceeded with the Shillong in and around sightseeing. 

When we came out, right below the hotel there were 4 to 5 taxis standing. Since it was near the chowk mostly it was some kind of a taxi stand. My cousin talked with one of them regarding the cost to take him to the Trek point. The taxi driver was a Bengali guy and my brother was satisfied with the price he offered. He quoted Rs. 3000 for a hotel to hotel drop including waiting charges at the trek point. However since it was never a good idea to just talk to one person, I suggested he should talk to a couple more taxi drivers before finalizing.

So then we went to the bus stop of Laitumkrah, which was just the opposite side of the taxi stand. A small bus was already standing there. My cousin had been previously to Shillong so he was aware of the bus service. Had it been just me I would have considered a taxi. The bus is a cheaper option plus you get to experience the local transport as well. It was pitch dark outside by that time and the temperature had also dropped a few notches. I think it felt like 18-19 degrees outside r. The bus already had a few locals. We got a seat easily as this is the first stop for the route. The bus waited till it was full and then we started. We paid Rs. 10 per person one way.

Police Bazar is 3.4 Km from Laitumkrah. Some people also call it by the name Khyndailad Bazar. At first it was good. But just after 5 minutes we hit a traffic snarl. And that continued almost till police bazar. What ideally is a 10 minutes journey turned out to be 25 minutes journey due to the heavy traffic jam on the narrow roads. Now we understood what our driver had earlier meant by bad traffic jams late in the evening. 

Finally we got off at one of the signals of Police Bazar. The conglomeration of shops, arcades, hotels, eateries in iridescent display dazzled us in the first look.  And the next thing that hit us was the sea of people at that place. It was teeming with thousands of tourist and locals alike. 

Police Bazar is considered as the heart of the city. The market is laid out in the form a huge circle (chowk) right in the middle of the police bazaar with beautiful landscaping, surrounded by 7 roads emerging from the circle to the different points in the city. Some of the roads in here doesn't allow vehicle entry which makes it easy for the pedestrians to navigate and shop. There are police positioned at the chowk, who would fine you for any wrongful driving.

Its said the best time to be in Police bazar is in the evenings. As then the place comes alive with lights and crowd. Even there is a street food stall section which comes up in the evening. The bazaar is a blend of traditional as well as modern, the chic as well as classic. 

I wanted to buy some local handicrafts for props to be used for my food blogging. We spotted a big shop something like a Khasi Emporium with some bamboo and cane handicrafts on display and headed towards it. It had a good collection. I do not remember the name of the shop but it was right behind the food stalls on the right.  After browsing through their collection I got some cane tray and fridge magnets and my brother got a bamboo mug - our very first purchases in Meghalaya. They had GPay options for payment as well. 

The evening food stalls set in the center of the bazar serves some interesting local cuisines in makeshift shops. After our little retail therapy we headed straight for the food stalls as we both felt hungry. There were a lot of choices. We went around checking out the options first before finalizing what we wanted to eat. Veg and chicken momos, chowmein, rolls, Jadoh, chicken drumsticks, flame grilled chicken, pork & fish, fried eggs, parathas were some of the things we could spot. All of these food items are available at pocket friendly prices. We had some steaming chicken momos to start with. It cost Rs. 35 per plate and had 5 momos in each plate. Though the vendor was from Bihar, the momos tasted pretty good. 

The next things we wanted to try was the flame grilled meat. This looked pretty interesting because of the tall orange flames going up from that stall. He had marinated chicken drumsticks, pork and chicken skewers. We ordered grilled chicken. The vendor held the skewers over the flames as they sizzled and the edges were nicely charred. Once the chicken was done he handed over the skewers to a lady at the back who then laid them down on a disposable plate and drizzled lemon juice generously. She added some chutney and salad on the side and handed it over to us. The chicken was infused with smoky, barbecue flavor. Tough it looked good but taste was average. Seasoning was not up to the mark is what we felt. However the overall experience was worth spending some time. Each plate of grilled chicken costed us Rs. 50. 

Chicken and Pork Skewers

Lady at the back seasoning the grilled meats

After satiating our hunger we now headed towards one of the shopping lanes. The market is made up of a labyrinth of narrow lanes that are bustling with activity. A variety of electronic goods, woolens, beauty products, potted plants, chilies, bakeries, bags, shoes, handicrafts, flowers, restaurants and other shops are scattered around both sides of the lane. If you are good at bargaining, then its a good place for you. You can get lots of souvenir options here. Out of all the things, I liked the variety of chilies a vendor was selling. If it was our last day in the city I would have got a bunch of those chilies back with me. We saw people buying potted plants even in the evening.

For Indian sweets and snacks you can try the big outlet of Delhi Mistan Bhandar. It looked like any big Haldiram outlet and the place was crowded. Once we stepped in we saw they have sweets, chaats, breads etc. This place is good for vegetarians in a predominant non-veg area. Some of the sweets looked interesting. My cousin bought a loaf of bread. 

Sweets at the Delhi Mistan Bhandar

Apart from food and retail therapy, there is lot of stay options available in Police Bazar. From lodges to three star properties, one can book any category of stay as per the budget. This is of course not place for peace seeking tourists, but is heaven for foodies and shopaholics visiting Shillong. 

Please note that Meghalaya has predominantly Christian Population. All main markets remain closed on Sunday as its the day of the Sunday Mass and most people spend their time in the church in the morning and rest of the day with their family and friends.

Taxis are available near the chowk for local sightseeing and for Guwahati drop. We checked with some of the drives about the cost of Mawryngkhang Trek drop. They demanded much more from what the guy at Laitumkrah had asked. So it was final that my cousin was going with the earlier guy he spoke to.

After spending almost an hour at the Police bazar we headed back to our hotel. The bus this time was absolutely jam packed. People were standing as well inside the bus. Meghalaya had almost nil Covid spread at that moment hence in most of the tourist places we didn't see anyone wearing masks. However in the crowded Police bazar or any crowded place people did wear masks. It being our first day in the city we followed the mask protocol everywhere we went. But with so many people packed inside the bus it felt a little uncomfortable considering the Covid scare was still lurking out there. Fortunately this time we faced a short traffic snag and reached Laitumkrah in about 10-12 minutes. 

Coffee Break: Café Shillong, Laitumkrah Main Road

A little before the chowk area, there was again a traffic jam so we got out of the bus. It was a nice chilly evening. We could hear some music being played somewhere down the street. There were some posters of rock concerts put up at places on the road. It was not surprising as the city’s affinity for music is well known. Even the main road of Laitumkrah looked jazzy by the night. As we walked we spotted a quaint café on the first floor of a building. We still had some time for the dinner hour which was at 8.30 PM so we decided to checkout the café.

When we stepped into this café I didn't realize it was one of the recommended places on my eatery list. We went up a flight of stairs, which didn't look anything like a café ambience, deliberation whether it was the right way to the café but eventually we saw a plaque with the name Café Shillong and a quaint rustic space from across the glass door. 

The ambience is no doubt stellar at this place. Comfy couches, quaint tables and chairs adorn the cafe. The yellow lighting seemed pretty.  Apart from the indoor seating they have a small patio where two tables are laid out for outdoor seating, mostly for the smokers. But most of the time it is occupied by couples. 

We didn't realize 6.45 PM was very late by the café timings. They take the last order by 7 PM and in the next half an hour they close shop. We saw very less number of people at the café when we went. Most of the sitting areas were empty and the outside sitting place looked very pretty so we decided to occupy those seats. But soon we understood our folly. It was very cold outside and we didn't have adequate warm clothes on us. But who cares cold when you want to enjoy the ambience right? So while we shivered we placed our orders. 

Looking at their menu we lamented at being already full. There was a lot of items which sounded delicious in both veg and non veg options. The only downside was that after seeing the dirt cheap prices at Police Bazar this came across as an extremely expensive place. Prices were like any other high end cafes in a metropolitan city. As we were already full from the police bazar snacking, my brother opted for a Cappuccino with cinnamon and I opted for a Passionfruit drink ( don't remember the name). I was so full that having a huge cup of coffee was like a death wish before dinner. 

The people in Shillong definitely were tuned into the finer things in life looking at all the retail outlets they had around the city. Bang opposite to the café, is a computer shop selling all high end models like MSI, apple, and other gaming laptops. The downside of this café is any was the extremely slow service. The servers at the counter were busy talking than making the orders which should have taken 10 minutes at maximum. But we were kept waiting for about 15-20 minutes in the cold before we received our orders. By that time I felt numb when I tried the passionfruit drink. It had good amount of ice and it was not even real passionfruit. Some canned syrup was used which tasted very average. The coffee seemed better than my choice, plus it came hot. 

The café is ideal to sip your coffee on a cold evening as you watch the people go by but then choose the indoor seating if you really want to enjoy. Constantly shivering kills half of the joy. And that is teh reason I did not feel like capturing any good pictures at this place.

We had kind of lost track of time sitting on the patio of the cafe until we got a call from my mom who asked about our whereabouts. It was already around 7.30 PM and they were about to close the cafe, so anyway we had to leave. We quickly paid up our tabs and left. 

Dinner : At Hotel Poinisukh

The hotel was barely a 5 minute walk form the café. We reached and freshened up and directly came down to the hall at the ground floor where a buffet dinner was to be served for us. 

The banquet hall was large and mostly it was used for some parties and official meetings too. They had laid down the buffet in one corner. The menu was optimal - one soup, 2 kinds of vegetables, daal, rice, biryani, roti, fish, mutton, salad, papad and sweet. Everything tasted decent. We were the only boarders who were there for the buffet at that time so it felt like the whole place was for us. We wrapped up dinner in 30 minutes and everyone decided to call it day. 

Plan for Day 2 at Shillong:

The plan for the next 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.

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 two blogs in this series do check the links at the end of this blog.

 Important Takeaways from this part

1. Use applications like Splitwise to manage your expenses if you are travelling in a group

2. Try the local food at Shillong. List of recommended eateries given in blog

3. If you are staying at Laitumkrah, you can take a local bus to Police Bazar which starts at Laitumkrah chowk 

4. All main markets are closed on Sundays.

5.  Meghalaya has ATM facilities of different bank at convenient locations across the state. 

6. If you love a chic cafe, check out Café Shillong in Laitumkrah for the vibe and the coffee

7. For Khasi handicrafts, souvenirs, cheap local food check out Police Bazar

To be continued in next part.

Other posts in this series:

• Meghalaya Trip Summary
• Meghalaya Travelogue - Day 1 - Umroi Airport, Umiam Lake (Part 1)

Now if you are having these three set of documents in place, it would hardly take 5 minutes to complete the exit formalities. Their database already would have your details (photographs, ID cards etc.) and they would just cross verify them with the documents you produce. But surprisingly what we saw that most of the tourists were completely clueless about the E-invite. The mandatory E-invite is mentioned almost everywhere if you do a little research or even in your flight ticket instructions. Still most people were caught unawares. They were then asked to download the app, and fill in all the details on spot before they were allowed to exit the airport. I would again mention that please get the e-invites done before your journey. It saves a lot of time and energy because its an exhaustive list that you need to fill in. 

The ladies handed us a slip which had to be shown at the entry point of Shillong. It was a proof that we had completed all entry formalities at the airport. Do not loose this slip! Once the formalities were done we stepped outside. It was a bright sunny and cool morning. The view from the exit point of the airport seemed prettier. The green hills against the sharp blue sky was a treat to the eyes. 

We already had a pre-booked car from my uncle's office which was supposed to pick us up form the airport. the same car would be with us for the entire duration of the trip. Please note Uber or Ola is not operational in Meghalaya. So you need to always avail local transportation or local cabs for travel. Since Umroi Airport isn't a very big airport so I would recommend you pre-book your car who can also come and pick you up form the airport. There seemed to be a taxi stand at the back side of the exit gate, but we did not check that out. 

The Exit side of the Umroi Airport

Since the car still had some time to reach the airport we took the opportunity to click some photos around the area while my mom and grandma sat in the chairs outside and chatted. There was a covid counter outside, which was providing covid related information to tourist who went up to them. A point to note, there is no restaurants or food shops inside or outside the airport. So if you want to grab a quick tea or coffee that is not possible in the airport.

Rear side of the Airport from where you exit

Cab drivers outside the airport waiting for their passengers

Soon our car arrived. We had booked an Innova for the entire trip duration. It could snugly fit in maximum 7 adult passengers + 1 driver. But that would be very uncomfortable especially in the back seat by the boot. we were 6 people so it was good for us. We had 5 big suitcases and 4 backpacks with us. So some of the suitcases had to be put on the roof of the car. It took the driver almost 10 minutes to get all the luggage arranged and properly fastened. Once done we were on our way. 

1. Khasi Hills Division:
• East Khasi Hills (Shillong)
• West Khasi Hills (Nongstoin)
• South West Khasi Hills (Mawkyrwat)
• Ri-Bhoi (Nongpoh)
2. Garo Hills Division:
• North Garo Hills (Resubelpara)
• East Garo Hills (Williamnagar)
• South Garo Hills (Baghmara)
• West Garo Hills (Tura)
• South West Garo Hills (Ampati)
3. Jaintia Hills Division
• West Jaintia Hills (Jowai)
• East Jaintia Hills (Khliehriat)

1. Name : Hotel Poinisukh
2. Location: Laitumkhrah Main Rd
3. Room : Delux Double room ( 2 pax / room)  with breakfast and dinner included 
4. Cost: booked by Relative's  Company hence not aware of the cost.
5. Food Info : Breakfast is quite filling with a combination of south Indian and continental choices. Veg and non veg both options available in breakfast. They have 2 different in house restaurants serving an assortment of cuisines. Chinese preparations are a must try.
6. Charging Points : Ample charging points for charging phone, camera battery etc. 
7. Hot water:  Geyser available
8. In House Restaurant: Yes
9. Vaccine Report Check : Yes
10. Photo ID check : Yes
11. Wifi Available : Yes

1. Name : Brightstar tents and homestay( 2 pax per room) with breakfast 
2. Location: Shnongpdeng
3. Details: They have both tents and structured building for stay options. We took 3 rooms in the building. It has 2 floors. Upper floor has two double occupancy rooms. Two washrooms are detached from the room but in the same floor. Both with Commode facility. Lower floor has two quad ( 4 pax) occupancy rooms with attached bathrooms. It also has commode facility.
4. Room 1 : Upper floor - Rs 2500 - detached bathroom - 2 pax - breakfast included
5. Room 2: Upper floor - Rs 2500 - detached bathroom - 2 pax -  breakfast included
6. Room 3: Lower floor - Rs 2000 - attached bathroom - 4 pax -  breakfast included
7. Website: https://www.facebook.com/Bright-Star-Camps-Home-Stay-Shnongpdeng-Village-Tourist-Place-636218953252889
8. Contact Number: 7005177829 / 8974227204/ 8787318215
9. Contact person : Micky
10. Food Info : Micky can arrange thalis for you in Dinner. There are also a couple of small food shacks serving Thalis ( fish, veg, chicken etc.) at nominal at walking distance from this place. If you are looking for some fancy food, there is a resort named Betlenut at a 2-3 minutes driving distance from this camp.
11. Food Cost : Nominal cost at about 150-250 / thali depending on what you choose.
12. Charging Points : Ample charging points for charging phone, camera battery etc. 
13. Hot water:  Geyser available
14. Additional Info : Micky arranges for all the sports activity you want to do at an additional cost
15. Vaccine Report Check : No
16. Photo ID check : No
17. Wifi Available : No

1. Name : Abode of Clouds ( 2 pax per room) with breakfast 
2. Location: Sohra-Shella Road, Seven Sister Falls is at walking distance
3. Details: Standalone Cottages overlooking beautiful vast landscape. Sunrise is stunning. If you love solitude this is the place to be. We took 3 cottages with double occupancy each.
4. Room :  Rs 3000 - 2 pax - breakfast included
5. Website: https://www.facebook.com/Bright-Star-Camps-Home-Stay-Shnongpdeng-Village-Tourist-Place-636218953252889
6. Contact Number: 8787724200 ( whatsapp)/ 8118932889
7. Contact person : Who ever is at front desk will answer
8. In House Restaurant: Yes
9. Food Info : You will get a choice of Indian and Chinese dishes. Both veg and non veg available. Order at the front desk by 7 PM to get an early dinner. 
10. Food Cost : Prices are like any standard restaurant.
11. Charging Points : Limited charging points for charging phone, camera battery etc. Take an extension board if required.
12. Hot water:  Geyser available
13. Additional Info : They can arrange for a super early packed breakfast if needed. Usually the chef comes by 4 PM so if you are planning to stay in at lunch time, you might not be able to order food in the in house restaurant.
14. Vaccine Report Check : Yes
15. Photo ID check : Yes
16. Wifi Available : Did not check

1. Name : Dongrama homestay with breakfast 
2. Details: They have one cottage which can accommodate up to 4 adults ( 1 double bed, 1 sofa cum bed and many sofas ) and one double room (twin beds) with double occupancy. Standard Breakfast is complimentary. Special breakfast ( local traditional food) can be ordered at additional cost.
3. Room 1 : In the main house where host stays - Rs 2000 - attached bathroom - 2 pax - breakfast included
4. Room 2: Standalone Cottage  - Rs 3000 for 2 people and Rs 500 per extra guest ( 4 pax = 4000)- attached bathroom - 4 pax -  breakfast included
5. Website: https://www.facebook.com/Dongrama-Homestay-319917645266663/
6. Contact Number: 8414803502 (whatsapp)/ 8787404158/ 9436108456
7. Contact person : Oswin Momin
8. Food Info : Oswin and his wife always encourages visitors to taste the local traditional fare at their place. We opted for total traditional dishes and they were really superb. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian ( fish, chicken, pork) can be arranged by them. The cooking is done in house by some amazing local ladies. 
9. Food Cost : Nominal cost at about 150-250 / thali depending on what you choose.
10. Charging Points : Ample charging points for charging phone, camera battery etc. 
11. Additional Info :  Mr Oswin is a superhost who arranges different sightseeing activities you want to do at an additional cost. If you happen to turn up at their property on a weekend, he personally takes you around and even takes some amazing Drone shots while you are at the sightseeing points. He can also arrange for some experiential activities like tribal dance, tribal wine making process etc. if you request in advance. All these activities can be enjoyed at an additional cost. The property itself is so beautiful that you wont mind spending a day or two just lazing around the property and the quaint surroundings. They have a stunning garden ( Mr Oswin's mother in law is an avid plant lover) with some unique produce which you can check out as well.
12. Vaccine Report Check : No
13. Photo ID check : No
14. Wifi Available : Did not check