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His Dudeness, 6 June 2007
India , Shillong

Forgotten paradise...

Meghalaya seems to be somewhat of a forgotten paradise, perhaps that is because it is the wettest place on earth and is often shrouded in fog... In fact the name means "abode of the clouds"..

But even though we came here during the start of the rainy season we have been very lucky and had very little rain... Shillong the capital is one of the nicest cities in India, it certainly is the cleanest city I have been to in India.. It is full of lakes and parks and a very interesting market... It used to be called the "Scotland of the East" back when it was a hillstation for the british.. I wouldn't call it that, but is has it's charms, even if it doesn't have the kilts and the bagpipes.. We stayed in a nice guesthouse with fabulous views over Shillong and a wonderful family.. The room was spotless with all the amenities you could wish for... After a few days in Shillong we decided to go to a place recomended to us by Tim, who we met in Nagaland.. He said it was a hidden gem, a forgotten paradise.. And it certainly was!

First it was hard to find the shared jeep to this place even though Tim had told us more or less where they were supposed to leave from.. But after a long search we finaly found the jeep and we went on our way...

How to describe this village, it has been named the cleanest village in Asia and it is a bit like walking in a botanical garden... Why did they do it? Not for the tourists that is for sure, because hardly anybody knows of the place... And it is surrounded by lush jungle, with beautiful waterfalls and rivers where you can swim in.. We felt like we had been transported into some shampoo comercial... They have built this fantastic guesthouse, with a bamboo walking bridge leading into the trees to some platforms... A short walk away is the border with Bangladesh, with awesome panoramic views over the flat lands of this country.. Also the area around here is known for it's living bridges... Villagers select some rubber trees that are close to a river and than lead the roots of the trees through bamboo pipes over the river.. The roots keep on growing till they reach the other side where they dip into the river.. Like this they build there bridges, from the roots of those trees, not cutting down anything, just using nature at it's best!!

All in all, I can say it is truly paradise!

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