"The Abode of Clouds" Meghalaya

There are many places to go in your holidays ,well i prefer to go to my home town Shillong !!!!

I work in a retail sector in ready made garment division , As a Manager now a days the store sales are all time low and the management is in no way to pay the employees, So we've decided to go to the home town till this pandemic settles.

I am going to Shillong which is the capital city of Meghalaya ,means in English as "The Abode of Clouds",

Meghalaya situated in the Northeast India (officially North Eastern Region, NER) is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The region shares an international border of 5,182 kilometres (3,220 mi) (about 99 percent of its total geographical boundary) with several neighbouring countries – 1,395 kilometres (867 mi) with Tibet Autonomous Region, China in the north, 1,640 kilometres (1,020 mi) with Myanmar in the east, 1,596 kilometres (992 mi) with Bangladesh in the south-west, 97 kilometres (60 mi) with Nepal in the west, and 455 kilometres (283 mi) with Bhutan in the north-west.[2] It comprises an area of 262,230 square kilometres (101,250 sq mi), almost 8 percent of that of India, and is one of the largest salients (panhandles) in the world.

We have started our journey from Hyderabad where i work, The ticket was very hard to get in this situation but sum how i got the tickets to Guwahat ,i have a jack in Railways ,Guwahati is the largest city in the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. A major riverine port city along with hills, and one of the fastest growing cities in India, Guwahati is situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra. It is called the 'Gateway to North East India'

This is the convenient way to reach ,as it is the gatway to northeast every seven sister state is usualy travelled throug Guwahati only,the moment you reach Guwahati and came out of the railwaystation you see a sumo stand there and they keep on shouting the destination place you want to go ,i have a permanent sumo driver who always take me to Shillong when ever i travel from Guwahati to Shillong,but first i had my lunch at the Shillong Hotel near the Railway station in Paltan bazar.

The food is so nice it is the non veg paradise ,you will have all kind of meat including pork ,fish ,lamb and even beef,i had some pork curry with rice than fried fish and lamb curry it was so good ,the plating also, the plating ,waiter are neat and welcoming, they serve fresh green chili,some great fruit piece , rock salt and it was so cheap i was full in just 400 INR .I started in sumo from paltan bazar Guwahati to Shillong at approx 10:00

On my way to Shillong we stooped for some snake at my favorite place it is the Khasi tea stall ,The Khasi people are an indigenous ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. The Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of Meghalaya, and is the state's largest community, with around 48% of the population of Meghalaya. A unique feature of the Khasi people is that they follow the matrilineal system of descent and inheritance. Under the Constitution of India, the Khasis have been granted the status of Scheduled Tribe. The food was to die for ,i started with Jadoh This dish is Shillong’s speciality. Rice drenched in a flavourful mix of sour and spicy, topped with an assortment of herbs like mint leaves and ginger flower, along with pork meat that packs a real punch.
Jadoh is a Meghalaya treasure found everywhere on Shillong’s streets. A popular place to get Jadoh from is Jadoh’s in Don Bosco Square or Trattoria in Police Bazaar.,Tungrymbai the locals queue up at local street stalls in Shillong to get their daily fix of Tungrymbai. The dish is popular in Meghalaya and is prepared using fermented soybeans that are grown in Shillong.
You’re unlikely to get this anywhere in the country other than northeast India, so it’s definitely one of the top threats in Shillong. The dish is best eaten with bread or roti. Tungrymbai can be eaten at local street stalls in and round markets in Shillong.Dohneiiong Pork cooked with black sesame seeds and soy sauce. The toasted sesame seeds, often found in Chinese cooking, takes this dish to another level altogether. Dohneiiong can be found at many food stalls in and around the main city centre as well as near the Police Bazar ,Smoked Meat is vastly spreed in Shillong as the market and meat vendor only stay in cities the villagers have started this culture of drying the meat with domestic smoke ,that the meat is preserved for many days,the taste is so good and easily digestible,Dohkhlieh A popular pork dish without a specific recipe, local eateries have many different ways of preparing Dohkhlieh. Women folk come to markets every morning with their concoction. It can be described as a salad made using pork, onions, and local spices. Don Bosco Square is where you’ll find it most easily.

I each Shillong at 5;30 pm ,it was already dark i stayed at the hotel in police bazar,They have all kinds of hotels starting fron 100 INR till 10000 INR per day ,i stayed at the hotel in my budget ,i have to start early to sohra the next day

My day started early, i had a heavy break fast at the famous "Standing Mess" in this market you will get everything from poori bhaji to smoke meat and traditional meals,i am a very big fan of David from the famous video blog "David's been heir" he has describe shillings cuisine like never before,when i came first heir i have went to so many placess heir ,but now all are closed ,i went first to umiam lake it is avery nice place for boating and enjoying

Umiam Dam, which impounds the lake, was built by the Assam State Electricity Board in the early 1960s. The dam's original purpose was to store water for hydroelectric power generation. The Umiam Stage I powerhouse, north of the lake, has four 9-MW turbine-generators, which entered commercial operation in 1965. Umiam Stage I was the first reservoir-storage hydroelectric project commissioned in the northeastern region of India. (Umtru Hydroelectric Project, a run-of-river project with an original capacity of 8.4 MW, began operation in 1957.) Three more stages of the Umiam Project were subsequently built downstream.
The lake serves as a major tourist attraction for the state of Meghalaya. It is also a popular destination for water sport and adventure facilities. Tourists visit this spot for kayaking, water cycling, scooting, and boating. Apart from storing water for electricity generation, the lake also provides numerous ecosystem services at micro, meso and macro levels. Downstream irrigation, fisheries, and drinking water cater to local anthropogenic needs.

The Do Bosco Museum in Shillong (known as Don Bosco Center of Indigenous Cultures) isn’t just a museum... it’s more of an institution with its own publications, research wing, newsletter and a calendar full of cultural activities. Arguably, one of the best museums in India... the Don Bosco museum has been toured by royalty... the princess of Thailand and Rajya Sabha MPs paid a visit and over 1 k visitors visited the place in 2016.

Competitions for writers, musicians and lyricists are held in the premises and researchers and scholars name the museum as their favorite place for understanding the indigenous culture of North East India. The museum is quite conveniently located in Mawlai and is very near Police Bazaar.
There is an extensive collection of rare paintings, unusual artifacts and indigenous objects that are sourced from various corners of North Eastern states. You will see bamboo and cane craft, stone work, metal art and magnificent specimens of tribal jewellery and headband. An unusual collection of utensils, statuettes, paintings also adorn the gallery.
to identify different styles of basket weaving like single inter node basket, two and four inter node basket weaves etc. Bamboo headgear, rain shields and utensils are also displayed. The Manipuri style of bamboo weaving is also displayed as the inhabitants of the state use bamboo in almost every aspect of life. jewellery and ornaments play a special role and native tribes don these during church services, festivities, official functions etc. the jewellery of North East India has amazing variety... you will find ornaments made of feather, beads, metal, semi-precious stones, bamboo, cloth and embroidered patches. This gallery has artifacts that were conventionally used for hunting game, fishing and gathering crops and produce. Different communities of North East use different kinds of artifacts for fishing and hunting and they are displayed with the descriptions and name of the weapons.

Shillong Peak A picnic spot, 10 km from the city, 1966 m above sea level, offers a panoramic view of the scenic countryside and is the highest point in the state. Obeisance is paid to U Shyllong at the sanctum sanctorum at the peak's summit every springtime, by the religious priest of Khyrim/Mylliem State.

Shillong has one of the largest natural golf courses in Asia: Glen eagles of the East. It enjoys the rare distinction of being one of the few natural golf courses in Asia. Not only is the Shillong Golf Course scenic and enjoyable, it is also challenging. A group of British civil service officers introduced golf to Shillong in 1898 by constructing a nine-hole course. The present 18-hole course was inaugurated in 1924. The course is set in a valley covered with pine and rhododendron trees. The tight fairways, carpeted with a local grass which hardens the soil, are difficult to negotiate. The number of out-of-bounds streams that crises-cross every fairway makes it all the more trying. Obstructions come in the form of bunkers, trees and rain. The longest hole is the 6th, which is a grueling 594 yards. Shillong Golf Course is considered to be the "Glen Eagle of the East" at the United States Golf Association Museum. It was set in a valley at an altitude of 5,200 ft in 1898 as a nine-hole course and later converted into an 18-hole course in 1924 by Captain Jackson and C. K. Rhodes.

Bada bazar where all Shillong farmers com from remote area to sell their produce it is a very busy market ,the market is situated in a high place and it has a very narrow lanes and every item need to catty till their stores by foot only ,imagine a butcher is carrying a 40 pork on his shoulder in the busy market lane,he have to Wiesel to indicate the crowd that someone is crossing the lane with heavy load

I am a big fan of Khasi food i cannot tell you all how it taste but ,a man from the US can tell you all about ,he is David, i am a very big fan he knows the things that being a local we don't know ,follow his video blogs about Shillong and the exquisite taste of the blood sausage.