A hill holiday......

It was the summer vacation of 2015, and it was also the day of Eid, my favourite festival. I was very happy, as my parents had bought me new clothes. Everything was new that day. I sought the blessings of my parents and elders and spent the day chatting with my friends and cousins, roaming, enjoying and gorging on the delicious dishes cooked by my mother and my aunts. The next day, my parents planned something special for me and my brother. To our pleasant surprise, it was a trip to Shillong, my favourite hill station! We left for Guwahati from Rangiya that very evening and we reached at around nine p.m. We were to leave the next morning and I left the details to the elders as I fell asleep, too tired after a long, fun day.

As it turned out, seven of us were going to Shillong – my family, along with my mama’s family of four. My grandparents and my father couldn’t join us, as they had some other work. That day, the weather was very clear and pleasant. We first reached Khanapara, then Byrnihat, Nongpoh and Barapani. At Barapani, we stopped for a while, took a break, clicked pictures, collected some pine cones, and enjoyed the fresh, cool breeze. We reached Shillong well before noon, and we headed straight towards Cherrapunjee. At Cherrapunjee, we had pre-booked a resort, which we reached by 2 p.m. We were all very tired, so we freshened up, had our lunch and decided to take rest. Later, we went out sightseeing to places like the Mawsmai Cave, the Eco Park, and saw many waterfalls around the town. From the Eco Park, we got a bird’s eye view of the Bangladesh border. As it was getting dark, we came back to our resort and had some tea and snacks. Later in the evening, we watched TV, checked out the photos that we had clicked during the day and had an early dinner.

The next morning, we woke up and went for a walk near the resort. Soon, we packed our bags and bid farewell to the manager and staff of the resort. Our next stop was Shillong. On the way, we visited the Elephant Falls. What a wonderful sight it is! At the Elephant Falls, we tried on Khasi costumes and took pictures.

We then went to the Air Force Museum, followed by the Don Bosco Museum. We also went up to the Shillong Peak, from where we got a panoramic view of the Shillong town. It is, indeed, the abode of clouds. I felt that I was surrounded by the clouds – a view I will never forget. We then drove to Shillong, where we first visited the glass mosque and offered our prayers. It is so beautiful!

Lastly, we went to Police Bazaar, where we had our lunch and did a lot of shopping. We then went around the Ward’s Lake, and finally left for Guwahati. On our way, we entered a wonderful park, where we even took a swim. After a wonderful journey, we finally reached our grandparents’ place. This is one memory which will never fade.