This one is for you Srobs. I had heard so many stories about Shillong and Half Long from you that I thought I would recognise it instantly. But that did not seem to happen primarily because today's Shillong is infested with cars and vehicular pollution, which makes the beautiful sleepy Shillong quite maddening like Shimla. But the dancing pines and the leafy green hue tries to make you feel welcome. And your first impressions are very difficult to erase. The beauty is all pervasive but the sad part is that nobody seems to be interested in keeping this hill station clean.
This family of ducks were lazing in the sun by the corner at the artficial Wards Lake within the city. A very nice little lake and quite clean, but the problem is a very laid back cafeteria which does not open till 12 in the afternoon. But they were nice enough to let me sit and read my book for several hours in peace and tranquility. My hotel room was the worst ever in history as it was one of those pegion holes in the wall without any view even in a place like Shillong! So few hours spent at this beautiful lake was enchanting to say the least. The dancing pines also gave me a sense of peace at the festival venue of Shillong Science Centre, NEHU. Although Mawlai has its own share of Texan attitude but the North Eastern Hill University campus is enchanting to say the least.
The riots of colours at the ward lake makes it picture perfect spot to relax away from the vehicular pollution that the city is engulfed with.
Although by the time I reached the Shillong peak a cover of haze lay over the view but it still looked wonderful and breathtaking. The wind here was strong enough to throw you back. Met a curious group of tourists too. The elder of the group was delighted to see the view and could not stop clicking away while the youngest a lad of 16 at the most was very upset and kept complaing that it did not provide any entertainment!!!
Sadly the Baraipani which lends Shillong the sorbiquet Scotland of the East is half dry in March itself as the picture above suggests. The work of climate change my friend, green land is melting and lakes are drying up, we are in for a very bleak future to say the least.
This one is for you Srobs. I had heard so many stories about Shillong and Half Long from you that I thought I would recognise it instantly. But that did not seem to happen primarily because today's Shillong is infested with cars and vehicular pollution, which makes the beautiful sleepy Shillong quite maddening like Shimla. But the dancing pines and the leafy green hue tries to make you feel welcome. And your first impressions are very difficult to erase. The beauty is all pervasive but the sad part is that nobody seems to be interested in keeping this hill station clean.
This family of ducks were lazing in the sun by the corner at the artficial Wards Lake within the city. A very nice little lake and quite clean, but the problem is a very laid back cafeteria which does not open till 12 in the afternoon. But they were nice enough to let me sit and read my book for several hours in peace and tranquility. My hotel room was the worst ever in history as it was one of those pegion holes in the wall without any view even in a place like Shillong! So few hours spent at this beautiful lake was enchanting to say the least. The dancing pines also gave me a sense of peace at the festival venue of Shillong Science Centre, NEHU. Although Mawlai has its own share of Texan attitude but the North Eastern Hill University campus is enchanting to say the least.
The riots of colours at the ward lake makes it picture perfect spot to relax away from the vehicular pollution that the city is engulfed with.
Although by the time I reached the Shillong peak a cover of haze lay over the view but it still looked wonderful and breathtaking. The wind here was strong enough to throw you back. Met a curious group of tourists too. The elder of the group was delighted to see the view and could not stop clicking away while the youngest a lad of 16 at the most was very upset and kept complaing that it did not provide any entertainment!!!
Sadly the Baraipani which lends Shillong the sorbiquet Scotland of the East is half dry in March itself as the picture above suggests. The work of climate change my friend, green land is melting and lakes are drying up, we are in for a very bleak future to say the least.
Comments
I remember, as a part of our biology project, we had traced a stream right from the source to Lalchand Basti (the plains of shillong), sampling the water at every point looking for pollution (and trust me, we saw them change as they passed through, mostly due to organic waste flowing into the river)... that was a beautiful trek (performed over 6 weekends)..
if you really want to get a taste of Shillong, trek..
Coincidentally I went there for an awareness campaign on waste management and environmental health issues interacting with children and officials. Sadly the villages have a practice of burning the non-biodegradable waste in Meghalaya as also in other hilly areas which releases a host of chemicals including dioxins a very toxic pollutant. Hope the children who participated from 39 blocks of Meghalaya would take back the knowledge shared with them and work as a catalyst to usher in change in the future.
Regarding Wards lake, I think the entry fee funda is keeping it cleaner otherwise the throngs of crowd will spoil it. Sadly both locals and the tourists are guilty of littering!! I sincerely wish things were different.