Guwahati Train Station
After a couple of days in Kolkata, I got onto another overnight train, headed for Guwahati. Jayanthi and Alec had been out of town when I returned to Kolkata and both returned from their travels ill. They weren’t quite up to the difficulties of a full day on a train, so they changed their tickets to fly into Guwahati the next day. I, however, had worked rather hard to get that train ticket reservation, and it was far less expensive than flying. Plus, I wanted to see the countryside as I traveled by, when possible, and I had a ticket to fly back to Kolkata with Alec after a week. So the two of them were going to meet me the next day in Guwahati, which is a town, basically on the border between the northeastern states of Meghalaya and Assam in India. In order to get to those states by train, I would have to go north in Bengal, almost to Darjeeling and then around Bangladesh, before coming back down in that part of the country. This part of India is a bit different from the rest, as it is so isolated. This train ride would be more than 24 hours long and there definitely weren’t people near me who spoke my language. The train ride itself was interesting, though. I was in the 3rd class AC compartment, which means that for the night time, the back of the seats comes up to make a second, middle bunk and there is a third bunk suspended from the ceiling at about eye height. Along the corridor of the train are double bunks, the top one being a little lower and immobile, and the lower bunk is formed when the back of the two seats by the windows lower and meet. I had the upper 3rd bunk on this trip. Often that’s nice, because you can go up whenever you want and get a bit of privacy, stretch out, etc. But it can get a bit cramped, as you can’t sit straight up on the bunk since it’s so close to the ceiling. After the train left in the evening, I stayed down with the other people, and ate some dinner I had brought, and watched the interactions of people around me. There was a couple with a little girl were on the side seatset. So the baby provided us all with some entertainment (and then some screams during the night!) and I listened to an audiobook that I love – Bossypants, by Tina Fey. I’ve mentioned before that during train rides vendors come up and down the aisles selling their products – food, tea and coffee, toiletries, toys, all sorts of things. Sometimes beggars come and sing, it’s kind of a free-for-all. At one point in the evening, a man came through selling a north Indian snack. It’s made by combining a bunch of little things, such a dried lentils and puffed rice. Usually it’s all mixed together and then served in a piece of newspaper rolled into a cone-shape. Nothing super special, usually… this guy, however, was a riot. As he came through the train car, you could hear his approach from a couple of compartments away because he was singing. (Of course, this all happened in another language, but the main idea was clear.) He sang about his goods and that everyone should try them. As he came to each compartment, he would set down his big basket of goods and proceed to give out small samples to people, singing about it. It was great! Most people took the samples, and many people bought from him. It was brilliant, and he probably sold more than anyone else who just went up and down the corridors yelling about what they had and occasionally waving it in anyone’s face who accidentally made eye contact with them.… After the guy moved on to the next compartment, everyone in my area was still chuckling and as he began his routine in the next section, people were still laughing as we could hear him goofing off on his merry way. It was a great break from the monotony of train travel.
Getting daab in Guwaahati
photo by Jayanthi Bunyan, SJ edit
After arriving in Guwahati the next day, Jayanthi and Alec met me at the train station and we stopped on the way back to the hotel to get some daab. I believe I mentioned that they are addicted to coconut water (daab). I have never been a fan of coconut (and that’s putting it mildly), but on this trip to India, I find I am able to enjoy the water from time to time. It’s interesting, because the flavor of each individual fruit is a bit different. Some are sweet, some a bit more tart or tangy. We always ask for the “Mishti Daab,” which means Sweet Daab. Of course, it is always a crap-shoot. You never know what it’ll be like until you take that first sip. Daab wallahs are an interesting bunch too. They usually have a spot by the side of the road where the sit with a giant machete or scythe of some sort and chop off the top of the coconut for you so that it opens just enough to put a straw in, without losing the water. Some of them are quite skillful at it, and literally open the green outside and brown husk underneath so there is just the thin skin of coconut over the water, which you can poke the straw through, not even losing a drop of water! Afterwards, if you want, they’ll open it completely so you can eat the coconut meat. Most people don’t do that – I never do that. Jayanthi and Alec extol the virtues of daab ad nausem, but it’s very true that it has a great ability to rehydrate and restore electrolytes. I may be a convert before the trip is over….
Asshole Tourtst driver doesn’t even have a real Tourist permit, I bet…
The hotel we stayed at in Guwahati had a rooftop with a magnificent view and we enjoyed that greatly. The next morning, we had arranged for a driver to take us to Shillong, in Meghalaya. It’s about half the distance to the village where we were going to go to see the living bridges. Now, I’m not sure how much of the following was an actual language issue or how much of it was just that the driver was an asshole…. But he clearly had been given instructions from his boss to take us directly to Shillong, and to stop for lunch along the way. Period. We had been asking if we could see a few of the sights along the way. We were happy to pay a little more for that, but this guy wasn’t even willing to stop on the way out of town for daab! (the horror!!!) He stopped once or twice along the way – when we made him – at a couple of viewpoints. He took us to a restaurant for lunch, and I’m pretty sure it was owned by the people or friends of the ones who owned the driving company. Then, when we got to Shillong, he unceremoniously dumped us in the center of town – literally stopped the car right on the side of a roundabout, took out our things, and drove off! But we were pretty glad to see him go. Perhaps we should have been tipped off by the fact that his car was labelled TourTST Permit, rather than TourIST permit. We should’ve known the company wasn’t any good! Oh, India!
Hill-Top Chateau Guest House, Shillong
We got a taxi relatively easily, but weren’t sure if the new driver completely understood where we were trying to go. My sister had made reservations for us at a homestay in Shillong. The home was a place called the Hill-Top Chateau, and we had the address, but that’s all. We showed the taxi driver, and he started driving us around. Shillong is in the hills, and he kept going up. Since the place was called Hill-Top and was supposed to have a good view, we figured he was going in the right direction, but we went for quite a while, pretty far out from the center of town. We drove along, listening to the guy’s loud, loud techno beats, American, and English pop music. The streets wound back and forth up a mountain and in and out of little populated areas and just when I was starting to get really worried, we saw a small sign for the Hilltop Chateau! And it was LOVELY!! We were welcomed by Bonnie, the lady of the home. She showed us the room, and took us up to the balcony to see a spectacular view over the valley of Shillong. Her daughter and son were home, and we met them. She told us her husband Dean had a car and would talk to us about possibly driving for us the next day after he got home. We were thrilled! The place was fabulous. They had a beautiful garden…and a see-saw!
Laundry in Shillong, India Slum
We decided to hike on the mountain behind their house, as the views of the city would only get better higher up. Dean accompanied us and was quite interesting to talk to, telling me about the slum we walked through, and the area where he lived, and about his former work building homes. The sunset that night, as well as dinner, was great. We were so happy, and planned to have Dean take us to the village in Meghalaya the next day, via the scenic route.
Khasi Women in forest in Shillong
Also, it was my nephew, Jonah’s first birthday during this time, so we had been exchanging some pics and trying to contact one another.
Jonah’s so Cool…!
Unfortunately, there wasn’t any internet connection in the mountains, so it was a bit difficult, and we’d had a hard time getting in contact. However, we eventually were able to talk briefly from Shillong! Happy Birthday, Jonah!