Ni Dieu Ni Maitre

Just crossing from Assam into this state was a revelation, as the small bus climbed and descended steep hill, one after another, on a well paved divided 4 lane highway. I had booked a room at Shanti Sojourn, to which some cab drivers flatly refused to tale me… no tuk-tuks here at all, since every journey, even across town, is steep ups and downs. Finally getting a ride, we went up and up and I wondered if we were still in Shillong at all. But Shanti Sojourn is perched just below Shillong peak, which is at 6,600 feet up.

Assam state was uniformly quite hot and humid, with the heat abating a bit as the sun set. Here, the temperature ranges from 65 at night to 73F (18 to 22C) in the day, with rain quite intermittent but possible any time… easy to tell when just looking up. Fortunately, I have been lugging around a few pieces of warm clothing and a rain jacket.

Outstanding in the cool, light rain.

Booked in initially for 3 nights, but extending to get a rest and catch up on the blog, attempt to get into hiking condition and enjoy some cool weather. There is a forest nearby with trails, a Tibetan monastery just down the hill a bit, and the climb to the peak itself which could be a possibility. Here at the Sojourn there is pretty much little else, no shops, no restaurants, just a few more guesthouses a bit lower down. Chanrei, the manager gives me breakfast and the other meals are take out, ordered from a good place down in the town proper.

Chanrei, who had the sniffles and was wearing a mask, as it turned out just for a few hours.

The main tribe here is the Khasi, but there .are 2 others. “Meghalaya has historically followed a matrilineal system where the lineage and inheritance are traced through women; the youngest daughter inherits all wealth and she also takes care of her parents.” wikipedia. This is also one of the wettest places on Earth, but really, I’ve gone out for a ramble twice every day here and not gotten wet. As I said, just look at the sky, the little squalls blow by quickly.

The forest trail… the hard clay surface is pretty slippery, and I’m continuing my practice of hitting the deck and failing to get injured.