Shillong in 2001

It was my first trip to the North-East section of India. And frankly, I didnt know what to expect..Though I have been allover India, courtsey my dad, it was a part of India i had never been to.
I know it might sound very unfair, but whenever anyone who has grown up in Western parts thinks of India, somehow these north-eastern states never come to mind. And the funny thing is that these have some of the most stunning views you'll see anywhere in the world..
Situated in the Himalayas, I always wanted to visit the north-east. I used to hear stories from my dad, of his visit to Assam in the 70s'.
I finally got the opportunity in 2001. I had to travel from Mumbai to Shillong. I could have taken a train till Guwahati, but that would take 4 days!!..Flying out was a necessity rather than an option :-)..So spending an entire months salary, I flew out to Calcutta and then onwards to Guwahati...My first reaction was that I had landed at a bus stop in a village.!!!
The airport is really small and situated amongst fields [I think rice...I'm not sure..]..It was really humid, even compare to Mumbai..but WOW...amazingly beautiful...I visited the Kamakhya temple...Then took a helicopter to Shillong !!! [Its cheaper than taking a taxi..]
The helipad in shillong happened to be near our house in Upper Shillong [Long Nyer..]..
I was thrilled to be there..The house [a bungalow] was at the top of a hill...and a really beautiful campus to boot.
Everymorning, my mom used to wake me up to see the clouds rolling through the house!!
We went to visit Gangtok and Darjeeling..[but thats for another day..right!!]

It was the best 2 weeks I have spent on vacation anywhere...I will definitely pack in another visit...

The return to Mumbai was a an rude awakening...back to the concrete jungle ...

here we go!!!

just realized it much harder to blog than it seems...my fountain of plenty just went dry...HELP!!!
but then i guess, thats what this is all about...writing what you feel...so here goes nothing..
Hope this will be the start of something good..I'll try to keep it simple..just some life experiences and the occassional musings...