I went out on the night of the 27th of last month for Shillong. I returned home on the 6th through Kolkata. In these few days, I have traveled more than 2000 km … Due to my hobby of riding Indian Railways, I went from Guwahati to Kolkata by train and the rest by road. It is very difficult to find a partner and time to wander in this busy city, so I traveled all the way alone.

We left Chittagong for Sylhet by bus at 10.30 pm on the 27th and arrived at 8 am on the 28th (bus fare is Tk. 700 non-AC). I wanted to cross the border on the same day but I was tired after the journey. So one day I stayed in Sylhet. The next day at 8 Am, I took a local bus from Ibn Sina junction of Sylhet Sobhani Ghat to Tamabil Border. We landed at Tamabil Point at 9.30 am, from where it takes 5 minutes to walk to the border. Local bus fare is 55 tk.

It takes about 40 minutes to complete the work at the border, I did not have to pay a single bribe at the Tamabil border. But I think you must take the tax paper with you with the travel tax, otherwise, there will be trouble. There was no trouble at the Dowki border in India either, but they wanted to see the dollar.

After finishing the border work, I got 2 more Bangladeshis who will go to Shillong. I rented a small car to share with them. The car rental was 1200 rupees. If you want, you can also go by jeep in stocks from Daoki Bazaar. A 2-hour journey from Daoki to Shillong, but this journey will not bother you. The whole thing is a wonderful mountain road.

The place where the car will drop you off at Shillong is called Police Bazaar. The police market is basically a 7th street corner. There are plenty of hotels around the police market. You can rent a hotel on the go, but be sure to check if the bathroom has hot water. Otherwise, if you miss nature at night, you will think that the executioner is calling from the gallows.

The hotel I stayed at was called Rajtilak. The rent for a single room was 1000 rupees. My advice for those who want to take a hotel at a lower cost is to go to a good hotel even if the rent is a little higher on the first day. When you go out to visit the surrounding area, you will see the low-cost hotels, if you like, you will get up the next day.

On the first day, everyone is more or less tired, not even wanting to walk with a heavy bag on it. For this reason, most of the hotels are close at hand, in most cases, the rent of such hotels is 1.5-2 times higher than other hotels, especially a little indoor hotel.

You will find a lot of Bangladeshis in Shillong, most of them are from Sylhet. They run many food hotels in the city. Within 100 rupees you can easily have lunch or dinner. There is a hotel called Suruchi (the police will show it to anyone in the market). They are famous for Bengali food. You can also try street food, it will not feel bad. Breakfast in the morning or afternoon with bread / puri-vegetable-tea or veg chowmin will be between 30-40 rupees.

If you want to visit Meghalaya from Shillong city, the best option is to take a tourist bus from Meghalaya Tourism. Meghalaya Tourism is a government-approved travel agency. They have different packages. As I took the Cheripunji package on the 2nd day, the tourist bus left the police market at 8 am. A total of 6 tourist spots fall on the way to Cheripunji, all of which give more or less 20-30 minutes of walking time. There is also a guide who will tell you where to go. On the way back, it was about 8 o’clock. Looking at the city of Shillong from a distance at night, it seems as if someone has planted innumerable tunny bulbs in the chest of the hill !! Don’t miss this scene.

The cost is less when traveling by the Meghalaya Tourism bus, the price of the package is between 350-550. I rode in their bus for two days, the name of the package on the 2nd day was Cheripunji (package price – Rs. 350), Maolingnong on the 3rd day (package price – Rs. 500, 6 spots). One thing to keep in mind is to book your name in the package the afternoon before.

You can also rent a cab or a small tourist car. If you rent a cab or a tourist car, you will have to rent at least 2000 rupees for the whole day, 4 people can sit in one car.
On the fourth day of my journey, I rented a cab and went to Elephant Falls, about 12 km from the city. The return fare was 350 rupees. Besides, the distance from Police Bazaar to Words Lake is only 1 km, you can walk to the lake whenever you want. There are also boating facilities on the lake.

If you want to go by train or plane from Shillong to any other province of India, you have to come to Guwahati, the capital of Assam province, as Meghalaya does not have a railway line or a general airport.

There are two ways to reach Guwahati from Shillong –

1. You can come by bus. The bus is quite good but the last bus to Guwahati leaves at 2 pm.

2. You can come by a share in the jeep or car. One jeep will seat 10 people, the fare will be 180 rupees. Another car probably seats 4 people, the rent is 350 rupees.

I came to Guwahati from Shillong by jeep. My train from Guwahati to Kolkata was at 9 pm. I boarded a jeep from Shillong at 5 pm and dropped me off at Guwahati railway station at 8 pm. The roads in Assam are quite good, not hilly. So there is no problem even at night.

The writing is getting bigger so I didn’t write anything about Calcutta. Besides, the group probably has the most guidelines about Kolkata, so let’s not go that way anymore. But let me say one thing, the people of India are very helpful. Wherever you go to them

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Many on this trip have asked me if I was not afraid to travel alone outside the country? Honestly, but only the first day.

On the first day, I understood with many people that if there is doubt and jealousy in my mind, stay away from other countries, you will not be able to cross the border of your own country, you will be stuck somewhere. But if you come with respect and sincerity towards other people (whether they belong to another religion or another country), then the great Creator can take you to the next heaven.

Stay well, stay healthy, stay on the move, and most importantly respect the country’s values ​​outside the country. Wherever Mutia does not bring the country’s values ​​and respect with him.