need help - places to stay in Shillong and Guwahati

alankrata

Hi Guys

I am travelling to shillong and cherrapunji later this month. I also plan to stay over in Guwahati for a night before i take the flight out from there.

I am on a shoestring budget and am travelling alone. This is my first visit to the north east and i need advice on places to stay(in both shillong and guwahati)... just basic clean rooms for the cheapest psbl tariff. Also want to know if i can make reservations on the net or phone... i like to make reservations in advance.

I would also appreciate if any of you would share your experiences of travelling in the aforementioned region.

Thanks,
Alankrata

Travel_hungry

Hi,
You can stay in "Mayur" (oppt to ASTC bus stand, ASTC Bus stand is behind the railway station.)in Guwahati. The place is called Paltan Bazar. SIngle room basic fare is aroud Rs350 and for AC 450 (around). There are lots of hotels in Paltan bazar area of this rate.
You can aslo go for "Anand Lodge" (Panbazar), near Paltan bazar flyover. basic single room will cost you around 200 to 250. But to get a room is difficult. Though cheap, this is a good hotel.
http://assamhotels.in/guwahati/mayur_hotels.htm
If you stay in Mayur, opposite to it there is a taxi stand and ASTC bust stand. For shared taxi it will cost you RS150(?) to Shillong.
SInce you are coming by air, you can take a shared taxi in the airport for Rs. 100. They come to Paltan Bazar. Ask them to leave you in front of Hotel Mayur.

For shillong, i have no idea. You can search google. There is aslo lots of hotels in Polic bazar area. Can anyone provide some info on Shilong hotels?

If you visit shillong and stay there please update it with ur experience to help others visiting these places.

alankrata

Hi Travel_hungry

Thanks for all the info.

i hope someone can help me with Shillong hotels as well!

Travel_hungry

hi Alankrata,
Can you please give some input on Shillong hotels? Are u back from the trip ?

Regards
TH

alankrata

Hi TH

yes, im back from my trip.

i stayed in a hotel called swastik. its right next to the MTC (Meghalaya Tourism Corporation) building. i was quite happy with my stay. its clean, well maintained and the service was superb. great value for money! (a single cost me 300/- per night)

other budget hotels are elgin, monsoon, grace, ambassador and magnum (last two are priced slightly more than the others).

Hope the information is helpful for you.

Khak

In the 80's my father was posted in assam and we used to stay in hotel mayur whenever we stayed at guwhati. brought back old memories

__________________
~Khak~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover

Travel_hungry

Thanks Alankrata for your valuable info

Spirit of Havelock

Nongkhnum

If you fancy the idea of having a beautiful island to yourself, try Nongkhnum (Meghalaya), the sacred/haunted river island of the Khasis, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge.
Meghalaya was closed to tourists up until the 1990’s; nowadays you don’t even need a permit. The state is extremely hospitable and picturesque, with plenty of interesting places to visit. It boasts some of the deepest caves and highest waterfalls in India. Its road infrastructure is above average and in the past few years there have been no instances of terrorism. The predominantly Christian tribal people greet Westerners with greater warmth than visitors from other parts of India.
Meghalaya is the only state without a railway station or proper airport. Unlike other Indian hill stations Shillong remains unspoilt. Few tourists wander its streets and there are no beggars or touts whining at your elbow. The state is an absolute gem and has been seriously underrepresented in all the quality guidebooks, which devote less than half a percent of their space to it.
Getting to the beautiful river island of Nongkhnum is something of a challenge, and at the time of writing, I doubt whether more than a dozen Westerners have ever been there. Nor do many Indian tourists make the trek, so you are likely to find yourself alone on Nongkhnum. It is spectacularly located, amongst waterfalls, about 14 kms. from the village of Nongstoin, the district headquarters of the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. At 25 sq. kms, it is quite big, yet it has no permanent population as it is a holy site for the Khasi and Jaintia tribes. Within the sacred groves of Nongkhnum, no tree should be uprooted – so this obviously precludes settlement and agriculture. As long as visitors respect the island, the tribal people hereabouts are not opposed to tourism. Whilst wandering around its idyllic wooded banks, rich with temperate vegetation, it is easy to empathise with the locals who have held this spot sacred from time immemorial.
There is no road anywhere near the island. To get there you have to hike for two and a half hours through the villages of Lawse, Mawduh and Mawthar.
The island is formed by the splitting of the Kynshi River into the Namliang and Phanliang Rivers. You will not need a boat, as there is a wooden bridge that crosses over Weinia Falls. The island has many huge and ancient trees, little ponds and grassy forest clearings big enough to play football or cricket in. Camping is not frowned upon, nor is angling. The best place to cast a reel is a sandy shore named Wei-Phanliang.
There is a charming beach about 100 sq. meters in area, which overlooks a wide lake formed by the Phanliang River. Further down, the river is channelled into a gorge and then plummets some sixty meters – the Shadthum Fall. If this were not dramatic enough, at the bottom of the Shadthum Fall there is a beautiful pool swarming with silver fish. Further downstream, the Namliang River does a sharp turn and forms another two waterfalls: Riatsohkhe Fall, near Mawthar village and the more spectacular Weinia Fall. Theses falls, however impressive, pale into comparison with the Langshiang Falls 10 kms. from the island, where the water drops an amazing 340 meters, which places it amongst the top five falls of India - a sight rarely taken in by foreigners.
It is possible to make the journey, there and back, in a single day, but this would be extremely fatiguing. Tents are not available locally, nor in Shillong (state capital) so bring one from home or from a major city like New Delhi or Calcutta. Basic supplies can be purchased at Mawthar village. If nobody is found that speaks English, write down some Khasi on a piece of paper and present it in order to make yourself understood (the Khasis use the Latin alphabet and are amongst the most literate communities in India):

I want to buy (cooked) rice : Nga kwah thied Ja

I want to buy fish : Nga kwah thied Dohkha

I want a place to sleep for the night : Nga kwah jaka sah shimiet

How much? : Katno?

I need a doctor : Nga donkam u doktor

The “g” in “nga” is almost silent. Khasi Women generally control all household and financial matters, so it is best to approach the females first, with the greeting: Kumno kong (hello, madam) or Kumno bih for a young woman.
The rainy season here is the heaviest on earth, so unless you specifically want to see this record-breaking spectacle, avoid the area from late June to early September. The famous waterfalls during the monsoon are even more spectacular but conversely there are frequent heavy mists that obscure the view.

__________________
Neither worry about, nor rejoice in the future (Ancient Egyptian saying)

Spirit of Havelock

I almost forgot - don't even pick flowers on Nongkhnum, don't chop or rip into anything for firewood. Don't even take a leaf with you off the island. The local forest spirits will be on your case if you do! - and even if you don't believe in that kind of thing, it's a true fact that you will pi** the locals off.

Jorge Reverter

SoH, Great information. Since Meghalaya is in my next itinerary, may be chasing the monsoon from Kaniakumari to Cherrapunji or just as another journey through India. So, thanks a lot.

Jorge

pontesnm

More Info about Nongkhnum and west khasi hills

http://westkhasihills.gov.in/toursim.../Nongkhnum.htm