I have been wanting to go camping in India since I have been here, twice, but never had the chance and never got around to putting something together. So when I heard that my boyfriend's biker club was planning (ha!) a camping trip in Meghalaya I was ecstatic! Hurrray for camping! As the days led up to the camping weekend our remembrance of the trip started to fade as I was sick the days before we left. Thank goodness for a friend who called the night before to remind us we said we were going, I thought what the hay nature will heal me 'lets go'!
Now we thought one of the best parts about this trip was that we were not planning it (although planning can be fun sometimes), so we shopped for what we needed the next morning, brought our essentials and headed to the meeting point. See the disadvantage about doing a camping/biking trip is that you can't fit much on a motorcycle and you take your chances of rain living in one of the wettest places on earth (it is the beginning of monsoon season by the way). To our luck it started raining upon our arrival putting a 3+ our delay because although we were in a car most of the group were bikes. Rain + Bike = Sucky. As we waited around for our caravan to leave we (my boyfriend, friend, and me) head to buy snakes, water, booze, etc., and realize when we are finished we were left behind without knowing exactly where to go. To our misfortune again after we meet up for lunch we get left behind again - with all the camping equipment? Not the kind of person you want to ditch, no? As our whindy road journey to some unknown spot continues my lunch goes out the window - thanks to not getting over my flu - and we have difficulty in our directions as no one bothered to give them as they ditched us. After several, "where is the road to Shella?" stops we made it to see our group hanging out doing nothing. Oh wait cause we had all the stuff!!!
Our car journey landed us in a very jungly, hawaii, muggy, hot river valley place with our 'planner and guide' coming later at night. We are led by the local guide to a make shift camp spot next to the river - perfect really, cooler with water and away from the village. We set up camp with 5 guys setting up the first tent while I proceed to set up tents alone. We snacked on chips and beer as we awaited the second caravan with dinner and food. Oh but wait nothing was planned so forget about having food on a camping trip!? Our friends in the second group, as they stop for dinner, order chicken noodles all around for those for us who were first. As they start to arrive sometime after 11pm I realize just how much stuff we brought - still almost everything. As night is in full swing the second group fails again to bring firewood. But our local guide to the rescue spares us with enough for a few hours of fire. As a herd of men try to put up a make sift tarp in the rain we sit down to eat our belated dinner. Thank god they also brought a live turkey to cook with the firewood they brought and the utensils (that were left at home)!!! The poor thing won't even be dinner as we have no way of cooking it! But the smells that were coming from our chicken chow - not something you want after you throw up - didn't feel like dinner either. Lul and behold half of the chicken noodles went bad and several of us went without dinner, besides some chips, bananas, and beers. We just have to make it to breakfast.
As we head to bed I have never been so reminded of the beauty and splendor of being outside. And this wasn't like a camping trip at home were there are faucets, toilets, and nice picnic benches. But we had our stools, the wilderness, and a river! Washing my face and hands down at the river never felt so good in my life. After a long hot evening, a balmy rain, and a sicky body, splashing that cold liquid on my face felt like the best thing in the world at that moment. If felt so right, so natural to use the earth that we live upon, no need for faucets toilets and the such we already have everything that we need. We give to nature as it gives back to use in a natural order. Although we went to bed hungry, just looking up at the deep sky with the bright stars and the soft bug noises all around melts worries away. All that is just is.
After being woken up the good old fashioned camping way by the sun with the rest of the outdoors, we discovered just how hot our border village really is - humid and hot at 7am!! Those of us up early looked like zombies sitting around waiting for a small restaurant to open to eat breakfast. When if finally came all it was were fried pancake looking things that were not half as good as real pancakes! Oh but thank god for the beautiful river - swimming by 10am never felt so good. With one of the most peaceful scenes - watching the locals fish in the long wooden canoes. And one of the most entertaining for the locals - the turkey. Oh boy was that a hit in town, what was that weird black, featherly, gobble gobble? Our uncooked, live, no way to eat turkey was the talk of the town. I just wanted to spare it the heat and end its short life, not to mention I was hungry! haha. Despite the fact we had a make shift toilet as well (no trees to hide behind), lack of food, and hot hot heat, it was one of the most extraordinary and beautiful places I've been too. The mountains covered in jungle with the best mangoes ever, surrounded by deep canyons and sharp cliffs everywhere you turn, while milky waterfalls pop out on each bend up the mountain over a shear cliff. Without much climb the mountains look as if they jet up into the sky while at their floor there is miles upon miles of complete flat lands (the border with Bangladesh) with farm land and rivers spreading everywhere at the bottom of the mountains. Meghalaya is full with lush green valleys, mountains, canyons, land, everything! I'll never forget my starved, turkey, river filled camping trip in India. Especially the sunburn that started to form on the way home after two lathers of sunblock!
Next time, food. :)
P.S. There are more pictures on facebook!
