A few years back, I saw the picture of a clean river – spotless, virgin & sea-blue. What’s special about this river, you might wonder?! Well, the special thing is that it’s the cleanest river in the country. If you toss a coin in the river, you can actually see it hitting the river bed- that clean! Since then, I have been thinking of tossing that coin and locating it with my eyes.

I got this opportunity when I visited Meghalaya a few months back. I was excited about so many things about Meghalaya – root bridges, caves, waterfalls, view points, and the Dawki river! 😍😍😍 On the fifth day of our trip, after Shillong & Cherrapunji, it was time to go for a boat ride. Our cabbie stopped us at some point from when we had to trek (a little bit) down, and find a boat for us. They fleeced us a little bit and we paid 1900 bucks for a 45 mins. long ride which we finished in 30 mins.

Why?

Oh, it’s been raining constantly since we visited in monsoons (to enjoy Cherrpunji, the Green, the mighty waterfalls and the works). And that made the river all muddy. It looked like just another river with all the mud flowing in it. Nothing to see on the riverbed, and nothing to toss either. Except maybe the hope. Or the excitement 😉

But then, I didn’t give up and tried to make the best of what’s available- trying to speak with the locals, saying Hello to other riders in nearby boats, and clicking pictures. I didn’t have to try much hard, because muddy or not, the river was nice & the views were gorgeous nonetheless. 😊😊

During the course of the boat ride, they take you to Bangladesh border where you can see a bunch of people picnicking with food and all kind of carbonated drinks. Even before hitting the border, you can figure it out because the noise of their chitter chatter reaches you from a distance. You might not want to stay there for long and go back to the river to enjoy the calmness and quiet.

While you are taking a full round of the river, you will spot many a local fishing…with their cute hats on (to protect their heads from rains). It’s really really cute. If you notice, you will see tiny trails of water leaking from the giant rocks and stones around yourself, and that’s a soothing sight.

We had to camp somewhere nearby at night, near the river, and it was getting dark. So, we cut down our ride to 30 mins., and came back up with all these memories, and the feeling of being fleeced (because it wasn’t worth 1900 bucks at all), and a slight cloud of disappointment. Because all said and done, I didn’t get to toss the coin and follow it’s course within the river.

Next time, may be!

Meghalaya is gorgeous and depending upon the experience you want to curate for yourself, pick the right season. If you do want to enjoy Cherrapunji and the trek to living root bridges,
monsoons is the best time. But if you want to toss the coin (wink, wink), maybe November is your month so that you could see everything that goes on inside the river, you nosy being!