A memorable account of a ten day leisure trip

In the past year, I have curated many different types of holidays for various budgets, interests and different age groups. One question I am frequently asked ..

Do your trips include children? What will the young ones do? Are there activities that might interest  teenagers?

No, all our trips are not recommended for children below 14 years of age as these involve long car rides and focus around cultural activities that may not appeal to young ones.

We organise two or three trips under LITTLE ROOTS TRAVEL especially for the little ones in the age group 3- 12 years . These trips are designed to make sure that both children and parents have fun, bond with each other and with nature.
From a very young age my sisters and I accompanied my father on his trips all over the eastern Himalayas. This inculcated an appreciation for other cultures, wildlife and travel. I do wish to pass this on to my two kids and all the children that travel with Curtain Call Adventures.

In response to the question on teenagers, I am sharing a write up by a young teenager who visited Assam and Meghalaya with her mother. I asked Anika to give me a feedback as I really wanted to know what someone from her age group made of it. She sent me this wonderful writeup.

“I recently went on a 10 day trip to north India and it was honestly one of the best ones I’ve been on. I say this because the food, the people, the places, all of it was so perfect. I live in Bangalore and to see such a vibrant and cultural and clean place is not only surprising but also very refreshing.

We started out trip in Shillong where we first stayed at a resort called Ri kynjai. Our stay was very enjoyable due to the breathtaking view of the barapani lake right outside of our window. In our time in ri kynjai, we went on a hike up the peak of Lum Sohpnbneg and we found the sight from there even more beautiful. ( It did start raining so heavily to the point where my shoes felt that they could bring the river Nile to the Sahara desert but it was so totally worth it .)

On day three ( don’t ask about Day 1 ) we set off to near the border of Bangladesh to visit the cleanest and completely organic village on Asia: Malywnnong. There are no words to describe this place, the title says it all. But we didn’t just go there to admire the villages cleanliness ( although that was a major part of what we were doing in the area ) we went to see one of the Meghalaya’s most popular component, we went to see the living root bridges.

These bridges are absolutely mind blowing, the fact that they are bridges made entirely out of earth and trees is amazing. If you looked at it from a distance you would not believe it, it’s inconceivable to see a bridge that is indeed alive.

The next day we went to our next stop,the Sacred Groove in Mawphalang. This forest is so sacred you are not permitted to take even a leaf out of the forest. We went inside and saw some truly magical things. For starters we saw this adorable little owl just sitting on a branch, we saw some interesting looking mushrooms and plenty more interesting things that cannot possibly be put into words. We then went back to our hotel -The Habitat Shillong ( which was a really nice stay. ) The people there are so helpful and welcoming it’s hard not to feel at home. We also visited this little hole-in-the-wall place called Grub where I had the most heavenly pizza ever. It was an honourable pizza that will stay in my heart forever…..

Next on our itinerary was Guwahati. We were welcomed into the nicest, most welcoming home stay where we met the kindest people. While were in Guwahati, my mom just had to be a complete and total mother; we went vegetable shopping. Yes you read right, vegetable shopping, we could be half way across the country and my dearest mother has to still think of vegetables. But this was no ordinary supermarket for this market had the most adorable capsule potatoes ! And if I was constantly thinking about them, then imagine her.

The market was supposedly one of the oldest markets in India, but you would never tell by the looks of it. ALSO, you know how people always say fish markets are noisy ( yes I’m looking at all of you teachers ) well guess what?THEY AREN’T! We also went on a cruise along the Brahmaputra river (the only male river in India and what a mighty river) and saw the smallest inhabited island in the world and believe me when I say: It. Was. Small. And that was pretty much it for Guwahati.

Next on our itinerary was Kaziranga,home of the one-horned rhino. A truly amazing sight. And elephants. And birds. And deer. And the most amazing grasslands. But we had a brilliant safari, which happened in two manners: the elephant safari and the jeep one. The first one was a very interesting experience, the sheer feeling of ridding on an elephant was awesome and to be so close to the animals was amazing.The jeep safari was much better in my opinion. We had a much more informative naturalist and a lot more sightings. The orchid park was so colourful and pretty. So much to learn. The medicinal garden fascinating. The weaving mesmerising.

Our last and up final stop was Jorhat, high up in the tea estates, and believe me when I say our trip ended with a bang. We were welcomed into a home stay by the most big-hearted and happy people, Disha and Rajiv. Their bungalow was absolutely huge, it was paradise for a kid like me. The food there was splendid! I definitely found this to be the most enjoyable part of our trip, I truly loved the people there. Of course I couldn’t forget the dogs there, a lab and a shitzu, both very adorable. I had a blast with the people there and will always remember them ( along with the pizza from before ) Assam was a memorable trip that I recommend to anyone looking for it, I truly enjoyed and can’t wait to go back.”

Inputs by Anika Ravanan who travelled with her Mother to Assam and Meghalaya in April 2018.

For customised tours please write to me at [email protected]