That is a big yes!
Kolkata, West Bengal
It all began when I saw an offer on Tripoto to use my credits for Meghalaya trip. After I received quotes from a couple of operators, I began to research alternatives and options as the quote did not suit my budget at all. All permutation and combination to do solo, tag a friend or two still did not drop the quote to my comfort zone.
The discount I was offered against my credits was negligible - to the tune of a couple of hundreds for a ten thousand package. I hope some day this will change!
I am an eco traveler and believe in conscious and responsible tourism. So the idea of using only car and be solely responsible for emissions was not my kind of travel. Meghalaya Tourism Corporation with their conducted bus tours came to my rescue. With that in mind I booked my train tickets.
Guwahati, Kamrup
If I am stepping to Assam, visiting Shakti Peeth Kamakhya was my top most priority. I will describe this trip in another story.
Meghalaya, India
Shared cabs will cost you INR 300 if you choose Tata Sumo and INR 500 if you hop into one of those small cars. If you are wondering if there is any difference? Just the wait time for Tata Sumo will be 10/15 minutes more to fill the seats. That is it.
Police Bazar, Shillong
The cabs will drop you near Police Bazaar or Civil. If you are dropped at Civil, it will cost you INR 20 by yellow taxi to reach Police Bazaar. Now if you avail accommodation here in Police Bazaar, the cost will be slightly higher.
Polo Bazaar, Shillong
Many choose to stay near Police Bazar for the convenience of connectivity and accessibility. Just a kilometer away is Polo Bazar, followed by Polo Tower where you find the hub of MTC near Majestic Hotel, in Orchid Hotel. This is where the bus booking takes place and the daily sight seeing tours begin.
Langkyrding, East Khasi Hills
You get home stays at reasonable price in the range of INR 1500 to INR 1800 for standard room shared by two with complimentary breakfast around this place which is couple of kilometers away from Police Bazar.
Reserved taxi will cost you INR 150 from Polo Bazar and shared taxi will be INR 30/- per person
Cherrapunji, East Khasi Hills
The bus tours will cost you INR 400/- to cover key spots like WahKaba, Ram Krishna Mission Museum, Nohkalikail Falls, Seven Sisters etc. and INR 350/- to cover Shillong view point, Cathedral Church, Wards Lake, Umiam Lake etc.
So the final cost will be
Train to Guwahati Sleeper Class (To and Fro) INR 1100/- (Rounded off)
Shared Cab to Shillong (To and From) INR 0600/-
Shillong and Sohra Bus Tours INR 0750/-
Accommodation for two nights INR 1500/-
Meals, local taxis and Entry Fees INR 0650/-
Our trip cost a little more because, we covered Kamakhya Temple by auto, visited SMIT festival by taxi and picked mementoes, gifts like Mekhla, Assam Sarees, Shawls etc.
If you can spend another day or two, then Kaziranga, Dawki can be covered too.
I am sure the curiosity is killing you how much did the tour operators quote - INR 20000 for 6/7 spots!!
