Akansha Topno

Shillong, Feb 1: Meghalaya also known as the ‘Abode of Clouds’ and is a part of seven sisters and home to many tribals and non-tribals. Many tourists like to visit Shillong for new experiences as well immerse in its natural and scenic beauty. But, as there is beauty, there is also beast, which means there are pros so there are also bound to be cons of living in Shillong.

Pros
If we look at the pros of Shillong, the first thing that comes to our mind is its beauty. There are many tourist attractions in Meghalaya like Umiam Lake, Mawsmai Cave, Living Root Bridge and Laitlum Canyon etc. There is no comparison as to how beautiful these places are.

There are also many beautiful churches to visit in Shillong like the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians. This church was opened in 1936. This church is beautiful inside out. It has 4 churches all together, three on top and one at the ground level.

Just like that there is one more beautiful church, by the look of which, you can figure out how old that church is. The name of the church is ‘All Saints Cathedral’. It is one of the oldest churches in Shillong. There are many more beautiful churches that you can find in Shillong.

Not only that there is also the Don Bosco Museum and Ward’s Lake to visit.

Apart from nature there is another thing that most tourists like and that is food. Food is also what attracts people and food in Meghalaya is to die for. There are many restaurants and cafes that people can visit in the city. Some of the cafes that you can try are – The Tibetan Restaurant/ Rice Bowl, The blue ribbon cafe, The Grub and Chaiops, etc.

Another good thing about Shillong is that you can find as many thrift stores as possible. You can find as many cheap thrift clothes as possible here. The prices usually start from Rs. 20 or 30 up to Rs. 500 to 1000 depending upon the quality. The places where you can do thrifting are the Police Bazaar and Bada Bazaar. Police bazaar is also the main point of Shillong as you can get cars for Assam.

As we talked about spending money, another thing which can be added to the list of pros is that you can walk everywhere in Shillong depending upon how long you can walk. You can walk up to 30 minutes without the need of using taxis as it is easier to walk and reach the destination. By walking, you will also save money and you will also save yourselves from bad traffic. Weather will also help you to walk through the tiredness because Shillong has pretty clean and good weather. It is not so hot during summer but really cold during the winters.

Cons 
But as walking is easy it can also cause pain but taking a taxi can cost a lot. Many taxi drivers tend to ask the tourist to reserve a whole taxi and charge them Rs. 200 to 300 for a ride which is really costly. Even if you ask them for a sharing or passenger taxi, they will still try to pressure you to get a reservation. Another con of living in Shillong is it is not that safe for women as it seems in Shillong. There are many intoxicated people walking around at night. They can sometimes go as far as teasing by giving comments or singing a song for no reason.

As a woman, you cannot walk alone especially at night.

Another con that adds up to the list is spitting. Shillong has a huge problem of people spitting around the city. People here like to eat tamul, pan and shikhar etc. that makes them want to spit a lot. They spit without looking around in the middle of the road. Even if there is a sign written ‘DO NOT SPIT’, they will spit on top of the board without thinking twice.

There are pros and cons of living in Meghalaya as a tourist. There are many more of it but it does not define the whole state because if there are bad things, there are also good things waiting. The only way to find these are to experience them personally!