Shillong

A friend and I went to Meghalaya for the weekend to a resort in the Shillong area. It was incredibly peaceful, though we did not see the famous waterfalls due to the late rains. We realized just how dry it was when a wildfire came within yards of the hotel. My friend woke me up from a nap and said, "So. . . I don't think it's a problem yet, but there's a fire coming towards the hotel that the hotel staff is clearly monitoring. Think we should get our bags ready?" I groggily went out and woke up very quickly when I saw that there was, indeed, a wildfire very close. I called the front desk of the hotel to see what the procedure should be and the person who answered the phone said, "Don't worry madam. The staff is watching the situation. We'll notify you if anything changes."

Hotel staff fighting the fire with a garden hose and sticks.

View of the lake from our hotel. The water levels were extremely low.

Ok. Interesting. I knew there was no way to call the fire department-- it did not go that far out of town. We watched as the fire crept closer and closer, gathering our things as we witness the staff start beating the fire with sticks and use a tiny garden hose, which had a small impact, but not much. They managed to turn it away from the hotel, but we watched as the fire roared around the lake, which is why the bottom photo looks misty. Not the adventure we were expecting.