Helicopter to Shillong and Nakedness!!!

Massage Place

View from our Shillong Home

Punk Shillong Kids

So I hate to disappoint everyone, but the helicopter was canceled due to weather, but I promise nakedness here!!!! For the last week we traveled from Delhi to Guwahati to the mountainous northeast region of Shillong the capital city when the Brits colonized the area, 100 kilometers from the Bangladeshi border. The General was based in Shillong at one point and Maitri, NGO, started because of Winnie and the General’s experience here. Because of the constant downpour, Shillong contains an area with the most statistically annual rainfall in the world, we did not take the highly anticipated military helicopter. Instead we negotiated winding turns uphill in a car avoiding a few cows, cabs, leafy drop offs, and large military trucks.

The region contains many tribes and non tribal people in the region and illegal drugs and terrorism has made a fair industry here. The city itself is an educational hub for students from all over India and Southeast Asia, Thailand and Korea. For those wondering, yes, Shah Rukh Khan, the famous (and proliferative, he’s everywhere) actor, studied in Shillong. There is a high school (called a college) on almost every corner. However, because of all the youth, exposure to intravenous drugs, and a lack of a sex education, the students often engage in risky behaviors, increasing their risk to HIV/AIDS.

I will have to admit, the week was very unexpected, exciting, confusing, inspiring for me. The first day we met with Sanjay and Bonnie, the graphic designers of Maitri. After discussing his grassroot efforts in nearby villages and the coal community, where the sex industry thrives, we discussed our plans in Shillong.

“Yes, you should try massage, traditional kerala ayurveda massage. They use lots of oil and it’s all organic.”

So the next day, we all went to get oil massages. It was nothing like the foot massages I received in Delhi. The masseuse stood there watching me in the dank room and answered “off” as I hesitantly removed a shirt first, tank top, pants under her stare until I was standing there naked, laughing inside because the tattered curtain barely covering the open window flitted back and forth as men chatted outside. It wasn’t a deep massage. She poured various hot oils and lathered them into my skin as I lay on a hard table. So for an hour, I laughed because I felt like a beach whale or a greasy pig and the chatting continue outside the window. After the steam bath and shower, we sat there in the foyer, oily, sticky, and light headed from the steam bath. I didn’t feel quite refreshed, but the pain in my neck was gone. Yay!