The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 4: Living Root Ladders and other uses for living root architecture

Heavy metal living root ladder near the mid-sized Khasi village of Pongtung

First off, for more information on living root architecture, go to The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1: Bridges of the Umngot River Basin for living root bridges in the Jaintia Hills, The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 2: Bridges near Pynursla for information on the area with the highest concentration of living root architecture, and The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 3: Bridges of the 12 villages for some of the most remote known living root bridges.

The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 3: Bridges of the 12 Villages

My friend Roy on a spectacular, never before visited living root bridge near the village of Kongthong, in the heart of a region called the Katarshnong, or 12 villages

First off, for more information on obscure living root bridges, go to: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1, covering the living root bridges of the Dawki region, and The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 2, which covers the area with the highest (known) density of living root architecture, the hills and valleys surrounding the small town of Pynursla.

The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 2: Bridges Near Pynursla

Jungle Man John Cena and friend cling to roots with the longest known living root bridge in the background

First, for more info on obscure living root bridges, go to: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1: Bridges of the Umngot River basin

The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1: Bridges of The Umngot River Basin

The Great Bridge of Kudeng Rim...photos don't do it justice. 

This is the first of four posts on the living root architecture of Meghalaya. The other three are coming soon!

For more living root bridges, go to: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 2: Bridges near Pynursla and The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 3: Bridges of the Twelve Villages For other varieties of living root architecture, go to: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 4: Other uses for Living Root Architecture

In February of 2015, I set off alone into some of the most remote parts of the state of Meghalaya. My aim was to locate previously undiscovered, or little known, examples of living root architecture. In this, I was vastly more successful than I ever could have hoped. As I figure it, over the course of a one month long hike from the village of Shnongpdeng to the town of Sohra, I reached over fifty examples of living root structures. While by far the most numerous of these were living root bridges, I also managed to locate a number of other varieties of living architecture, including living root ladders, observation platforms, retaining walls, and also a number of structures which served several of these purposes at once.

10 More things to see in Delhi that are not in Lonely Planet

A corridor in Khirki Masjid, one of the most atmospheric historical places in Delhi, and also one of the city's most under appreciated major monuments

For the first half of my write up on what Lonely Planet missed in Delhi, go to: http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2014/12/10-things-to-see-in-delhi-that-are-not.html 

Starting right in the middle of South Delhi, here are ten more interesting places to visit in that sprawling metropolis which are not included in the most recent editions of Lonely Planet.

Hyderabad (V2)

The spectacular chandeliers of the Kilawat Mubarak, the durbar hall of the Chowmahalla palace, along with the royal seat of the Nizams of Hyderabad.

And now for something completely different. In October of last year, I spent a little over two weeks exploring the fantastic state of Karnataka (and a little bit of Andhra Pradesh), in southern India. Despite the fact that Northeast India is perhaps the most inaccessible part of the county, by an odd set of circumstances it's the part that I now know best. But I had never been south of Agra (with the exception of the Andaman Islands which are something else entirely). This was my first foray into the south, and hopefully there will be many more to come. 

The Exuberant Rickshaws of Bangladesh

A common sight in Dhaka

In May, 2015, I traveled across Bangladesh, crossing the border from West Bengal and reentering Indian via Dawki in Meghalaya. The country left many impressions, but one of the strongest was made by its cycle rickshaws, which were decorated as brightly, colorfully, and crazily as possible.