I accidentally traveled here when I had a spare month between obligations. I don’t think the public can quite imagine how cool these bridges are, and how wild the surrounding region is.
The Root Bridges:
For most of them, two people could easily walk hand-in-hand across the bridge (these are substantive, comfortable bridges). To build a bridge requires a multi-generational perspective - oftentimes, the architect won’t even live to see the “completed” creation, despite all of the nuanced care. (Of course, a structure like this only evolves, it never “completes.”) It should be noted that the locals are masters at building structures of wood. 20m tall towers made exclusively of bamboo (even the twine was bamboo), a 20-30m bridge arching over a river made entirely of bamboo and - at the beginning and end - stronger logs.
The Adventure:
I probably encountered 2-3 other white/euro/American/foreigner people here. At one city en route to Meghalaya, I got trapped by a transportation strike, and was told that I was the second white person to spend the night since the British occupation (or something like that). I stumbled into teenagers jamming 70’s rock at their school, and they made me play the bass before driving me around the city on their motorcycles. We’d be on pavement going 60km/hr, then suddenly be on dirt going through bamboo structures. They insisted I have dinner at everyone’s homes and I ate around 7 distinct meals of regional dishes that night. It was wild: difficult, diverse, different.
The Root Bridges: For most of them, two people could easily walk hand-in-hand across the bridge (these are substantive, comfortable bridges). To build a bridge requires a multi-generational perspective - oftentimes, the architect won’t even live to see the “completed” creation, despite all of the nuanced care. (Of course, a structure like this only evolves, it never “completes.”) It should be noted that the locals are masters at building structures of wood. 20m tall towers made exclusively of bamboo (even the twine was bamboo), a 20-30m bridge arching over a river made entirely of bamboo and - at the beginning and end - stronger logs.
The Adventure: I probably encountered 2-3 other white/euro/American/foreigner people here. At one city en route to Meghalaya, I got trapped by a transportation strike, and was told that I was the second white person to spend the night since the British occupation (or something like that). I stumbled into teenagers jamming 70’s rock at their school, and they made me play the bass before driving me around the city on their motorcycles. We’d be on pavement going 60km/hr, then suddenly be on dirt going through bamboo structures. They insisted I have dinner at everyone’s homes and I ate around 7 distinct meals of regional dishes that night. It was wild: difficult, diverse, different.