Place: Double Decker Living Root Bridges

We came to Meghalaya specifically to see the living root bridges. The bridges are made by stretching rubber tree roots from both sides to have them connect and entwine to form the floor. Takes 30+ years to build a bridge.

This one is the only double decker one and it was an hour of stairs away from civilization, so it’s still not too touristy, but that’s quickly changing as they’re building real roads to it.

We met a guy named Wilf that was doing his PhD on the root bridges from a civil engineering standpoint - studying how durable they are structurally, how the physics works, and how we can apply it to our man-made bridges / integrate nature into buildings like Singapore is doing. He showed us a map of all the known root bridges in the area and got us hooked on chasing bridges the rest of our time in Meghalaya as well! Some were more like ladders and railings, and each was so different in how they looked and were formed.

Food: Soh shang

A local Khasi fruit with no English name. Soh means fruit. Shang means basket. It had a tangy exterior and incredibly sweet interior. Tasted like a mix between a tomato and a persimmon I think.