CHAPTER 21: THE HYBRID
I chose correctly. Arriving in Kshaid a few hours before sunset, I made contact with the village headman and was … Continue reading CHAPTER 21: THE HYBRID
I chose correctly. Arriving in Kshaid a few hours before sunset, I made contact with the village headman and was … Continue reading CHAPTER 21: THE HYBRID
Dawn comes extremely early in Northeast India. This is because the whole country falls within the same time zone, which … Continue reading CHAPTER 20: ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Upon reaching Sohra I gave myself three days to rest. The 25th and 26th of February were cloudless and warm. … Continue reading CHAPTER 19: HALFWAY
It’s undeniable that the Khasi world is undergoing cataclysmic change, yet even as the 21st century filters ever deeper into … Continue reading CHAPTER 18: MAWPHU
The task ahead was to reach the village of Mawphu before sundown. This meant heading north from Nongsteng, at first … Continue reading CHAPTER 17: THE PRISON OF THE 16 VILLAGES
The paths that lead away from Thieddieng either go straight up or straight down, and the ones that head down … Continue reading CHAPTER 16: NONGSTENG
Long ago, the two daughters of the God of Shillong Peak, Ka Ngot and Ka Iam, decided to have a … Continue reading CHAPTER 15: TREE ROOT VILLAGE
A distinct and much commented upon aspect of Khasi culture is that a person’s surname comes not from their father’s … Continue reading CHAPTER 14: THE MATRILINY
Phlangwanbroi was a place I knew nothing about and was deeply looking forward to reaching. Having trekked for hours up … Continue reading CHAPTER 13: PHLANGWANBROI
That night I became terribly ill. For the next 24 hours, my life consisted of stumbling between my bed and … Continue reading CHAPTER 12: SICK
The good people of Mawpdai Village have pinned much of their hopes for the future on a single tree; a … Continue reading CHAPTER 11: TREE SPELUNKING
The next morning dawned grey and sullen. A flat dark cloud ceiling hung over Nongnah and all the West Khasi … Continue reading CHAPTER 10: THE ROAD TO BALAT
After two days of hiking up and down, into and out of the valley of the Lyngon, I needed a … Continue reading CHAPTER 9: IT’S DIFFERENT
Even by the high standards of the Khasi Hills, Ngunraw, the village in the sky, was a remarkable place. This … Continue reading CHAPTER 8: THE TROUBLED PLATEAU
The next morning Professor walked with me as far as the start of the trail to the plateau-top settlement of … Continue reading CHAPTER 7: THE PAINFUL DOWNHILL
Emerging through a small gap in the broom grass, I was confronted with one of the most dramatic landscapes in … Continue reading CHAPTER 6: THE LIVING LADDER OF NONGNAH VILLAGE
The next morning, the trek began. After one last meal in Ranikor with Biplab and his family, I hefted my … Continue reading CHAPTER 5: TO BIG ROCK VILLAGE AND BEYOND
The previous day had ended well. Following a bit of confused wandering around Ranikor after dark, I managed to snag … Continue reading CHAPTER 4: MEGHALAYA MASALA
The next day was a long one. As I would soon find out, locals rarely travel all the way from … Continue reading CHAPTER 3: JUST GETTING THERE
I was standing on the edge of a cliff near the town of Sohra one hazy evening in early February … Continue reading CHAPTER 2: THE ROAD AHEAD
In early 2019, I walked across the Khasi Hills of Northeast India. It wasn’t easy. But where are the Khasi … Continue reading CHAPTER 1: THE KHASI HILLS
Howdy folks, and happy new year! So, I just wanted to send out a short update on my book Through … Continue reading UPDATE ON THROUGH THE CANYONS OF LIVING BRIDGES
I’ve been posting about the 1700 acre tract of public land bordering Fair Hill State Park Maryland, just across the … Continue reading Big Elk Creek State Park
There really aren’t many waterfalls within an hour’s drive of Newark Delaware. Go due south, and it’s all Delmarva flatlands … Continue reading A QUICK LOOK AT MILL CREEK FALLS
Hey there Just writing to say that a new edition of my book The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi … Continue reading GREEN UNKNOWN UPDATE 2
Howdy! So, these past few weeks I’ve been working on getting a new edition of The Green Unknown: Travels in … Continue reading GREEN UNKNOWN UPDATE
Or: Maryland’s newest state park. It’s always exciting when a new chunk of public land opens up in my neck … Continue reading BOHEMIA RIVER STATE PARK
It was among the hardest walks I’ve ever taken, and among the most beautiful. Morningglory, his dad, the ever-boisterous John … Continue reading CHAPTER 13: TO THE SINGING HILLS
At about the halfway point on the car ride from Shillong to Sohra, just after the village of Mawjrong, the … Continue reading CHAPTER 12: BLOOD HUNTERS AND BABY GHOSTS
Now for the third and final post of my series on the Khasi Hills’ architecturally unexceptional, yet inarguably scenic, steel … Continue reading SUSPENSION BRIDGES OF MEGHALAYA: PART 3
One day while searching for a living root bridge hidden deep in the canyon system of the Umrew river, I … Continue reading CHAPTER 11: THE FEARFUL BRIDGE OF MAWSHUIT
‘Slap’ is one of my favorite Khasi words. It means ‘rain,’ and if you’ve spent any time in Meghalaya during … Continue reading CHAPTER 10: RAIN
It’s getting on toward the end of spring here in Delaware. We’ve just started having our usual midyear hot, muggy, … Continue reading MOUNTAIN LAUREL
The entrance to the limestone cave near Kudeng Rim village was small and easy to miss. A shallow indentation in … Continue reading CHAPTER 9: GIANT SPIDERS
This is the second part of my series on the architecturally unexceptional, yet often spectacular, conventional steel and wood suspension … Continue reading SUSPENSION BRIDGES OF MEGHALAYA: PART 2
Kwai, otherwise known as betel nut, paan, and, occasionally, Khasi lipstick, is as important a part of life in Riwar … Continue reading CHAPTER 8: KWAI, AND THE EXQUISITE IMPORTANCE THEREOF
It’s a little-known fact—even by Americans themselves—that the U.S. is far and away the turtle capitol of the world. We … Continue reading BECKS POND IS FULL OF TURTLES
So we’re back straddling the Mason Dixon Line in the ungainly titled Big Elk Creek section of White Clay Creek … Continue reading THE WILDS OF BIG ELK CREEK, PART 2
The most extraordinary places in Meghalaya are all hidden. The darker vales of Riwar abound in secret waterfalls and deep … Continue reading CHAPTER 7: THE ROOT BRIDGES OF RANGTHYLLIANG
The term ‘‘jingkieng jri” (sometimes “jingkieng dieng jri”) in the Khasi literary language is generally rendered into English as “root … Continue reading THE LIVING LADDER OF NONGNAH
There’s a good reason why Northeast India’s incredible root bridges have captured the world’s attention. While living architecture has been … Continue reading SUSPENSION BRIDGES OF MEGHALAYA: PART 1
In travelling to new places, one might reasonably assume that the strangest experiences will be those had in completely unfamiliar … Continue reading CHAPTER 6: ROMAN REIGNS KA DIL TOH PAGAL HAI
Or, perhaps a better title might be: “The smallest root bridge I’ve ever clapped eyes on, though there could be … Continue reading THE SMALLEST ROOT BRIDGE
No, they’re not very big ones. Still, they’re perfectly nice ones. A few days back I headed out into the … Continue reading YES, THERE ARE WATERFALLS IN DELAWARE
The Khasi Hills were made by rivers. Coming to know the lay of the land in Meghalaya is therefore a … Continue reading CHAPTER 5: THE CANYON OF THE FALLS
Today I thought I’d share a few photos of a small root bridge in the Khasi Hills that I was … Continue reading A QUICK LOOK AT HOW A ROOT BRIDGE DEVELOPED OVER TIME
According to tradition, in the middle of the 14th century Fateh Khan, the son of Firoz Shah, third ruler of … Continue reading THE QUEST FOR MUHAMMAD’S FOOTPRINT
What a group of people eats is a big part of who they are. That means it’s not a good … Continue reading CHAPTER 4: FOOD
And speaking of stepwells…. I’m out of town and away from my laptop at the moment, so this is going … Continue reading THE FORGOTTEN STEPWELL OF RED FORT
Nelson Nongbri had helpfully made me a rough map of the network of trails west of Nongriat. It looked basic, … Continue reading CHAPTER 3: ON BEYOND NONGRIAT