Miraculously, and although the sky looked like it was going to collapse on top of our heads, mother nature took pity on us, at least until we’d managed to see what there was to see in and around Cherrapunji, the rainiest place on earth.
On the way there, we came across a lot of evidence that we were approaching the wettest place in the whole wide world, like this wet, starving puppy:
this house that looked like a flood had just about eroded it away, and finally this sign that told us exactly what the story was.
Along the way, there were these cute pineapple ladies, who I think kind of had the hots for me:
Those pineapples were unspeakably cheap. I dunno, if my job was just to sit outside all day and sell delicious pineapples, I’d probably want to make that kind of fruity happiness available to as many people as possible too.
There was much camping done, first at this lovely family’s home; their father is a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, and the American missionaries that founded their church also taught everyone how to make banana bread! Mike and I each ate at least one loaf of their completely legit banana bread while we stayed there, and then the mom packed us a whole ‘nother loaf for the road. We also stopped and camped on the lawn at a fancy resort. All of the upper class Indian families on vacation who were staying at the resort came to marvel at (or maybe snicker a bit?) our campsite, and Mike and I both managed to sneak a shower in lobby bathroom! Way to be cheap!
Finally, we reached our destination. The plateau of Cherrapunji. Believe it or not, if you follow the river you see in the above photo just around the corner, it suddenly drops straight down almost half a mile into a deep deep jungly gorge.
But first, let’s set up camp:
Above: Yours truly enjoying the sunset. Below: Mike unpacks his stuff. I have to keep my tent far away from his because his farts are extra stinky. In the background, you can see Saimika Resort. We rolled up on this luxury resort (think rustic ranch accommodation), and the manager said “We are able to discern between tourists and travelers; you two are obviously the latter, pitch your tents anywhere for free.”
Oh yeah and these kids thought our tents were really cool.
Next, let’s take a bath:
Then, hike along the river.
A several hundred foot drop? No problem, let’s just walk over it.
And after a long hike through the tall grass,
Then the earth fell out from under us, and it was down down down…
But not into a burning ring of fire…Rather into Nongriat, a sleepy little village at the bottom of the gorge, a full kilometer lower in elevation than where we started. This was an amazing journey in and of itself. The path down (seen above; it was like this pretty much the entire way, which took us 4 hours) was slippery, and overgrown with jungly goodness. We didn’t see another soul until we got to Nongriat, and later we found out that this path was only used during the dry season; hence my need for two makeshift bamboo walking sticks the entire way down. I’m not even kidding, my arms were more tired than my legs by the end of it.
At the bottom we entered a verduous and veritable paradise of FREAKIN’ TREE BRIDGES, MAN!
These tree bridges are slowly constructed over decades, by manipulating growing tree roots and branches so that they cross rivers, anchoring them to the other side, and letting them grow together for strength. These days, some of the newer ones seem to incorporate steel cables to help the process along.
Walking over one, you’d expect it to be precarious and dangerous. Not so; the things are incredibly sturdy and don’t sway at all.
There are four or five living bridges within a few minutes walk of Nongriat, and many more in the area. The oldest are several hundred years old, while some are just being started.
Above and below; the view from Nongriat. The locals here don’t have a clue how good they have it.
Below: The double decker bridge. This is where an episode of Human Planet was filmed. I went down to take a dip in this pool just upriver from the bridge, and while sunning myself on a rock, a little boy came up and asked me for 10 rupees (about 20 cents) as an “entrance fee.” The little entrepreneur even gave me a receipt!
After a day of rest and relaxation, and hanging out with another intrepid traveler and artist, Brandon at brandonbeaconhill.com, it was up up and away, back to…civilization?
As soon as we got back up to the top and our campsite at Saimika, it poured the rain for the next 4 days, and I ended up having to pack up and depart in the rain. It rained and rained all the way out of Meghalaya, and as soon as I crossed over into Assam, no longer the rainiest place on earth, the rains stopped.
If you’re really interested, The Atlantic has a great write-up on Cherrapunji, and with much better photos to boot.
On the way there, we came across a lot of evidence that we were approaching the wettest place in the whole wide world, like this wet, starving puppy:
this house that looked like a flood had just about eroded it away, and finally this sign that told us exactly what the story was.
 |  |
Along the way, there were these cute pineapple ladies, who I think kind of had the hots for me:
Those pineapples were unspeakably cheap. I dunno, if my job was just to sit outside all day and sell delicious pineapples, I’d probably want to make that kind of fruity happiness available to as many people as possible too.
 |  |
There was much camping done, first at this lovely family’s home; their father is a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, and the American missionaries that founded their church also taught everyone how to make banana bread! Mike and I each ate at least one loaf of their completely legit banana bread while we stayed there, and then the mom packed us a whole ‘nother loaf for the road. We also stopped and camped on the lawn at a fancy resort. All of the upper class Indian families on vacation who were staying at the resort came to marvel at (or maybe snicker a bit?) our campsite, and Mike and I both managed to sneak a shower in lobby bathroom! Way to be cheap!
Finally, we reached our destination. The plateau of Cherrapunji. Believe it or not, if you follow the river you see in the above photo just around the corner, it suddenly drops straight down almost half a mile into a deep deep jungly gorge.
But first, let’s set up camp:
Above: Yours truly enjoying the sunset. Below: Mike unpacks his stuff. I have to keep my tent far away from his because his farts are extra stinky. In the background, you can see Saimika Resort. We rolled up on this luxury resort (think rustic ranch accommodation), and the manager said “We are able to discern between tourists and travelers; you two are obviously the latter, pitch your tents anywhere for free.”
Oh yeah and these kids thought our tents were really cool.
Next, let’s take a bath:
 |  |
Then, hike along the river.
Photo courtesy www.threeruleride.com
What’s this?
A several hundred foot drop? No problem, let’s just walk over it.
And after a long hike through the tall grass,
Photo courtesy www.threeruleride.com
After chillin’ with this goat and cute family we met:
Above: Baby eyes somethin’ suspicious…
Above: Baby vs. goat - Below: Goat emerges triumphant! Baby is nowhere to be found.
Then the earth fell out from under us, and it was down down down…
But not into a burning ring of fire…Rather into Nongriat, a sleepy little village at the bottom of the gorge, a full kilometer lower in elevation than where we started. This was an amazing journey in and of itself. The path down (seen above; it was like this pretty much the entire way, which took us 4 hours) was slippery, and overgrown with jungly goodness. We didn’t see another soul until we got to Nongriat, and later we found out that this path was only used during the dry season; hence my need for two makeshift bamboo walking sticks the entire way down. I’m not even kidding, my arms were more tired than my legs by the end of it.
At the bottom we entered a verduous and veritable paradise of FREAKIN’ TREE BRIDGES, MAN!
These tree bridges are slowly constructed over decades, by manipulating growing tree roots and branches so that they cross rivers, anchoring them to the other side, and letting them grow together for strength. These days, some of the newer ones seem to incorporate steel cables to help the process along.
Walking over one, you’d expect it to be precarious and dangerous. Not so; the things are incredibly sturdy and don’t sway at all.
There are four or five living bridges within a few minutes walk of Nongriat, and many more in the area. The oldest are several hundred years old, while some are just being started.
Above and below; the view from Nongriat. The locals here don’t have a clue how good they have it.
Below: The double decker bridge. This is where an episode of Human Planet was filmed. I went down to take a dip in this pool just upriver from the bridge, and while sunning myself on a rock, a little boy came up and asked me for 10 rupees (about 20 cents) as an “entrance fee.” The little entrepreneur even gave me a receipt!
After a day of rest and relaxation, and hanging out with another intrepid traveler and artist, Brandon at brandonbeaconhill.com, it was up up and away, back to…civilization?
As soon as we got back up to the top and our campsite at Saimika, it poured the rain for the next 4 days, and I ended up having to pack up and depart in the rain. It rained and rained all the way out of Meghalaya, and as soon as I crossed over into Assam, no longer the rainiest place on earth, the rains stopped.
If you’re really interested, The Atlantic has a great write-up on Cherrapunji, and with much better photos to boot.
