After my trek to
Tiger’s nest monastery in Bhutan, two months back, I got around to the fact
that I wasn’t made for trekking and would probably never do it again.
Last month, between my
huffing and puffing on the trail, I cursed for not listening to myself!
But here I was, on a
long trek to the World’s only Double Decker Living Root Bridge and the natural rocky
pools of Nongriat!
My guide Fredrick says
that there are nearly 6600+ steps, this part of the nearly 10 KM walking trail
and the number of bridges one has to cross. The trek generally takes about 7
hours to complete but I took more because I, ahem took breaks after every 10
steps while climbing back!
When I was planning this trip, I was completely ready to do
it alone. But my mum and dad insisted that they come along too. OKAY. Now the
trek would take me 9 hours to complete because mom has this knee pain she keeps
complaining about and they are both nearly 60. I was quite doubtful if this was
their best decision. But nonetheless, early next morning, we got our walking
sticks, packed our lunch, met Fredrick(our 22 year old Khasi guide) and reached
Tyrna village, the starting point of the trek.
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| Endless steps down |
As we made our way down the endless number of stairs, I kept
wondering how would we ever make our way back. Moreover how would mum make her
way back! But so far so good, we were just rolling down the mountain side fast.
Soon we reached the first of the narrow swinging steel bridge. As I stepped on
it, the bridge started swinging, I looked around to see if someone had stepped
on it too. No, it was just my knee shaking uncontrollably. I am really scared
of heights and at this point, even though I was petrified beyond belief, I
didn’t say a word and slowly and steadily crept on until I made it across.
Mom was next and just as I turned to encourage her...”Wha...tttt!!!”
she was already on the bridge, smiling and walking down like a boss! *Did I
tell you she ain’t scared of anything, least some height?*
After being humbled by mum, I silently climbed some more
stairs and walked on through the jungle, till we reached another *gulp*another twin
steel bridge. I was sure this must be some kind of punishment until I saw the
aqua blue water below that literally took my breath away! The beauty around and
the fact that if I scream and whine, my mum would tease me endlessly, kept me
distracted enough to cross the bridge rather easily!
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| Fredrick, Mum and Dad taking a break |
Two bridge down and before we knew it, we were at our first
living root bridge, small but really sturdy. These bridges are used by man and
animals alike and are a boon for the villagers as it not only makes
accessibility easier but also brings in the tourist.
While the steel bridges go weaker as times passes by, these bridges made from the living roots of the tree only grow stronger. It is an extraordinary example of bio engineering and a true marvel of the Khasi tribe’s ingenuity.
From this small living root, you can catch a glimpse of the ‘Daddy’ of Living root bridge, The Double Decker Living Root! But to reach the bigger one we had to walk up till the next village, Nongriat. This village with oranges growing wild and cute children running around was a perfect place for a tea break!
From here the legendary bridge is just about 5 minutes away.
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| Under the shade of the orange trees |
You won’t realize you
have reached the bridge until you are on the bridge. The roots of the trees are
stretched across the river and woven so seamlessly with the support of bamboo
and then embedded with stones; it is difficult to believe that the bridge you
walk on is actually LIVING!
One bridge can take years to be completely functional but
once ready it can last for years to come.
Once we marvelled at this bridge and walked on it like ten
times at least, it finally sank in why people travelled so far just to see this
piece of brilliant design.
The place was completely Narnia-like, apart from some people
like me who had come from far and wide( and seemed like such outcaste).
By now he knew about my predicament with these bridges which amused him beyond my comprehension!
Soon we reach the last steel bridge and he wasn’t kidding! It was the superlative of all the bridges we had crossed so far, long-ere, narrow-er, slimsy-er, scary-er, every-err-thing-er!
I let mum go ahead, while I prepared myself mentally.
I switched on my camera on video mode and hung it around my
neck. Unfortunately I cannot post the video here because I started howling when
I reached somewhere mid way. Now when I replay the video, it’s just simply
embarrassing! The last 2-3 minutes I just prayed hard and LOUD!
Realistically, even if I had tried really hard, I wouldn’t
have been able to fall off this bridge but you never know right...
Right after this bridge was another crazy bridge which was
actually a steel bridge but with roots strewn all over it. The roots had eaten
of the bridge to such an extent that most of the footing was made of just tree
bark and bamboo sticks. The trees with their roots all over and moss covered
rocks looked magical. And I was sure that this was the kind of bridge Gandalf
and his hobbits would use to pop in and out of the woods!
From here the trail got really steep and difficult since we had
to make your own trail and walk down till the river bed. While I lingered
around behind the gang, tired and hungry, I looked at mom and dad. These two
were like swans, always with each other, helping each other out on this
adventure.
Soon we were at the river bed which greeted us with a slow
flowing rocky natural pool, blue as the deepest sky and clear enough for us to
see the bed! This was P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E!!!!
I couldn't resist going in and before my mum could stop me, I
was down for a dip in the icy cold water in the middle of the winter month! After the
long trek, this was the most refreshing thing.
A quick riverside lunch and we were on our way back, the
same way. Well, what goes down has to come up!
I choose to skip this part since most part of the climb up
was about either mum pulling me up or dad pushing me up. And at this point I
can say with absolute conviction that if it hadn’t been for my mom and dad, I would
have still been somewhere in those Khasi hills with roots growing all over me!
Though the living root bridge was amazing, what left me
truly amazed was the stamina and strength my parents have at their age to
complete this trek!
This post is dedicated to my super mom and rock-star dad and
their spirit for adventure!
\m/
