JOE REA-DICKINS

KS: You just released a big project: The Meghalaya Guidebook. It’s a beautiful publication, a coffee table book, more than a guidebook.

JRD: Thanks! Yeah, it is so nice to have it done, and great to hear such positive feedback.

KS: How long have been working on it for? How did it start?

JRD: I guess you could say it was the culmination of six years of work. It was a pretty massive job, but writing about something you love isn't really a chore. We first went to Meghalaya in 2012, the year we paddled the Kynshi. We made such great friends there and were so inspired by such spectacular rivers that we returned the next year. In 2013 Zorba Laloo, my brother Dan and I, high on the stoke of a river trip, decided we wanted to really open up Meghalaya's rivers. Before we knew it, we had smart haircuts, borrowed suits and were in a meeting with the Chief Minister of Meghalaya pitching a guidebook project.

KS: How did you convince the local authorities to provide support?

JRD: About a week before our first trip, by an incredible stroke of luck, Zorba Laloo, a Meghalaya local, joined and posted on the Facebook page Kayaking India. The joke goes that he invited us over for a cup of tea and we never left. He had just begun his descent down the paddlesports rabbit hole and was super keen to see Meghalaya opened up. He also had a good relationship with the tourism board and was able to get a face to face meeting with some incredibly important people in the government, including the Chief Minister, who gave the approval to our proposal.

KS: Where is Meghalaya? What makes it special compared to the rest of India?

JRD: Meghalaya is a plateau in Northeast India. People there call themselves tribals, and very much see themselves as being apart from mainland India, although there is definitely a kind of kinship with the rest of the Northeast. It is such an interesting place, with an abundance of wildlife, extreme geology, world records' worth of rain, a massive variety of flora and stunning landscapes. The people are diverse, the traditional music and instruments are beautiful, nights out in the capital are surprisingly good, the food is unforgettable, their society is matrilineal, I could go on, and I haven't even mentioned the rivers.

KS: What are the rivers