Kayaking Madness (Dunc)

A conversation a couple of weeks ago in the “Ultimate Descents” river sports office –

Me: I want to do some kayaking. I’m not very good.
Ultimate Descents Guy: Oh, you should do the 4 day kayaking course for beginners.
Me: Ah, for beginners eh? Sounds good to me. Not dangerous is it?
Ultimate Descents Guy: No. not at all. The course is designed for beginners and the river is safe.

Ahem. Skip forward a couple of weeks to a Nepali river and picture me being capsized from my kayak and hurtling face first towards sharp rocks in a class 3 rapid. Safe my arse. To quote Wikipedia’s online description of white water categories:

Class 3 Rapids = Difficult, irregular and requires expert navigation to successfully travel. These rapids are best left to paddlers with good to expert skills

Ahem! Me, Carolyn and an Israeli guy (Yarev) were literally thrown into the deep end for 3 days of kayaking down the Seti River. We were joined by two Nepali guides (Dil and Som) and a cool Canadian called Bernie.

Bernie is a 50 year old Hippie who was working with Ultimate Descents for the first time. A really funny guy who paraglides, snowboards, surfs and kayaks

On day one everything started out pretty well. We got the bus out to the river in the morning and ate dhal bhat and jumped in the boats. It was the first time any of us had been kayaking in a river. We expected things to start easy. Nope. Within 5 minutes we had to negotiate a Class 2 river rock garden. We all capsized. We all narrowly missed hitting rocks.

Things went OK for the next 30 minutes or so. No-one fell out. Then a class 3 rapid appeared on the horizon. We got out our boats and scouted it on the banks. Dil, the guide, told us the line to take. We followed him. Fucking crazy. Burst through a big whitewater hole without falling out and smashed tyhrough some big waves. Amazingly me and Carolyn made it through but Yarev capsized and hit some rocks. Felt really good to make it and my confidence surged. It turned out my new found confidence was sorely misplaced. I capsized a couple of more times (Along with Yarev) but nothing too bad. Carolyn was ace and made it through the rest of the day unscathed.

Finished paddling for the day and pulled up to a teahouse for the night. We were entertained during the night by Nepali women dancing as part of the Tihar festival, Bernie’s hippy/kayaking/paragliding stories and Yarev’s pro Israeli rants. It was a fun night.

Day Two was pretty good. Not too many crazy rapids and we saw monkeys on the riverbank. Only capsized once. Carolyn made it through the day unscathed. She even made it through a 3-plus rapid which me and Yarev decided to walk around because it looked too dangerous. We camped on the banks of the river at the end of the day. Went swimming, made a camp fire, ate Dhal Bhat, picked up a baby goat, watched fire flies, looked at the stars and then went to bed in a tent.

On to Day 3. The first 2 hours were great. I didn’t fall out. Lots of fun crashing through big waves. My confidence again was high. The next 2 hours however are a bit of a blur. We went through fourclass 3 rapids. Both me and Yarev capsized in all of them. It’s pretty scary being dragged face down along the bottom of the river into rocks while stuck in a kayak. It gets pretty tiring swimming for 100 metres through rapids trying not to get dragged under. It hurts when your feet crack against rocks.

The last rapid of the day was the biggest and longest of the 3 days kayaking. Both me and Yarev walked around due to injuries and  being knackered. Carlolyn went for it. Unfortunately, she capsized along with the Canadian guide Bernie. Bernie banged his head. Carloyn got dragged through 150 metres of white water and was dragged under by “Boogie Water”. Fortunately she made it safely just a little shock up.

So that was that. Good job to coz I was banged up pretty badly and for want of a better word scared to continue. Caught the bus back to Pokara and went for a beer with Bernie and Carolyn.  At this point Bernie decided to tell us that he was surprised that no-one had died on the kayaking course we had just completed on this occasion or when it had been run in the past. No way in hell should we have been let loose on the river with only a couple of hours practice on a lake. He also told us the safety equipment was dodgy, we were in the wrong type of boats and the guides, although good,  weren’t trained to the appropriate safety standards. He won’t be working with Ultimate Descents in the future.

Ah well. We all made it through and were still smiling at the end:

I’m definitely going to continue kayaking in the UK when I get back. Preferably in safer conditions.

Unfortunately, no photos from the river because we were told not to bring cameras. If you’d like to see some pictures of Class 3 rapids click HERE.

Pokara and Rafting (Duncan)

It’s been a busy past week here in Pokara.. It all started with beard removal. Here’s a photo of me pre-shave a couple of hours after I got back from trekking:

Because I arrived home early I was expecting to spend the next few days mooking around on my own in Pokara. Fortunately, I ran into a couple of VSN volunteer buddies (Matt and Halley) who were swinging through town after a visit to the Chitwan NP. Good times were had. We hired a boat and a fishing roa and went out on Pokara Lake with a couple of beers, a lighter and a toilet roll:

On Saturday Matt and Halley headed back to Kathmandu but fortunately for me new volunteers arrived (Jason, Carolyn and Sam). Spent the weekend chilling out. Went for a hike with Carolyn to the World Peace Buddhist Pagoda. It’s located up a ruddy big hill which overlooks Pokara. We got lost finding it and hadd to hire a local kid to show us the way for 40 rupees. Well worth the visit. The panoramic views around are pretty amazing and it is really peaceful up there. (I farted on the Pagoda):

On to Monday and white water rafting. Up at the crack of dawn me, Carolyn and Sam headed off to the Kali River with 14 other muppets for 2 nights and 3 days of white water rafting. It was great fun. The water was friggin’ freezing but the rafting was ace and scenery beautiful. We camped at the riverside during the night and ate surprisingly decent food cooked by the guides. Using my expert reflexes and super fitness I managed to stay in the raft until the last day when I was jealously thrown out the boat by the Carolyn and the guides. Here’s a photo of part of our rafting “Team”:

I didn’t drown which was a bonus. I nearly drowned today though in my first day of the 4 day kayak clinic I’ve signed up for. I swallowed a couple of gallons of Pokara lake water learning how not to die while white water kayaking. Off to the Seti River tomorrow to start the real deal.

Two other notable things of the past week. My hiking boots were stolen from outside my room (arse) and the Tihar festival has been in full swing. Main activities include dancing,  kids making road blocks and extorting money from drivers to get out of the way, kids going around singing annoyingly in shops and restaurants until the owners/tourists give them money to go away, dogs being “tika’d” and the theft of hiking boots from tourists.

Update in a couple of days when I’m back from kayaking.

 More photos click HERE.

Back from the Mountain!!! (Dunc)

I’m back early. I’m not dead. I’m in Pokara and internet is very pricey so this update is a short one. I’ll do a proper update when I’m back in Kathmandu.

Well, the trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) was unbelievable. Had a fantastic time. Only slightly marred by being ripped off by my trekking company. I paid for 12 days (guide, food and accomodation) on their explicit recommendation. I completed the trek relatively easily in 9 days but they won’t give me a refund for the 3 days I didn’t use. Arseholes.

Anyways, here’s a cheesy one of a flower and mountains:

Word up (Rory)

Whas’up my nigga?

How’s it hangin?

Arright homes, where you been at?

How the game playa?

What the fuck goin on up in this mutha fuck?

Is it all love homes?

Who dat ho? Hmm, mmm. That’s right. You know it’s true.

Nigga, what the fuck goin on?

Shit negro? Mutha fucka you know dat dem ho’s gettin it on is da bomb. Shee’it playa.

Late’a homes. It’s all love xxx  

Hello(Rory)

Hello, how are you?

Is all right with you?

What stories have you to tell from the last time we spoke?

Work treating you ok?

What would you like to do given the time and space?

Is love in your heart?

Who do you want to make love with?

Can anyone explain what goes on and why?

God created lesbianism. Is this his greatest gift to mankind? (discuss)

I love you all xxx 

Himalayas Here I Come… (Dunc)

I’m in Pokara after a crazy bus ride. We were airbourne about 20% of the time. I think I’ve got piles. Pokara is a very beautiful place situated on the side of a lake. A lot quieter than Kathmandu.

I start my 12 day trek tomorrow morning to the Annapurna base camp some 4130 metres above sea level!I don’t think they have internet access in the Himalayas so I won’t be updating the blog for a couple of weeks so it’s up to Rory to entertain you in the meantime.

I’ve been warned to expect armed Maoist terrorist demanding money, yeti’s and killer avalanches. Meh! Scotland have more chance of beating France at football than anythig like that turning up.

 Next time

Past Week Stuff (Dunc)

So, after Dashain celebrations on Monday it was back to “work” with Canadian Halley at the orphanage during the middle part of the week. All the other volunteers buggered off at the end of last week leaving us in charge. Luckily the work mainly consisted of playing footy and guitar with the kids and watering the brand new vegetable garden:

Some more photos of the kids HERE. They’re all as cute as chocolate buttons.

Thursday was my last full day in Bistachhap so I decided to go exploring with Halley. We headed off in the direction of the Botanical Garden in search of adventure! We found some weird stuff. Perhaps the weirdest was a Polish tourist wearing incredibly tight jeans and his Nepalese wife. This was closely followed by discovering what looked like an abandoned science lab, a sideshow Bob impersonator and a group of monks playing cricket.

For some more photos of the hike click HERE.

On to Friday and I said my goodbyes to my host family and the kids at the orphanage. Earlier in the week I had a chance to read the kids personal history files. All pretty sad stuff and in a way made it even harder to leave. I’m amazed about how much I got attached to the kids in such a short space of time. I wish I could have spent longer in Bistachhap. I’m really going to miss the place.

To help drown my Bistachhap blues I helped to celebrate a fellow volunteers birthday in Kathmandu on Saturday. Bart, from North Carolina reached the mighty age of 22.

To kick off the night we went for a meal at our regular weekend restaurant Roadhouse. Everything was going well until the bill arrived. They hadn’t taken 10% discount off we were due because we were volunteers. I complained to the waiter, he said there was nothing he could do because the bill was already written. Bunch of Nepali arse. On closer inspection of the bill I noticed they had forgotten to charge us for drinks. Stitch that waiter!!

Unfortunately, half way through paying the bill the waiter came over and pointed out his error. An argument insued. Voices were raised. I demanded to see the manager. More voices were raised. We ended up getting the 10% discount. Just shows you that moaning does work sometimes.

After the restaurant it was on to Sam’s bar for some serious boozing and a strange but rousing  rendition of the 4-non blondes hit “What’s Going On”. Good times:

Tried to get people to compliment my new “Hang Loose” t-shirt for the rest of the night. I think it’s probably the best t-shirt in the world:

Stumbled back to the hotel in the wee hours and tried but failed miserably to hide from the beer monkey.

For more photos of Bart’s b’day click HERE

I’m off to Pokara to start my 12 day Annapurna trek tomorrow at 6:00am. I’m gonna bag me a Yeti.

Bye-Bye Bistachhap (Dunc)

Said goodbye to my Nepali family, the orphans and Bistachhap village this morning. Very sad way to end another really good week. Welled up inside a bit walking away from the orphanage. I got quite attached to the little tykes and my host family in the short time I spent with them. But, as with everything in life though things come to an end and we have to move on.

As I mentioned in my last post the Nepali Dashain festival is in full swing at the moment. On Monday I was privileged to be part of my host families celebrations on one of the most important days. Baa and Aamaa put tika’s on the whole family (including me!) and exchanged fruit, gifts and money (I got socks and a selection box! – just kidding). The mood and the feeling reminded me a lot of Christmas day. Instead of turkey we ate roasted goat (sacrificed the day before)  and as with turkey in the UK we ate goat leftovers for the following 4 days. Quite a pungent taste on day 4.

My Baa preparing to tika the family: 

Me tika’d up:

Click HERE for more Dashain photos

Having problems with tinternet today so will complete the update of the past week tomorrow!

“Toilets and release of karma” (Dunc)

My blog admin page tells me that someone reached my site yesterday by googling “Toilets and release of karma”. Very odd. Someone obviously hoping that it’s possible to remove bad karma on the shitter. I’m becoming a Hindu if this is true.

Big booze up at the weekend to comiserate the fact a number of volunteers (Monica, Andrea, Lia, Trevor, Lanie, Sue, amongst others) headed home. The party spilled back to our hotel room. Big mission to get ice cubes to chill the beer (the fridge doesn’t seem to have caught on here yet). Taylor fulfilled his Kathmandu dream and went dancing:

He really impressed the girls:

We were also celebrating the completion of a couple of Bistachaap “Brighter Futures” children’s home tasks. Like painting the gate:

Building the compost bin:

And creating a rock star:

The 15 day long Dashain festival is underway here in Nepal. It’s a bit like Christmas. Everyone gets new clothes. Different things happen on each day of the festival. For instance, on Sunday over 120 goats and 15 buffalo were sacrificed in the main Kathmandu Square. Blood was spread over the wheels of nearby vehicles to ensure safe journeys. All the planes in the Nepalese commercial air fleet had a goat sacrificed in their honour to promote safe flying. Great fun. Obviously not if you’re a goat lover, or a goat.

Exciting news. Well for me anyways. I’ve booked 24 days of activities starting on the 10th October. I’m going on a 12 day trek to Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas followed by 2 days sightseeing in Pokara, a 3 day rafting trip on the Kali river, a 4 day kayak clinic on the Seti river and a 3 day elephant safari in the Royal Chitwan National Park. Very excited about everything. Should be ace.

For more photos click HERE