Bangkok, round 2
Hard to believe, but our time in Nepal is over. Aiden and I are in Bangkok now and it's quite a change from Kathmandu. So modern. Really a strange experience to drive on an expressway. Felt like Star Trek after Nepal. Kathmandu really feels like it's off in a backwater of the world. Especially with the APEC conference here right now, along with it's long list of world leaders, Bangkok feels very much like it's in the main stream. Luckily, we'll be heading for the backwaters again soon. Off to Cambodia tomorrow. Figured we'd be better to do that first before our habituation to the third world wears off.
We knew that there was a conference here, but not that the main meetings would fall when we were in town. As we landed, I saw a slew of jets marked with "The United States of America", one (or two) of which looked to be Air Force One, Curious George's ride. Seeing that confirmed that something was up. Then on the way to our guest house, we had to make a bunch of detours around streets which have been closed. TV coverage was constant and showed all the leaders showing up for some big bash. Haven't heard if people raised a fuss like in Vancouver, but I kind of doubt it.
Anyway, I'm excited about being in Thailand. To be in the one place where the word "food" actually means "thai food". That's like being in a place where when they say "water", they really mean "beer". I'm going to be the fattest guy on the beach for sure! :-)
As a fairwell to Nepal, we signed up for a 2 day rafting trip on the Bhote Koshi. This river is the steepest in Nepal and one of the best in the country. That's saying something for a country that is one of the best places for rafting in the world. I didn't know they had so many great rivers before, but I guess it makes sense. What do you expect when you get monsoons onto the highest mountains in the world?
As it turned out, we didn't get to run the upper part of the Bhote Koshi because the water is too high. Lots of class 5 and according to the guides, if you fell in at the top, you'd have to swim the whole way. With the water this high, there are no breaks, so we couldn't run it. This was dissapointing, but they told us that we'd get to run the Dalbera Khola instead, a nearby river with lots of whitewater (class 3+, 4, 4+) which has never been run in rafts, except for when the guides ran down it to scout things out. So we were a little disappointed, but they assured us it would still be a blast and we'd be certain to live, which was a definite plus.
The first day we spent rafting the lower Bhote Koshi, learning how to act on the river. There are some nice big rapids here, but lots of slow spots in between. We had fun in the rapids and enjoyed the soft spots as well. The scenery was amazing. Drifting down the river, through this idyllic, lush green canyon, I just wanted to keep on floating forever.
A couple of times, we got to get out of the boat too. Had lunch on the side of the river. Stopped in one spot at the end of a rapid and the guides let us jump off this huge rock into the river. A long drop into the water and then you'd get swept away by the current and have to fight your way out to the backwater. So much fun, I did it three times.
A little after that, we were enjoying a nice relaxing piece of water when our guide said we could swim through the next rapid. From where we were, it didn't look like much, so we thought "what the hell". However, as I began getting sucked into the rapid, our mistake was quite vividly made clear to us. I managed to keep my head roughly above water for the first half. The second half was spent wondering when I would get another breath, which way was up, how my head had found it's way into my ass, and "what the hell was I thinking"? Apparently everyone else had a similar experience, but we all survived. Once we'd regained our spacial orientation and got a bit of fresh air into our lungs, the smiles returned to our faces and we all admitted that it was a lot of fun. These things turned a good day into a great one. It wasn't just for fun though. It had as much to do with safety, since the company wants to make sure you have experience in the river under controlled circumstances before you end up there on accident.
After packing the boats onto the bus, we headed up to the Boarderlands Resort, where we were to spend the night. This resort 16 miles from the boarder with Tibet is owned by the rafting company. We weren't expecting much, but it turned out to be a gorgeous little oasis up in the mountains. Beautiful rock paths all around and a cool thatched roof dining hall. Right along the river. The food was impressive and the beer wasn't bad either. We had a great group of people in our boat and we had an awesome time getting to know them.
The next morning, we ran the Dalbera Khola. Because this river has never been run by a commercial group, our presence caused quite a stir. Not long after we drug our boats down too the riverside, the crowd started to gather. Before we knew it, we had a huge throng of school boys, in uniform, bouncing on the rafts, trying on our gear, watching us intently, and of course, trying to get us to give them money. All along the river people were waving to us and running to watch us. At one point, we stopped to give a couple of "swimmers" from another boat some time to rest and recover. As we looked downstream, we could see a suspension bridge hanging over the river. Looking a little closer, we noticed that it was packed, shoulder to shoulder, with people. It turns out that word of our descent got down to this village as well and the entire school emptied to hang out on the bridge and watch us! And they waited there patiently for half an hour until we went by.
After a long, cramped ride back to Kathmandu, we all grabbed showers then met up for dinner. This led to a couple of clubs, lots of beer, and a few shots of Tequila. We had a great time, but it didn't leave Aiden and I with much time to sleep. 2 hours was about enough for the booze to wear off and the pain to set in before we headed for the airport. Had an amazing time on that trip and it was a perfect way to cap our time in Nepal.
So, I hope that everyone is doing well wherever they are. Hopefully not too many of you in BC have drowned. I hear the rains are back with a vengence .....
Take it easy,
Justin
We knew that there was a conference here, but not that the main meetings would fall when we were in town. As we landed, I saw a slew of jets marked with "The United States of America", one (or two) of which looked to be Air Force One, Curious George's ride. Seeing that confirmed that something was up. Then on the way to our guest house, we had to make a bunch of detours around streets which have been closed. TV coverage was constant and showed all the leaders showing up for some big bash. Haven't heard if people raised a fuss like in Vancouver, but I kind of doubt it.
Anyway, I'm excited about being in Thailand. To be in the one place where the word "food" actually means "thai food". That's like being in a place where when they say "water", they really mean "beer". I'm going to be the fattest guy on the beach for sure! :-)
As a fairwell to Nepal, we signed up for a 2 day rafting trip on the Bhote Koshi. This river is the steepest in Nepal and one of the best in the country. That's saying something for a country that is one of the best places for rafting in the world. I didn't know they had so many great rivers before, but I guess it makes sense. What do you expect when you get monsoons onto the highest mountains in the world?
As it turned out, we didn't get to run the upper part of the Bhote Koshi because the water is too high. Lots of class 5 and according to the guides, if you fell in at the top, you'd have to swim the whole way. With the water this high, there are no breaks, so we couldn't run it. This was dissapointing, but they told us that we'd get to run the Dalbera Khola instead, a nearby river with lots of whitewater (class 3+, 4, 4+) which has never been run in rafts, except for when the guides ran down it to scout things out. So we were a little disappointed, but they assured us it would still be a blast and we'd be certain to live, which was a definite plus.
The first day we spent rafting the lower Bhote Koshi, learning how to act on the river. There are some nice big rapids here, but lots of slow spots in between. We had fun in the rapids and enjoyed the soft spots as well. The scenery was amazing. Drifting down the river, through this idyllic, lush green canyon, I just wanted to keep on floating forever.
A couple of times, we got to get out of the boat too. Had lunch on the side of the river. Stopped in one spot at the end of a rapid and the guides let us jump off this huge rock into the river. A long drop into the water and then you'd get swept away by the current and have to fight your way out to the backwater. So much fun, I did it three times.
A little after that, we were enjoying a nice relaxing piece of water when our guide said we could swim through the next rapid. From where we were, it didn't look like much, so we thought "what the hell". However, as I began getting sucked into the rapid, our mistake was quite vividly made clear to us. I managed to keep my head roughly above water for the first half. The second half was spent wondering when I would get another breath, which way was up, how my head had found it's way into my ass, and "what the hell was I thinking"? Apparently everyone else had a similar experience, but we all survived. Once we'd regained our spacial orientation and got a bit of fresh air into our lungs, the smiles returned to our faces and we all admitted that it was a lot of fun. These things turned a good day into a great one. It wasn't just for fun though. It had as much to do with safety, since the company wants to make sure you have experience in the river under controlled circumstances before you end up there on accident.
After packing the boats onto the bus, we headed up to the Boarderlands Resort, where we were to spend the night. This resort 16 miles from the boarder with Tibet is owned by the rafting company. We weren't expecting much, but it turned out to be a gorgeous little oasis up in the mountains. Beautiful rock paths all around and a cool thatched roof dining hall. Right along the river. The food was impressive and the beer wasn't bad either. We had a great group of people in our boat and we had an awesome time getting to know them.
The next morning, we ran the Dalbera Khola. Because this river has never been run by a commercial group, our presence caused quite a stir. Not long after we drug our boats down too the riverside, the crowd started to gather. Before we knew it, we had a huge throng of school boys, in uniform, bouncing on the rafts, trying on our gear, watching us intently, and of course, trying to get us to give them money. All along the river people were waving to us and running to watch us. At one point, we stopped to give a couple of "swimmers" from another boat some time to rest and recover. As we looked downstream, we could see a suspension bridge hanging over the river. Looking a little closer, we noticed that it was packed, shoulder to shoulder, with people. It turns out that word of our descent got down to this village as well and the entire school emptied to hang out on the bridge and watch us! And they waited there patiently for half an hour until we went by.
After a long, cramped ride back to Kathmandu, we all grabbed showers then met up for dinner. This led to a couple of clubs, lots of beer, and a few shots of Tequila. We had a great time, but it didn't leave Aiden and I with much time to sleep. 2 hours was about enough for the booze to wear off and the pain to set in before we headed for the airport. Had an amazing time on that trip and it was a perfect way to cap our time in Nepal.
So, I hope that everyone is doing well wherever they are. Hopefully not too many of you in BC have drowned. I hear the rains are back with a vengence .....
Take it easy,
Justin
posted by Justin Callison at 3:37 AM
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