Matepani Monastery Outing

We have recently befriended Michelle, a volunteer from the States who is spending her time, energy and creativity making the lives of 80 Buddhist Monks that little bit better. Focusing primarily on education, Michelle could also see the need for some extra curricular activities and quickly set fundraising for a variety of activities. The first of which was taking the whole monastery (that's 80 monks!) to Lumbini and Chitwan for a cultural tour.

The week after, Michelle approached us and asked whether we would be able to run a rafting trip for the older monks. And of course, we said yes!! A few people we have spoken to have been surprised that monks would want to go rafting...but why not? They are normal young lads, that want to enjoy themselves, and they certainly did!

It was the middle of September when we took them so the rivers were still very high from the monsoon. We decided the safest and most fun river they could do would be the Trisuli. At 7am in the morning, they all piled in the bus eager to get to the river and the whole trip from start to finish was one laugh after another. We had a few unexpected swims and a lot of games. It was lovely to see how much they were enjoying the trip. In the evening we had a great camp fire and were ready for the next day of adventures. All too soon it was time to get back on the bus, but each and every one of them vowed they would come back. We are hoping that when the rivers settle a bit at the end of the monsoon we will be able to take the younger monks (some are as young as 5) to the Lower Seti river.

If you are part of a charitable organisation and would like to run a rafting trip, but are maybe concerned about the costs involved, please contact us as we are more than happy to run non-profit trips for a worthwhile cause. Send us an email for more information.