Top Tips on Responsible Travel

No matter what you are doing in your destination of choice, kayaking, trekking, volunteering, paragliding or simply chilling out and sightseeing; There are a few things that we can all do to avoid causing offence or harming the environment and to be a responsible traveler. Remember, your actions count. Here are up top tips to make you a more ethical traveler!!

·         Understand and respect local cultures, traditions and holy places. You would be mortified to think that you had offended anyone when you arrive so it's worth knowing some of the local cultures. For example in Nepal, it is rude to shake hands, exchange money or eat using your left hand (as this is your dirty hand), it is also frowned upon to touch children on the top of their heads and you should always take off your shoes before entering a monastery. Read more about Nepali cultures and etiquette. 

·         Buy locally - If you want to buy your own food or get some snacks, get out of the big western supermarket and buy straight from the market. It's the same produce and you will be helping small businesses survive. You will most likely get a better price and you get the fun of wandering around the markets and meeting locals.

·         Ditch the plastic- Many countries do not have recycling facilities and if your drinking 3 litres a day for 2 weeks that's a whopping 84 bottles that will end up in a landfill somewhere. Bring (or buy) a refillable water bottle and use it as much as possible. In Nepal, many shops now have clean drinking water that you can get from a jar for just 10 rupees a litre (half the price of buying a plastic bottle)

·         Ask before taking a photo- It's common curtsey. You wouldn't like someone taking a photo of you going about your day to day business, so ask. They may say yes they may say no. If they do say no, say thank you and walk away. Most people don't mind. But it's always nice to ask first.

·         Carefully think about the souvenirs you buy- Make sure the items you buy have a legal and documented history and that they aren't stolen and are safe to be exported. You should also make sure you are not supporting activities that damage the environment or are a result of illegal activity. Make sure you are not buying a souvenir made from ivory, endangered hard woods, ancient artefacts or endangered animals.

·         Respect the environment- Our main goal is to 'leave no trace'. When your trekking, stick to the paths, don't pick any flowers or damage any trees. If your camping out, consider carefully where you will put your campfire and only use drift wood so as not to encourage de-forestation.

·         Learn a little language and get involved! -  Start with 'hello' and 'thank you'. In Nepali 'Namaste' and 'Dhanybhad'. It makes a world of difference and people really appreciate it. Read our full Nepali Language Guide.

Read more about what we do as a company to be a responsible travel company 

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Cleaning Initiative - Pokhara Lake

The GRG team have been at it again. As we are primarily based In Kathmandu, it is not often we find ourselves in Pokhara. We recently ran a Kaligandaki Rafting trip and afterwards had a few spare days before our next adventures. So we decided, we've got the staff, we've got the kit...why not spend the day cleaning the Fewa Tal, which is the beautiful lake in Pokhara.

Pokhara is a very popular tourist destination in Nepal. They flock there for the start and finish of their treks, it is also a famous site for paragliding

We set up a tarp on the banks and had a two of our guys busy cooking up some yummy snacks to keep energy levels up! The rest of us jumped in our kayaks and rafts and started paddling the edges of the lake. The kayakers would go ahead, jump out and fill their sacks then drop it back in the raft before going out again.

We managed to collect over 40 sacks of rubbish that day and caused quite a stir! We had a few locals jump on the raft and offer to help out, visits from the police to find out what we were doing (when we told them they were a little bit confused and asked 'why would we want to do this'?! Which kind of gives you an idea of Nepali mentality!!)

Although this is not a long term solution, it is a step in the right direction, ad if we keep it up we hope that others will follow and eventually we will get a handle on the litter situation in Nepal.

I would personally like to thank all our staff at GRG who voluntarily gave their time and did so with a smile! Even though we were sifting through rubbish we actually had a lot of fun and laughed the whole day! I think the highlight was when everyone got thrown out of the raft, including our adventure dog, Buttons, who then scrambled onto one of the kayaks and capsized him as well!

Next up - the Sun Kosi! We are running a rafting expedition to the River of Gold on the 15th September and plan on taking an extra gear raft specifically to collect garbage as we go down.

There's always time to learn kayaking!

Paddling back quick for lunch!

Interview on Muchbetteradventures...

 

Muchbetteradventures is a travel website that is dedicated in only listing responsible travel companies. GRG have been an approved member of this site for over three years (in fact we took Tom, one of the partners on a rafting trip in Nepal not too long ago!)

 Here's a link to an article they published about GRG's a while ago.

World Class Academy - Service Learning Project in Nepal

Blog post from one of the students from the World Class Kayak Academy who recently spent three months in Nepal.

Each semester World Class Academy plans a service-learning project aimed at supporting the local communities in which we travel. This Nepal semester, WCA supplied the funding and the manpower to paint a government school as well as a day of play with a shelter for Nepali children. Senior Alex “Ziggy” Zegart gives a first-hand account of this wonderful day, where all those who participated were touched by the simplicity and beauty of human interaction and the empowerment of individuals making a real impact.

This November, World Class Academy participated in a two-day service-learning project in Pokhara, Nepal, facilitated by PoD Nepal. On day one we had the opportunity to help a local school by painting classrooms that were in dire need of some attention. The next day we spent time with orphaned kids from a care home, teaching them how to kayak, and playing games with them such as cricket, tag, and frisbee.

The day started early, with each student hauling a large bucket of paint to a taxi outside the guesthouse, which would carry the supplies to the school. Upon arrival we organized into groups and began our mission. In total we were able to paint eleven classrooms at the school in about six to seven hours, energizing them from a dull grayish color to a bright assortment of yellow, blue, purple, green, and red. In some classrooms we were able to add drawings that acted as helpful learning aids for under-supplied teachers. Two students in particular played a huge part in this process – David Miller and Josh Zimber, as they are extremely gifted artists. With their help we were able to draw, and then paint, numerous animals in the preschoolers’ room such as butterflies, snakes, tigers, flowers, and the Nepalese flag. Another great help with the illustration of the classrooms was our Nepalese student Surjan Tamang. With his knowledge of the Nepalese language, we were able to add in the alphabet and number system (0-20) in not only English, but in Nepalese as well, thus giving the students a greater window through which to learn. As a final piece to the school, David painted a tree in the stairwell of the school. Then, each member of World Class Academy dipped their hands into a bucket of paint and pasted handprints representing leaves on the tree. This was our finale and a way for the school to remember us.

The next day was a completely different experience for everyone. Instead of painting classrooms, World Class got to take out a group of four- to nine-year-old children from a youth shelter to a lakeside field for a day of fun and an outside picnic. For one day we were like the older brothers and sisters that they never had. This was an unforgettable experience. None of these children had the kinds of privileges we had when we were young such as swimming or playing sports. When we took them to this field they were all overjoyed, and for the next few hours we taught, played, and talked with them.

Alexandra Muck and Anna Bruno taught a group how to hula hoop. Andy Hatch and Sean Madden showed another bunch how to juggle. David Miller and Ryley Penner took each kid out in pairs for a short little kayak lesson. This was probably the most exciting thing for the kids, because none of them had ever been in a kayak before. After a few hours in which time flew by it was lunchtime, and everyone sat down to eat some fried rice. During lunch Liam Fournier was kind enough to share his Coca Cola, giving the kids another treat, which they would normally never get. After lunch everyone split off into little groups: Surjan and Ziggy (Alex Zegart) went to play cricket with some kids, some of the teachers showed the children their cameras and how to use them, and a few others just sat in the shade, relaxing and talking with the kids. After a while the cricket game ended due to the heat and a new game had started, the “pull the kids in the kayaks around the field game.” This was extremely fun, and when one “puller” became too tired he would switch out with another person, who then became the next engine that pulled the kayaks over the field. But like all good experiences, the day eventually ended, and we had to say goodbye to our new little friends.

Even though we had to miss two days of kayaking and, “sadly” enough, two days of school…  everyone at World Class thought it had been worth it, for in those two days we livened up a whole school with bright colors while having an unforgettable experience with an awesome group of orphaned kids.

World Class would like to thank our sponsor NRS for helping us realize our service-learning goals. We would also like to extend a thank you to Chrissy Dawkins from PoD and GRG Kayaking for their support and organization with this project.