Mugling Recycling Scheme

Cleaning up the rubbish beside the famous Mugling Bridge

Mugling is Maila's hometown (in fact, many of our staff come from there). It is the main crossroads from Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara and India. We have been complaining for a long time about the state of the side of the roads and how the waste all gets chucked into the river, so, we've started a new recycling scheme. 

If you drive past the Mulging bridge, you will more than likely see +Maila Gurung from +GRG's Adventure Kayaking  with a group of young lads sifting through the garbage, so far they have sorted and cleared over 30 sacks full in just 4 days. This is only the start and we hope to get something more sustainable going, but nevertheless it's a good start. We have been separating out recycling waste, compostable waste and the leftovers that will need to be disposed of properly.

We were happy to see that once Maila got down on his hands and knees and started cleaning up, not only did we did 5 willing volunteers but the whole town came over and at one point or another, most people were with him clearing the rubbish. We hope that by seeing Maila start this off, the local town will realise the damage that is done by throwing your rubbish along the river. Once this lot has been cleared, we will be moving further up the River and are organising a proper 'system' to keep this issue under control.

We have also started conversations with the local rubbish collectors and are trying to fund a new way to dispose of the rubbish that cannot be recycled/reused. We also went into Mugling's local government school to educate them on rubbish and the environment in the hope that the next generation will be able to keep this work going. 

It's a few small steps, but in the right direction.  As a thanks to the helpers, we took them all rafting over the weekend!

 

Meet Kali Gurung, Head Guide and International Super Guide

Kali Gurung is one of our top river guides in Nepal. He has worked in Nepal, India, Tibet, Bhutan and Japan and is one of the most sought after river guides. 

 

Although working primarily for GRG (he's family business) he does adventure off every now and then to run expeditions overseas for other international companies. He's calm personality, with a hint of cheek makes him every bodies favourite river guide in Nepal.

Growing up on the Trisuli river, rafting has always been in Kali's mind, and as soon as he was old enough - he was off and he's never looked back.

He has led first descents down some of the hardest rivers in the world (notably the Drangme Chhu), he has safely led the BBC down the surging rapids of Bhutanese rapids in search of endangered Tigers, he's trained a new generation of raft guides in Tibet creating many new jobs, works three months of the year on a variety of rivers in Japan and in his 'free' time teaches kayaking to his children in Nepal.

Kali has worked for some of the big names in the whitewater industry - Slime Dai (Peter Knowles), Gerry Moffat, Phil DeReimer, Anthony Eddis-Davis, Chris Jones and Zack Collier to name a few and whenever they have expeditions going out, Kali is always the first person they call on.

When he's not busy being a river guide you can find him at home with his two beautiful girls or in our boathouse working on rafts. 

We feel very lucky that Kali is one of us and is always with us to guide our trips, organise land logistics, repair kit in the boat house and generally share a laugh or two! He is without a doubt one of the best river guides and best people you will get to meet in Nepal.

Would you like Kali to guide you down one of the raging Himalayan Rivers? Email us now to book a trip!
info@grgadventurekayaking.com

When is the best time to visit Nepal?

Gentle flows in the Spring, perfect for learning

Generally there are two 'best' times of year to visit Nepal. Peak season is from late September until early December. During this time the skies are clear giving the best views of the mountains, the monsoon rains and humidity are gone and the weather is warm.

The other peak season in Nepal is from the end of February until beginning of June. Although a little cooler after the winter, you are still promised clear mountain views and the Rhododendrons start to flower, wildlife sightings are more common as the long grasses would have been harvested.

However, even in the off seasons, there is always plenty to see and do, in fact you may prefer it as there won't be the crowds.

In terms of rafting and kayaking Sept - Dec offer the best whitewater for all levels, experts and beginners alike. If you love a bit of adrenaline jump on a Sun Kosi trip mid September to see how wild the Himalayan rivers really are. Things start to get a little low around December, but its a good time to do some expedition paddling on the Humla or Thule Bheri

October - post monsoon blast!

 For beginners, the start of the spring season is best to learn as the water is getting warmer, but still quite low before the monsoon. Taking a kayak clinic on the Trisuli river will be your best option to learn about whitewater kayaking. During this time, if you are looking for adventure, the Bhote Kosi still gives a good thrill!

And during the monsoon can be wicked fun for rafters wanting BIG water fun, or kayakers out to stretch their abilities! There are rivers to be run all year round - we just change the rivers we visit!

If your unsure of when to visit - send us an email and we'll let you know which trips will be suitable for you.
info@grgadventurekayaking.com

December - things get a little lower, but still GREAT fun!

Trip Advisor - Certificate of Excellence!

We have just been told that GRG's has received a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor for 2012!

We would like to say thank you to everybody who has written a review for us and 'liked' us on tripadvisor! You have made this happen for us so thank you very much!

• GRG's Adventure Kayaking Day Tours

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• 40 reviews of GRG's Adventure Kayaking Day Tours in Kathmandu

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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.

World Class Academy - Nepal Fall Quarter 2012

Here's the final edit for the World Class Academy's fall semester in Nepal with us. Over the three months the students have a section to work on and then put it all together in a video at the end and this is what they came up with - not too bad! We've certainly enjoyed watching it, we hope you do to !

In the three months, they paddled the Trisuli, Upper Seti, Karnali, Marsyandi, Bhote Kosi and Belephi!

New kayaks for Hire!!!

This season we have been very busy buying lots and lots of kayaks! We are very excited to announce we now have the following (pretty much brand new) kayaks for hire...

• Pyranha Burn (M x 2), (L x 1), (S x 1)
• Liquid Logic Stomper
• Pyranha Everest 
• Riot Magnum (72 x 3), (80 x 2)
• Pyranha Shiva (M x 2)
• Dagger Nomad (8.5 x 2)
• Villan S
• Remix 69
• Jefe Chico
• Blistic Mini Mystic
• Zet Raptor
• Salto
• Perception EZ

Along with our 'old' stock..

• Pyranha H3
• Burn (M x 1)
• Everest x 2
• Liquid Logic Jefe Grande
• Dagger Nomad (8.1 x 1) (8.5 x 2)
• Perception Blaze (7.1 x 2)
• Rainbow Zulu 
• Riot Nitro x 2
• Wavesport Transformer

If you are interested in hiring any of these kayaks for your trip to Nepal and save the hastle and money of flying with a kayak please send an email to info@grgadventurekayaking.com

Happy paddles!

 

The Karnali Expedition: A World Class Journey

Blog post by Capo Rettig, Director of the World Class Kayak Academy who are currently spending 3 months paddling in Nepal with Maila Gurung and GRG's Adventure Kayaking.

Months ago World Class made the decision to keep with tradition, to not settle for the second best in our pursuit of educational purity, to seek out and explore the world’s remaining wild places, to research logistics and judge risk, to put in place an ambitious plan, but one that was well within the skill level of our organization. In short we decided that no Nepal semester would be complete without the Karnali, that the heart of Nepal was the Karnali, that without touching this heart our trip would be haunted by the beat and rhythm of Nepal’s main organ that would mock us no matter where we went or what we did. The morning of October 27 we put this plan into action.

Day 1

Ziggy wakes up looks around and says, “Where are we at?” It’s 6:45 in the morning and nobody answers him. We have been driving for about 16 hours and have entered the Karnali Zone, the largest district in Nepal at roughly 5,000 square miles and the country’s most un-inhabited and remote region. We stop at a small village, the first we have seen for some time, and rub the sleep out of our eyes. Joints creak to life. Weariness gets lifted from bodies and floats away with each successive movement. We eat chickpea curry, hardboiled eggs, fried bread, and black tea with milk. We are four more hours from the put-in.

As we near the river the road becomes steeper and steeper. After cresting a ridge, we look down at a ribbon of blue-green water. This is our first glimpse of the Karnali. Moments later the bus lurches to the side; our first flat tire. We walk for a while as the tire is repaired and examine the snakes, frogs, and unidentifiable bugs that are smashed on the road, crouching low to get a better look to at the florescent colors and black blood of the road kill.

We follow the switchbacks in the road for several more hours until we get to the put-in, a sloping beach of white sand that we drive right onto. The small village greets us as if they had been expecting our arrival. Kayaks, rafts, and gear gets pulled off the bus and rigged for the first time.
It is a short paddle down to our camp on river-right and spirits are high as we take our first strokes on the Himalaya’s most notorious river.

Day 2

We awake to tea and coffee as we watch the sun rise over the rocks of the canyon wall, which stretches slowly towards us. We are getting our systems in place, beginning the rhythm for the trip. A substantial amount of dew makes everything quite wet and today will be the first of many mornings where the team pulls tents and sleeping bags out to dry in the sun. Luckily the days are hot. Maila, our Nepalese coach for the semester and owner of GRG kayaking, the company helping us organize this trip, is pacing the sand near the river. He points out paw tracks. “Tigers?” I ask, knowing that this is a notorious zone for these endangered kings of the forest. “Maybe a small one,” says Maila.

We rig up and hit the river, which starts out with fun warm-up rapids. Towards the afternoon we come up on our first big rapid and we get out and scout from river right. Everyone has good lines and it is the first time we get to feel the real power of the waves and holes that will become so familiar by the time the trip is over.

Day 3

The Karnali is the longest river in Nepal, stretching from its source, the glaciers of Mt. Mapchachungo, which feeds into Lake Mansarovar located on the Tibetan Plateau, to Brahmaghat in India. Here it confluences with the Sarda River, eventually becoming a tributary to the Ganges.

On day three we awake to a crowd of children who have come out of the hills to watch us go about our morning. We conduct classes under watchful and curious eyes, eyes that have not had much opportunity for learning. In 1971 the Karnali basin had a literacy rate of 7.5%. While significant change has taken place, that percentage today is somewhere around 50%. I wonder what these locals think about us, with our books and notepads, sipping coffee and discussing apartheid South Africa and graphs in Algebra.

Day three has some of the most consistent whitewater on the entire run and the smiles are permanently drawn on all of our faces. We break up the action by stopping in a small village for tea and suddenly become transformed to what life was like 100 years ago.

Day 4

Today we get to some of the biggest rapids on the section. Around the corner we encounter Gods House a notorious rapid with a big hole in the middle that is best to avoid…. by anyone’s standards. This is a big test for our team and we spend a while scouting it and discussing the lines, safety, and best angles for video. We run it in three pods and everyone styles it… that is accept for a pretty epic gear boat flip.
Whitewater continues on this day until camp, giving us some of the best canyons and rapids on the entire trip.

Day 5/6

We take a layover day on a beautiful beach under a rock cliff. A few of the students and staff become sick with a 24-hour stomach bug. Classes are conducted under the sun and we catch up on some sleep, laundry, and bathing in the river.

Our Nepalese guides fish with nets from the kayaks, but only manage to catch a few sardine-like specimens that soon get dissolved into the dhal bhat. The next morning we slowly make our way down river to the next camp. We pull our kayaks onto shore and begin unloading the rafts, laying dry bags and gear out onto blue tarps so they don’t become encrusted with sand. Some students begin setting up the kitchen, while others start digging a hole for the communal outhouse. Just like that we realize we have hit full-Karnali mode and all of us have think hard to remember what life was like before.

Day 7/8

We have three gear rafts and 5 Nepalese guides + Joe from the UK. They are extremely competent, hard-workers, great cooks, and big personalities. Besides Mailia our host coach for the semester there is the trip leader Gothan, Uttar, Ganesh, Santos, Sahja. They are wonderful people to share this experience with and extremely thoughtful, often times directly translating Nepali metaphors into English. One morning while discussing teamwork on the river, Maila’s advice for the group was, “it takes two hands to clap,” and to re-iterate his point claimed, “there is a reason that we fry both sides of the bread.”
These days find mellow class II-III whitewater with great camping and thick Himalayan sub-tropical jungle. On day 8 we are able to hike up a side creek to a small waterfall with a jump rock. Nestled away in the jungle foliage, it feels like a scene out of a Kipling story.

Day 9

We are beginning to feel the effects of being on a river for so long, but spirits remain extremely high. We have emerged from the deeper canyons of the river into a wider, more open environment with big beaches and hot afternoons. Villages are becoming more and more frequent and it feels like civilization is much closer. For the past 4 days we had been asking villagers for either potatoes or onions. None were to be found, an indicator of how difficult it is for these villages to grow food.
On this night we held a memorial ceremony for Peter and Max, carving their names into a pumpkin before launching it into the river. Both would have enjoyed this trip and we still don’t understand why they had to go.

Day 10

On the morning of the last full day on the water, we take our time with breakfast and packing, enjoying the pink hue of the mist over the river. On this day we are the big attraction around here and the villagers have arrived early to observe us and then see us off. We have now reached an area with a denser population and even some signs of modernization (we can hear an engine of sorts… tractor?).
Students take turns rowing the raft as we are cheered on by excited youth on both banks as we make our way down to camp. The Thule Bheri confluence adds some flow to the river and we coast on down to stop in an area with steep rock walls leading down the river. It is a spectacular spot for the last night.
The Nepalese guides go into the village and get us a goat, which they set about making curry with. This is our first fresh meat in some time and the feast they prepare is glorious: Goat curry, rice, lentils, pasta, white sauce, and fruit. Sitting around the campfire we swap stories of our favorite moments on the canyon and enjoy the stars, the people, and the night around us.

Day 11

Taking off a river after a long multi-day trip is an indescribable feeling. Those who have felt it many times should feel lucky. It is a mixture of relief, sorrow, reflection, anticipation, and usually quite anti-climatic. One minute you are operating under the systems that we call river life and the next you are crossing a street where Russian tourists in army-green safari outfits follow you with their eyes as they sip bottled water and wait for their ride to the nearby Bardia National Park. There is trash under foot. Suddenly there are cars. A policeman directs traffic with a whistle. Here there are no waves, no holes, no jungle beaches, no bend in the river.
We un-rig the rafts and carry them up a flight of concrete stairs that leads to the town. We pass under a giant sign denouncing poachers and encouraging us to protect our “friends,” depicted by colored images of a rhinoceros, tiger, Asian elephant, and of course the endangered Gangetic River dolphin, the largest freshwater mammal found on the India subcontinent.

The process of loading the boats begins and electronics are dug out from the bus. Everything gets tied onto the roof and we change into “street” clothes. Suddenly the pivotal moment occurs, which firmly, definitively, and un-gracefully pulls us out of whatever river trance we may still be in, and that sweet, delicious feeling of having escaped the frantic motion that is the outside world comes crashing down as Chase receives a bar of Wi-Fi on his cell phone. Without warning it comes: Obama has been elected, Detroit got swept in the Series, a hurricane devastated New Jersey and the Ducks won a shoot-out against a very talented USC team.
We snap a group picture and literally jump onto the bus as its moving away, avoiding some law about not stopping on the bridge while still delivering a final team photo. And just as the river grew larger and larger upon our arrival, so too did it become smaller and smaller during our departure.

After a 19-hour bus ride, students and staff made it back to Pokhara for the rest of the journey. The Nepalese guides spent another nine hours getting back to Kathmandu. This is the first time World Class has run the Karnali River. 

Check out more photos of this trip here

World Class Kayak Academy

Maila with Capo the director of WCA

The World Class Academy is a traveling high school that specialises in kayaking. Not only do they achieve high level of academics but their students get to travel the world and improve their kayaking as they go. For the first time in ten years, they have returned to Nepal and it is a great honor that GRG's has been asked to organise their logistics (food, lodging, transportation, kayaks and support staff).

Maila has also been welcomed as a guest kayak coach following in the footsteps of Rush Sturges, a huge honour!

They have also taken on one junior Nepali paddler to enrol in the school for the entire semester. This young guy is Surjan, a paddler who shows great promise. He has been taking their classes and paddling hard with the kids. A brilliant opportunity for him.

The school are half way through their season now and have already paddled the Trisuli, Upper Seti and are just about to take out of the Karnali. Leaving them with the Marsyandi, Bhote Kosi and to compete at the Himalayan River Fest.

Keep an eye on our facebook page for regular updates and pictures. 

Paddling on the Trisuli

WCA on the Upper Seti

All the boats ready to go

Blog post from Jón Heiðar Þorsteinsson

On the beach at dusk by the Sun Kosi, the river of gold in Nepal. Picture by Lee Stokes.

Getting the Sun Kosi on my brain
Back in 2003 I rafted the East Glacial river in Iceland in the northern region of Skagafjörður in Iceland. I wasn´t new to rafting, I had been on that river four years earlier but somehow I had much more fun the second time around. Perhaps, because we had an epic flip in the infamous "Green Room" rapid! I also got to know Nepalese guides who told me about the ´River of Gold´- Sun Kosi - in Nepal. They told me of huge water volume, huge rapids, massive waves and big hydraulics. Over the years the idea of going to Nepal and take on that river grew on me. The civil strife in that country dissuaded me and friends from actually going ahead.

The suburbs of Khatmandu from the air

The thought of Sun Kosi didn´t  leave me alone though and in 2012 I knew I had to scratch that itch and I had the perfect excuse of turning 40 (hey, its cheaper than a sports car!).

I contacted my friends but they were lukewarm to say the least. For some reason they weren´t turned on by spending 8 days on a river bank in Nepal and rafting some 275KM. I just don´t get these guys :)

I tried my brother and to my delight and surprise he was all for it. So I went online and started my search for a reliable Nepalese rafting company.

Map of our route

Safe, reliable, predictable
I wanted to find a company who was reliable, was safety conscious and had been in business for some time. I had never travelled to Asia before and could hardly describe myself as an experienced traveller. I decided to use Tripadvisor and contact the highest rated Nepalese rafting company. It was clear that GRG Adventure Kayaking (GRG) was that company.

Starting out. In the background you can see the guides inflating the cargo boat and on the right you can see our raft who somebody had named "Krishna"

I went on the GRG Facebook page and found a picture album from a Sun Kosi trip they had organized and messaged one of the guys who had been on that trip and asked for his verdict. He recommended GRG without any hesitation so I decided to use them for the trip. We booked a trip that started on the 2nd of October 2012.

One of the beaches we camped on.  

One of the camps. We did the dishes in the buckets in the centre with ionized river water. We also used treated water from the river for drinking.

Be a lazy tourist in Kathmandu as well
My wife advised me to stay at a nice hotel in Kathmandu as the trip involves eight days on the river. I decided to go for the Hotel Shanker which I found to be a really old school four star hotel with some really great and helpful staff. The best thing about it was the resturant, the spa and of course the pool where you can relax with a nice drink and surf the web.

 The guides cooked some awesome food for us on the way.

I booked my flights through Icelandair and we had a smooth (albeit long) travel which started in Keflavik and then on to London with Icelandair and then with Etihad Airways to from Abu Dhabi to Khatmandu.

The "facilities" - when you wanted to use the toilet you would take the helmet with you to indicate that it was occupied. Notice the lantern on the right of the paddle. It would light our way in the dark.

Culture shock
When we arrived in Kathmandu we were taken to the GRG office where we met up with Maila and Chrissy and our companions on the trip. We had our dose of culture shock when driving through the traffic choked streets of Kathmandu. Neither of us had been to Asia or a third world country for that matter so the poverty and the massive chaotic traffic was something quite new to us.

We are not in Iceland anymore
Early next day a bus from GRG picked us up at our hotel and we drove in a bus for three hours to our starting point in Damauli. The trip was actually fun for us who had never been to Nepal. The guides pumped up the volume of their favourite music and I felt a world away with the Bollywod music and the excotic scenery outside. We stopped once or twice along the way and, man, it was hot outside. My brother provided a taste of home by bringing some dried fish but it was somewhat underappreciated by our companions. Next time he should bring butter as well :)

My brother Gudjon with dried fish on his way to the Sun Kosi

Routine is good - when it involves a lot of thrills and spills
There is a detailed description of the Sun Kosi trip on the GRG website so I won´t go into what we did each day but what impressed me was the routine that took over from day one. It went something like this:

1. Wake up at 6 in the morning - look greedily at whatever the guides were making for breakfast
2. Have coffee or tea and breakfast and lots of it
3 Strike our tents and get our things into rubber dry bags
4. Carry all things to the raft and cargo boat
5. Put on helmets, lifevest and get on the raft - feel a flutter in your stomach as we pushed the raft from the beach and on to the river for some thrills and spills
6. Paddle hard through some awesome rapids, joke with the guys on the raft, swim in the river if the guide gave the green light or just enjoy the fantastic scenery.
7. Land at a pristine beautiful beach and have delicious lunch
8. Repeat no. 6. We would spend some 6 hours on the boat each day
9. Land at beach and bring all gear to land, pitch our tents, dig the toilet, light candles, collect firewood and get ready for darkness which falls at 18.00 or so
10. Have an evening snack prepared by the guides
11. Eat a delicious dinner prepared by the guides, these guys prepared feasts by the light of an open fire or a small torch
12. Sit by the fire, chat with my friends and have a beer or two
13. Fall asleep in record time

I also realized how disconnected from the cycle of day and night us westerners have really become.  I mean, I found my self at a riverbank in Nepal thinking to myself: "Hang on, it´s all dark now,  where can I turn on the light?" The guides were ever patient with us so when we had forgotten to find our sleeping bags after it had become really dark they were quick to help us out.

Love sand
And I have talk about the sand. Beaches are nice but you shouldn´t stay there unless you love sand. And believe me there is a lot of it and it gets everywhere. So just love sand. Even the kind that is made from crushed rock and consists of razor sharp crystals.

The rapids of the Sun Kosi river
The Sun Kosi is filled with large (and small) rapids. The main ones are:

• No Exit
• Meatgrinder
• High Anxiety
• The mighty Harkapur, the 10th largest rapid in the world
• JAWS where we flipped (see below)
• Rhino Rock"
• Jungle Corridor
• Rollercoaster
• Big Dipper
• Black Hole

Entering a large rapid was for me scary at first, especially when we were paddling towards it, but then the sheer adrenalin infused fun just took over. We would shout at each other to paddle hard and try to keep the rhythm of our paddling as good as possible. This could be difficult when big waves would lift the boat and you would end up just pushing your paddle through air. The alternative would be a large wave coming from your opposite side so you would sink your paddle into the water. The sheer fun of it all is difficult to put in words. 

The Beastly Harkapur
The feeling of going successfully through a big rapid like Harkapur is a pretty unique feeling to say the least. I think the videos and the pictures below tell the story much better than I ever could. What is missing from those videos and pictures is the deep rumble of a large rapid such as the Harkapur rapid. We heard this bone crunching growl when we came to our camping site the night before and it was our companion throughout the evening and the morning. We scouted the rapid in the afternoon and in the morning before running it and it wasn´t the massive waves or the rocks that scared me, it was that rumbling sound that got to me. You would listen to it and think "My God ... what have I gotten myself into?"

One interesting thing that happened and something you might catch on the GoPro video below, at one point when were are approaching the rapid the senior guide (Gotam) yells something in Nepalese to Rajul the other guide steering the boat. We all took this as "Forward hard" so we paddled really hard, it was like an electric current going through the boat. He was actually telling him to steer to the right. Oh, and they didn´t mention to us until we had gone through that two other companies had bypassed Harkapur so we really opened the rapid for the 2012 season. Pretty cool :)

Scouting Harkapur from the riverside.

Running the Harkapur rapid and opening it up for the 2012 season (GoPro view - my brother is wearing the camera on his helmet).

Running the Harkapur rapid (GoPro view - my brother is wearing the camera on his helmet)

Below are images from us running the Harkapur rapid: 

Kali guides the cargo boat through Harkapur.

Flipping in the Jaws rapid
The same day we ran the Harkapur rapid we had an epic flip in the Jaws rapid.

Flipping the raft in the JAWS rapid. My God!

Apperantly, our angle into the rapid was a bit off so the massive wave just swept us aside like we were a piece of cardboard in a hurricane. I remember paddling hard when two successive waves struck the boat and flipped it over. It is strange but I wasn´t really surprised when the boat turned and I was in the water.

I was lucky as I got ejected from the boat in a way I didn´t spend significant time under it. I will never forget the view when I got to the surface, a huge wave on the right and that sound again, the massive roar of the rapid. Successive waves of water slammed me in the face. Then I saw the kayakers in front of me and I yelled so loud for help I was hoarse for two days. They rushed towards to us and pulled us to safety. My trip to the riverbank took an interesting turn when Finn the safety Kayaker turned to me where I was hanging to his kayak and said: "You have to let me go now." I knew I had to comply as this meant we were having an encounter with a whirlpool. As soon as I let him go I was sucked under and I wish I had a recording of the gurgling sound I heard myself make while stuck in the whirlpool. When the whirlpool ejected me to the surface a rope appeared in front of me as by magic. This was thrown from the guys on the cargo boat. They pulled me in and one of the guys patted me on the back and said: "You went down for a long time."

After this we all worked together to salvage the situation and get everybody back on the raft where they belong and tackle the next rapids in the Jaws series. And that whirlpool? Finn told me later that it was at least 15 meters wide. Holy crap.

The last two days were pretty quiet but I liked those days as well as it gave us all a time to chat, cement our friendship and enjoy the beauty of Nepal.

Team FORWARD! From the left: Sanji, Jon Thorsteinsson (me), Gudjon Magnusson, Raju the guide, Ralph Boelzner and Lee Stokes. We are mates for life.

Finally, we opted for a flight back from the "take out" point of Chatra which involves a two hour crazy drive through the countryside and an hour long flight back to Kathmandu. We flew with Buddha Air which was just as uneventful and smooth as you want a flight to be. The alternative was a 16 hour ride on a bus. We were glad we took the flight. We came to the Shanker Hotel, hugged the water toilet and took extra long showers. The morning after we revisited Buddha Air and joined them on a mountain flight to see Mt. Sagarmatha (or Mt. Everest as it is known in the west.

Mt. Sagarmatha or Mt. Everest on the left.

What to bring on a rafting trip to Nepal

• Sun Screen and after sun lotion
• Bug repellent
• After bite lotion
• Baseball cap to wear under your helmet to screen your face from the sun
• Thin dry fit long sleeved sweater to wear on the river to shield yourself from the sun (GRG issues a jacket but it got a bit hot sometimes)
• Dry fit pants to wear on the river, again to shield yourself from the scorching sun 
• Imodium in case you get a stomach flu
• Carbohydrate drink mix or energy gel like long distance runners use (in case of stomach flu)
• Copy of your passport and insurance documents

Booking a rafting company in Nepal
Be careful when deciding upon a company and a trip. Make sure that the company is reputable and they care about safety and know what they are doing.

This includes the following:
1. Enough safety kayakers who are experienced and certified in river rescue
2. They are insured
3. Have been in business for a long time and have a good safety record
4. Have the proper gear
5. Safety isn´t just about rescuing in big rapids. It is also about being able to run a proper camp on a river beach in the jungle or next to village. This means taking hygine seriously and being aware of the risk of theft which is inevitable when bunch of tourists with priceless cameras and stuff show up next to an impoverished village. The guides also need to be proficient with first aid, for example it is necessary to clean and bandage all small wounds or cuts immediately to avoid infections

Disclosure: I am not affliliated with GRG Adventure Kayaking in any way but both Chrissy and Maila are friends with me on Facebook. I would without a doubt use GRG again should I return to Nepal for rafting or hiking.