Rafting the Bhoti Koshi

This weekend I went rafting on the Bhoti Koshi, a river that flows out of Tibet. The children are on summer break and so the trip was also a way for them to get out of the city. They sent us out to get fresh air and we all came back with colds, but it was still a great time. Chandra's brother owns a resort, Borderlands, and raft guide company, Ultimate Descents, so we went with them. It is about a three hour drive, but only 97km to where we went rafting. On the drive it was really nice to see a new part of the country. (I posted a bunch of pictures from the trip.)

We traveled along narrow roads that are cut into the sides of steep hills. The hill sides are terraced so that they can be farmed and we passed many people carrying impressive loads of wheat in pack baskets hung from the heads. Along the road are police checkpoints. At one point our bus was pulled over and another van was passing us but the road was so narrow that they clipped off our side mirror - and that was while we were stopped. The general custom seems to be to pass a vehicle when you encounter it, no matter how narrow the road or how far ahead you can see. You just honk your horn so that oncoming cars and buses may hear you. Many of the trucks and buses have novelty horns, something I was less aware of in the city. It is kind of amazing to me that these driving customs seem to work. On the other hand vehicles don't travel all that fast, at least by US standards, so one could always stop and move over if they needed to.

view of terraced farm land from the bus - tea break

The first day of rafting we put in below a hydro power dam. The rafting was really tame, mostly class 2 and maybe some class 3. The water is really low right now, before the monsoon and snow melt, so we also got stuck on a lot of rocks. It was nice to be able to look around while floating down the river. The river paralleled the road we drove in on, or rather the road was built along the river, so it also flowed through many towns. This road is a major highway to Tibet so many Chinese imports are trucked along it and travelers pass through on their was to Tibet. The river is used by these villages for cleaning and disposing of just about everything. We passed many people bathing and washing clothes, children playing, animals roaming, people fishing, and lots of floating garbage. We also rafted by a funeral, here people are cremated on the shore.

In many places a small village would be on one side of the river and then there would be a long rope bridge to terraced farming on the other side of the river. You could look way up and see houses far up in the hills. Right now is wheat season so that is primarily what is growing. Later they will grow rice. The hills were very steep and quite tall. There were also many goat, chickens and cows walking up and down the hill sides.

At one point we came around a bend and found a new bridge in our way. The guides said that it was not there two days ago when they last rafted the river.

On the second day we rafted from the resort down to the dam. This section was more class 3 and 4, and we walked around some class 5 sections while the guides took the boats through. (At least that is what the guides said, it was definitely more challenging than the day before but it didn't seem that bad to me, which is ok by me because terrifying white water isn't really my thing. It may be that the rapids are less severe because of the low water levels.) Converse seem to be the footwear of chose among the guides.

Shova and I

On the first day, on the drive between the take out and the resort, I rode in the raft on top of the bus. That was a blast and gave really good views of the area. Unfortunately it was hard to take pictures in focus from a moving bus. I had such a good time that the next day I rode back to the resort on top of the public bus and that was way less fun. Without the raft you are sitting directly on the roof rack. The streets are really bumping and so that just hurts your butt, although there are often people riding on top of the buses because that is what you do when the inside is full.

We stayed at the Borderlands resort which is about 16km south of the Tibetan border. We camped in tents but normal guests stay in little safari tents with thatched roofs and a porch. There were great views of the surrounding hills and waterfalls. Every now and then I would hear what sounded like rifts from a trumpet and I thought that they were playing live music in the bar but then I realized at these were the horns of trucks coming and going from Tibet.

One morning Chandra's brother Megh, the owner, took us on a tour of the resort and explained what they are doing and some of their plans for the future. He showed us their trash pile and explained that it was out of hand. Things were supposed to be sorted into piles of metal, glass, plastic and burnables so that they could be burned or taken to Kathmandu for recycling. He explained that the next time that the children are up, they can help sort it all.

He also showed us the organic farming they are doing and educated the children on the benefits of organic farming. He talked about all of the plants that grow along the path and their plans to built a yoga and meeting center at the north end of the property. He also talked about their partnership with the local village. It took them many years to buy the land since it was owned by 20 different people (I believe), but as part of buying the land, they also gave jobs to the previous owners. They also have a partnership in which they build a local school and continue to support it I think. They also plant trees on the river bank which is land owned by the community and the trees can be harvested as long as the proceeds go to the school.

The Borderlands Resort

While at the resort I watched a couple leave on a trek. They carried small backpacks and three porters had huge pack baskets which they carried with straps around their foreheads. I knew that was how people carry things here and had seen many picture of it but somehow it is still amazing. People carry amazing loads like that in the city too. I have seen an older woman carrying a basket full of gravel at a construction site, people carrying huge loads of wheat up and down the terraces and a man carrying a refrigerator down the street.

Hello From Nepal

It was a long trip but now I am here, and so far it has been great. (I posted a bunch of pictures on my picasa page if you are interested) I got here on Friday and I spent the afternoon walking around Patan, the area in which I am staying. It is right outside of Kathmandu and the home to a lot of foreign residents. Streets here are not named so it is a little difficult to learn the area, and you don't have the comfort of being able to ask directions back because I have no way of explaining where it is I want to go.

Yesterday we explored Thamel, the tourist trap of Kathmandu. The narrow streets are lined with shops selling lot of knock off outdoor gear. The North Face seems to be the label of choice. We also went to the monkey temple which is up on a hill above the city. It was really crowded since Saturday is the Buddhist holy day, and the only day off from work. As the nick name suggests, there were many monkeys running around-many of them looking rather sickly. Outside the walls of the temple are lots of trash with which the monkeys play. The temple was really cool though. Lots of ornate wood carvings and prayer flags everywhere. At one point it started to rain so we went inside a Tibetan Monastery and watched a ritual the monks were doing-chanting, playing music, and hand motions specific to the god they were worshipping. Even the monks wear Crocs.

Photos: Thamel--Monkey Temple--Kathmandu Skyline

Last night Chandra taught me how to cook dahl-rice, lentils and vegetables, the standard Nepali meal. And I learned to eat the Nepali way - with my hands. Traditionally they do not have ovens here, all food is cooked on the stove top. Only recently have bakeries become popular. Most people do not have an oven in their home.

Today I went to my first Nepali business meeting. Chandra and I met with the Chairman of the Himalayan Rescue Association. I was trying to see if I could get involved with them while here, ideally go up to the clinic at Everest Base Camp. We sat around and drank tea and he gave us a tour of the building which wreaked of polyurethane because they are putting in a restaurant on the top floor. The people who work in the office and not climbers. I understood only about half of what was going on, turns out Chandra didn't really follow it either. But we both got the sense that they were welcoming me to work in their office, hard to tell what they were saying about working in the field. He gave me information on a course that is happening but I am not quite sure what his goals in that were. I think that they said come back next week, we look forward to this partnership. I think that I am going to try to talk with the American doctor who runs the clinic tomorrow and see if that is more helpful - at least I should be able to understand what is going on.

Getting Ready

I am just setting up this blog as a way to share stories from my upcoming trip to Nepal. I am not sure what my access to email and the internet will be on my trip, so there could be lots of posts or almost none. We will see what happens. Right now I am at home, busily trying to pack and hand in a few last things for COA.

The name for the blog comes from my trail name "The Critic" from when I southbound thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2005. I hiked with a friend who took the name "The Chef", and I guess I always had something to say about the food.