Day 42: Rafting the Kali Gandaki

Trip Start Sep 21, 2006
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Trip End Jun 01, 2007


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Thursday, November 2, 2006

I've booked a three-day whitewater rafting trip along the Kali Gandaki. As the rafting group arrives by bus on a beach, there is a party awaiting us. Maoists have also targeted rafting trips for illegal taxation. An argument ensues and several of our party refuse to pay their demand for 300 rupees each 'tourist tax''. The trio of Maoists shrug off or ignore any questions. They are also taxing Nepali businesses and are currently blockading a brewery that has refused a levy. If anything is going to deter visitors to Nepal, it will be a lack of beer.
Kali Gandaki is one of Nepal's holiest rivers. There are floral and vermillion offerings on rocks along the way. There are two major rapids for our three boats to pass this afternoon (after all the necessary preparation and safety talks), Little Brother and, predictably, Big Brother. They seem rather tame compared to the Zambesi (my last rafting experience), Grade III, I'm told, due to the time of year and a new dam downstream. None of the rapids we face tomorrow have been named by the guides, so I dare say they are even less intimidating.
It's cloudy, so chilly, especially as we get wet... often, and, without sun, our clothes never fully dry by the time we have to put them on again to return to the boats next morning.
We camp by about 4pm on sand. There are collections of used toilet paper hidden behind nearby rocks. Despite this, when the three-quarter moon hits the cliffs above us and reflects from the sand, it's a very romantic spot.
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