Sorry for the lack of updates- spent the last week before heading out of the country running around trying to get things sorted, watching the Phils games, and attending the McGarrity/Curran Wedding, which of course, was unreal.the best part of the wedding by far was seeing everyone, and getting to spend some quality time with all of my good friends from home- ballroom dancing with Nick, dancing and being riduculous while all dressed up with the boys, and spending quality time with Lizzy, Peri and Jill, AKA- Woman town. We dominated.
All dressed up, but still not classy- dancing at McGaritys Wedding with Nenno and Josh.
I spent my last nite in the states in a bar in Manayunk with Chewy and Lizzy watching the WORLD SERIES- note, part 1. I was devestated when the game was postponed due to weather, but gratified to learn via text message that the phils won 4-3- and even more excited ot hear about the parade and resulting insanity. I wish i could have been there, but i was busy with a mission of my own- getting a creek boat to nepal.
Me and Chew showing some Philly Love
For those of you that don't know, a creek boat (mine is a pyranha m3) is around 8 feet long, and weighs around 80 lbs fully packed. Not light. To get to nepal, i had to drive to jFK airport in New York, where they made me shrink wrap my boat before i was allowed to load it onto a 15 hour flight to Delhi, India. After an overnight in Delhi, where i stashed my boat in the airport luggage room and stayed in a hotel, i had to re-check and security screen my boat to get it on a 2 hour flight to nepal, drag it through Nepali customs, put it on a taxi to a hotel in Kathmandu, and then load it onto a 6hour bus ride to get to Pokhara, (pronounced PoKara), the final destination. Luckily, a only slightly hungover Will and Anton were on hand at the Kathmandu airport, and managed the boat from there. In jfK, there were some funny moments with a push cart trolley, Delhi i found poters to carry/wheel my boat for the cost of a dollar, and in Nepal, a rickshaw to take it from the lodge we stayed to the bus station the next day. When it came time to load the boat, anton simply picked it up over his shoulder, and threw it on the roof of the bus. Oh to be a boy. and 6 feet tall. Well, at least ill be sure to travel with one.
Kayak on a rickshaw in Kathmandu.. sorry! i forgot to rotate it
On first impressions, nepal is different than expected. The country side is beautiful- multi layered rice paddies- different, contrasting shades of bright and dark green - decorate the hillsides. The houses are whimsical in appearance, multi storied, tiered houses painted vibrant shades of bubblegum pink, teal, mint and lime greens. It made me wonder if elsewhere in the world there was a huge sale on neon/pastel paint and it all got sent to nepal. On top of the paint, there are also intricate bits of iron work on the stair cases, wi ndows and doors, as well as elaborate designs in the tile or stone work of the houses. They almost all have balconies on everystory- including the roofs. Ive been doing yoga on the roof of our hotel, which provides a spectacular view of the himalayas.
So far ive gotten out with Will and Anton on the upper Seti, the closest river to Pokhara, which was around a 3 hour paddle. I have to admit- paddling a creek boat, opposed to my little play boat was much different than anticipated! (not to mention slightly more challenging!) I felt like a total gumby paddler as i got used to having a longer, heavier boat with less edges.
The water is cold, and the rivers narower, with lots of rocks and boulders, meaning that we run the rapid eddy to eddy, with Will in front, and me following, him telling me where to go, when to go and when to stop. As you can't see too far in front of you, it is nerve racking to say the least!
For the Madi, Anton ended up trip leading for 6 people, leaving Will and I on our own. the road out was interesting to say the least- we drove through a river bed, and up and down these narrow, windy roads strewn with rubble. Once we arrived at Lahmarket we put on and paddled down far ahead of Anton and his clients, leaving us with some entertainment as we tried to sort out where we were going to stay. We took out below a s uspension bridge (they are everywhere in nepal) at a rice paddy, hiked up to a village, and spent an hour trying to explain that we wanted a room to stay in and some food. After being shown a dodgy room, we found a nice room and had a delicious dinner of Dahl Baht (rice and lentils). There was some confusion the next morning, but it all worked out after having a huge meal, and we managed to catch up with Anton for the second half of the day. the end part of the Madi was chilled out, with loads of flat water. By the end of it, i was more than ready to get out of the boat, and tackle some harder rapids for the next mission.
Me on the Lower Madi Khola
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