No rest for the wicked. Today Laurie and I go rafting on the Upper Seti, which is a reasonably short drive from Pokhara. Although the ratings don’t necessarily compare that accurately internationally, this one is graded a 3/4 (out of a max of six, the latter being unpassable). Although there are some exciting moments, we are told to get out of the boat for the most hairy looking parts. In fact, we are only actually rafting for not much more than an hour, taking into account stops and the lunch break. Even Laurie, who thinks she will die anytime she sees water, thinks it was a little tame today.
For me the best part was being invited to jump into a rapid from a small cliff to rejoin the boat, though I was the only one to take up the offer.
I chatted to one of the safety guides who front and tail the rafts along the river on kayaks. He is Nepalese, but lives and works in Denmark and is just here for a couple of weeks and getting on some rapids. On the kayaks, you wouldn’t want to be on rapids much more challenging than today’s and I envy their day’s outing. Having said that, I would have ended up being my local newspaper’s headline if I was on one, as you really need to know what you are doing.
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It is possible to do long rafting tours in the area, e.g. ten days or so, but I am glad that I chose to go trekking rather than this as I imagine I would have quickly tired of being cold and wet with blisters on my feet and hands from the paddle and the rubber of the raft. We had half planned to do another day rafting on the more demanding Bhote Koshi, but the most exhilarating part of that is closed due to an extended monsoon season, so Laurie and I decide in favour of doing a paragliding jump off the mountains overlooking Pokhara. I say ‘Laurie and I’. She is not particularly keen as she is somewhat nervous about anything vaguely exciting, but I drag her into the booking office with her under protest.
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