Five Reasons You Should Go To Bali With This Guy's On His Own Trip

Think of Bali and the images that pop up in one’s mind are those of beaches and of waves crashing on those sands. Of travellers making their way to the  beaches. Some of these people have come on their honeymoons. Some have come alone. Some have met an interesting person in a hostel,on a tour or on a cruise. Maybe one of these boys first saw that girl drawing outside a temple, and they started talking. Maybe they will become closer over the trip, and maybe they shall never see each other again.

Think of Bali and you imagine pubs, and loud songs and laughter and orders for drinks being placed across the busy bar. Delve deeper and let your mind take you to the countryside, to the temples, to the villages, to bicycling through those villages, to smiling kids that wave at you as you breeze past, to peace and to tranquillity.

On such a trip we now embark, to the island that became so immortalized in Julia Roberts’ ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. Come December 9, and Cap’n Nero (yes I have started calling myself that, and stop rolling your eyes) will lead a group of boys and girls to a few of the world’s most beautiful tropical places – Bali and Gili Islands.

And here is why you should join us on this 6 day trip (@Rs 24,000 per person not incl. flights)

1) We are climbing a volcano.

How many of you have actually climbed an active volcano. We all have our travel bucket lists, and I always wanted to swim with dolphins, stay for a few days at an elephant camp, go to Antarctica, visit Madagascar, do the Tango in Argentina.

And climb an active volcano.

In the middle of the night, we shall set out on our adventure, my hearties, to climb Mount Batur – Indonesia’s active volcano. An approximate two hour hike from the base, we first hike through a forest,and then walk up on cliffs, and on volcanic ash that scatters under your boots. Look up to see the whole sky lit up with stars. We shall reach the summit just before dawn. And then the sky will erupt, into an orange golden pink haze. And the sun will come slowly, and what a sight it shall be, the sky a plethora of colours and foamy white clouds shrouding the mountains. We shall look down the crater, at the smoke spewing out from the depths of this extraordinary piece of formation.

The views of the mountains and the lake while going back are even more spectacular (since its daylight and arguably this trek is one of the main highlights of any trip to Bali.

2)  We are going to the Gili Islands.

Do you have a fascination for smaller islands in the middle of nowhere? For less frequented places? I read about the Gili Islands a few years back, these small three islands about two hours away from the coast of Bali and immediately fell in love with them.

For the Gili Islands have no motor transport. We shall spend our days there riding bicycles across the countryside. We shall take moonlit night walks on the beach, with the water lapping at our feet. I plan to lie on the beach for an entire night.

We shall have lazy breakfasts, and on one of the days, we shall take a glass bottom boat ride into the middle of the ocean and watch the colourful coral formations and marine life. And then we shall snorkel in the water, and watch Nemo and his friends - fishes of all shapes and sizes and colours scuttle across us.

Maybe a few hours after our boat has docked back at its resting place, somewhere in the middle of the ocean a little fish will be telling his mother, “Mom, I saw humans today. Isn’t that the coolest?”

3) I always have a great set of people signing up for the trips

Because I am not just a regular travel agency, am I?

A standout (and maybe deliberate) feature of my group trips is that they attract a certain audience. People often ask me what type of people come on the trips. In all the trips I have conducted so far, I have got some really nice, likeminded people.

Not everybody is of course adventurous or athletic. Mostly no one is a mountaineer or a rock climber. But what is common in all the people who have come so far is that these are all people who are excited by the thought of travel, people who want to explore, who want to get fascinated and who love nature.

A lot of them come solo, by themselves. Some of them are nervous, before a trip, about whether they would be able to gel with the rest of the group.

But then it all changes. For everyone here is excited by good conversations. And they find these conversations, sometimes when we are travelling together in a bus, sometimes when we are sitting on the banks of a river, and sometimes when we are sitting in our own little mini pairs or groups.

Everyone fits in beautifully. At the end of it all, I am yet to meet anyone who wants to go back home.

There are already five people who have signed on for the trip. And I already like them.

Hah, so if you are interested in coming to Bali, get some pairs of shorts, get those summer cotton dresses, get a lot of tanning lotion, those beach hats and sunglasses and have the trip of your life!




4) We are going on a sunset cruise

A trip can’t be only about adventure, no? Must bring in some romance as well.

 In Bali, one evening we shall dress up and go on a cruise boat into the middle of the ocean. There is music on board and dancing, performances by Balinese dancers and fire eaters. But the best bit, according to me, is catching the sunset with nothing but the ocean all around you.

Few things have the power to silence as much as nature does.

After a magnificent dinner on the cruise, the boat will take us back to the dock.

5) Eat, Pray, Love

It has been 17 months since I quit my job and started travelling full time. And there have been several adventures that I have fallen headlong into.

But travelling is not just about that. Some of my favourite travel moments have been just walking in a new country, or striking up a conversation in a café, drinking with strangers in bars and sometimes liking someone enough to change my own plans and join theirs’.  At the end of it all, travel will be as much about the people you meet along the journey, as much about the places you see.

And hence, I absolutely want to encourage people to not just stick to a schedule, but also do their own thing. If you want, just pick up a bicycle and go find and see that temple that you had read about. No one’s stopping you here.

Go talk to that person across the bar you find cute. And if you get rejected, don’t worry, it happens to all you mortals ;) Just come back, and we shall have a beer and make fun of you.

Don’t only try to eat Indian or Western food but try the local cuisine as well. Be sensitive to the local customs and know that a country’s rules were made to suit its own people, not you.

In our regular lives, there is so much we do not explore about ourselves. And that is the special bit about travel. It gives us the opportunity to wander and discover, to learn and unlearn, to accept and even love, and to get inspired.

These trips are about all of that.

And if all these things appeal to you, or make sense, come join us on boys and girls on this trip to Bali with This Guy’s On His Own Trip.

Contact: narayanan.neeraj@gmail.com 
Trip Dates:  December 9 – 15
Group Size: 10 - 12 people
Total Cost: Rs 25,000 (not incl. flights)
Fb Event Page:Here
Last date to Book : Nov 13, 2014 (5 bookings done already)


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Now Read:

1) Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Meghalaya With This Guy's On His Own Trip
2)  Nero's group trip to Bhutan

Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Meghalaya With This Guy's On His Own Trip

So after four trips to Bhutan and Ladakh, the next destination that I am leading a group trip to is Meghalaya (See trip details here)

It has been an exhilarating ride so far. Four trips have seen 58 people go up and down the mountains of Bhutan and Ladakh, and I wonder if the mountains still echo with our songs and laughter.

For we have gone sliding down snowy hills, we have gone barefoot into an almost freezing river and tried to see who stays longest, we have hung out of buses, we have spent a night under the stars next to a river in Nubra Valley, we have jumped into waterfalls. I am not going to talk about the time we stole apples from an orchard, nor the time when we climbed over locked gates to enter Shanti Stupa past midnight.

After all, this is not a regular travel agency organized trip.

Bear Grylls himself would have been hugely excited with this trip to Meghalaya. The place is stunningly scenic, and for someone who loves jungles, wild waterfalls, rivers, caves, it is a treasure chest.

Still, let us give you five good reasons why you should come on this sojourn with This Guy's On His Own Trip.


1) We are hiking to the living root bridges

In Cherrapunji (once upon a time the world’s rainiest place), we are hiking to the living root bridges, found nowhere else in the world. But what are these bridges, you may ask?

Well, in the depths of northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built—they grow. On the slopes of the lush Khasi hills, a specie of the Indian rubber tree grows with an incredibly strong root structure. These gnarly, thick roots rise up the tree trunk, wind themselves around boulders and rock and crisscross over each other to form natural bridges over swift flowing streams and rivers.

And it is to one of these natural “living roots bridges” that we shall trek. In our quest, under Captain Nero, the team shall pass cut past the main road off Nongriat and pass through jungles, streams and small villages with kids peering out from behind wooden doors.

The bridges, which are over 500 years old, are said to be strong enough to support the weight of about fifty people at one time.

Look at what people who have done the trek, say about it.

2) We are going to the highest plunge waterfall in India.

What’s more, since we are we, we are going from its top down to the base as well.

The Nokalikai falls is possibly one of the most beautiful waterfalls you’ll ever see in the country. It falls almost 335 metres in  a straight sheet before hitting the surface and forming a deep blue green lagoon at the base. What makes this waterfalls even more beautiful is  that the gorge here is green and trees grow around like in a rainforest.

You can take some fantastic photographs from afar, of the entire panorama, of blue sky, a green carpet-like forest and a single sheet of white falling down the cliff.

When everyone is done with their selfies and are looking all happy, well nobody’s going back. We are then going to go down a small path down to the base of the falls. Cmon lads and lasses, you haven’t come all the way to India’s most incredible, just to stand and take pictures, have you?

Check how people who have seen these falls have raved about it?

3) We are going to the Cleanest Village in Asia – Mawlynnong.

Somewhere in the east khasi hills, lies this little village of friendly Khasi people. In 2003, Discover India Magazine declared it the cleanest in Asia, and the BBC reinforced this a couple of years later.

We are going to mingle with a few of the 95 families in the village. If your approach doesn’t work, don’t worry, we still have my dimple. As the saying goes “Khasi people like Mallu dimples”.

Obnoxiousness apart, yes, the idea is to spend time with these villagers and have lunch with them. Then if one of the boys or girls is nice enough to guide us, we shall follow them to the streams and see how the locals fish. We’ll also go to the treehouse, made completely of bamboo, and raised high on stilts on a sturdy tree with two bedrooms, a living room, a machan and a view of a waterfalls and a natural pool. And once we are on top, we shall know how the characters in Enid Blyton’s books felt. 

There is also the Sky View, an 85 feet high viewing tower that’s made of bamboo. There are stunning views from here of not just the village but Bangladesh as well. And guess what? Since Bangladesh is just a stone’s throw away from here, we might just step foot into that country and hop back. Actually, I am going to put one foot on either side and take a photograph.

Here is what people who have been to Mawlynnong have to say about it

4) We are going for a ‘caving’ experience.

Meghalaya has the best caving networks in India, and attract visitors from hundreds of countries. A few of the caves in the state are among the longest and deepest in the world.

And we are going to one of the finest ones – The Mawsmai caves. One of the best lit by Meghalaya tourism, it is the board’s shining beacon (pun intended) and has become quite famous due to the stunning natural limestone, stalactite and stalagmite formations inside. Now, there is a 150 metre ‘regular path’, but hey on our trips, nothing is regular is it? We shall find our own nooks and crannies, and do our own caving.  In some places, the roof is so low that one has to bend over, in some places one has to practically crawl. Narrow, wet, uneven, we shall be like Indiana Jones and his adventurers exploring caves with torches in our hands and pluck in our hearts.

Here is what people who have been there have to say about it

5) This Trip is Going to Be one of your favourite ever

To be honest, at heart I am a solo traveller. Have never been much of a tourist, so rigid itineraries and plans don’t do much for me. In these trips, we stop where we feel like – If we are driving on the road and we spot a stream, we run down and play in it. I live by the rules  that one must play in a waterfall whenever one can, pat a dog whenever one can, befriend strangers, try local food, and sometimes just be with oneself and the universe without anyone else intruding in that space.

Some people who haven’t been part of group trips feel it is not for them. That, they don’t like itineraries and that they don’t feel comfortable in groups. I have taken 58 people on my own trips, (and maybe as many on my heritage walks in Delhi), most of who came alone, and at the end of each trip, I have never seen anyone not being upset at the thought of going back home. The hangover that people have once they are back in the cities is, heh, a story for another time.

What we don’t know is that often people find it easier to open up with strangers rather than close ones back home. And over sixth months of conducting tours, it makes me smile to see some of these people become such close friends and plan their own travel together.

The credit for all the bonding, of course goes to the travellers on these trips. The people that come for these trips are usually similar in some ways – They aren’t hardcore adventurers but people who are all ready to be enchanted by nature, by new cultures, by the thought of chasing butterflies, and an evening of great conversations.

Want to join us?

Trip Dates: Nov 22 – 27
Facebook Event Page: This
Trip Cost: Rs 17,000 per person (not including flights)
Group Size: 10-12 people
Status: 6 bookings done already

If you want to join us or receive an itinerary, please contact me: narayanan.neeraj@gmail.com


Now Read:

1) Nero's group trip to Bhutan
2) Nero goes to South East Asia
3) Nero goes to Spain

Who wants to go to Bhutan: Into the Realm of Happiness

Did you hear the news? We are going to Bhutan. This June. With a guide. That’s me.  And we have an itinerary. To which we might not stick a whole lot. Travel needs its share of mystery too.

We shall  start in Thimpu, the only capital city in the world with no traffic lights. And of course, we shall pant all the way up to Buddha Point, from the top of which you can see the whole city going about its business. We must also pay our respects to the Takin – that strange animal that looks like a cross between a goat and a bull. Not sure if it will raise as much as an eyebrow. Eating seems to be the only thing it’s fascinated by.

We shall also be in Taschiko Monastery at dusk to see the flag retreat. The last time I was in that serene monastery,  I was smiling and wondering how peaceful I felt among Buddhist priests and that’s when a monk of twenty or so passed me by was singing loudly to himself, “Kiss me baby, kiss me baby hoth tere garam masala”. I haven’t still really recovered.

We shall get our permits and go to Punakha, the old capital of Bhutan. And there we shall go to the Punkha Dzong, sitting pretty at the confluence of two rivers. It is the second largest and second oldest Dzong in the country. We shall sit on the banks and dip our feet in the river. All unsuspecting group members will be pushed into the river of course. Heh, a man must have his fun , right!

Paro should be the highlight of the trip. For we are all going to hike up to Tiger Nest, that beautiful monastery set right at the precipice of the cliff.

But you aren’t on a regular trip with a travel agency, are you? The idea is not just to see a place for its sights or monuments. Any traveller who has been on the road for long enough will tell you that travel, at the end of it all, is not just about the place or sights. It is even more so about the people you meet.  When we travel, we must try to leave our comfort zones. We must try to strike conversations in pubs and bars, on hills and farms. We must learn, we must laugh, we must talk and we must sing. We must love, we must feel attracted, to our friends or someone we meet. Some of my favourite memories from my trip to Vietnam are with four boys from South Africa and the US, running through the jungles and yelling from all we were worth.

We should be okay with getting dirty in the mud. And of course we shall get off from our vehicles when we see a river, and will jump into it. We shall get into the waterfall just before Tiger Nest Monastery and we shall scream in delight when the cold water numbs us.

We must learn local words and eat local food. I have never really met a single local who did not try to help me, when I said "hello" in the local language, and smiled at them.

My first batch is full. 12 boys and girls. And now I am looking for people to join the second batch(June 15-21). I am quite surprised by the overwhelming response. Two weeks back, I wasn’t even sure if I would get one full batch. But as they say, one can't really hit a target unless one sees it.

Fortune, my friend, favours the bold.

I always wanted to lead tours. To meet people, to tell stories, to share culture and to induce madness. If these things make sense to you, and you have free dates in June, why don’t you come to Bhutan with us?

Everyone is going to go up to Tiger Nest Monastery. If someone decides to give up midway, I am of course going to drag you by the soles of your feet all the way up the mountain. Like I said,  you are not on a regular trip with a travel agency, are you?

We are going to the realm of happiness - to the only country in the world that uses happiness as an index to measure development. It is going to an experience.

Come if you can.


--- The End ----

 
p.s If you want to join in, contact me @ narayanan.neeraj@gmail.com  or call me at 07838917760

Here is the facebook link to the trip

Now go on and read,


1) Climbing Tiger's Nest Monastery

2) The Thimpu Book Store

3) Conversations with a Russian backpacker

 

Nero's backpacking through South East Asia : The Prologue

A year ago when I left for my first solo trip to Europe, I knew a few things that I wanted to do. First and foremost, I was going to run with the bulls in Spain. Second, I would stay with Couchsurfers and not in hotels. Third, I would not pre-book any internal transport. And fourth, I would not speak to anyone in India while I was away.

The first motivated the whole trip. The second came about because one understands a city better when one travels with a local. Else, we end up doing touristy things. The third was to ensure that I was completely flexible and could change plans any time. And the fourth, so that I would have to stay out of my comfort zone even when I felt compelled to fall back on it.

What I did not know then when I sat on the plane to Barcelona was that I would fall right under a bull during the race. That when I was in Italy, I’d change a lot of my plans, and head for Croatia. That one night I would have no place to stay and would camp in a forest, and would come face to face with a bear.

That when I came back to India, I would not look for a full-time job.

It’s been nine months since that trip, and life, well life has changed in some ways and not in some others. 

Nine months since that unusual month of 2013, I embark on another month-long solo trip – this time through South East Asia.  Geographically, the idea is to cover Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. If you look at the map, one can almost draw a circular (alright, maybe oval) route around these countries. The rough plan is to start and end the journey at Bangkok. 

From Bangkok,   I’d probably head to the southern islands (the only part that falls completely off-route) of Phuket and Krabi for some sea kayaking, rock climbing and canoeing through caves and mangrove forests.  Then, I move up north towards Chiang Mai, where the plan is to trek for three days through some forests and waterfalls and spend one night with an ancient hill tribe. Once in life, we must all quietly sit and smilingly stare at an old man of an old tribe, as he smokes on a mountain.

Once back in Chiang Mai, I’ll take the slow boat to Laos.  The very idea of just sitting on a rickety motor boat, with its paint half peeled off, and slowly chugging along on a river sounds extremely seductive to the writer in me.  Hopefully, it would hold more power over me than the giant mosquitoes and insects that hover about. The Mekong river, on which we shall set sail, is the 12^th largest river in the world, and for Laos – a country full of mountainous terrain, the river is the principal transport.  It also flows through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.  There is a point in the river where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet and it is known as the Golden Triangle area. More famous for rampant drug production, it is an area I won’t be seeing on this trip. In my shallow imagination, I see restless men lurking between forested trees, some patrolling with guns, some hurrying with wooden crates.

The route from the Thai border to Luang Prabang where the boat docks, is supposed to be naturally stunning and that shall probably have to compensate for any sting operations I was conducting in my dreams in the Golden Triangle.

Back to our docking point. Luang Prabang used to be the capital of Laos till the communists took over. Now, it is a charming city full of provincial French buildings, wooden houses and smiling monks. Must walk on the streets and try some authentic Laotian food.

The city’s close to the Vietnam border and hopefully I’ll get a fast bus to Hanoi. In Vietnam, a group of college kids have promised to show me around their city, should I teach them a bit of Bollywood dancing. Then, a girl who’s studying English literature in university wants to take me to her home, which is in a small town, so that she can talk in English with me and show off her skills to her family.  I shall probably miss out on her brother’s wedding which is in April. Damn bad luck, it would have been so nice to see a Vietnamese marriage.

There are so many plans, and I do not really know how many will materialize. I mailed a couple of animal organizations in Cambodia and Borneo, asking if they would let me volunteer with elephants and orangutans. All of them charge high fees from the volunteers so that looks quite unlikely.  Then, a village school in interior Cambodia replied to me and said that they would like it if I could come and spend some time with the kids. I have no idea what I shall tell them, maybe to chase their dreams.

A year ago, when I left for Europe, I knew a few things. First, that I wanted to actually do some of the things I put on a bucket list. That, I would write about those stories when I would get back. That I would make a few more friends.

What I did not know then was that nine months later, I would want the same things still.

-----  The End  ------


Now Read:

1) Nero goes to Spain
2) The Sikkim Bhutan Series: Prologue
3) The Mahindra Adventures: Prologue

The Ganga Kayak Festival: A Racy Affair

Somewhere a clock strikes twelve. I don’t hear it as I stand next to the door of my train compartment. It is dark. In the rhythmic movement of the train, in the silence of the bogeys, a hundred questions ring in my head. It’s been 9 months since I quit my job. Does all this travelling really make sense? In my childish desire to wander, am I putting too much at stake, am I drifting? Would it be better to go back and work in an office space?

I push my head outside the door, and let the wind hit my face. As my eyes close, so does my mind.

Next morning, I reach Haridwar railway station at 8 am. I am now even more restless than the previous night. The train’s late by 2 hours. By this time, I was supposed to be in Rishikesh, at the meeting point in Tapovan. A shuttle was supposed to transfer me from the prefixed point to the event area. Now, I will have to find my own way to get there. I wonder if I should have come on the trip in the first place. The previous night’s questions are still preying on my mind.

I am not used to doubting myself. As close and exasperated friends would testify “He is too deluded and narcissistic for that.”

I finally reach the event area at 10 am, hunched up in a Bolero with a group of musicians. In front of me lies the Ganga, flowing furiously and shimmering turquoise green.

A huge banner proclaims ‘Welcome to the 2^nd Edition of the Ganga Kayak Festival’

I walk up a narrow path, to the top of a hillock and meet Jennifer – the friendly event organizer. Later I am introduced to Anil, who is from The Outdoor Journal - one of my favourite adventure magazines.

As we talk, the wind hits my face again. This time I do not close my eyes.

Anil and I walk down to the river and stand with the kayakers. There are over 50 of them.  The large majority are Indians, but  4-5 have also come down from UK, Canada and Norway. The Nepali team is a serious threat in the competition.

Already, I can feel the change inside me. I can’t stop feeling happy. Here, in front of me, are men I do not know at all, men I haven’t seen or heard of ever, but like. I look at them, at their brown burnt faces, and it speaks of the amount of time they have spent under the sun. I look at their forearms and it speaks of all the rowing they have done over the years.

A lot of the Indian kayakers are from Uttarakhand, Himachal and Ladakh. They all look like boys. I am standing with India and Nepal’s top kayakers and they are all boys. Most of them work as rafting guides. I have a feeling they aren’t bathing in money. Kayaking is still a nascent sport in India. Maybe it isn’t even looked at as a sport yet, more as a hobby or an adventure activity. The Ganga Kayak Festival wants to change that notion.

It is the brainchild of the well built Bhupendra Singh Rana or ‘Bhupi’ as the local community lovingly call him. An expert kayaker himself, Bhupi has kayaked in the White Nile in Uganda, in Austria and other parts of Europe, and all over India. It is now his burning desire that kayaking gets better recognition in India, that kayakers get more opportunities, that they can stand up to international competition, and eventually the sport gets Olympic representation from India.

Once the opening ceremony is done with, the kayakers move towards the banks. There are flags at the starting point and the end point of the race, and they will all go into the river one by one. The winner will be decided based on timing.

A spectator table has been set up on the hillock for people to get a birds eye view of the race. The commentator announces the name of the first kayaker, and the lad is ready and sitting in his kayak on the top of a ramp. When he hears the ‘Go’ command, he pushes the kayak and it slides down the twelve foot ramp, into the water. With fast strokes, he speeds and steers his kayak towards the rapids. Everyone cheers. Some of the kayakers are screaming out advice to him. He cannot hear them over the roar of the Ganga, but they try anyway. This is sport at its purest.

One by one, the kayakers step into the water.  Here at the Golf Course stretch of the river, the rapids are quite powerful and it is a tricky business to manoeuvre through them. A few kayaks unbalance in the rapids, and overturn. But the kayakers roll over within seconds and continue paddling furiously to the finish line.

A little later, Anil and I walk along the bank. There are a number of rocks that are jutting out into the river, and end very close to the rapids, so the two of us hasten in that direction. We spend the next hour, near this curve, sitting on some rocks right next to the rapids, watching the river swirl, dip, roar and overwhelm. We watch the kayakers come towards us, and as they weave and toss through the rapids, our knees, our muscles, our arms twitch with anticipation. I know when I look at Anil, that he loves the outdoors just as much as I do, that there lies a sportsman in him, that if given a chance he would love to get into a kayak and battle the river. I know it, because I feel the exact same way.

Rahul Talwar Photography

I am introduced to Tipu, a mountain climbing guide. Sitting next to him is another boy, ‘Tony’. Anil tells me that Tony is the coach of the national climbing team. I stare in disbelief. He looks like a wiry kid. He looks so normal. A writer could not have put the previous sentence in a more crude way. Nor more honestly.

I talk to them for a while and then clamber over the rocks till I reach and sit over the rock right in the front.  One wrong step, and I shall fall right into the rapids. I can see it swirl below me.  But I am overwhelmed.  The river is so green and cold. The mountain air so pleasant.

It is a Wednesday afternoon. Every single person I know is sitting in an office. I realize now that I couldn’t be all that wrong.  That maybe this is how I want to live my Wednesdays and other days, in the outdoors, near a river, a mountain, an ocean, in the company of people like Tipu and Tony.

Around 4 pm, Anil and I ask Jennifer the route to our camp. We are staying at the Elephant Brook Resort camp. Behind the hillock where the commentators, the staging table, the volunteer tent is set up, a shallow stream flows between two hills. Jen tells us that if we walk along the stream, we shall eventually reach the resort after 2 kms.

Anil and I scramble over the rocks. The route is pretty. Brambles come up routinely as obstacles. So does a huge family of langurs along the way. As we plod one, there are a few horses grazing on the opposite bank. They trot across the water to our side, and I run my hands over one’s skin. We walk on, and a light drizzle starts. Sometime later, we reach the resort.

In the night, I sit with Tipu, Tony, the Outdoor Journal guys and a few kayakers. It is cold and I am cursing myself for carrying only one sweater. A bottle of rum is being passed around and we are taking large swigs. A bird sings loudly somewhere in the mountains, and one of the men identifies it for us. These men have lived so close to nature.

It is getting late. Tomorrow is the second (and last) day of the festival. There will be the mass boater cross, beginners’ and women’s races held on this day. One of the girls participating is only 14 years old.

There is a concert. Everybody is drinking and dancing. Even the bemused Brits and Canadians try to shake a leg. Bhupi is going berserk, dancing in the centre of a large gang. He sees me and waves madly. I smile back. Later, I step outside the tent and walk to one end of the camp to stare at the stream, at the mountains.

Somewhere a clock strikes twelve. I don’t hear it. It is dark. A hundred thoughts run in my head. Its been 9 months since I left my job. How less I have seen of the world, how innocent these people - these part time athletes part time rafting guides are, how we need many more events like the Ganga Kayak Festival, and how many stars there are in the sky here.

I let the wind hit my face.  The Ganga flows as it always did, and the mountains look over it as they always do. 

--------------   The End -----------

Now Read: 

1) How I Went to Kashmir
2) The Thimpu Bookstore
3) Barcelona, Absinthe and Conversations