The sport of white water rafting seems to be glamorous, but cannot be taken lightly. It will give you more than just a rush of adrenalin. You get to experience the sheer power of nature and ways to meet the challenges like a true adventurer. One need not be an ace swimmer to do rafting, as long as you are wearing a life jacket and are with an expert supervisor. River Ganges near Rishikesh is an ideal location. The rapids have been given glamorous names like Golf Course, Roller coaster etc. We went from Mumbai to Delhi by air and took a train to Haridwar. From Haridwar, Byasi is about 70 kms. We took a private bus up to Rishikesh and a Sumo from there to reach the place. The camp is on the river bank about 75 metres lower from the road. We have a steep climb down to the place. The camp consists of about thirty tents accommodating two persons each. There is a large parachute hung from a tall pole used as a dining hall. There is a separate tent for cooking. The toilets are chemical type. After using one has to throw bleaching powder in to the pit. No water is allowed to be used as this may contaminate the river. The day starts with breakfast and getting ready thereafter. The rafts are kept in a store along the road. We climb up to the road and take out the rafts. The rafts are then inflated using large compressors. These are then loaded on to trucks. We also get into the trucks. We are then driven to the staring point, where the rafts are unloaded and taken down to the water. On the first day we are given instructions for the rafting. We are all given life jackets to wear. You can see me wearing one in the photos. We are also given an oar each. The raft accommodates 8 persons beside the guide, four on each side and the guide at the back. We are shown how to use the oars as per instructions, forward, reverse and hold still. Some times only one side does the oaring while the other is asked to hold. This is generally just before entering a rapid. We had a group of employees from a company from Delhi along with us. So we had three rafts together. The first day’s ride is rather smooth, only up to 2nd grade. As you row and enter the rapids, the raft gets tossed about and to keep the balance and to prevent the raft getting flipped one has to row really hard. Water splashes all over you. It was really very cold. The experience was really frightening but after you come out the rapid really exhilarating that you have achieved something. Between rapids the river is really placid and everyone gets into the water and float. The water is near freezing point and first dip is a shock, then you get adjusted to the temperature and enjoy floating till we near another rapid. This continues 3 to 4 times. This stretch is about 15 kms and takes about 3 hours. Then we go to the bank, deflate the rafts and take the truck ride back to the camp. The second day starts at the point where we ended the first day and goes for another 15 kms. Here we face more difficult rapids. To day while floating we saw some water snakes going beside us. We were told they are not poisonous. The third day rafting starts more or less from the camp. The rapids in the next 15 kms are very difficult and nearly grade 4. Only a few people dared to take this trip. The first few rapids were manageable. In the most difficult one, the raft flipped and all were thrown into the water. Everyone went about 3 to 4 meters down into Ganges and came out somewhere about 100 meters away. There were rescue rafts and kayaks waiting to pick them up. Everyone was safe and had recovered from the shock and did not take the help of the rescue crafts. It was absolute bliss. We then moved to a point where there was a cliff on the bank. This was about 20 meters high. All got onto the cliff and jumped into the waters. You can see this in one of the photos. Generally we return around 2pm and have lunch and relax till the evening. Then some play volleyball while others gather around and gossip or read books. Some take a guide and go for trekking and bird watching. Some go for rock climbing. I took the trek one day and rock climbing on another day. The trek lasts for about 3 hrs. The view is spectacular and you see some interesting birds. The rock climbing is about 50 to 60 ft high. With great difficulty I could do it while all youngsters were encouraging me from below. One evening I tried my hand at kayaking. You can see this in two photos. I found it very difficult as I was getting unbalanced. I was tilting to the side I was putting the oar into the water. After a little effort I gave up. At dusk, a camp fire is stated which lasts till 10pm. All sit around carry on some activities like dumb charade, antakshari, mimicry, singing songs etc. I generally took part in dumb charade. Dinner is a parallel activity. Since all the others except me are in their 20s or 30s, I retire a little earlier, but they carry on. There is no electricity. The camp provides old model hurricane lanterns. Only the kitchen and the dining area have solar powered lamps. It is difficult to walk around the camp after dark with all the tent ropes stuck to pegs. I normally carry a head lamp like the one used by miners to all such camps. By the end of the day you are so tired you fall asleep in a second and wake up only with the wakeup call in the morning. The camp was organized very professionally, by a gentleman from Bengal. We learned later that he had a dive into Ganges from Lakshman Jhoola, probably a height of 30 metres. Food was excellent. The rafts, guides and everything was really nice. In the camp there is no radio, TV, news paper. Even mobile phones do not work unless you come on to the road. You are cut off from the world for the duration of the stay in the camp. You forget the world and enjoy the show. The whole experience was absolutely great. The surroundings, the river Ganges, the rafting and other activities were a great thrill. One gets a little frightened initially, but then once this is over it is absolute bliss.
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