Rafting the Bhote Kosi River in Nepal

We just returned last night from a 2 day white water rafting trip on Nepal's steepest river, the Bhote Kosi. Our starting point on the river was only 16km from the Tibetan border and 3 hours (by bus) North West of Kathmandu. The first day was good fun learning the skills we needed and paddling a 3 hour stretch of river with mostly class 3 rapids and small flat sections of water between white water sections. We had a great group of people in our group (Brit's, Canadians, Germans and Nepali's) and the food they served up on the riverside was lovely. The Nepali run rafting company was very professional and keen to make sure we were absolutely comfortable and having a great time. Their property where we stayed over-night was an absolute surprise and treat! Located in the mountains along side the Bhote Kosi river, it was like a paradise retreat. The rhododendron and bougainvillea floral bushes were out in full bloom and lined the slated pathways throughout the property. The buildings had beautiful thatched roofs and reminded us more of a luxury resort you might see in Fiji or Hawaii! We slept in a 'Safari' tent right next to the river, which was a large canvas, semi- permanent tent that was all set-up for us and even had beds and blankets! I should mention they were the best beds we've slept in yet on our trip!


The second day of rafting started right with a bang on a section of very exciting rapids. We bravely took the two front seats on the raft and were subsequently completely soaked by waves of water within seconds of being on the river!!! We kept hitting rapids after rapids all morning and our rafting guide expertly navigated us through the Class 3 + 4 rapids safely, while providing the maximum adrenaline. We were bounced around in the river, had waves of water dumped on us, fell down small shoots and drops and loved every second of it, even the bits where we were sure we would flip the raft, but didn't!! We even surfed a massive river wave going upstream!!! All very exciting! In the small sections of calmer water, we had time to take in the scenery we were passing through. The landscape along the river generally had steep hills going up on both sides, with various types of deciduous and palm trees. The land was often terraced for growing various crops and we could see people laboriously working away as we floated by. We are now in the driest time of year here, right before the monsoons which come in June, so there were only a few waterfalls, but those we saw, were lovely nonetheless. We floated past numerous small villages which had homes precariously built on stilts along the riverside banks. Many children were playing in the calmer pools in the river just horsing around carefree with their friends and also staring at us in wonder. The children would wave and cheer us along, saying simply 'Namaste' or 'Hello' or in Nepali shouting words of encouragement like ' Good Luck' or our personal favourite ' Quirry' which is Nepali for 'wild adventure people'. After a long, sunny, exciting day of rafting, we headed back along the steep and scenic, winding road back to Kathmandu and met up with our friends back at our guest house for a lovely, well earned meal.

New photos located in the Nepal link above.

Namaste! steff and justin

From India to Nepal

Well we've been based out of Kathmandu now for the last 5 or 6 days, what a great city. We are currently in the Thamel area which is the main travelers/backpackers area of the city. The area is strangely Western (sort of) full of lots of great places to eat, hear live music and of course, get yourself kitted up and involved in every type of adventure you can imagine in Nepal. Every 3rd shop seems to be an outdoor trekking shop full of all the outdoor clothing you need, crampons, ropes, camping equipment, ice axes and so on. Then you've got mountain bike guides, realty all sorts of guiding businesses, white water rafting, Kayaking, Trekking, para-gliding the list goes on. (Outdoor adventure sports are so well set up here, the organization of hiking/climbing routes is great, with tea houses to stay overnight and guides and/or porters to lead the way through the mountains.) Of course there are no shortage of great book shops, carpet shops, shops selling tourist trinkets.... So, the bottom line on this part of Kathmandu is that it's a great place to be relieved of money. Things are amazingly attractive prices, but there are just so many things to do here.

Before i get too much into the scene here in Nepal I will just quickly tell you about our trip from Varanasi up to Kathmandu, our 2 day bus ride. We left our guest house in Varanasi at about 6:30 in the morning and arrived at the bus departure point shortly after. We had our free breakfast which consisted of a micro-omelet sandwich and the worlds smallest cup of chai. Eating it was especially interesting with clouds of hash smoke blowing our way from a group of young Dutch guys who decided to try and get really stoned to help out with the long bus ride (which incidentally they were smoking giant hash cones every time the bus stopped), i am not sure whether it helped them but on the bus they looked either comatosed or asleep, so maybe it helped(?). So our smoked-out uneventful breakfast finished and then spent a very long day on the bus, driving through flat lands of the Ganges floods plane and never ending inhabitation, there are just so many people, everywhere. It sometimes seems that the cities never end, at best they work down to a trickle of buildings and people before quickly building up again into another city.


The bus, which was a 'tourist bus,' meaning slightly better than an Indian public bus but a far cry from most western busses, arrived in the border town of Sunauli around 8pm, where we got off the bus and were told to just walk through the town towards Nepal (in the dark). In a swirl of confusion; money changing touts, rickshaw drivers, Nepali trucks, complete with cockpit disco lighting, driving by kicking up dust, and then Indian and Nepali immigration (which was about as sophisticated as a small roadside restaurant). Anyhow, somehow through all the disorganization we arrived at the Nepal Guest House, a nondescript place with walls painted institutional green, bars on the windows and simple beds, but something here was different to India, the people. The people looked more Chinese, but with darker skin and, they were so friendly and nice. The niceness of the people has continued since we've been here, they are really are wonderful and genuine.


The second day on the bus got much more interesting as we quickly began climbing into the mountains. The ride was pretty terrifying with the bus clinging to cliff edge roads and trying to avoid head on collisions at high speed (usually due to desperate attempts to overtake around corners), certainly not relaxing. But somehow after a few hours of this you settle into the fact that perhaps this is normal and relax a bit.


The scenery was stunning; deep river gorges and steep hillsides stepped with terraced land for farming (generally consisting of rice corn or potatoes). It was exciting to know that we were driving into the Himalayas, home to our planet's highest mountains. We arrived surprisingly early into Kathmandu, around 4pm.

Kathmandu is a pleasant change from India, the streets are relatively clean, the food is much tastier and more varied and people don't seem to use the streets as a public toilet. And best of all, there are some really exciting eco-adventures and cultural things to do.

New pictures have been posted in the Nepal link above. Enjoy!

Cheers, steff and justin

Our Last Day in Varanasi

Yesterday was World Water Day and and to mark the day, school children from all over Varanasi lined the banks of the Ganges holding hands along the length of the city from the first ghat to the last. It was a sight to see, as there were thousands of children from all the religions united to make a remark on the need for a cleaner future and a desire to change water conditions. The Ganges is a very polluted river at this point here in Varanasi and only gets worse (not sure how that is possible) from here towards Calcutta. It's shocking for us to see people swimming in the Ganges, but the people here have said to us, " if you think of the Ganges as water, yes, it is polluted and if you swim in it you might get sick. But, if you think of the Ganges as the source of life, Mother Ganges-the embodiment of the God Shiva-then there is nothing more pure or with more power and strength". This belief is partially why it is so polluted, as people do not truly believe what they are doing to it will harm the river and life near it. So, having said that, it was very encouraging for us to see that the future generations are being educated about water health and environmental issues. We shall see.

As for our time here in Varanasi, we have truly enjoyed our time here. It is very much a city of contrasts; Yogi-Guru's with laptop computers, ancient family businesses using the most basic of tools that seem stuck in a world of a few hundred years ago, yet have a flashy new stereo playing music while they chat on a mobile phone. The religious ceremonies and music along the Ghats have been non stop, the riverside has been ceaselessly interesting and a beautiful place to sit and enjoy. The old, narrow winding streets have been absolutely facinating to navigate through and we are always discovering something new or interesting around each corner. The other day, I came up to a tiny, narrow crossroads in one of these alley ways and thought i'd poke my head around the corner of the building to check if it was safe to cross. What a shock i got to come face to face with a large black bull peering back at me!!!! Glad I checked! The Holy Cows have first priority, so naturally, I let him pass. We've seen a few Bulls who randomly decide to break into a jog, if you are not in its path the site is really quite funny, people virtually diving out of the way, sometimes trying to move carts of food and goods out of the way as well.

Tomorrow we leave for Kathmandu, in Nepal. It is a 24 hour bus trip, but divided over two days. We have never been on such a long bus trip, and we can only hope the bus is comfortable and safe. We have been told it is. Our next report will be from Kathmandu, we will be in that city for a few days before making a decision on one or two of the many adventure possibilities in Nepal. All the best to you all, Steff and Justin

Varanasi, one week on...

Varanasi has been a really fascinating place, tough to wrap our heads around everything that is going on here. The city itself butts up against a crescent on the Ganges river, all along the river are long ghats or steps leading down to the water. On the opposite side of the river is a baron sandbank that floods during the monsoons, a kilometer or so beyond that is grasslands and trees with the odd building poking out. The city is said to have been founded by the God Shiva and has a continuous religious tradition that stretches back to the sixth century BC. Today, this deeply religious city is a great centre of learning, a mixture of religions and a place to die.



The Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi is said to give the instant enlightenment (assuming the dead have lived a life of good Karma), for this reason people come here to die, sometimes spending their remaining days in temples or talking alms from those who help. While walking along the ghats you are confronted in a couple of different places, called the burning ghats, with the 24 hour a day burning of bodies on the open fires. The funeral process is fairly in depth and for this reason i have written a separate piece explaining the whole funeral process, if your interested click here.


As you move away from the ghats and into the city you quickly become lost in a maze of small pathways that weave through shops, food sellers, temples, cows dogs and people. Many of these ally's are very narrow and mostly suitable just for foot traffic, but fat bulls and motorbikes will still give it a go, maneuvering around both can be slightly nerve racking. The Bulls are generally in charge, people give them as much room as possible. They wander, doing there own thing, occasionally trying to visit the odd house but can usually only manage to get their head in the door, interesting and funny to watch.

Steff and i have been eating well, plenty of Indian food but also the odd bit of Western food. All vegetarian, which is largely what is available here. The Chai tea is really lovely, we've been enjoying plenty of these, especially nice first thing in the morning along the Ganges. There you can sit and watch people pray, bathe, wash clothing, meditate, do yoga, all happening as soon as the sun comes up, it is amazing to watch it happening around you, in many cases just as it would have for many hundreds or thousands of years. Steff and i have found it difficult to drag our selves out of bed at 5 or 6 in the morning, but it really is worth the effort.

Right, so speaking of Yoga, Steff and i have found a Guru, or rather he found us. This morning along one of the Ghats we met this holy man, pretty much what you might expect; grey hair and beard, glasses, orange outfit with beads and dread locks, probably about 60ish. He is a doctor and Yoga instructor, not just the physical Yoga but with an emphasis on Meditation and Philosophy of Yoga. So, shortly after meeting him we ended up on the rooftop of a building in the oldest part of Varanasi, learning about the universe, ourselves and beginning some basic Yogic movements and meditations. The monkeys looked on as we meditated and stretched to the rising sun. We will be back to see him tomorrow morning, so we will give you more reports when we have them.



Today we visited a town nearby called Sarnath, the place were Buddha did his first teachings. This is an area of ruins with nice park land surrounding it. It was nice to have a break from the city and just relax in the park. There were Buddhists from Thailand there who were meditating and chanting which sounded really nice. Mostly it was a nice relaxing day. The ruins, well lets be realistic just piles of bricks and stones really not all that interesting, but as Steff said most appropriately; "it is really just the way that people interact with the space that makes it spiritual and special, rather that the space itself." Nonetheless it was nice to have a break from the touts and noise of the city.

That's about all for now, we will attempt another update in a few days, check out some of the new photos under the Varanasi category.

Take care everyone. Lots of love from us here in sunny, warm Varanasi, India.

From Agra to Varanasi

We have arrived in Varanassi yesterday after a 15 hour overnight train ride across central northern India. The last few days in Agra were not that great for Steff who has been immobilized by her persistent stomach disaster (happily she is fine today).

Despite Steff not feeling that great while we were in Agra, we did still manage to get out and see the Agra fort, the former main fortress and palace of the Moghul empire. The size of the fort is enormous and once housed over 500 buildings within its walls. In the late 1600's the buildings were demolished to make way for the palaces of marble that were built. Some of these palaces remain inside the fort walls, many of them however, were demolished by the British in the 1800's when they were attempted to be used as a stronghold from the Brit's. The forts grounds were well worth the visit and had some beautiful views from the palace balconies of the Taj Mahal, which sits further down the Yamuna river.

On the Saturday i took a trip out to Fethepur Sikri, a town about 40 km's outside of Agra where an old Moghul ghost town lies. The biggest adventure was getting there and back on the regular Indian bus system. When i got to the bus station in Agra waited for over two hours (for a bus that leaves every half hour) and spent considerable time just siting on stationary busses waiting to leave. In that time i changes busses twice and the driver changed at least five times, all this without actually leaving the bus station.

In Fethepur Sikri, the ruins were interesting to see but the working muslim mosque was the highlight. There, one of the students who studies the Koran at the Mosque showed me around and involved me a religious offerings of flowers and cloth inside the marble temple. At around 5:30 pm we left the mosque for the bus stand under the advice of Shoukeen, my student and guide, who informed me that Indian busses were not very good (this i had already discovered), and that my 7 O'clock bus would likely not come and i should wait and hope for one to come a bit earlier. So i went, and i waited and waited, finally just after 7 pm it was clear that no bus would come, Shoukeen had offered me to stay at his home an return to Agra the following day. Steff was back at the hotel, not feeling well, and i needed to get back. Anyhow i will skip all the details of attempts to leave including taxis, jeeps and horse's and tell you that a short while later i was about 3 km's away standing at the side of a busy road trying to flag down passing vehicles in the dark. Finally the 3rd bus that passed stopped and there was pandemonium as 40 or so people all fought to get on a bus, that was already full. Anyhow, i made it back standing against the bus door that wouldn't close properly, in the stairwell of the bus. It was great to get back to Steff and she seemed to be doing better than when i left her earlier.

Now, we are having a beautiful sunny day in Varanasi. Our train ride was pretty neat, the Indian 2nd class sleeper trains are quite the adventure. We are just getting settled here where i think we will spend a fair bit of time before our next big move. Last night we saw a classical Indian music concert which was very beautiful and intimate. We also went for a short walk along the Ganges where there was a Hindu funeral happening, during which they burn the body of the dead on an open fire, while the families look on. The remains are then sent out into the Ganges and each of the family members enters the water of the river, pretty intense.

We hope that you are all well. Love Steff and Justin xo

A few Days in Agra...

...Where the Taj Mahal stands on its marble platform over looking the Yamuna river. It really is a beautiful and majestic sight. It has been described as 'a teardrop on the face of eternity.'

To get to Agra we had a short Train Journey from Delhi on one of the antiquated Indian trains with its prison-like bars over the windows. The seats were more like church pews, quite uncomfortable after a couple of hours. The train passed through numerous fields dotted with mud and straw houses. We also passed by areas of factories surrounded by very poor shanty towns. The living conditions were destitute but despite this, the people seemed well dressed while they socialized and laughed together. I found myself wondering if these were the living conditions of the workers in the factories they lived next too. I began to feel guilty thinking that people may have to live in these conditions so that we can enjoy Indian made products in the Western world. Most of the rivers we passed were clogged with plastics and garbage and the water flowed like thick and grey sludge, down stream you could see people washing clothing and bathing in it. Fairly disturbing.

As we approached Agra we passed scruffy looking monkeys who rifled through the garbage alongside the tracks. From the train station we had a short transfer to our hotel which is a nice clean backpackers lodge. We went the afternoon we arrived to the Taj, which was so beautiful (check some of the photos on this page and with the 'More Photos' link on the right hand side of this page). The beauty of the Taj seemed in strange contrast to what we had seen from the train and certainly to the area around the Taj, which is busy, polluted and dirty.

I have found that the polluted air is causing some real irritation in the back of my throat and mouth and unfortunately Steff has gotten a seriously wobbly tummy (but is well on the mend now), so we are taking a day out and will be back to it tomorrow with a visit to the old 15th century red Moghhl fort here in Agra.

Our next move is set with the tickets that we bought today for the overnight train journey to Varanasi, one of the earths oldest living cities, that has maintained its religious traditions back to the 6th century BC. We will arrive in the city on Monday morning and are planning on spending a good bit of time there (assuming that we enjoy it).

Thats all for now. I hope that all is well with our family and friends, we are thinking of you... Lots of Love:-)

P.S. For more photos check out the link above-right.

Delhi, a few days in...

Well we've been in the city a few days now. The city is a chaotic mess of people, but somehow it all seems to work. We have not been getting as much hassel from the touts as we experienced in Marrakech, which has been pleasant. We have had several interesting and hair raising rides around in auto-rickshaws, which amazingly seem to avoid serious accident.

On Steff's birthday we saw quite a bit of the city, which is extremely varied; from New Delhi with its wide boulevards and green spaces to the chaos of Old Delhi and its cluttered streets and alleys. There are also shanty towns where the poorest of Delhites live, these areas are intimidating, busy and destitute. On the other side of Yamuna River we visited a new temple, and centre for Indian culture, Akshardham, that was truly beautiful and peaceful. The smaller temple that we visited was constructed entirely from marble with no other materials, it is beautifully ornate (click on the 'More Photos' link on the right side of this screen).

We also visited the Jama Masjid on Steff's birthday, which is India's largest mosque, built in the 15th Century. We walked up one of the minarets to get a good view of this massive city. The mosque is fairly plain, but in excellent condition. The mosque is largely an outdoor mosque and could clearly handle many thousands.

Today is our last full day in Delhi, then we are off tomorrow to see Agra and the Taj Mahal, an absolute requirement for a visit to India (as far as we are concerned anyway). Apparantly Agra is renowned for its aggresive touts so we will likely escape that place for a quieter alternative in a few days; probalbly the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, which was the capital of the Moghul empire during the 14th century.

Will write soon. Lots of love to everyone from here:-)

We've arrived in Delhi!!

We arrived this morning into Delhi airport. We were met by a driver from our hotel who gave us pretty hair raising ride in a small white mini van which felt like it might tip over at the next turn. To make matters worse the driver told us, in his broken english, that he needed to drive fast as he late to meet a friend of his; " you no worry, i am good driver," he said smiling at us in the rear view mirror and paying little or no attention to a red light fast approaching. There is also an unusual situation with the main roads here, not only does no one pay any attention to the lane markings but they have randomly placed speed bumps in the middle of the fast main roads. This led to heavy breaking at the last moment before the bump when the driver realized that we were about to become airborne (plus we were not wearing seat belts). When we began to approach the Pahraganj area we were informed to close all the windows in the vehicle, it was Holi today. Holi is a festival to welcome the coming of spring where people cover each other in brightly coloured powder. The driver was concerned that one of the bags of brightly couloured dust would come through any open windows. He pulled up to the Hotel Anoop so close that our door virtually opened into the lobby, to keep us from being 'bombed'.

We slept a few hours after not really getting any quality sleep on our flight. Our room was stuffy and decidedly run down. We also paid a hefty sum for the room since we booked from London, 450 Rs (Paid for by Denise and Edan with their Christmas gift, thanks you two, wish you were here). After a short cat nap we got up and went for a walk around the local neighborhood, which is a swirling mass of people, colours, smells, shops, cows and horn blowing motor-rickshaws.

Incidentally the hotel has a fantastic roof top restaurant where we sat tonight drinking delicious chai tea, eating curry and enjoying the elevated view over the city. Now it's time for bed...

Southern Germany, February 2007

We just had to slip in a visit to Southern Germany before we left for our big trip. So, as crazy as it seemed to go to Germany at a time when we had so much going on; with winding down our business, packing up our place and preparing for our big trip, we did it anyway. We flew to Frankfurt and spent a few lovely days with Sandy and Philip, checking out the sights around Frankfurt and Heidelburg. After that we drove down to Ottobeuren to visit with Steff's Uncle Ludwig, Tante Elwi and cousins Roswita + Ludi and family. We had a great old Baviarian time! They were excellent hosts and steff really enjoyed catching up and spending time with her family. It was very mild and mostly sunny while we were there which made it great for sightseeing. We had a fantastic trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, located at the base of the Bavaria Alps, which is a real life fairy-tale castle. And the food, well, we were certainly well fed with Elwi's great Schwabian dishs (a local region of Bavaria). Apparently the Bavarians have a saying that 'a man without a belly is like a cripple,' nice to hear while you're feeling guilty pilling back all that food and great beers!