Hey Everyone!

 

There’s not much kayaking going on in the Chicago Region right now (with the exception of CWA’s pool classes) so I thought I might share a bit about my recent experiences in Nepal.

 

The thought occurred to me that there might be a few people out there that might be interested in knowing the preparation needed to go paddling in Nepal… or in another country in general. So I thought I’d make this first post a “How to” specific for that. (My next post will contain more juicy details about the trip itself -I promise).

 

So, in no particular order… here are a few things you’ll want to do before going boating in Nepal.

 

Passport:
This one is obvious… you need a passport to leave the country. If you don’t have one, get one now as it can take awhile (they are good for 10 years). When you get your passport photo taken, get a couple extra pictures, as you will need them for your visa (more on that later). You can save a few bucks here by having your picture taken by a friend in front of a white wall, and then do all the cropping on a photo kiosk at a drug store with a photo lab. You’ll have to cut out the individual pics yourself, but you’ll end up with 6 instead of just 2, for a lot less than the usual $10 passport pair.

 

Next up, do your research on the country, find out when you want to go, what rivers you want to hit, what outfitters to consider (if you’re doing a super long trip, it might be worthwhile to think about bringing your own boat -more logistics to look into). If you want to get the best of the best information for Nepal, pick up Peter-Knowles’s book “Whitewater Nepal” -It covers EVERYTHING …you can find it on Amazon. Personally I got the information I needed just by chatting with a few outfitters through email.

 

From what I read online, I knew Fall was the ideal time to go (not the summer monsoon season – but not super cold and dry winter either)… another thing worth considering during the timing of your trip, is the prevalence of mosquitoes, as Malaria and Japanese encephalitis are two nasty things you don’t want to come home with. For me, November was perfect, plus it gave me 2 bonus days to spend there over thanksgiving.

 

I wanted to do a multi-day trip, and hit something in class IV ballpark. This Put the Sun Kosi and Karnali on my list of possibilities… along with a few others. If the idea of taking Malaria medication scares you, you may want to rule out any rivers on the bottom half of Nepal (like the Karnali). Picking the right outfitter was a bit more challenging. Getting to Nepal isnt cheap, and a multi day trip is going to cost you a few hundred bucks… if you’re doing a wilderness trip, or anything above class III, safety is a huge concern… so you want to make sure the investment you’re making is well worth it. I’ve trusted Lonely Planet guidebooks for some time, as well as the feedback found on places like boatertalk.  There are several great outfitters in Nepal, but with the feedback I found online and in books, Paddle Nepal was my pick for this trip.  Some things you may want to ask before picking an outfitter: Where they are located (if they have multiple offices), how long they’ve been in business, what gear they have/ what they expect you to bring, when are they busiest, what is the minimum group size needed for each trip, how well do the safety kayakers speak english, method of payment they accept, if they require any kind of deposit in advance. 

 

For the record, I did have one outfitter (that I didn’t use) request the full ammount wire transferred one month in advance. With Paddle Nepal, and many of the other outfitters, this isn’t required. I didn’t have to put down any kind of deposit until I arrived in Nepal. Paying by credit card required a bit of patience (like most things in Nepal), as they didn’t have their own CC machine, and had to call up the bank to send over a guy with a machine to handle the transaction. There was also a small fee involved in this. If that’s not something you want to deal with, you may want to look into a wire transfer, paypal, or bringing along some kind of international money order.

 

Another obvious one. A few things to keep in mind if this is a paddle trip… give yourself a few days before and after your time on the river for a multitude of reasons. First of all, unless you’ve organized a group trip and you’re traveling with the group to Nepal, most trips (as a solo paddler) are going to be a bit last minute. Rafters will walk into the store, book a trip for that week, and off you go. Until the minimum number of people are met and everyone has paid, the trip is in limbo. I was one of only 2 paying customers in a kayak, the other 13 were rafters -they were the ones that made the trip happen and they all signed up within a few days of the trip. Even though one of my trips had a scheduled departure, it was delayed because we were waiting for two more people to show up. With this in mind, you may have to be flexible with your dates, your choice of river, or potentially your outfitter. 

 

Another fact: Nepal doesn’t have the best infrastructure.  On my trip to the Karnali, we ran out of Diesel twice, which there was a shortage of in Western Nepal. We were stuck behind a broken down truck on a road that only had room for 1 vehicle (the one blocking traffic). Also, while on the river our trip leader got stung by a bee, got a fever, and his arm swelled up -we spent an extra day on the river waiting for him to get better.  Stuff will happen… and it may happen more than once (if you’re as lucky as me)… but no matter what, you’ll still want to budget some extra time because there’s tons more to do in Nepal besides kayaking. So give yourself plenty of time when you’re booking  your flights. 

 

Also, avoid overnight connections at all costs. (Read: Visas)

 

Good idea to have in general, even more so if you’re partaking on a wilderness trip where a helicopter rescue might be needed. Typical travel insurance does not include “extreme sports” so be sure to seek one out that does. You may have to pay a 20% premium for this.

 

Best to do this at least 6 months before your trip, as some vaccinations require multiple shots over the course of a few months. Talk to your doctor, and they can likely refer you to a clinic that specializes in travel vaccinations (for me in chicago, this was Passport Health). I called up their 1-800 number to schedule an appointment and told them where I was going.  When I went in for my appointment they had a handy personalized booklet detailing all the recommendations for travel to Nepal. It was up to me  to decide what I wanted to get or pass on -there was no pressure.

 

Here’s a few of their suggestions…

Hepatitis - You need a pair of shots if you haven’t had them already -and then you’re good for life.

Polio – most of us already had shots for this as a child, in Nepal its still common, so a booster is recommended.

Typhoid- you take a series of pills in between meals, and you’re good for 5 years. If you’re traveling very soon, you can get a shot, but its only good for a year or two.

Japanese encephalitis- I went to Nepal in November, so the risk for this was low to begin with -I’ll also confess that I didn’t visit the travel doctor as early as I should have, so I wouldn’t have been able to get all the shots to get me fully immune -so I skipped this one.

Malaria – The take out from the Karnali isn’t far from India, and it’s at a very low altitude, putting it in a risky area for Malaria.  There are several drugs out there, Doxycycline was recommended for me (it was also the cheapest medication). I had to be vigilant about wearing sunscreen, as getting sunburned easily was a side effect.  I also found that taking this pill an hour before meals was the best time to avoid an upset stomach. You can also plan your trip to stay on the northern half of Nepal where there is almost no risk for Malaria.

The Shits – bring some pepto as a first line of defense, but your travel doctor should also prescribe you a broad spectrum antibiotic like cypro that will knock out just about anything nasty in your system. Pack some gatorade powder to get yourself back to 100% after the fact (or for making rum punch on the river).

 

You can get a visa for Nepal when you arrive… but allow me to explain what that process is like: You just got off a long ass plane ride (probably the longest series of flights and connections in your life), and have finally arrived at one of the coolest places on earth…  now wait in line! for over 2 Hours! Muhahahaha! …its like the most evil practical joke ever. -You will hate it, I promise.  So, if you can, get your visa ahead of time through the Nepal Embassy in your country, that way when you arrive in Nepal you can jump in the 15 min line with all the other happy people. If you do plan on waiting in the sucker line, come prepared and have one passport sized photo ahead of time as well as at least $40 US cash (this exact amount will depend on the length of your stay). There is a photo booth and ATM at the airport if you really want additional lines to wait in.

 

One more fun Visa to think about…. There are no direct flights from North America to Kathmandu (that I know of)… you will likely have a series of connections, and it is possible one of those on the way there, or on the way back will be overnight. Some countries, like Thailand, do not require a Visa (this will cost you $0)…. other countries, like India, require you to get a visa in advance (which can cost as much as $70 plus the cost of fedexing your passport and getting 2 more passport photos). Just something to keep in mind when booking your flight, and deciding on accommodations for your overnight connections. Some airports like Delhi have sleeping pods that you pay by the hour, and if your airline will allow you to check a bag all the way to Kathmandu -through an overnight connection… this may be a better way to go, than getting a visa, 2 taxi rides, and paying for a cheap hotel. But if your connection exceeds a certain time frame, you’re stuck going through customs and getting your bags… so be sure to know all of this in advance (I wish I did).

 

Always a good idea to do this while abroad. Your embassy can keep you up to date on anything going on local that you should be aware of, like if there are protests going on in a certain part of town that you should avoid… or if the Embassy is hosting a party on Thanksgiving, and you’re invited! …that is, assuming you aren’t on the river on thanksgiving

 

Your outfitter should give you a good list of things to pack. Paddle Nepal had a good inventory of gear available, so all I needed to bring for my time on the water was a rash guard, some board shorts, some booties, nose plugs, water bottle, mini-dry bag.  They had sleeping bags available, but admitted they were in the “used and abused” condition, and I’d likely be much happier bringing my own (you can also rent good gear from the plethora of trekking shops in the country).  2 water bottles are a good idea… one for water, and one to fill up with rum (glass bottles are an obvious no-no). Aside from lunch, and any rapids that get scouted, you’re on the river the whole day… so if you want to take any pictures, bring a waterproof camera. I kinda wish I had a gopro to capture some of the rapids, because none of the good ones had decent eddies for me to take my hand off the paddle.  Tip money: My understanding is that kayak guides do not expect tips (un-like the trekking porters), however, your guide will likely be making about $3-$4 a day… and a tip of even $1 for a day trip will be well appreciated. If you’re on a multi-day trip, don’t forget about the raft guides as they’re likely working hard to prepare your food while on the river (not to mention they’re likely the ones hauling your dry gear down the flatwater).

 

On a side note, the country as a whole loves US currency… so bring a bunch, and don’t bother changing it over.  Plan to pay in US dollars, and hit an ATM for rupees when your stash runs out.  The prices for most whitewater trips, as well as most hotels are all quoted in US dollars, and they usually break out a calculator to do the conversion if all you have are Rupees.

 

 

 

Ok, that’s my quick 101 less on getting prepared for Nepal… some good books to get if you’re thinking about going there: “Whitewater Nepal” by Peter Knowles… Lonely Planet guide to Nepal… and Culture Smart! Nepal. For free research, check out some outfitter websites, wikitravel.org or lonelyplanet.com

 

In my next post, I’ll share my experiences on the Upper Seti.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob