Pokhara, Nepal (original email)

---

Howdy folks,



For those of you who are also on Eric’s distribution list the beginning of this message is going to sound very familiar … for the vast majority though, it’s all brand new and exciting, right?
It’s been an exciting 3-month adventure with Eric but alas, I am once again a solo traveller. Eric’s off learning to kayak as I write this.



After our whirlwind tour across China we relaxed for a bit in Kathmandu. There’s just so little effort involved in a country where you can find pool tables, listen to U2 (and of course Bob Marley and Sting), and ask for anything in English. As a result we did just that for 5 or 6 days before getting off our butts and taking the bus to Pokhara to begin our white-water-rafting trip.



I’ve been rafting before in Ottawa but the rivers here put the one’s at home to shame. Our first day on the water proved (like other trips we’ve had) a bit disastrous. Our supply boat got wrapped around a rock and was (very) firmly held in place by the current. After many unsuccessful attempts to push, pull and pry it loose we eventually had to send a rope across the river (by kayak) and half of our group went across to pull. The act of just getting a rope across the river took an hour. It took us 3 hours, 1 broken rope, one hole in the bottom of the supply boat, several agitated conversations and a lot of elbow grease to get the boat free. Maybe 10 minutes later the supply boat hit another rock and it started to come apart and down-river we saw our tomatoes floating by. Eric jumped in to rescue a crate of chicken floating by and we all kept our eyes open lest the beer or rum should happen to drift by … thankfully it didn’t. A few minutes later a screaming Nepali guide floated by in what was left of the supply boat and grounded on some rocks a little further downstream. By this time it was dark so we found a place to set up camp. Just as we were finishing setting up tents and stuff it started to rain … of course! But, we still had beer and rum and nobody got hurt so all in all it was a good day.



The next few days found us hitting lots of good rapids. We were the clean-up boat which travelled last through the rapids and plucked people out of the water as they got thrown out of their rafts. We aptly named our raft “Mr. Wolfe” (the cleaner from Pulp Fiction). I tried a bit of kayaking on Day 4 (a calm water day) and managed to flip after going through a small rapid. It’s actually remarkably easy to get out of one of those things under water and upside down.



Day 5 had us hitting the largest rapids we’d seen. The boys on our boat had bragged about not falling out so we, of course, flipped our raft when we got hit from the side by a huge 4-5 metre wave. It was pretty fun actually. Two minutes after we were all aboard again we almost flipped again but we managed to save it and only 3 people flew out (including Eric). So then we came back to Pokhara for a rest. A few days later Eric took off for a short 2 day trek and the next day I left for a planned 10-12 day trek through the Annapurna Sanctuary. While my most awesome buddies Bob & Vern were going through the trials and tribulations of bringing a baby girl into this world I was climbing up and down mountain peaks in an effort to reach the Annapurna Base Camp. I was accompanied by folks from the Netherlands, an American and another Canadian. On day 4 my knee decided that it no longer wanted to trek all the way there so I left my new friends and spent a couple of days coming back via the easiest route along the river. I’ve already seen a doctor in Hong Kong about this and he said I’ve damaged the cartilage and there’s really nothing I can do about it at the moment.



So, now I’m back in Pokhara hanging out in café’s and studying up on India … life’s indeed rough.



NEPALI CUSTOMS:



~Walking everywhere: I remember saying that I was amazed at the Chinese in Beijing carrying huge loads on their 3-wheeled bikes. I’m no longer impressed by that because the Nepalese carry the same loads on their backs and walk up and down the sides of mountains.



~Crowding into buses: it’s cool to see that once the bus is full the locals just climb on top or hang off the sides. This, while the driver drives as fast as is humanly possible through the winding mountain roads and still only averages about 20 km/hour.



~Toilet Update: This place is a squatters paradise.







PERSONALS:



Bob & Vern: I love you guys and I’m glad to hear that Jessie is happy and healthy. She couldn’t have better parents.



Kerri: Your email got through and it’s awesome to hear from you. I hope Quebec is as much fun as it was last time.



Tommy: Don’t know yet when I’ll be in NZ but you can be sure I’ll take you up on the beer offer. I’ll let you know as I get closer but it definitely won’t be before January.



Louisa: whoa … Kenya and Tanzania … tell me more.



Marco: congrats on the accidental consulting work … I wonder if I could do some consulting work from here … he he he.



Beck/Wendy: Hey guys. Excellent to hear from you Beck. Can one of you send me Bry-guys email address. And, if possible call Kath & Steve and tell ‘em I’m on my way to India!



WLS: Movin’ on up in the world eh … does your move to Cinci also mean that you’re a level 4 now ?



EPD: I’ll probably see you before you read this!



Kimmy: I just got an email from Ann in South Africa on her way to Zimbabwe. She said she’d leave #’s with you and my parents and her parents so can you send me an email as soon as she does. Thanks. Oh year … while trekking I headed to this place called Kymi to stay for the night (because I thought it would be cool to stay in a place that sounded like your name) but when I got there the village was actually called Kyumi.



Jason: Got your message … don’t know anything about C++ … can you ask grandma and grandpa to look at the not above (to Kimmy) and forward any info along as soon as they get it as well … thanks.



JDF: Eric’s right about the rates thing. During the import all the rates are overwritten so if you’re having a problem it’s probably in the rates application used by Daisy Lee. Look at the rates.mdb in L:SALES/AP/RATES/DATA and see if anything looks screwy. Or look at the rates segment of a typical import. Give some serious consideration to hiring EPD as a contractor over x-mas and beyond … it could save you some serious headaches.



Jacky/Potsie: In case I don’t see you in Pokhara I did make it down in one piece and the Hot Springs brought life back to my aching knee.



All: Eric and I have separate email distribution lists now and if you’d like to get back on his just send him an email … then you can decide for yourself who’s writing style you prefer!





I also need news. Who won the World Series? Does anyone know any more details about the smoke hovering over Indonesia? Have any more famous people died recently? Let me know what you know.



Love Gerry (or not Eric)

---