Rafting on the Kali Gandaki, Nepal

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Hi again,
Early in the morning we gathered up, about 40 of us who signed up for the three days rafting trip on the Kali Gandaki river. We walked together to the bus that would take us to Pokhara. On the bus we got some details from a guy who works in the travel agency. He said the ride should take about six hours, but explained that if it takes more then we shouldn't start asking "why like this", because "Nepal is like this. The ride was fine, except a few bumps on the head from the low ceiling.
We spent the night in Pokhara, and the next morning we went to the river. On the way, during one of the toilet breaks, while the guys just stood right next to the bus and did their thing, the girls went deep into the forest to hide. When they returned they found many leeches on their legs, all sucking their blood...
We arrived to the lake itself, started to prepare all the gear, pumping air into the rafts, and after a short lunch and even a shorter "dos and don'ts" briefing just for the protocol (while I am being used as a demonstrator...), we hit the (cold) water.
At this stage I started to feel that there is something wrong in my stomach, but it was too late to turn back.
Our raft guide was a little heavy, both physically and mentally. He was too serious, and a little nervous. We spent two hours on the river with a few moderate rapids, which was a nice start.
Just before it became too dark and too cold we stopped and built a camp on the river bank. We spent the time playing cards, murderer, eating, and enjoying the camp fire. I also enjoyed running to the toilet every now and then. Well, calling the hole in the ground a toilet is an overstatement...
The next morning, under the influence of a strong pain killer, I joined the raft for a second day. It was a long day of about six hours in the water. Our guide fell into the water a few times and we had to pull him out, and he blamed us for not being good enough... One of the guys who went overboard as well was pulled in without his pants, and all was documented on camera by the cameraman of the crew.
One of the guides, Santos, was discovered as a professional raft flipper. We took turns sitting on his raft and flipping over in the rapids. After each flip he would be the first one to climb back on the raft, pushing the other people off, and dancing to the sounds of himself singing a stupid Eastern style Hebrew song that somebody once thought him... We joined him and mooned to the camera.
Back on the boat with the young and nervous guide. He didn't keep his distance from the raft in front of us and entered the rapid while they were still in it. The collision soon happened and they diverted us out of course and onto a huge boulder. I could already imagine how an unintentional flip looks like. We slid on the rock, almost vertically, and since I was sitting in the front I just fell in the water. I was sure that the raft will flip and land on my head, but it didn't happen...
Lunch break has become a sunbathing break and it was interrupted suddenly by the crazy guides who started to splash water and throw people in. We didn't surrender and the water fight was hard. At the end we dipped Santos in the water once and for all!
At night we camped again, and this time I spent less time at the hole in the ground.
The next day was short, and included only a few rapids. We were closer to the dam and the water became still. We spent a lot of time just floating in the freezing water, taking breaks on the raft only to get warmer in the sun again.
After a long bus back to Pokhara, we watched the movie of the rafting and celebrated the whole thing in the local pub with our guides.
The next day was a resting and arranging stuff day, all for the big event coming up next - trekking.
And until then,
R.

PS.
Most pictures are screen captures of the movie we got at the end of the trip. Some others were taken by single-use water-proof camera. So the quality is not that great. Live with it!

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