Following an impressive night in the Roy Bridge Hotel, we hovered in the car park and discussed an expedition so grand in scale that none of us would be able to afford it. Despite this minor detail, flights were booked and in a heartbeat we sat in Heathrow departure lounge, wondering how a small chicken pie can cost four pounds. We bought those pies because the only alternative was crisps.
Arriving first in India we swiftly made our way to Pakistan, “a country which has recently been famous for funding terrorism and poor women’s rights.” (Dermot Bryan Robinson, BSc). Despite these observations proving to be more or less accurate, we found that the Pakistani people are unbelievably welcoming, kind and hospitable; not in a Lonely Planet “oh, the people are just amazing here, they make such amazing little baskets” type of way; they had a genuine interest in our visit and did their best to help us access the rivers in which, as they would so enthusiastically explain, so many of their close friends and relatives had drowned.
Filled with neither anger nor hatred for the West. Just confused.
Following the chronic insomnia ‘taster session’ that is the journey from Gilgit to Ladakh, we immediately ascended to over 4000m and began a 6 day descent of the Tsarap Chu/Zanskar; the much loved ‘Grand Canyon of Asia’. Not to detract from this classic multiday trip, we would recommend that you avoid any and all of the overly detailed walkthroughs which build expectations so great that this river could never satisfy.
So, here’s an alternative guide:
It’s a river; starts near Sarchu, finishes at Nimu. It’ll take 5 or 6 days. Lovely scenery. Gets up to good grade 4. Watch out for the portages/chunkier rapids as you would on any river. Do the Shyok as well.
I can't recommend the Shyok enough
Heading down to Uttarakhand, we were lucky enough to catch true gent and walking guidebook Shalabh as he awoke from kayaking hibernation. With the energy that one accumulates during three months off the river, he immediately set us to work ticking off his ever growing hit list for the area. Despite having only just opened the doors of his relaxation/kayak resort to the public, he honorably sacked it off and found time to join us on first descents of the east and west ‘forks’ of the Nayar; a river which will surely one day achieve Upper Dart-like ‘classic’ status.
Shalabh, disappointed that his youngest has thus far only shown an interest in freeclimbing
Weeks of relentless travel were beginning to take their toll and realising that we hadn’t touched a ‘champion’ in months (let alone a “cher-champion’), we made a slight detour to Goa, sans-boats, to recharge the batteries. Intending to stay for a minimum of 7 nights, we managed to ruin ourselves in a respectable three. We booked flights to the east and departed soon after, uncomfortable with our newfound lightweightedness.
The 'Champion' (centre) : a global sensation
A series of coincidences led us to our current destination, Meghalaya. The wettest region on earth (if you don’t count the sea), it is a wonder that kayakers who are constantly complaining about the lack of rain haven’t thought of having a look before. Often described as the ‘Scotland of the East’, the granite bed creeks surrounding Shillong, Meghalaya’s capital, are much like anything you’d find along the A82. Well, maybe not the thick-leafed jungle, but you have to use your imagination.
Zorba in his Packraft: Apparently, they don't burst (Dan Rea-Dickins)
Through Shalabh, we were put into contact with Zorba Laloo, who following a number of full descent expeditions of the Ganges and Brahmaputra has brought his passion for the water back to Meghalaya. Finding that the local rivers were a bit too boney to navigate in “conventional craft”, he stumbled upon Packrafts; think beach-dinghy meets tank. Since then, he’s been paddling the unexplored rivers of the area, many of which are documented on his blog (http://riverandforest.wordpress.com/). With help from Zorba and Google Earth, we began to explore the almost infinite number of rivers and creeks which wind, fall, fall and fall their way into Bangladesh……
…which brings me up to the here and now. You may have noticed that this blog has a slightly retrospective feel. Well, that’s because I’m calling it a day. If I have learned nothing else during the last few months (which is entirely possible), it is that too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. I will be returning next week, intact and with a cheeky grin on my face to join AUCC as they descend on Teifi tour. God help the citizens of Llandusyl.
If you’ve gotten this far, I’d like to thank you very much for sticking with me. It really means a lot. Look at me, I’m welling up.
James
x
After two months, three dangerously overstayed visas and a lost passport, our little adventure has come to an end. Here’s a quick rundown on what we have learned for anyone interested in paddling Pakistan.
Security
Me in 'relaxed-mode"
As a yorkshireman, I was born triple-hard. Those not fortunate enough to have been born in God’s own county will naturally be concerned about personal safety. It would be irresponsible to suggest that Pakistan is ‘as safe as houses’. We did encounter violence during the trip, most of which was the result of petty arguments and climaxed with a grown-up playground-style scuffle. There are also guns in Pakistan; at one point whilst running away from gunfire, Griff commando rolled under barbed wire. True story. The only sensible advice would be to remain positive, friendly and calm; after all, who could ever get angry at Dave Benson-Phillips?
Logistics, accommodation and everything else
In a word, Amin. Amin will mention the name of a guy who is friends with his cousin’s friend’s uncle and the hotel bill will drop a decimal point or two. Amin will personaly deliver matches to your isolated multiday campsite because who wants cold tea? Amin drinks two pints of milk a night to give him ‘stamina’ and having spent time in Europe, Amin understands why we wear such short shorts. Without Amin, we would have paddled less and spent more. And he’s more than just a driver, he’s a great friend.
Incidentally, he’s asked us to shop around for a British wife. Applications on a postcard.
The paddling
Eventually, we’ll write a ‘what we did on our holidays’ style report on the rivers that we enjoyed. Until then, I can promise you that hiding away amongst the monsters are some truly beautiful sections of whitewater.
Here’s a final few photos of our “expedition”. We had a great time and would again like to thank Palm for their help with the equipment and saint-like patience with my idle ramblings. We’re in India now and if you’ll have me, I’ll continue to keep you posted.
With love from Leh,
James
As we crossed the border into Pakistan, we stumbled upon a small shop with a refrigerator. The temperature was around 40 degrees Celsius and the sun shone proudly in a cloudless midsummer sky. The plan was to hire a car to take our equipment to the bus station in Lahore from which we could catch the 30 hour bus to Gilgit. Instead, we decided to sack it off for a couple of hours and have a Fanta. This encounter has set the pace for the rest of the trip.
In fact, our little expedition seems to have merged perfectly with the Pakistani way of life; a lifestyle punctuated by regular tea breaks, naps and obscure public holidays. Why this morning, I spent half an hour in a mobile phone shop drinking a whole pint glass full of juice that tasted like Parma Violets. Imagine if you didn’t like Parma Violets! That would be awful. Luckily, I do like Parma Violets.
A cloud that looked a bit like an elephant with wings.
And then there’s the rivers: From raging silt stained torrents to crystal blue glacial streams, almost all have been thoughtfully located next to a road. ‘But surely there must be hundreds of undiscovered classics just seconds off the beaten track?’, you may ask. Well until they build a road next to it, I’ll be in the pool drinking my Fanta.
With love from Pakistan,
James
Here’s a few photos of the trip so far. We’ve found a huge range of whitewater and there is still so much more to be done.
Joe Rea-Dickins, James Smith and Chris Griffiths from Aberystwyth University were scheduled to begin their 5 month expedition to Pakistan, India and Nepal last monday. Here’s why they didn’t:
On the night of the 3rd of June, a higher power of some kind came to Griff in a dream. The mysterious voice told him that next week, Aberystwyth would experience a great flood. ‘But we fly to Pakistan tomorrow’ pleaded Griff.
‘Yeah, whatever’ replied the voice. And then it was gone.
Based solely on this information and no other organisational factors whatsoever, we decided to postpone our Pakistani adventure until the 21st June. That way, we get big levels in Wales and even bigger levels in Pakistan; win-win.
On the 9th June Mid-Wales experienced the biggest levels that any of us had ever seen. Quickly deciding that the Rhuddnant would be ‘a bit silly’, we headed for the upper-Ystwyth; a bouncy 3/4 on a regular flow, the river was almost two times higher than any of us had paddled it before. Finding that the river just kept on going, we walked up as far up as we could and ran a section which we’ll call the ‘upper-upper-Ystwyth’
The 'upper-upper Ystwyth'
It was so beautiful that Joe cried. FACT.
However, due to the grey skies and horizontal rain the photos weren’t coming out as well as we had expected. To add a little ‘artistic flair’ and ‘excitement’ to the composition, Joe suggested that Griff capsize at the crux of the rapid and then leave his boat and paddles to explore the river alone. He naturally obliged and his boat is currently on display, wrapped around a tree towards the end of the run.
Griff showboating for the crowds
‘That colour boat simply didn’t go with my new drysuit’ he remarked. ‘It had to go.’
Simply put, we had a great final day in Aberystwyth on our local run and we hope that you enjoyed the floods too. In a little over a week, we’ll be heading out to Pakistan and we’ll post updates here when good stuff happens. We’d really like to thank Palm for their support. Have a great summer!
James
p.s. Here’s a quick video that Joe threw together on a steam powered laptop:
