my adventure trip to byasi

8/7/2019 MY ADVENTURE TRIP TO BYASI

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MY ADVENTURE TRIP TO BYASI

Just penning some experiences from the River rafting in byasi near rishikesh. Its

surely an exhilarating experience when the raft bounces up and down the turbulent

river. It was in Oct 2006 when our school took us to this never forgetting

adventurous trip through a reputed operator. They have the right equipment and

experience to carry out the adventurous experience.

The accomodation provided was a tented one with excellent buffet and a friendly

and well trained staff. They even had a makeshift swimming pool at the site.

Activities such as rock climbing, rappelling , trekking etc. were also on the offer.

Very few of us were swimmers but nevertheless it did not matter as there were life

jacket on throughout our rafting.

On arrival after the welcome drinks and a brief training session we were welcomedaboard the camping area. It was well planned and thought out landscaping of the

site. On day one we set out to the river. We were driven in a bus to a slightly

upstream spot. We wore our life jackets, helmet , beach sandles and handed over

an oar each. I was fortunate to sit in the front and thus got the best view. We spent

half the day going downstream through the occassional rapids and our instructor,



who sat at the back, would shout instructions when to row and how much. we even

got to swim in the free flowing river with our life jackets on. We had to simply fix

our feet under the raft's rope and lie flat on the river's surface. The raft would

cruise along softly taking us along with the gentle flow. This could be done only

when the river was wide and calm. It was really being in the lap of the nature.

This experience was GREAT. The day two started on a routine note. Our cameras

were kept inside the water tight box (whose worth we realised much later). We sat

in the same sequence and positions in the raft except that this raft was bigger and

heavier. May be this time we were destined for something bigger.

As soon as the rafting began it was more turbulent than the day before and got us

wet in no time. There were couple of foreigners in the adjoining rafts. We even

splashed water on other rafts that were coming along. After the initial struggle ,the spot came - They call it 'Golf course'- How can we forget the name !! It was

unusually shaky there and we were cheering loudly as the raft would jump over 5 ft

and land with a splash spraying water into our faces. The raft jumped high and low.

We could barely hold ourselves on our seats. We still managed to row it into a high

point. And then, god knows how, a huge wave hit the raft from its right, suddenly

overturning the 80 Kg raft, 20 Kg oars and its 6 occupants right in the middle of

the turbulent river.

We didn't know what had hit us. The first reaction was surely of panic as it wasn't

part of the package. But then when you are floating down a frothing river at 30 -

40km/ hr speed, the only thing that strikes you is to save your life and someone

else's too. The instructor shouted and told us to hold the raft by its rope. And we all

clung dearly to the raft like children who would hold on to the mother.

The impact of the river was so huge that water nearly blinded us and I could

occassionally hear the shrieking of our non swimmer friend. So I held his one armand held the rope with the other. My sunglasses effortless flew away from me and

settled down at the bottom of the holy river. The natural beauty, that lay along the

banks of the river, stood mutely staring at us and we could barely see anything

beyond our dear raft. That period seemed endless (am told it was less than 5

minutes) till the river broadened and turned calm. We dragged the raft to the silent

my adventure trip to byasi

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