Canada on rails. 4 days train trip from Toronto to Vancouver. Day 4 and Day 5.

Day 4 

Today was the main day of the whole journey. The world famous crossing across the Rockies mountain range. The crossing itself is an engineering marvel. Add to that the spectacular views and I was super excited for the day to unfold. By 6 30 am I was snugly ensconced in one of the seats of the Dome car. Today was the most important day of the journey and I was not taking any chances. I had plans to sit here for the duration of the day so I bought all my accessories with me. 

Around 7 am the train halted at Jasper, Alberta. It had a stop of 3 hrs here. I was not going to get down here because I visited on two occasions before and also I did not want to lose a seat in the dome car. Jasper, at 1060 MSL is located in the Athabasca valley and forms the one of two main towns in the Rockies. The other being Banff. The nearby located Jasper National Park is a World Heritage Site. It was still as dark as the train pulled into the town of Jasper but the faint beginnings of sunrise slowly started and by 9 am the day was bright. As the light grew better I could make better sense of my surrounding. There were multiple parallel tracks covered in the white snow. Just two lines of rail peeking out above the surface. There were other trains parked on these tracks. These were all CN(Canadian National) trains. A fun fact here. The tracks are owned by Canadian National and VIA Rail only runs their trains on these and they do not own them.

With the background of snow clad mountains and the trains nearby the scene was stunning. At some  sections clouds obscured the views giving the whole landscape a surreal look. Meanwhile a trickle of passengers started streaming in the dome car among which I could spot a lot of new faces. This was no doubt due to the fact that the Jasper-Kamloops is the most famous stretch of the Toronto-Vancouver run. 

At around 10 am it was time to leave. A ripple of excitement passed through the crowd in the dome car as the train jolted to a start. Already DSLRs and video cameras were out. A train coming from the opposite direction blocked our views for a while immediately after we left the station but for me even the train was part of the landscape. After some time our train was alone and the spectacular scenery presented itself. The train snaked through small hills immediately surrounding the rails. Far away mountains loomed all covered in snow, a silent spectator to this train of metallic containers rolling away. The passengers soon fell into a sense of awe at this enthralling display of the wonders of nature. 

The seat next to me which had largely been empty was soon by a guy. We soon jumped into a conversation and I found out that he was originally from Brazil and was now studying in the University of Alberta. Our conversation drifted from Brazil to India to travel in general all the while making sure we did not miss any of the beautiful scenery drifting by. At some points vast expanses of snow covered flats could be seen. There was no way to determine if these were plain grounds or lakes except by looking at gmaps. The trees surrounding were all covered in snow. Everything was covered in snow and as I looked outside the windows the world looked black and white to me so stark were the surroundings.

At some sections some portions of the water in a river were visible. They were like sheets of glass laid out on the frozen ground. These stunning views continued till Kamloops.  We all watched this enchanting work of nature in awe. I only left the dome for lunch for which my friend from Brazil was good enough to join in. After lunch I went back to my regular place in settled down there. 

Around 6 pm we reached Kamloops. This was going to be the last stop before we reached Vancouver the next day. A lot of passengers left here. I strolled around the station, again taking a quick look at the locomotive which has been pulling us from Toronto since the last three days. 

After darkness descended there was nothing much to do. The breathtaking scenery had lived upto the hype and I was feeling overwhelmed by it all. So after a quick dinner I just drifted off to sleep with the reel of the days scenery playing in my mind.    

Day 5

The next day I woke up leisurely and by 7 am we reached Vancouver. This was incredible. We were an hour earlier than our scheduled time. 'The Canadian' is famous for its delays and I was mentally prepared for such an eventuality but now thankfully we were on time. While taking a stroll towards the dome car for one final look around I saw a man reading a book on Mughals. Intrigued I struck up a conversation with him. I found he was very much interested in History and asked me about Kashmir and about a few recent controversial recent bills passed in India. I suggested a few books about the Mughals to him and also noted down his suggestions. We promised to stay in touch before we departed. 

The train ends its epic 4 day 4500 kms journey at the Pacific Station in Vancouver. Built in 1919 the station is a heritage building. As I got down from the train the past 4 days swirled in my mind. It was truly an epic journey.  

4500 km.

Across 5 provinces each roughly the size of France.

Crossing 4 time zones.

One of the most ambitious railway engineering feats ever.

And I completed it. 

I went home and dropped down on my comforting bed. Finally it was time to stretch my legs on the sweet flat bed.

A video of the trip.

Canada on rails. 4 days train trip from Toronto to Vancouver. Day 3.

Learning from last day's experience I woke up relatively late today. It was around 6 am that my alarm woke me. This was the second night I had slept on the sitting seats and surprisingly I had slept well on both nights. After a good nights sleep I was feeling all excited for the day ahead. I quickly made my way over to the Dome car. Like the day before I found it totally empty. I grabbed a seat and waited for the sunrise. Slowly some other passengers trickled in no doubt waiting for the sunrise vistas to reveal. Having crossed the boundary of Manitoba during the night we were in Saskatchewan now. Around 7 30 am I could sense a change in the sky. Slowly, the black of the sky began to change into a shade of blue. At first it was dark blue but slowly morphed into a lighter shade. All around me the advancing light dimly illuminated the landscape which showed me nothing but endless barren lands on both sides. At the horizon where the sky met the land there was a strip of orange which shone brightly even as the rest of the sky had turned blue. The ground itself was still dark. These different colours presented a surreal picture. 90's kids will remember there used to be a powerpoint background called sunrise which had different shades of colours transforming form blue to orange. This reminded me of that. I watched this spectacle totally spellbound. For miles and miles the view did not change. Gradually though the sun was up in the sky and it was full daylight.      

By 10 am it was bright sunshine now. The landscape had changed completely compared to yesterday. All around me land stretched as far away as the sky can see. Totally unbroken expanse of land. No trees anywhere. Just some buildings here and there breaking the monotony of the land. Theres a joke about the American midwest which could be applied here. They say when a dog escapes from home in these lands you can see it go for 2 weeks.

At around 11 am the train rolled into the city of Saskatoon. As I watched eagerly outside I could see smoke rising from the city. Smoke or steam it was hard to judge yet it covered a good majority of the sky. We had a 30 min stop at the railway station of Saskatoon. It looked sunny outside but when I checked the temperature on my phone it showed it as -28 Deg. The view outside my widows showed no sign of it being so cold. What I saw was a warm sunny day. I had to check it out. This was the lowest temp I ever had the chance to experience in my life so quickly donning my gear I went out as soon as the train came to a halt. The cold did not hit me suddenly but as I walked around the station it crept inside slowly. The Saskatoon station is nothing much to write about. A small building with a fenced compound like an industrial facility. I took a stroll here, took a few photos and then went back to my seat. 

The journey resumed and again the train snaked its way on the flat lands. Barns, Grain elevators and bundles of hay made up the regular feature of the land now. Soon we crossed into Alberta and by 2100 Hrs were near Edmonton. The city lights glittered in the night and the smoke filled sky glistened. The train pulled up in the city and again we had the option of going out. This I promptly did. Careful not to slip on the snow covered platform I took a quick stroll along the length of the train. Edmonton station was also not much to write about and I did not take the trouble to look around much and quickly made my way back into the station. Part of my disinterest in Edmonton was because I was here before last summer during our Road trip in BC and Alberta.  Our journey resumed at around 11pm and the only thing left to do was sleep. This was going to be my third night sleeping in a sitting position and by now I was beginning to grow a bit tired of it. Nevertheless tomorrow was going to be the most important day of the trip. The section which is one of the most world famous train routes in the World was coming up. A feat of Engineering and true grit. I was all hyped about it and willed myself to sleep. 

River Rafting in Colorado, USA

''Manifest Destiny. Westward Expansion. Come April it will start again'' So starts one of my favorite monologues in a Horror movie. The movie is called ''Ravenous'' and it is so diverse it is difficult to pinpoint its genre but I will go with Horror. This movie is partly inspired from the story of Alferd Parker also called the Colorado Cannibal,who confessed to resorting to cannibalism while travelling with a group of men through the mountains of Colorado. The monologue was playing in my mind as I sat in the flight from Vancouver to Denver, Colorado. The movie was part of my preparation for my trip to Denver.

This was a couple of months back when I was in the United States of America to visit my sister Sheereen and her husband. This was my first visit to USA and I was hugely excited. Here was the land of the movies I grew up watching and the novels I used to read.

Luckily my sisters husband, Azaan is an active outdoor person himself. He loves going on hikes and doing adventure activities. The weekend I was going there, he had planned, a river rafting trip near the town of Glenwood Springs which was around 150 miles away. Other members of this rafting trip were his friends, Ujjwala, her husband, Manish,, Rohini and Daivik.

We started off from Denver around 8 am.We passed through some beautiful scenery and I was glued to the windows as this was my first road journey in USA. We reached the rafting spot at around 11 pm and since the starting time was 1 pm we still had a couple of hours to kill. So we decided to have lunch in the small but quiet cafe there.Soon it was time and after the registration process we headed over to the gathering point where we were to be given some instructions. After a brief talk which included heavy doses of humor we grabbed our gear. This included a safety vest, some smelly shoes and for those of us who were wearing specs, a strap to hold the specs onto our faces. From here we were shepherded into a school bus which was waiting for us. It was a bright sunny day and inside the bus it felt like an oven. Some windows were stuck and wouldn't open and everybody was drenched in sweat within  minutes. The bus started and this bought some respite with the air blowing on our faces.

We reached the starting point at around 12 30 pm. There was only one last thing to do now and that was each team had to carry their raft with them towards the river. We did this and were in position. Soon, the rafts were dragged into the river, people jumped on them and on they went on their way. Our turn came and we did the same. We were off in the Colorado River now. I already had done river rafting once before. That was in Rishikesh in India some 5 years back. Similar to that one, this was also a grade 2&3 rapids rafting. I was looking forward to how different/similar rafting here would be.

At first, we drifted into the current in a gradual pace. As for the seating, Ujjwala and Manish sat at the front, in the second row sat Daivik and Rohini and behind them was me. Bringing up the rear was my sister and her husband Azaan. Our guide, the good natured Mike sat the back steering the raft.  He gave us some simple instructions. When he shouts 'row' we were to row and with shouts of 'stop' we were to stop rowing. Also if he said 'Right' then the those of us who were on the right side were to row and the left would sit still. And when he shouted 'left' only those on the left side were to row. We practiced this for a few times till we got the drift.

After some time we could see the change in the state of the water. It became more turbulent and we were getting excited now. Soon enough our guide instructed us to strengthen our grip with our feet and start rowing with our hands. In a minute our raft collided with a huge wave. The front of the raft went up a huge angle, stayed there for a split second and then fell into the retreating water. There was a spray of water on our faces and bodies as we tried to hold ourselves in place. This first encounter was mighty thrilling and bought out shouts of joy and excitement. We ran into many more rapids like these now and then.

At one point the guide stopped the raft at a section of the river where the water was calm and told us to jump in the water if we wanted to. I was waiting for this part the whole time and without further prodding I jumped along with Daivik. As I hit the water, the momentum carried my whole body a meter inside the waters and then I popped up, breaking the surface. Initially I struggled to catch my breath but I soon recovered. I floated around in the water and took videos with my action cam. But I did not let go of the grab rope holding it with one hand and taking videos with the other. Soon others joined too. Rohini and Ujjwala also jumped into the water on the other side of the raft. All got in the water except Azaan. He helped everyone with getting back on the boat.

To make matters more interesting our guide suggested we take turns in sitting on the tube itself on the front. They had tied a rope with a knot from the D Ring at the front. We were to hold on to this rope and enjoy the heaving of the raft from the prime seat available on the raft. First to go was me. I perched atop the tube there and as instructed grabbed hold of the rope and sat there. The first collision with the waves bought a huge scream of joy from me as it felt exhilarating. You feel as if you are flying in the air. Truly, the feeling of the raft striking the waves and shivering with the impact is something that has be experienced. Pumps up your adrenaline!

We all took turns sitting at the front. Sheereen also had her turn and she enjoyed it a lot. It felt good seeing my sister with me on this trip. We used to go on trips with our dad when we were kids and as so happens in life as we grew up the frequency of trips slowed down until it stopped completely. And now back together on a trip made me happy.

We passed a number of sections of rapids of different intensities. Some were mild some wild. The only thing I found a bit annoying was that the whole rafting trip was a bit too long with long periods of calm water in between the rapids. This was getting a bit boring but our guide tried his best to fill in these phases by telling stories of local legends and also his own experiences. The only story that stuck in my mind was that of a woman of 19th century who used to climb one of the cliffs overlooking the river. In that day and age a woman doing something like that was super inspiring.

Soon we reached the end, where again we had to get off the raft and carry it upwards towards a waiting vehicle. We all then got inside the bus mighty happy with the rafting experience. We were taken back to the original starting point where we returned all the equipment and changed into dry clothing. By 5pm we were soon on our way back. That ended my first adventure trip in the United States of America all thanks to Azaan and my sister!

In Brief :
Activity - River Rafting
River - Colorado
Location - Glenwood Springs
Distance from Denver - Around 150 Miles.
Rafting Agency - Defiance River Rafting
Class of Rapids - Class 2&3
Duration - 3 hours. From 1 pm to 4 pm.

Everything you need to know about the Bhutan's Druk Path trek

The Druk Path trek is one of the most popular treks in the small yet beautiful country of Bhutan.Myself along with my friends did it last month.It was a wonderful experience.

Bhutan,especially in India,is very little known. Not many people consider going there. Trekking in Bhutan is even more unheard of which is a pity because Bhutan will leave you spellbound both in its cities and in the wilderness.Now with that short account of what I felt about out trip/trek let me move forward to the main intention of this post i.e to throw some light on some important info about the Druk Path Trek which will help you plan your own trip. 

First,this is a Himalayan Trek which starts from Paro (a city) and ends in Thimphu (Capital of Bhutan).This is not a 'summit' trek where the goal is to reach a peak or a highest point and from the base camp and then descend. This is A to B trek.From one point to another traversing through some 

wonderful scenery.The path takes you through rhododendron and pine forests,some stunning lakes and old creaking monasteries.  

Claim to Fame-

1. Beautiful lakes en route

2. Short and arguably most popular trek of Bhutan

3. Stunning views of Mt. Gangkar Puensum, the highest unscaled peak in the world.(In our case the weather was not good and we did not get any views)

Region-

The trek starts in Paro which is in Chukha Dzongkhag(District) and ends in Thimphu(Thimphu Dzongkhag).Both of these cities lie in the western part of Bhutan.

Best time to do it-

There are two windows for this trek.
1.March-May.
2.September- November.
I will be talking about everything related to the March-May window in this blog post.

Duration-The whole trek starting from Paro and ending at Thimphu typically takes 5 days.It can be done leisurely in 6 days too or If you are fit enough it can be done in 4 days also.

Distance- Around 50 to 60kms

Grade-This is described as a Moderate trek. There is some amount of physical work required but relatively speaking I found this easier than my last trek ie Roopkund trek. First timers can easily do it by doing some amount of training for it. Indiahikes formula of running 5km in 30 mins will be more than enough for this trek.

Medicines-Altitude Sickness plays a factor in this trek.So be prepared with medicines.AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) differs from person to person.Some may get affected by while some may remain completely free from it.I strongly advise everyone to carry a set of medicines with you.While Diamox is the medicine for AMS,the various trekking agencies have differing opinions about it,Some suggest taking it may cause more harm than good.The locals prefer taking roasted garlic for every problem.

Even if you are the sort of person who despises taking tablets I suggest you carry a strip of Paracetamol with you.Calpol 500mg or 250mg is a good option.Make sure it is pure paracetamol.It shouldn't be added with any other compound.You never know what side effects it may cause.

Equipment- No matter what the trek, equipment always plays a huge factor in how much you enjoy your trek. And remember always pack keeping in mind emergencies.99% of the time you might not need them but prepare for that 1%.

My top 3 must have items on this trek apart from the usual sweaters,jackets,raincoats and rain pants are-

1.Torch (A torch is essential for movement in the night.Although there is no night time trekking involved having a torch is vital for movement between tents in the night)

2. At least 5 pair of socks (I carried 7 pairs with one woolen pair included.Woolen pair was for the night). With the many monasteries you have to enter, it is better for everyone to have a good clean pair of socks on your legs.The moment you remove your shoes it shouldn't send the monks into a pain induced trance.Thank you.

3.Garbage bags (Do not underestimate the worth of garbage bags.They have a number of uses.They can be used to store wet clothes,your chappals,sometimes shoes,your valuables in case of a rain.)

And finally the Trek Agency-

Choosing a trek agency is very critical.Remember the following points when choosing an agency
1.They are responsible for your fooding and lodging all throughout the trek.You don't have other options once you start the trek.You solely depend on the agency
2.They are responsible for your safety. The competency of your guide and his team is vital.Good guides are certified First Aiders and have undergone proper mountaineering courses
3.You get to use their gear.Good agencies use good gear.Simple really.
4.Go with agencies that do treks with small groups.Easy to manage and ensures proper safety of all.
5.Choose established agencies as they have local contacts in the villagers and can be of huge help in case of emergencies.

Apart from the above points you have to keep in mind one very important thing.In Bhutan it is a policy to take the services of a local trek agency only.That means whatever Indian agency that is offering treks in Bhutan has a Bhutanese counterpart which is providing the actual services.

We did our trek with GIO. This was my third trip with GIO after doing Nagtibba Trek and Roopkund Trek. Their services are excellent and there was a reason I was taking their services for this trek also. But GIO left me a tad bit disappointed this time.The Bhutanese agency which they engaged was simply not good.The food was not upto the mark and the hotels were disappointing. 

Add to that the way GIO handled a couple of last minute changes in the Border regulations left me angry.I believe that to be a one off bad experience with GIO. I have written to them and am still awaiting a explanation from them. Anyway point is, be very careful in choosing an agency.Find out how many treks they have organised in Bhutan till date and always inquire about the Bhutanese agency which they will be employing.

A short plan of the trek-

Day 1: Paro to Jili Dzong (3450MSL) 

Trek/4-5 hrs
Total Ascent-1090mtr

Day 2:Jili dzong to Jang chulakha (3760MSL) 

 Trek/5-6 hrs
Ascent-310mtr
Descent- 50mtr

Day 3: Jang Chulakah to Jimilang Tsho -Jana Tsho(3956MSL)  

Trek/7-8 hrs
Descent- 230mtr
Ascent- 330mtr

Day 4: Jana Tsho to Phajoding (3600MSL)

Trek/6-7 hrs

Day 5: Phajoding to Thimphu (2300MSL) 

Trek/3-4 hrs 

Over the next few weeks I will be writing a day to day report of the entire trek.Stay tuned.

Roopkund Trek,Uttarakhand. Descent and Day 5 (Pathal Nachni to Wan)

After the very tiring and mighty exciting ascent to the top we started our decent at 1 30pm.The return journey was equally tiring but one difference was that wherever it was possible we slid across the slope of the mountain.Durga would go ahead and gauge the slope and how safe it was.Then he would slide across and reach the bottom and wait for us.He was helped in this by the porters.This way we made many slides across the mountain.This made our return journey exciting and also sped it up.The sliding was not without its share of risks though.During sliding it is completely up to you to control the speed with your legs.If you don't occasionally slow yourself down you can pick up a lot of speed.An alarming speed If I may say so.At this speed it is very difficult for the catchers at the end of the slope to catch you.If they miss you and you slide away,there is every possibility of you going all the way and smashing on the rocks below.Durga assured me that in case he misses he will coming running after us and catch us.He said he could run faster than our slide over the slope.We saw this in action when durga and one of the porters missed bhanu when he slid down.Bhanu was sliding away at a very high speed.Durga sprung into action as soon as he missed bhanu and started running after him.Sure enough the way he ran he covered the distance very fast.As soon as he reached near bhanu he grabbed him with his left hand and when both were sliding together now he struck his ice axe into the ice with his right hand.This bought both of them to a halt.We were mighty relieved.My heartbeat went up when they first failed to catch bhanu and came down only when durga stopped bhanu some several metres down the slope.There were no more scares during the rest of the journey.
       We reached Bhagubasa at around 3 30pm if my memory serves me right.We stopped for a very short break.By this time my nose and lips were a mess.My nose was sunburned and my lips were broken in many places.I got talking to a fellow trekker who was eating maggie there about his experience at the top. At the end he pointed at me and told his friend ''look this guy is wearing lipstick''. We all laughed.I took a pic of my face then just to check it out later. On top of all this I was wearing two spectacles.One was for my eyesight problem the other was common sunglasses.And they were both at two levels.So to complete the picture I had broken lips,a sunburned nose and two pairs of spectacles.I was looking mighty funny and I knew it.I didn't care though.Nobody did actually.Nobody was there to look pretty.
      In bhagubasa we learned that the other three members of our trek group satya,angkan and nitesh already departed for pathalnachi in the afternoon.So after that short break we moved on eager to reach pathalnachni before dusk.From bhagubasa to pathalnachni we trudged on mighty tired without much talk.We finally reached our destination at 6pm.I was the first to reach and as soon as I reached the camp I slopped down on the ground.We had some snacks and an early dinner.All four of us who reached the top slept very early.We still had some trek left for the next day so we slept early.

      Next morning after a hurried breakfast we started our trek to the village of wan from where we would be getting our vehicle to Haldwani.This was now a race against time as we were running behind schedule and had flights and trains to catch.The return journey always poses a different challenge from the onwards one.Since we were going down we had to take care not to quicken our steps and restrain ourselves.Also a lot of stress goes onto the knees.Bhanu already had a bit of a knee problem going on for the duration of the trek and now he was under a lot of pain.He had a bandage which he wrapped around his knee and carried on.We finally reached the village of wan in the afternoon.It was stunning to say the least.The quaint houses nestled along the hills presented a very beautiful and romantic sight.Satya who was feeling a bit dizzy vomited in one of the streets.A kind passerby offered us some water which satya gladly accepted and drank.

At the centre of the village our vehicle was waiting for us and as soon as we boarded it we took off.We went to our original point of start the village of Lohajung. Here we took our belongings and had a bath.This was after 5 days of no bathing.Refreshed and rejuvenated we got ready for departure.We bid goodbye to Durga,aman,rahul and other members of the GIO team and thanked them for the wonderful service they provided us.They shaped a memory for us that will remain with us for our lifetime.
  PS-From Lohajung we reached Haldwani at 1pm in the night from where we took a taxi to take us to Delhi.We reached Delhi in the morning from where we split to catch our respective trains or flights.Bhanu,abhishek,arun and angkan all missed their flights and had to make alternate plans.Only satya and myself boarded our train as planned.

                                      

Bungee Jumping and Zip Lining in Rishikesh,India

This is a part of my Adventure Trip to Uttarakhand in May 2014

After the thrilling river rafting in the morning,it was time for one of the most extreme adventure activities,Bungee Jumping.Immediately after our rafting trip was done we headed to Jumpin Heights office and booked our slot for the afternoon activities. We boarded their bus which starts from their office and reached the site in around 40 minutes.There were three activities to be done and there were some combo packs too.We decided to take the combo pack of bungee jumping and zip lining with bungee as priority.

As we made our way to the bungee platform there was a slight uneasiness in my stomach as I looked at the platform to my left and I wondered if I would be able to jump at all.When we reached their Bhanu was told to move ahead and I was asked to wait.This is because of weight difference.The 60 plus people were being told to jump first.I sat there chatting with another girl who had come from Chandigarh.She had quite an amusing story to tell.She came to Rishikesh with her brother and his girlfriend.This girl was the get-your-sister-into-the-trip-as-more-than-one-girl-is-there-and-parents-of-girlfriend-allow-her-to-go card that her brother used well.Now in Rishikesh she was all alone and trying all the adventure activities she could.

A call from the jump master made us break our conversation.He motioned me come and I went to the end of the platform where a jumper jumps off.Here I saw Bhanu all set with the bungee cord and the safety cord tied firmly to him.He was standing at the edge and looking down.I wondered if he could jump.Then the jump master started the countdown.And the suddenly just like that Bhanu took off.Swoosh! and gone down! I was jumping around like a seal on the platform not able to contain my excitement.Here I was.On the bungee platform having seen these kind of jumps on television and movies so often and then wishing that someday that I will also do the same.Now in front of me Bhanu just did it.And it was my turn next! I was mighty excited and pumped up.The crew having finished with Bhanu's jump came to me next and started with the formalities.There were few instructions.The most repeated one was to jump properly,in such a way that I should not strike back the platform when the bungee springs back.I was advised to jump like they do when diving in water.After the cord was tied up I was take to the edge.I was standing near the edge and Martina,one of the crew told me move my feet nearer to the edge.I moved a little.She told me move it more.I did slowly.She continued to do this until I had my feet half way over the edge.When I looked down for the first time,the wind knocked out of me.The drop was scary and I was scared.It shows on the video.For a fleeting second I thought I cannot do this.I simply cant! But then I steeled myself saying to myself that I cannot turn back now.Bungee Jumping was on my bucket list for a long time and I was not going turn back now.The jump master helped me by tilting my head upwards away from the scary drop below.But I couldn't jump blindly and I told him so.I wanted to look down into the drop and jump.This was the hardest part of the whole jump,gathering the courage to look into the scary drop,conquering that fear and taking the leap.

 The jump master asked me if I was ready I replied in the affirmative and he started 

3

2

1

Jump! 

Whoooooooooooooooooo!!!

I jumped.Nothingness for a few seconds!
Some kind of mixing in my stomach as I fell freely under the influence of gravity!
When I look back at the first few seconds of the jump all I remember is that I was in some kind of a trance.The bungee springing back broke me from the trance.Then I spread my arms wide and started screaming on top of my lungs! I did it!
I finally did it!

Slowly the the bungee straightened out and I was received at the bottom.As soon as I landed they gave me a 'I got guts' badge which I proudly wore for the rest of the day!
We also did Zip Lining which was exciting but after the bungee jump didn't seem much.

River Rafting in River Ganga.Rishikesh,India.

This is a part of my Adventure Trip to Uttarakhand in May 2014

Having taken a refreshing night's rest in Rishikesh we were,in the sunny morning,much excited about the River rafting trip that lay ahead of us.Since my engineering days I had a intense desire to do rafting.My original plan was to do rafting in Dandeli in Karnataka but that didn't materialise and fate bought me to River Ganga for the adrenaline pumping activity.

            We had already booked our slot with Red Chilly Adventures and off we went to their Assembly point.After brief formalities and being introduced to the other members of our group we were taken,some 30kms from the city,to our starting point on the river.Here we met our instructor and after detailed instructions about safety and what to do and what not to do,were given our life jackets and helmets.I was jumping with excitement and could barely contain my enthusiasm.With much restlessness I listened to everything but I did pay attention as ignoring the instructions would be very risk.With the formalities over we sat inside the raft.I wanted to take the front part but the seats were allotted by the instructor and we had to comply.Soon we were into the calm and placid water of the Ganga and were gliding over it.On guide then gave a shout to start rowing.He just shouted 'start' and we started rowing.Then a shout of 'stop' made us stop.This we practised for a sometime correcting whatever mistakes there were in our holding the paddles,our sitting posture,our rowing motion etc. After a few tries our guide got a bit disappointed and declared that he found a lack of enthusiasm from the group.He then ordered everyone to jump out of the raft.We looked at each other with surprise,some with alarm.But I was already turning over and looked at him for confirmation and with his yes I jumped. The water was very cold and it sucked the wind out of my lungs.

Slowly everyone jumped out and we all were floating around the raft holding it.It was fun.right ahead lay some gentle rapids and our guide told us to go through it still floating.I was a bit nervous now but as we passed them all my nervousness vanished.The rapids were gentle and we enjoyed it.After floating or body surfing as it is called we climbed back into the raft and prepared for higher grade rapids.
          We passed though many rapids each better than the last and more thrilling.The raft collided with the waves,wildly swinging us in our places.We held on somehow. The water splashed on our faces and bodies.We were swayed,rattled,shocked,alarmed and at times downright scared but we held on and completed the whole ride of around 20kms.It was the most thrilling fun I ever had until the afternoon when I went for a even more thrilling activity!