Published on November 14th, 2018 | by Kayak Session
Mission East to West (Nepal) #1 – The Prelude
Nepal whitewater legend Anup Gurung is back with another masterpiece project. In the next five months, he and a team of top Nepali paddlers, aim to cross Nepal from east to west, paddling all the rivers on his way, but also explore, witness, and document his fast-changing, beloved country as it confronts globalisation. We are super proud here at kayak session to be aboard with this team and bring you regular updates on this amazing mission that goes way beyond kayaking.
Update #1.We have started our five-month long journey from what many consider the heart of Nepal, Kathmandu. We paddled one of the holiest rivers, the Bagmati, which is sadly also one of our filthiest rivers. The very next day we moved just 70 kilometers away to the pristine Melamchi river, seeking the highest put in on the clear waters we saw. But we couldn’t go too far above, for this river too was being dammed to supply water to Kathmandu. We saw that a city that had failed to respect its own holy river was about to dry out another. One black river is being used for sewage, and the other clear one will be used for drinking water, and the fates of those living on their banks will be the same shade of despair. We have been on our expedition for eleven days, and already we have seen so much – the generosity of strangers, the gracious hospitality of those we had helped before, and also the unwelcoming hesitance of those experiencing rapid development. Yet our journey is just starting, we have many more rivers left to paddle, many more people to meet, many more cultures to experience, so much left to explore.
Follow along, as we set out on #missioneasttowest.
Paddlers: Hari Ali, Tarjan Gurung, Roshan Lama and Anup Gurng
Edit: Anup Gurung
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