One of my solo travelling adventures had led me to an amazing inflatable kayaking experience. My tryst for travel and adventure made me take a long train journey followed by a roadways bus travel in the scorching April sun. The destination was Rishikesh. During one of my leisurely strolls in the city I sought out to go towards the river which appeared alluring to beat the heat. Near the river, it was better than before. The breeze was way cooler. It was pleasant.
I sat down besides the river. Dipped my feet in the river. Anything to do with the river was highly inviting. I saw rafts passing by with groups of people visibly having fun in the cool waters of Ganges. Emboldened by recently acquired skills to float and swim a bit, I felt like trying to give water activities a try.
Fear of capsizing and having to swim in the river was still paralyzing. However despite the nagging nervousness I still wanted to do something different. Most of my google searches popped up with rafting. I saw something called kayaking, but that seemed quite daunting. This is when I hit upon Inflatable kayaking, in which it was mentioned as a guided tandem inflatable kayaking experience. The words ‘guided’ and ‘tandem’ were somewhat driving my fears away.
I decided to go ahead with inflatable kayaking. It was the best fit for my requirements. While I sat in the front and behind me was an experienced guide. It was like a tandem ride. The adventurous me, decided to opt for the more challenging section from Shivpuri! My heartbeat was already on its highest as I was given the instructions and I took my seat in the inflatable kayak. The sight of safety kayakers somewhat was comforting. The guide who was to be with me in this inflatable kayaking adventure was also seeming to be quite senior and competent. The whole setting calmed me down.
I had assumed I only needed to listen to the guide and follow instructions. I was relaxed. The river run began. I had forgotten about scorching heat. I could see hills covered with greenery and trees, rocks, and the dancing river.
I was finally on my inflatable kayaking trip. Navigating my way through some gigantic rapids and rocks. Cold water splashed on my face. It all felt surreal. In some flat water sections I even jumped off the kayak and swam a bit. It was all fun.
I was having the time of my life as our boat was facing big waves and coming through the right side up always, when the guide announced that we have crossed all the main rapids and now remaining is a chill journey. I felt relieved though still looking for more. Not even once did it come to my mind. That this inflatable kayak can be flipped intentionally also. We went further ahead and in one of a rapids, in a split second. I was out of the inflatable kayak. Upside down in the river. These kind of behind the scene pics don’t make it to Instagram. I was facing what I had feared.
When your head is inside water. You can’t complain this is not what I had signed up for. After panting and gasping for breath. Once, I caught hold of the safety kayak and collected my wits. I saw the whole team having a good laugh. It was all part of the plan. Just that, for me it was a surprise. I laughed too.
During one of my travels. A stranger had said to me “You end up taking the route that you avoid due to fear”. It happened here. 🙂
This story is inspired from one of the experiences I had during a solo trip to Rishikesh, where I had decided to include some river adventure in the form of Inflatable Kayaking. The image used had originally appeared on instagram handle @team4adventure, which is linked below. Follow @team4adventure on instagram for more such images.