I remember our first bamboo raft experience in Thekkady National Park, southern India. The parc had just begun offerering this option to see elephants up close in their natural habitat, without disturbing them too much.
In Loksado a Chinese man runs a second business making bamboo rafts and taking local and foreign tourists down the rapids for 3 hours. The long raft is waiting for us next to a bridge. It is tied together and has an elevated seat to hold our backpacks, now well wrapped in garbage bags, to prevent them from getting wet. Shady takes place in the back and we sit in the front. The guide takes a very long bamboo pole and pushes us off on our journey.
We slowly move downstream surrounded by lushious vegetation, butterflies and the mountains in the background. The water level is barely knee deep in certain places. The rapids are exciting and it is interesting to see how the guide moves around the raft and makes sure it turns at just the right moment. He seems to be an expert and probably knows every inch of the river. In certain places he has to run up and down the raft even jumping with his whole body to swerve the raft just inches past a group of mencing rocks! We have found a good nickname for him: Jacky Chan.
About halfway through the journey it begins to rain… Huge drops pour on us for a good hour, chilling us to the bone. We stop for a snack on a mini island to warm up. Soon it the sun is shining again and we can continue our journey. We pass by villages next to the river and bamboo rafts transporting rice and other products. Our guide will sell the bamboo from the raft when we arrive instead of shipping it back up to the starting point by road. We notice him eying the bamboo forest surrounding us. I can imagine him mentally making a note of each tree, its age and its price. At the end of the trip we arrive in his home village. We unload our bags and follow him up to his house. We change our clothes before saying good-bye and see Syhril waiting for us. It was a great experience being able to observe nature from the raft. I would recommend it to everyone!
We have a delicious lunch of chicken satay and rice at a roadside restaurant nearby. Unfortunately we have to make our way back to Banjarmasin again... Tomorrow our flight will takes us back to Surabaya and Bali. We have immensely enjoyed our 10 days in Kalimantan and cannot wait to come back again for a longer journey to discover new places and meet more wonderful local people.
Thanks to Lorna, Aini and Shady for a memorable trip!
Terima kasih. Sampai jumpa sekali lagi.
This entry ends the series of journals from Indonesia.
Coming soon: 1 week hike on the Tour des Dents du Midi, Switzerland.
In Loksado a Chinese man runs a second business making bamboo rafts and taking local and foreign tourists down the rapids for 3 hours. The long raft is waiting for us next to a bridge. It is tied together and has an elevated seat to hold our backpacks, now well wrapped in garbage bags, to prevent them from getting wet. Shady takes place in the back and we sit in the front. The guide takes a very long bamboo pole and pushes us off on our journey.
We slowly move downstream surrounded by lushious vegetation, butterflies and the mountains in the background. The water level is barely knee deep in certain places. The rapids are exciting and it is interesting to see how the guide moves around the raft and makes sure it turns at just the right moment. He seems to be an expert and probably knows every inch of the river. In certain places he has to run up and down the raft even jumping with his whole body to swerve the raft just inches past a group of mencing rocks! We have found a good nickname for him: Jacky Chan.
About halfway through the journey it begins to rain… Huge drops pour on us for a good hour, chilling us to the bone. We stop for a snack on a mini island to warm up. Soon it the sun is shining again and we can continue our journey. We pass by villages next to the river and bamboo rafts transporting rice and other products. Our guide will sell the bamboo from the raft when we arrive instead of shipping it back up to the starting point by road. We notice him eying the bamboo forest surrounding us. I can imagine him mentally making a note of each tree, its age and its price. At the end of the trip we arrive in his home village. We unload our bags and follow him up to his house. We change our clothes before saying good-bye and see Syhril waiting for us. It was a great experience being able to observe nature from the raft. I would recommend it to everyone!
We have a delicious lunch of chicken satay and rice at a roadside restaurant nearby. Unfortunately we have to make our way back to Banjarmasin again... Tomorrow our flight will takes us back to Surabaya and Bali. We have immensely enjoyed our 10 days in Kalimantan and cannot wait to come back again for a longer journey to discover new places and meet more wonderful local people.
Thanks to Lorna, Aini and Shady for a memorable trip!
Terima kasih. Sampai jumpa sekali lagi.
This entry ends the series of journals from Indonesia.
Coming soon: 1 week hike on the Tour des Dents du Midi, Switzerland.
