Day 3 - Rafting!

We woke in the morning and it was terribly cold - Freezing! After we got used to the cold, we went and had our showers and then packed our bags. We also packed up our sleeping bags and mattresses and were ready for the day. We assembled at the meetings point and walked to breakfast where we all ate fired rice, eggs and chicken. The food was delicious. We then got into a van to go to the rafting spot.  

It took about 45 minutes to get to the place where we were going to learn the basics of rafting (See videos below). When we arrived, we were told to change into our clothes and water shoes. Then we gathered to meet our white water rafting instructor, Mr Bu. His name translated into English is Crab. He taught us how to hold a paddle properly and showed us how to move the paddle going forward and backward and told us some commands associated with the movements. We were also told about the dangers of whitewater rafting and how to make sure we weren't in those situations. We went outside to do some tests on boats with the team to practice what we learnt.

Before we did the tests on land, we got fitted with helmets and life jackets and did a safety check called the "buddy check". After the tests, we got into the vans again and drove down to the river. Near the river, we assembled out teams and got into the boats with our paddles. We were on the river and noticed that the water was very cold, yet is was still comfortable.

During the ride, we saw a lot of trees on the right side and many rocks in the river. The first ride was quite thrilling and made our arms ache. The sun was ideally warm and balanced well with the cold water of the river. The rapids were bumpy and strong, but were fun because the currents were very fast. Some boats got stuck because of the currents but it was still fun during those times. We went under the bridge and knew that was when the thrill and excitement and fun was over.  That was the end of ride one.

We were told that ride two was going to be tougher and more dangerous and we were pumped for that. Ride two had more sudden drops and faster currents which made four people fall out of their boats. Luckily, no one got injured. During ride two, we saw beautiful green leaves on trees, rocks that glittered when the sun hit them, people eating in houses and great big elephants eating by the river. The rapids this time were faster and made a lot of us wet. 

As we saw the last bridge and heard the whistle, we knew that was the end of an amazing day.