Nepal: Lower Seti rafting & Bhaktapur

Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th April

Our Lower Seti rafting trip for two days. It was amazing. So amazing, and the kids LOVED it. Super early 6am start, bus for a few hours. We couldn’t go at their usual drop off place because there was a cremation going on next to the river. Then we hit the river!

Stopped at a beautiful lunch spot – the company we used was Paddle Nepal who were so impressive. They whipped out bread, baked beans, salad and all sorts from large barrels from an extra raft they use just to carry the tents/ food and everything else.

A few more hours rafting – it’s a great combination of slow drifting down the river, and you can swim alongside. Then a few rapids. Actually some were a bit faster than I’d have liked with the kids, grade 2 and sometimes 3! But actually by the time we’d got into the swing of things it was fine. Paddle Nepal have a kayak for each raft so they go ahead and watch you take the rapid (for safety). The best thing about that was the kids could ride on the back of the kayak and go on some of the smaller rapids. They LOVED it so much.

We were with another English family doing the trip so we ended up with their teens in our boat and our kids in theirs. All good fun.

We finished at a kind of ‘beach’ where we slept in tents for the night. Just gorgeous. Obvs there was a beautiful sunset & sunrise.

Soz, that was a LOT of pics. It was brill. The kids are getting so hardy and really enjoying all these new experiences – even Henry who is a little more fearful than Charlotte!

We managed to get some rafting vids on the second day!

I’m going to stop now, you get the picture!

My biggest mistake when we left was leaving my sandals behind – probably the most important piece of kit I own. And we are just about to hit 100% sandal time. Kelly at Paddle Nepal was a total LEGEND and gave them to a guide who happened to be going to KTM and we got a motorbike taxi from there to Bhatkapur. Honestly I cried with happiness, I’ve got BIG FEET so a nightmare to replace in BKK. This is Ts face after meeting the taxi guy at a random temple (it was the only landmark we could use on the taxi app!).

Monday 10th April – Bhaktapur

We decided against going back to KTM before our flight to Thailand – we stayed in a beautiful town with Durbars, old buildings. A treat. We also happened to be there on a festival day!!

Pottery square – where they make them in the morning and let them dry all day.

Henry played some football with a kid he discovered on a side street!

For the festival, they made these replicas of one of the main shrines – the kids can play on it during the day, and there were finalising the paintings. This old dude looked about 90 and had the STEADIEST HANDS!

We bumped into the Hornosty (Candadian) family again so we hung out for lunch too.

As it was the start of the festival, we saw a few sacrificial offerings to the temple – people brought their sheep/ goats, slit their throats, cut their heads off and put the blood on the temple. I kid you not. C & H were NOT phased by this at all. I think they are fully travellers now – not sure the kids from Ballyhamas could have handled that a few months ago! I won’t show lots of pics, it was rank.

The festival was something else. They pull this replica shrine and have a tug of war either side of it. Each side pulling the shrine. Turns out we were stood right in the thick of things which was cool. Thousands of people turned out. Everyone said it was really dangerous and there were lots of riot police with tear gas and all sorts (!). And people die there every year? Apparently it got heated overnight.