Friday morning.
10 a.m.
15°C.
Five of us, bundled in layers, staring at the Ganga’s icy currents like a mix of excited toddlers and nervous cats.
“We’re doing this,” someone shouted!
And then — *WOHOOOOO!* — we plunged into the raft, ready to tackle the rapids.
Our adventure kicked off in Shivpuri, 16 km from the Laxman Jhoola.
The cost? Surprisingly chill: Just ₹500 per person for rafting and an extra ₹250 for a neon-orange bodysuit that made us look like stranded traffic cones xD
But hey, those suits were magic — thin yet weirdly warm, drying faster than my enthusiasm when someone mentioned “hypothermia.”
Our guide, Govind, was the kind of guy who could calm a panicking rhino.
“Relax, doston,”
he grinned, tossing us paddles.
“Just follow my voice, and nobody becomes fish food today.” His briefing was part comedy, part survivalist TED Talk: “Hold the paddle like you’re shaking hands with your worst enemy. If you fall in? Don’t fight the river — it’s stronger, and it holds grudges.”
The Ganga greeted us with glassy emerald stretches, lulling us into a false sense of security. Then Govind barked, “Initiation rapid ahead!” Cue chaos. The raft bucked like a wild horse, freezing spray slapping our faces. We whooped, screamed, and somehow survived.
The rapids had names straight out of a theme park:
- “Double Trouble” (a chaotic spin cycle),
- “Golf Course” (where the river suddenly decides to play whack-a-mole), and
- “Roller Coaster” (zero stars, would not ride again without a seatbelt).
Govind’s commands — “Forward! Back paddle! Stop staring and MOVE!” — kept us alive.
There was a magical moment when we synced our strokes, feeling like Olympians… until someone’s paddle whacked my ear.
Teamwork, right?
Mid-ride, Govind dared us to jump into the Ganga.
“It’s holy water,” he teased, “good for karma… and Instagram.”
The cold hit like a thousand needles. I gasped, flailed, then — bliss. Floating there, staring up at misty cliffs, I thought, “This is what peace feels like… if peace also involves mild hypothermia.”
We pit-stopped at a riverside shack for steaming Maggi. Let me tell you, no five-star meal beats slurping noodles with numb fingers while swapping “I almost died” stories.
Two Tips for First-Timers (From Someone Who Learned the Hard Way):
1. Wear-The-Bodysuit. Trust me, frostbite isn’t a vibe.
2. Your guide is your guru. Ignore them, and the Ganga will humble you.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
Next time, I’m eyeing the 32-km stretch — because why not level up?
In case we are meeting for the first time, come over here, it’ll be worth the roller coaster of articles that are gonna come up in the next few weeks.
Use this to get to know more about me — https://linktr.ee/shashwat_writes