Monday 22nd April, 21:17, by Amy

Out of Nepal and back into India!

Finally. We have wifi, masala chai and Indian food! 10 amazing days on the Karnali river have just passed where we met some unforgettable people and had so many laughs.

There were six of us in total on the trip; a German couple, an Australian couple and us two. The rapidrunners team that accompanied us throughout the trip were made up of Raja, boss and excellent chef; Santosh, a loveable and hilarious Jack Sparrow character; Smiley, self explanatory and Sagar and Prashant, two very talented kayak loopers and lovely guys.

The first few days of the trip were made up of a mixture of grade 3-5 rapids. At one point, Mamie and I decided to have a go at the front where we discovered the true force of the water - thanks to Meera I remained safely on the boat! It was so much fun. We spent our evenings indulging in amazing food including freshly caught catfish (YUM), attempting to teach cheat to Sagar, listening to music around camp fires and drinking rum and the local alcohol, Roxy (a yeasty vodka) which I will not be having again.

One evening, our relaxation was interupted by an insane storm. We had noticed this huge storm looming ahead over a forest fire in the distance (to add to the drama!) but we had no idea what was coming. If Mamie hadn't suggested we move our clothes inside our tent, our tent would have literally blown away. Santosh, our hero in this story, told us to get in the tent with 'Oh, hello? Lona?!' (nepalise for 'what are you doing/you crazy?!') but I had a serious dilemma. I needed to pee, badly. Do I one, run after my towel, two get into the tent and piss myself in the process or three, save my dignity but risk being blown away? It was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Santosh shielded our tent as we huddled inside and when we told him to come inside, he replied with 'I'm dancing!'. It seems the Roxy was still having an effect. If you're wondering what happened with my dilemma, my dignity survived but sadly the loo or hole in the ground did not so I had another issue after the 'eye of the storm' had passed.

Santosh was amazing. He kayaked me across a strong current so that I could cliff dive, he saved us from a storm and he provided us with so many laughs.

Thank you to Meera, for looking after my foot (yes, my foot again - cut it on the rocks) and saving me from the rapids; to Mitch, for your generosity and cooking tips; to Matt, for your speedos and your great sense of humour and to Sophie, for your kindness and great girly chats!

We are now in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in India. We feel it's time to make our uni decisions! We will be up bright and early tomorrow for sunrise over the Ganges so I'm hoping we'll take some amazing shots and won't see too many dead floating bodies!

P.S. one of the shots is for mum - pixy safely around my neck! Missing you loads xxxxx