The river runs dry

The river runs dry

A letter Unprofessional business in July 8, 1996 "Your
Letters" from a man whose camera got soaked during a white-water
rafting trip from Cikidang gets no sympathy from me. Anyone who
sets off down a river full of white rapids should have enough
common sense to know everything will get wet. In taking the risk
of going on the run, you have some responsibility for your own
decisions.

That said, however, I have my own disagreements with BJ's.
Last April I took the same rafting trip. We had two and a half
hours of fun and excitement, a great time. But on Saturday, July
6, 1996, I went again to see what the trip was like in lower
water. After four hours of dragging the boat over shoals (not
rapids), getting hung up on exposed rocks every 100 meters, we
dragged our weary bodies out of the river, exhausted and
disgusted. There is not enough water in the river now for a
decent trip, and BJ's should shut it down until the rainy season
resumes.

The trip is now very difficult and even dangerous. The guides
use techniques that may work well in high water, but can get them
into trouble in such low-water conditions. Our guide was always
late aligning the boat to pass through a chute, consequently we
spent a great deal of time hung up bow and stern, the boat
perpendicular to the stream -- a potentially dangerous situation
even in low water.

Advice to the wise -- don't go rafting at Cikidang until
October (or whenever it starts to rain often again). And don't
take a camera unless it's waterproof, no matter what your guide
tells you.

GARY GENTRY

Jakarta