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