India

INDIA Monsoon and bureaucracy The state of Kerala in the southwest of the country has the potential for several paddlers lives in the rainy season. But the biggest challenge is getting onto the wild rivers at all because the mills of Indian bureaucracy grind slowly and unpredictably. Kerala has not been completely white on the paddlers map for quite some time: The Malabar River Festival took place for the seventh time at the end of July in Kodanchery, Asia s biggest kayak event, attracting some of the best international whitewater paddlers every year with a lavish prize money pot. On different rivers, professionals and local amateurs compete in the disciplines freestyle, slalom, boater cross, and downriver sprint. For Olaf Obsommer and his team Thilo Schmitt, Philip Baues, Manuel Arnu, Quinn Cornell, and Nouria Newman the festival was to be the perfect prelude to an exploration trip into the jungle world of Kerala.