Who among us hasn't thought about heading to a foreign land for a wild paddling adventure? Whether it's crossing the border into Canada to canoe the Nahanni or planning a rafting trip to Tanzania, such excursions combine the best of traveling with the best of paddling, letting you enjoy a country's culture from the seat of your paddlecraft. Of course, such journeys are a bit different than simply heading out to your local playhole or lake. Shuttles are often nightmares, cuisine is a far cry from campside spaghetti, and language barriers are often more difficult than any you find on the river. The actual paddling, however, is just the same as it is back home--eddies still require endless strokes and portages still stub the occasional toe.

This issue highlights two such expeditions recently taken by Paddler readers. Both took place on the Asian mainland, and both proved far more rewarding than paddling back home. The first story in our International Expedition Section, written by long-time kayaker Doug Ammons of Montana, highlights a trip taken to Nepal's Thule Bheri, a film of which recently won the Best Professional category of the National Paddling Film Festival (see Hotline). The second story, written by Colorado's Zia Parker, describes an expedition to the Nu Jiang near the Burma/Tibet border in China. Although each expedition is markedly different in scope, each shows what happens when you grab a passport and a paddle and strike out for the great unknown.

Of course, not all adventures have to take place so far off the beaten path. In "Paddling in the Path of Giants," San Francisco Chronicle writer Paul McHugh describes the attempts of expedition sea kayaker Steph Dutton to track the migration patterns of gray whales. During his three-year odyssey, Dutton might not experience the cultural changes of the subjects in our Special International section, but his rewards are guaranteed to be just as memorable. And speaking of change, our final feature, writen by former Rocky Mountain News business reporter Price Colman, delves into the changes whitewater rodeo kayaking has brought to the paddling industry. "Kayaking has surged past its river-running, slalom-based roots and is morphing at hyper-speed into gymnastics on the water," he maintains from his home in Evergreen, Colo. "For every traditional displacement-hull you see, there are now three or four planing-hull kayaks."

Although this issue emphasizes international travel--further illustrated by Buck Tilton's Health column on safety precautions when going abroad--it doesn't stray too far from its domestic roots. In Skills, Kent Ford explains how to surf a canoe or kayak, and Mark Molina describes how to create a freestyle canoe program; in Destinations, contributor Ed Grove discusses the best side hikes for those paddling in the Grand Canyon; and Marketplace Review sheds light on roof racks that let you tote your boat with comfort. These racks might not get your boats to China or Nepal, but they'll at least get them to the nearest airport--where your plane tickets will do the rest.

--Eugene Buchanan