Yes...I'm Drunk
First off, a confession. I'm drunk. I'm really, really drunk. My wife and I left the kids behind at the hotel, and left them to order (very reasonably priced) room service. We took a taxi into central Ubud (a 20 minute walk, but worth the taxi fare to avoid the inevitable humidity hit), and hoped to find someplace to eat. After passing several empty restaurants (without any guidance, who wants to eat at an empty restaurant), and walking over a mile through central Ubud, we caught another taxi to take us to a spot we know offers good food and drink. Oops.
Yep, that's the name of the restaurant. Home to delicious Laksa, and 2 for 1 happy hour mojitos. We had a wonderful dinner, and I literally drank 10 of those mojitos (for the price of five). Leslie drank her share of wine, had a wonderful coconut curry, and we were off back to our hotel...almost. We decided to stop at a bar for a nightcap (wine for Leslie, Caipiroska for me), where a guy was playing some classic jazz tunes on the piano. After that, we started the 10 minute walk home, and decided to have yet another nightcap (yep, another caipiroska and a wine), before making the final stretch back to the hotel.
The walk was wonderful. The air was balmy, the frogs and cicadas were playing a symphony in full blown stereo all around us, motor scooters were passing us by, we waved to passers-by and took in the beautiful night sky - clear above us, but flashes of heat lightning on the distant horizon.
It's almost 2am local time, and I'm only awake because in order to avoid a hangover in the morning, I need to drink lots of water and pop some Advil before I eventually pass out.
Rafting on the Ayung River
Now that I've got my drunken story behind me, I'd love to share the absolute beauty of the raft trip the family and I took today. Having rafted this river twice before just with the two of us, I thought it would be something of a letdown. Boy, was I wrong.
The day started out with heavy rain. We had an 8:45am pick up, and at 8am, the sky had opened up, and the rice paddies that stretch out before us from our hotel room were being pounded by the cloud burst. We ordered a breakfast 'en chambre,' and scarfed it down in order to make it to the lobby for our car that would take us to the rafting starting point.
Wouldn't you know it, the skies miraculously cleared as we drove off towards our destination. Once there, we stored some extra clothes in a locker, met our raft guide, and jumped back in our car for the final stretch to our starting point. During our drive, our guide told us that a ceremony in the village through which we were passing was in full swing. Sure enough, men and women in full Balinese regalia were walking what little room there was on the sides of the road, and given the traffic, there were many times where our car had wait several minutes for traffic coming the opposite way (with the ubiquitous exception of scooters - they squeeze through any available gap) before we could continue our journey.
Once at the final destination, we still had to make our way down to the river. Leslie and I knew what to expect, but for the kids, this was something completely new. The Ayung river flows through an extremely deep gorge, which required descending over 1000 (easily, no exaggeration) steep steps down to the river's edge. Lily was complaining the whole way, worried about the mud (please...we were about to go into a raft on the river; who cares about a little mud...teenagers...sheesh), and there was a group of Koreans ahead of us which held back a more rapid descent because two of the women were wearing wedges and heels. For a rafting trip. Astounding.
Once in our raft (with life vest and helmet, for safety), our guide gave us some basic instructions: paddle forward, paddle reverse, stop, and brace for 'bump bump' - we learned soon enough that involved a collision with anything that we would bounce off.
As opposed to the former two times Leslie and I took this trip, this new rafting outfit started further upriver, which meant an immediate introduction to some fairly exciting rapids. Liam was freaked out at first, but I was able to hold on to him as we both held on to the 'oh shit' ropes that allowed us to grip onto the raft in the rough waters. After a few encounters with rough waters, Liam was loving it.
Sure, the rapids were fun, but the real enjoyment, the experience that I didn't recall was the amazing scenery throughout the journey. Jungle hugged the towering limestone cliffs that rose 300 feet above the flowing Ayung. The sun was out, and I've never seen a more spectacular variety of the color green in my life. Due to recent rains, waterfalls of all volumes poured down from the heights above, and more than once did our guide intentionally navigate our raft directly into the cascading water...you know, just for fun.
We passed several small huts, drifted under a couple of very "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" suspension bridges, and admired more than a few fantastically situated resorts and villas overlooking the Ayung gorge.
We stopped about halfway for a short rest. Some locals had set up a shack offering soft drinks and beer. Of course, we bought some cokes for the family. Clearly the saleswoman, the vendor asked if we wanted to buy a beer for our guide. What were we going to say at that point? No? Right in front of the guide. In any case he deserved it. I asked for the bill - $14!! Highway robbery, and I expressed as much. She made some (very reasonable and market driven) excuse that she had to bring all these drinks and ice in from somewhere else to the remote riverside location. Ok. I'll buy that. Take my 140,000 Rupiah.
The trip was a total of 11km, and lasted two hours, but it seemed to go by in a flash. When the end came, I was really disappointed. I would have loved to continue drifting down the river, passing the overhanging vines and tree limbs extending over the river for a couple of more hours.
Once we alighted from the raft, it was time to ascend another 1000 steps. Fortunately, the steps leading upwards were newly constructed in 2010, and were very stable, as opposed to the very slippery and uneven steps we took down to the river.
Covered in river water, we showered in the very basic facilities at the tour company's HQ, and headed upstairs for 'lunch.' It was more of a snack, and in fact, we went out a few hours later for a more substantial lunch down the road from our hotel. We ditched Lily, who was relaxing by the pool, and whose earlier argument with Liam changed plans from just Leslie and I going to lunch, to include Liam as well. As we departed the lobby, we yelled down to Lily - "We're off to lunch...see ya," and left the room key with the front desk specifically for her. She is always dawdling, and causing us much consternation. We thought it might force a more punctual attitude. We'll see.
It was a fantastic excursion, and I enjoyed it much more than the other times I made the trip. I don't know why - this time, I felt immersed in the primeval and peaceful environment that surrounded and towered over us. I would love to do another rafting trip - but would love to go for a much longer period of time. My wife and I thought to our friend, Scott, who takes a 10 day rafting journey down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon on an annual (or at least, bi-annual) basis. Our trip down the Ayung made us think we might enjoy such a journey.
Though tipping isn't really expected or customary in many parts of Asia - including Bali - I tipped our guide generously, and boarded our car back to the hotel, where I took a looooong, hot shower to wash away the smell of the Ayung river.
If you ever find yourself in Ubud, I highly recommend a rafting trip. The scenery is spectacular (my accompanying photos do it no justice whatsoever - given the (obvious) we nature of the trip, I used the camera on my phone for these photos - with the exception of the photo of the four of us in raft. We bought a hard copy for $5 (they wouldn't sell us the digital copy), and I simply took a photo of that print.
Upon returning to the hotel (and, as I mentioned, showered vigorously), we headed out for a lovely lunch at a restaurant called "Café des Artistes" just down the road (oh yes, on the way, we dropped off a small load of laundry. This followed a much larger load we dropped off the previous day: two full suitcases - probably 60lbs of dirty clothes accumulated over the first four weeks of our trip. The cost to clean, iron, wrap and deliver the clothes back to our hotel? Less than $50. The load we dropped off today - not insubstantial - cost only $6. Amazing).
Then, we checked out a spa and lounge that dripped cool and modern. All done in red, we ordered a couple of drinks, and checked out the spa (we ended up booking some more treatments for the four of us). Liam also surprised Leslie by showing her how to play chess (which he learned at school) on a super large chess board. Leslie had never played a single game of chess, so I took her place, and eventually checked-mated Liam. He wasn't too happy about it, even though I gave him every hint and chance to avoid it for as long as possible.
Now, it's well past 2am. Our next commitment isn't until 1pm (yet another spa appointment), so I can hopefully sleep in without my son barging into our room to wake us up. Wish me luck! Good night!
P.S. After adding all the photos, it's now 3am. I am so screwed tomorrow. Blah
First off, a confession. I'm drunk. I'm really, really drunk. My wife and I left the kids behind at the hotel, and left them to order (very reasonably priced) room service. We took a taxi into central Ubud (a 20 minute walk, but worth the taxi fare to avoid the inevitable humidity hit), and hoped to find someplace to eat. After passing several empty restaurants (without any guidance, who wants to eat at an empty restaurant), and walking over a mile through central Ubud, we caught another taxi to take us to a spot we know offers good food and drink. Oops.
Yep, that's the name of the restaurant. Home to delicious Laksa, and 2 for 1 happy hour mojitos. We had a wonderful dinner, and I literally drank 10 of those mojitos (for the price of five). Leslie drank her share of wine, had a wonderful coconut curry, and we were off back to our hotel...almost. We decided to stop at a bar for a nightcap (wine for Leslie, Caipiroska for me), where a guy was playing some classic jazz tunes on the piano. After that, we started the 10 minute walk home, and decided to have yet another nightcap (yep, another caipiroska and a wine), before making the final stretch back to the hotel.
The walk was wonderful. The air was balmy, the frogs and cicadas were playing a symphony in full blown stereo all around us, motor scooters were passing us by, we waved to passers-by and took in the beautiful night sky - clear above us, but flashes of heat lightning on the distant horizon.
It's almost 2am local time, and I'm only awake because in order to avoid a hangover in the morning, I need to drink lots of water and pop some Advil before I eventually pass out.
Rafting on the Ayung River
Now that I've got my drunken story behind me, I'd love to share the absolute beauty of the raft trip the family and I took today. Having rafted this river twice before just with the two of us, I thought it would be something of a letdown. Boy, was I wrong.
The day started out with heavy rain. We had an 8:45am pick up, and at 8am, the sky had opened up, and the rice paddies that stretch out before us from our hotel room were being pounded by the cloud burst. We ordered a breakfast 'en chambre,' and scarfed it down in order to make it to the lobby for our car that would take us to the rafting starting point.
Wouldn't you know it, the skies miraculously cleared as we drove off towards our destination. Once there, we stored some extra clothes in a locker, met our raft guide, and jumped back in our car for the final stretch to our starting point. During our drive, our guide told us that a ceremony in the village through which we were passing was in full swing. Sure enough, men and women in full Balinese regalia were walking what little room there was on the sides of the road, and given the traffic, there were many times where our car had wait several minutes for traffic coming the opposite way (with the ubiquitous exception of scooters - they squeeze through any available gap) before we could continue our journey.
Once at the final destination, we still had to make our way down to the river. Leslie and I knew what to expect, but for the kids, this was something completely new. The Ayung river flows through an extremely deep gorge, which required descending over 1000 (easily, no exaggeration) steep steps down to the river's edge. Lily was complaining the whole way, worried about the mud (please...we were about to go into a raft on the river; who cares about a little mud...teenagers...sheesh), and there was a group of Koreans ahead of us which held back a more rapid descent because two of the women were wearing wedges and heels. For a rafting trip. Astounding.
 |
| The endless steps down to the river's edge |
Once in our raft (with life vest and helmet, for safety), our guide gave us some basic instructions: paddle forward, paddle reverse, stop, and brace for 'bump bump' - we learned soon enough that involved a collision with anything that we would bounce off.
 |
| The family before the start of the rafting trip (Lily clearly exhausted and perturbed at her 1000 step descent) |
As opposed to the former two times Leslie and I took this trip, this new rafting outfit started further upriver, which meant an immediate introduction to some fairly exciting rapids. Liam was freaked out at first, but I was able to hold on to him as we both held on to the 'oh shit' ropes that allowed us to grip onto the raft in the rough waters. After a few encounters with rough waters, Liam was loving it.
Sure, the rapids were fun, but the real enjoyment, the experience that I didn't recall was the amazing scenery throughout the journey. Jungle hugged the towering limestone cliffs that rose 300 feet above the flowing Ayung. The sun was out, and I've never seen a more spectacular variety of the color green in my life. Due to recent rains, waterfalls of all volumes poured down from the heights above, and more than once did our guide intentionally navigate our raft directly into the cascading water...you know, just for fun.
We passed several small huts, drifted under a couple of very "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" suspension bridges, and admired more than a few fantastically situated resorts and villas overlooking the Ayung gorge.
We stopped about halfway for a short rest. Some locals had set up a shack offering soft drinks and beer. Of course, we bought some cokes for the family. Clearly the saleswoman, the vendor asked if we wanted to buy a beer for our guide. What were we going to say at that point? No? Right in front of the guide. In any case he deserved it. I asked for the bill - $14!! Highway robbery, and I expressed as much. She made some (very reasonable and market driven) excuse that she had to bring all these drinks and ice in from somewhere else to the remote riverside location. Ok. I'll buy that. Take my 140,000 Rupiah.
 |
| A photo strategically cropped to hide my protruding belly |
 |
| Liam and I standing mid-river for a nice shot of the gorge |
The trip was a total of 11km, and lasted two hours, but it seemed to go by in a flash. When the end came, I was really disappointed. I would have loved to continue drifting down the river, passing the overhanging vines and tree limbs extending over the river for a couple of more hours.
 |
| The purloined photo (a photo of a photo...like those cheapskates do at Disneyland when they don't want to buy a photo of their terrified roller coaster rides, and just take a photo of the monitors previewing the photos). |
Once we alighted from the raft, it was time to ascend another 1000 steps. Fortunately, the steps leading upwards were newly constructed in 2010, and were very stable, as opposed to the very slippery and uneven steps we took down to the river.
Covered in river water, we showered in the very basic facilities at the tour company's HQ, and headed upstairs for 'lunch.' It was more of a snack, and in fact, we went out a few hours later for a more substantial lunch down the road from our hotel. We ditched Lily, who was relaxing by the pool, and whose earlier argument with Liam changed plans from just Leslie and I going to lunch, to include Liam as well. As we departed the lobby, we yelled down to Lily - "We're off to lunch...see ya," and left the room key with the front desk specifically for her. She is always dawdling, and causing us much consternation. We thought it might force a more punctual attitude. We'll see.
It was a fantastic excursion, and I enjoyed it much more than the other times I made the trip. I don't know why - this time, I felt immersed in the primeval and peaceful environment that surrounded and towered over us. I would love to do another rafting trip - but would love to go for a much longer period of time. My wife and I thought to our friend, Scott, who takes a 10 day rafting journey down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon on an annual (or at least, bi-annual) basis. Our trip down the Ayung made us think we might enjoy such a journey.
 |
| Gorgeous view on our 1000 step trip up from the river of rice paddies |
Though tipping isn't really expected or customary in many parts of Asia - including Bali - I tipped our guide generously, and boarded our car back to the hotel, where I took a looooong, hot shower to wash away the smell of the Ayung river.
If you ever find yourself in Ubud, I highly recommend a rafting trip. The scenery is spectacular (my accompanying photos do it no justice whatsoever - given the (obvious) we nature of the trip, I used the camera on my phone for these photos - with the exception of the photo of the four of us in raft. We bought a hard copy for $5 (they wouldn't sell us the digital copy), and I simply took a photo of that print.
Upon returning to the hotel (and, as I mentioned, showered vigorously), we headed out for a lovely lunch at a restaurant called "Café des Artistes" just down the road (oh yes, on the way, we dropped off a small load of laundry. This followed a much larger load we dropped off the previous day: two full suitcases - probably 60lbs of dirty clothes accumulated over the first four weeks of our trip. The cost to clean, iron, wrap and deliver the clothes back to our hotel? Less than $50. The load we dropped off today - not insubstantial - cost only $6. Amazing).
 |
| Yes, I actually took a photo of our $6 load of laundry |
 |
| Gratuitous rice-paddy-in-the-background shot |
 |
| Lunching at Café des Artistes....though to be honest, we didn't see a single artist of any kind |
Then, we checked out a spa and lounge that dripped cool and modern. All done in red, we ordered a couple of drinks, and checked out the spa (we ended up booking some more treatments for the four of us). Liam also surprised Leslie by showing her how to play chess (which he learned at school) on a super large chess board. Leslie had never played a single game of chess, so I took her place, and eventually checked-mated Liam. He wasn't too happy about it, even though I gave him every hint and chance to avoid it for as long as possible.
 |
| Giant chess set...Leslie wondering why it's different than checkers |
 |
| Giant knight - don't they make the strangest move in chess |
 |
| Capturing the red theme of the Red Lounge and Spa |
 |
| Bellies full, walking back to the hotel |
Now, it's well past 2am. Our next commitment isn't until 1pm (yet another spa appointment), so I can hopefully sleep in without my son barging into our room to wake us up. Wish me luck! Good night!
P.S. After adding all the photos, it's now 3am. I am so screwed tomorrow. Blah
No comments:
Post a Comment