Nick, our driver, gave us such great suggestions for places to visit yesterday. So when he recommended we try whitewater rafting on the Ayung River, we jumped on the opportunity. Our raft guides name was, Wayan. I had met two other people with the same name so I quite curious.
Here's some info: A Balinese name is part of a system of identification used by the Balinese people. A Balinese name will have three parts: a title, a birth order name, and a personal name. Balinese people do not use a family name. Both boys and girls receive a birth order name from a small typical group of names for each birth order position, and Balinese people use the birth order name to refer to one another. Wayan is a Balinese name meaning "eldest." So Wayan was our whitewater rafting guide on this adventure.
To get to the river we took a van to rice fields. We trekked across a stone pathway through the rice fields and down hundreds of stairs through the jungle, down into the valley where the Ayung River flows.
The rafting trip was amazing! The portion of the Ayung River we rafted was considered Class 3 rapids, so fun but not scary. It was about a 2 hour trip down the river, and we stopped at a riverside hunt on the way and had a few beers with Wayan. We also stopped at a few waterfalls along the river as well. I took the picture (above) from Google since we stopped at this waterfall, but didn't have our camera/phones with us. The rafting company provided a traditional Balinese lunch for us when we finished the rafting trip--it was delicious! And we had an awesome view overlooking the rice fields.
Since we woke up pretty early for the rafting trip we got some coffee from the "Starbucks Temple" (as Nick referred to it as)--I'll explain later in this post. We got Starbucks and then walked around the area. I don't drink Starbucks often, but I don't think anyone has ever had trouble with "Emily" as the name for the cup, but I loved this new version of my name!
The currency inflation/conversion here is nuts (see receipt above)! One US Dollar was equal to 13,755 Rupiah. When we took out cash from the ATM, we took out 1.2 million rupiah--we were millionaires! It was mid-afternoon but had started to rain so we got some drinks and snacks at Arang Sate Bar. They made a spicy mojito that was so fresh and tasty!
After we got some drinks we went back to "Starbucks Temple"--which is actually formally known as a Balinese Hindu temple called Pura Taman Saraswati. The Starbucks is out front of the temple, closer to the street. The pura is dedicated to the goddess Sarasvati (the Hindu deity of learning, literature and art), and the temple is notable for its beautiful lotus pond. Unlike most of the temples we visited, this one is relatively new. Its construction began in 1951 and was completed in 1952.
We also walked through another temples on the same street, but it was smaller (and possibly two separate temples) and I am not sure sure of the name.
On the drive back to the house, we encountered a procession into a temple. This coming Saturday (the day after we leave Bali) is Nyepi which is the Balinese "Day of Silence" that is commemorated every Isakawarsa (Saka new year) accounting to the Balinese calendar. It is a Hindu celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia, and is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation for the Balinese. The day following Nyepi is also celebrated as New Year's Day. The same day is celebrated in India as Ugadi. Nyepi is observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning. Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection--no lighting, no working, no entertainment, no traveling, etc. Although Nyepi is a primarily Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents and tourists are not exempt from the restrictions. No one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the airport shuts down for the day. We will be leaving on Friday. After the procession passed, we headed back to the house for a last sunset in Ubud swim.
This place is pretty incredible.
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