Today, we went whitewater rafting down the Ayung River!
It. Was. Awesome!
I haven't laughed that hard in a long time (and that's saying something, because my husband makes me laugh quite a bit!) We left our camera at the hotel and were bummed we weren't gonna have any photos of such a fun experience, but low and behold, there was a photographer who took the next 8 photos and sold them to us for $5 at lunch, which was totally worth it to us to have them as our memory! They're cheesy, but we love them.
I'm obviously glad I didn't, because it ended up being one of the best experiences of our entire trip!
We rafted down the Ayung River for 2 full and exhilarating hours with stunning views of Indonesia's lushest jungles on either side, blue skies, waterfalls galore, stone carvings on the walls, and hardly anyone else on the river the entire time! Have I mentioned that I love being here during low season? Because I do!
Between narrow ravines, double drops, and whitewater rapids, there were areas where the rocks would clear and it became a calm flowing river. At those points our guide would let us jump in and float down the river next to the boat. Thank goodness for those life jackets!
I made it to the end of the 10 kilometer trip with tired arms, sun kissed skin, and a perma-grin on my face! I can't express how much I loved this trip and would recommend it to anyone heading to Ubud for vacation!
After getting out of the boat, we climbed 400 STEPS through rice terraces, up the side of the ravine, to a busy street where we were handed some water and a towel. Then we followed our guide a couple minutes more and landed at the Payung Restaurant where we were able to take showers (yes, at the restaurant... weird, but kind of awesome too) and had a buffet Indonesian style lunch together before our taxi driver took us back to our hotel.
Like I said...
Today. Was. Awesome!