Bali – Day 2

Day 2 started off with the hotel breakfast. Satisfactory, but nothing spectacular. We had (tough) toast with scrambled egg and pineapple jam, fried vermicelli with egg and prawn crackers, and soup vermicelli with cubes of meat and leafy vegetables. Scrambled eggs are usually a pretty safe bet for breakfast. As we were checking out of the hotel today, and we didn’t want to pay a late checkout penalty, we packed up everything and deposited it at Bali Sorgawi’s “luggage storage” (in reality, their back end office – you’ll see someone sitting inside answering emails). One of us weren’t going for the rafting, and the hotel reception was pretty understanding about it, and allowed her a free late checkout. Bravo!

• Early morning pickup to send us to Telaja Waja for white-water rafting (Grade 3-4).

Our first life-endangering activity! White-water rafting! There are actually two rivers, the Ayung river (Grade 2-3) and Telaga Waja (note original typo. oops.). We decided to plunge into the deep end fast, and opted to do rafting on the Telaga Waja. We booked through a marketing agent, 99Bali (see website: 99Bali), and paid US$37/pax online. Here’s how it works – first you book the tour, then you give them your credit card details, then you have some time until the week before the event to pull out, and then, when you’re committed, they’ll send a booking voucher to your hotel, and on the actual day, they’ll send a vehicle to pick you up – remember to get the voucher from the receptionist! Alternatively, you could approach the rafting company directly.. For rafting, cycling (Jatiluwih or Kintamani), and trekking (Mt. Batur, Mt. Agung, or Uma Carik), you could try Telaga Waja Adventures (Pertokoan Alam Dewata Blok F No. 6, Jl. Dewata No. 27 Sidakarya, Denpasar – Bali. Tel: 62-361-7462246). Information courtesy of the receipt issued. *snicker*

Despite being a grade 3 river (“with high irregular waves that may swamp the canoe”, “require complex maneuvering”, “may require scouting from shore”), the rafting trip was generally pleasant. Like a river cruise down Telaja Waja, and there was even a photographer to take your picture at some points! There were some parts where we all had to lie back to duck under bridges and some parts where we would paddle through small waterfalls, but generally we could just float about and let the guide work his magic. There was a rest stop with a beautiful waterfall and the greenest patch of rice (?) fields – but my camera batteries picked that moment to fail on me… Lesson learnt: Always bring spare batteries!  And oh, secured sandals are advised. I was seated in the front of the raft when we went down (the only!) steep slope.. My legs flew up, my shoe flew off, and it hit the guide. Whoopsy!

There was towels provided for you to shower, but the showers were in full view of everyone, so don’t expect to get completely clean – cater some time for showering after getting back. Or do what we did, and get a masseur to scrub you clean. 😉 Lunch was provided as part of the tour, a rather poor lunch where everything is either too oily or too floury, which makes for a grumpy tour group. And we had to fork out extra for cold drinks, as well as an additional RP35,000 per photo (Remember the photographer during the rafting? Although I do wonder how they get the photos printed so quickly! And also if bargaining is acceptable!).

• Back to Kuta to visit Purah Tanah Lot.

It was already somewhat past 2pm after the 2 hour ride back. Sadly it was raining when we returned to Kuta, so we could only sit at the hotel lobby and wait for yet another rear-end-torturing ride to Ubud… The next time I go for white water rafting, I’ll make sure that the next item in my itinerary doesn’t make the day an extended car ride.

• Pack up and rush over to  Ubud for duck at Bebek Bengil!
• Shop around in Ubud, maybe catch a dance performance, or maybe massage at the Ubud Bodyworks Centre.

Very quiet car trip as everyone slept through it all.. The rafting wasn’t much, but I think the hundreds (yes! hundreds! I’m guessing it’s about 6 to 8 flights of stairs worth of steps!) of steps up to the lunch area and then even more stairs up to the departure area sapped us completely. Nobody wanted to take a shower at the home stay, so we all headed for a massage and a scrub at the Ubud Bodyworks Centre (25 Hanoman Street, Padangtegal, Ubud 80571 – Bali. Tel: 0361 975720). If you’re a big group (like us), it’d be a good idea to call ahead and make bookings. When the 8 of us arrived, they only had 6 massage therapists (ah ha! they’re not called ‘masseurs’!), so my partner and I took a hit for the team and went to check out a neighbouring spa.

We went to Nur Salon (28 Jl. Hanoman. Tel: 0361 9746) just opposite it, and had a 1.5h floral massage and yoghurt scrub (RP180,000). The massage was satisfactory, and the therapist was generous with the oils and scrubs and stuff… First comes a full body massage with oil, then a full body scrub, and then the therapist will bath you in yoghurt, rinse you off, and then a long soak in the floral bath. Drinks are available at reasonable prices. More information about  Nur Salon and other spa on this blog: click here.

Just one question, are we expected to tip the therapist?

Next up, Bebek Bengil! Having had recommendations from my ex-hostel mates, my colleagues, my boss, and even Anthony Bourdain, I had pretty high hopes for the place! The place is actually Casa Pasta Bar & Lounge (Monkey Forest Rd, Ubud 80571 – Bali. Tel: 0361 978 954), and it’s hidden down an anonymous lane, with a lone signpost directing us in for Bebek Bengil. Astonishingly, when we arrived at 8pm, we were the ONLY ones there. Our first thought was we went to the wrong place, we’ve got to get out, but luckily someone recognised the setting from No Reservations.

We paired up and shared the food – I had barbeque pork ribs (RP62,000) which are comparable to Cafe Cartel’s (in Singapore), and the fruit lassi (RP27,000) which was smooth and refreshing, although I couldn’t identify the fruits. Of course we tried the Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck (RP67,000) – yummy. Very tender, with very crispy skin. I miss it already! Of note – it seems like they’ll only serve the food when everyone’s orders are ready, because we all had a long wait and then suddenly all the food came at once. So don’t go there on an empty stomach.

• Have a good sleep at Jati’s Homestay to prepare for another early morning…

My dreams of an SGD15/night stay at Jati’s dissolved when they emailed to say that our reservation has been cancelled as their bathroom has broken down. Note that they only told me about their plumbing issues when I emailed them for confirmation – they might have left me high and dry without a place to stay and 7 angry people breathing down my neck. I wouldn’t deal with them in the future. They did suggest an alternative of the Jati3 bungalows. Jati? Jati? Fishy.

We ended up staying at the Warji House (www.warjihomestay.com). They have a total of 5 rooms, with 2 king sized beds, 1 queen sized bed, 1 double bed, and 2 single beds. We booked one of each type, and was pretty surprised when we lifted the sheets to find that the “king sized” bed is actually two double beds joined together. Heh. We could squeeze four onto a bed! Not that we would, since the room is only a paltry RP170,000 (SGD26) for 2 persons per night, including breakfast (their banana pancakes are pretty good!).

ps: Prepare your own mosquito coils! And remember to bring matches or a lighter!

My Notes:

• Warji House is a friendly place to stay at, but the bed’s pretty hard and the pillow’s almost nonexistent (later I learnt that Indonesians like sleeping on hard surfaces) – I’ll be on the lookout for other budget accommodation in Ubud.
• General consensus about rafting at Telega Waja – one of the most scenic rafting routes we’ve seen, but lacking in excitement. A good experience for first-timers to get their feet wet literally.
• The food at Bebek Bengil is good, but the atmosphere was terribly lacking. On my next visit, I’ll definitely visit earlier, maybe 5pm. Then I could finish up and digest my dinner before having another massage. Mmmm.