More Bali . . .

Tuesday, June 3

Our second full day in Bali, we were up early and boarded buses to take us to the interior of the island for some white water rafting!
After about an hour and 15 min., our first stop was at a community theatre where we were entertained with a traditional, local performance. The costumes and dancing were unique and, though, we couldn't understand anything being said, we enjoyed it.

From there, we drove another hour inland for our whitewater rafting adventure - in the middle of a tropical jungle. After getting fitted for our life vests, oars, and helmets and receiving safety instructions, we proceeded to climb down about 700 (we counted them) rough-hewn rock stairs that twisted and turned until we finally made it down to the river. (Somehow I don't think OSHA would ever approve those stairs!)

The guide in our raft was named Wayan. We've been told that the custom here is that you never tell anyone your real first name - only family members and those very close to you ever know that name. Instead, the children, generally, are called by their birth order. Wayan means first.

We had a great time!

Our float trip lasted about an hour-and-a-half, then we pulled into the bank on the shore side of the Pita Manor Hotel (which is owned by the royal family of Ubud.) Our tour company rented two villas near the shore (one for men, one for women, so we could shower and change before we went up to partake of a fabulous buffet lunch.
Fortunately, we didn't have to climb another 700 steps to get to the main part of the hotel. They provided this lovely elevator for us.

 This is the hall of the hotel, leading to our outdoor eating area

The lunch buffet was wonderful, and the service exceptional! It's hard to imagine living year-round in a climate like this where all the buildings are open to the outside, and most of the dining is al fresco. I hardly ever go outside to eat at home.

After lunch we got to tour a silver factory (beautiful jewelry!) and a batik outlet. Then, it took us about 2 hours to get back to our hotel.
Here's a pic of some of the street traffic we saw on our way back:

Normally, we would have stayed in this one resort for our whole time on Bali, but the tour owners got some kind of special deal at a place called The Mulia on the other side of the island, so we're moving there tomorrow. It was rated as one of the top 5 new hotels in the world by Conde Nast! We'll stay there for our last two nights and final full day in Bali.

Side note: It surprises me how early the sun sets in Bali — about 6 pm each night. Perhaps, since we're near the equator, sun rise and sun set are more constant, rather than the fluxuations we have at home.