Bali // Day 3 - White Water Rafting + Jaen's Spa

White Water Rafting at Ayung River this morning was not as fun as I hoped for it to be because there weren’t much adrenaline inducing moments but I still did enjoy it overall. 

A driver from Teokad Rafting Bali came to pick us up from the hotel at 9AM and took a 30-minute drive over to where their shop was. A locker was provided for us to keep our change of clothes and the guide following us carried a waterproof bag so there really isn’t much to worry about. We quickly got everything settled and took another short car ride to where we would take a horribly taxing 400 step descend to Ayung River.

The water was extremely cold but I loved it. The entire rafting journey lasted 2 hours and we had a rest stop in between. To be honest, it wasn’t as tiring or dangerous as I expected it to be. Ayung River’s water level was mostly about 1m high and our guide even allowed us to swim in areas where the current was still. 

Although less exciting, Ayung River is the more scenic rafting journey and I really do agree to that! We caught countless mini waterfalls and 1 bigger waterfall. But being not exactly the smartest bunch of people around, we forgot to charge our GoPro and ended up having to settle for my mum's phone camera. The only HQ photo we got out of the GoPro was the one above. 

The most dreadful part of the journey had arrived – the end. Not because it was the end, but because it was time to take a 400 step ascend which probably took the only life source I had left, out of me.

Back at the shop, we were provided a towel and a plastic bag for our wet clothes and a buffet lunch! Despite the buffet lunch having very little food choices, it mostly tasted pretty good.

The Passionfruit we bought yesterday! Super fresh, I died

We headed back to the hotel to bring my grandparents for lunch but it turned out they weren’t hungry so we decided to roam around in search of a Spa & Massage parlour. 

Chancing upon Jaens Spa and Wellness is probably one of the best things that have happened to me on this trip so far because although it is the #6 best spa in Ubud, we managed to get an immediate time slot for 6. Wanna know what the best part is? Well, we were provided free transportation to and fro their second newer, more expensive and classier spa called Jaens Spa Shanti and were even granted prices from the spa in the city instead!

The outlet situated in Ubud Town

Upon arrival, we were each given a drink while they allowed us to browse through the menu. I had for myself the relaxation spa and scrub which included an hour long Balinese massage, a scrub (I chose green tea) and a flower bath. All for IDR 330k! The original price in Jaens Spa Shanti is 350k.

After choosing what we wanted, we were each given a locker to place our belongings before getting our feet washed and scrubbed with salt. My masseuse was really good! She made sure I was feeling okay every once in a while and did her job really well. It was my first time getting a spa scrub and was honestly slightly taken aback by how dirty/messy the process was. Nevertheless, she cleaned it off me nicely and applied yogurt to soothe the skin.

I really enjoyed the overall process and felt like it was money really well spent because a spa session like this will probably cost a bomb here in Singapore while this is only SGD $33!

The driver that was supposed to bring us back to our hotel agreed to bring us to a restaurant nearby our hotel instead and recommended Pundi-pundi Grill & Restaurant. We looked through the reviews only after getting seated and most were bad so we decided to make it quick and grab the cheapest. Despite that, the carbonara, pork ribs and grilled snapper were decent enough.

Carbonara

Mee Goreng

Terrible Tom Yom Noodles

Unsatisfied with dinner, we headed over to Caramel Patisserie & Café for desserts and got 2 cakes, 6 macarons and 3 drinks for IDR 230k.

We got the Lamington (in the background) because of the caramel but it didn’t feel so much caramel and more of coconut but it was still alright.
My Citrusy was SO GOOD or maybe because I really love lemon meringues in general and this really hit the spot.

For macarons, we got Rosella, Raspberry, Red Velvet, Chocolate Mint, Salted Caramel and Lemon. The Salted Caramel and Red Velvet were really good I’m honestly still dreaming about it right now!

My Mojito had a lot too much alcohol in it so I didn’t enjoy it that much but the Chocolate Milk and my mum’s Passion Fruit drink was alright. I actually did take a photo of the drinks but the lighting was so bad I had to bump my ISO up so high I can't save the photo anymore, sigh. I'll probably need to get a mini external flash soon.

Taking a walk along Jl. Hanoman Road after dark was a bad idea because the walkways were uneven and we could barely even lift our eyes from the floor.

Anyways, today is my last day here in Ubud and I’m pretty bummed out over the fact that I didn’t get to roam or immerse in the local culture during my time here. Oh well, off to Kuta we go!

xx.