Ayung River Rafting

Today I went rafting with my brother in Ayong River. The whole journey was 11 kilometers long and would take about two hours; we chose this route because it was supposed to be easy and light with lots of sights to see, but today it turned out to be a point where my perspective on lie has changed drastically.

It was pouring rain this afternoon. I've always loved the rain and I even dreamed of seeing Bali in the rain in my dream a couple of weeks before coming here. However, I never saw myself rafting in the rain because that would be dangerous. I checked with the people again if it was safe to raft, and they told me "more rain, more fun". I had never rafted before; in fact, I had never seen a river before except for going on a bridge over a small part of a river. Ayung River is very primitive. At its downstream there were many fancy restaurants and villas with a view of it. We started somewhere up in the mountains, many kilometers north of Ubud. Before we got to our boat, we had to walk down 500 steps of stairs. It was quite exhausting because of slippery ground and moss everywhere. I had to be very careful. We were traveling with a Russian couple who are staying at the same hotel with us and  are here for their honeymoon.

I always felt quite uncertain this afternoon because of the rain. I felt scared and cold. I got soaked in the rain before I started rafting because of the pouring rain. There was no towel and I felt really cold. Then I got warmed after the long walk down the stairs and rafting. Our captain was a local Balinese named Jean; he's very thin but strong and muscular, energetic, smart, and intelligent. His profile looks like one of those Egyptian carvings of a king's profile.

As we began rafting, the rapids were pretty big. There were a few waterfalls and fast swirls that made me scream. About 15 mins down the road, we came across a huge waterfall that was carrying lots of mud. The entire waterway was blocked by the pouring water and it was super windy. All the boats were pulled over and waiting for the rain to stop. A few minutes later, their crew decided to give up and walk back home through the mountains. Jean, however, wouldn't give up like that. He walked a long way in the mountains to check things out past the waterfall. He came back with a solution that they would have extra professional rafters on each boat to create more power against the heavy water and wind. Then he and two other rafters escorted a family of three to go through the waterfall. The rest of us waited anxiously to see if Jean could actually return. 

While we were waiting, I thought I was almost having hypothermia. I was feeling so cold and my fingers were even feeling a bit numb. The Russian couple behind me were holding each other to keep warm, but I couldn't do that with my brother, which would feel disgusting. Then I felt a bit sad. X, let's do this again and you could make me feel safer and stronger.

Jean returned successfully and the rain actually stopped so the waterfall shrank a little bit. After three or four boats have made it through the tiny passage past the waterfall, Jean led us through it too. When we were under the fall, water was hitting hard on us, and I was completely focused on following Jean's command and raft as hard as I could. I was a fighter at the moment. I fought until I succeeded, which is pretty much what I've always done in my life, alone though. I knew that I would survive even if I had to fight alone, but it would be less exhausting and scary to fight with my true love. Then we made it! It was beyond exhilarating because I went from cold and scared and doubtful to strong and fearless and let-go. The emotional turmoils were so amazing and priceless. The rest of the trip was easy breezy compared to the waterfall. I still screamed a lot; the nature and wild life surrounding us were ineffable.

Then I started to wonder, if my husband is 50 years old, would he be able to make it through this journey with me? He'd probably choose to stay on the beach at the resort. If Ken was my husband, would he come to this journey with me? I guess he'd be like "no sorry. I'm too tired from work. Or I'm feeling too sick. I can't do this. You can do it yourself."

X, let's come back here next year and do this rafting trip with Jean. I really can't wait to share all my happiness and excitement here with you!