The relatively undeveloped north-eastern coastal strip in the Karangasem Regency of East Bali offers some of the island's best snorkelling, perhaps its most splendidly located self-contained dive hotels, quiet unpeopled beaches and Bali's largest concentration of traditional fishing boats (jukung).
Here you can finally find peace and quiet, enjoy great food and take advantage of comfortable and inexpensive accommodation. This coast is Bali’s easternmost point, so yet another highlight is the spectacular sunrise over the neighbouring island of Lombok and the hundreds of brightly painted jukung returning to shore in the very early mornings.
A slow stroll along the road or the beach is a pleasant activity as the local people are very friendly and intrigued by visitors from outside. There are few hawkers and just one or two boat trip guys who leave you alone after asking the first time. Children still smile and wave at passersby just as they used to do many years ago in other places on the island.
The fact that most mobile telephones don’t work here only contributes to the calm and peacefulness of the place where one can still enjoy a simple coconut oil massage while lying on a bamboo bed in the shade of a fishermen's hut. It doesn't get much better than this.
On a crystal bright bay lies the solitary village of Amed; visit the fish market early in the morning when the tuna come in. From Amed the road south via Cemeluk, Lipah, Bunutan and Selang is paved but very narrow, with stunning views of mountains on one side and the Lombok Strait on the other, Hindu fishing settlements hugging the shore all the way to Ujung. Sort of like Big Sur with monkeys.
A poor, very dry part of Bali, the area's farmers grow soybeans, corn, peanuts, ubi kayu and corn rather than rice. Arid hills inland are terraced in ladang supported by stone walls. To reach Amed is an exhausting trip on a motorbike with many curves and very steep ups-and-downs: taking your own car is definitely more enjoyable, more expedient, but even more slow-going.
Twenty Kilometres of Coastline
Snorkelling and diving off the black-sand beaches here is exceptional, the variety and numbers of fish on display are among the best on Bali and the water temperature is a constant 28 degrees. Schools of cardinal fish, triggerfish, black snappers, pyramid butterflies, banner fish, and damselfish can be seen on the sand slopes, while table corals, big fan gorgonians, and magnificent stag horn Acropora and Dendronephthya trees, dense growths of sponges, crinoids, and sea fans are commonly found within 20 meters of shore.
There are several diving schools in the area and they can advise you on the best dive spots which begin just six kilometres southeast of Amed along Lipah Bay where the currents are calm year-round, visibility is 10-20 metres in the dry season and the coastal reefs are superb.
Cemuluk, on a protected bay, is an ideal place to begin snorkeling. Four kilometres further south along the coast is Banyuning, where there’s a small wreck and some of the most beautiful coral gardens to be seen anywhere in the Lesser Sundas. The water is a little deeper here and sometimes there is a slight swell, so this area suits people with experience.
Most hotel staff can also arrange sailing or fishing trips so you can catch your own dinner. Your hotel will most probably have snorkelling gear for hire.
Places to Stay and Eat
Amed is actually the name of just one village and not the place to base yourself; the villages to the south are more attractive. There are dozens of places to stay along this coast, all real escapes, fulfilling most people's popular paradisiacal visions of Bali.
The Santai Hotel, Bunutan, tel. (0363) 23487, email: info@santaibali.com, website: www.santaibali.com, is the class act of the area. The Rough Guide wrote that it is “the best the coast." The owners, the general manager and the staff are all dedicated to ensuring that their guests have an enjoyable time. Six Toraja style bungalows, made of bamboo and thatched with alang-alang grass, are surrounded by gardens full of dense tropical flora. Furnishings are simple but elegant. All of the units have air-conditioning, hot water, a mini bar refrigerator and a sleeping loft that sleeps an additional two people. A comfortable restaurant serves high quality food and drinks at sensible prices. Tariff: US$75 per night for accommodation overlooking the garden to US$95 for larger bungalows facing the ocean. Prices include tax, service and an enormous breakfast. Low season rates are, respectively, US$55 and $75.
Dancing Dragon Cottages, Bunutan tel. (0363) 23521, website: www.dancingdragoncottages.com. Located next to Wa Wa We We I Bar & Restaurant, this wonderful beachfront boutique hotel is built according to strict Feng Shui design principles by its famous author owner. Attractive swimming pool and gardens. From US $ 40 night.
About 10 kilometres southeast of Culik in grape-growing Lipah is the Vienna Beach Hotel, tel. (0363) 23494, fax (0363) 21883, email: viennabeach@hotmail.com, website: http://members.aon.at/viennabeach/. Very nice location in a leafy garden at the end of a small fishing village. Deluxe rooms are US$60 with air-conditioning, hot water. Standard rooms are US$30 with fan and traditional mandi. Prices include tax and breakfast and all rooms have private terraces with ocean views. Good service, safety deposit box, car and bike rental, shuttle service, generator for 24-hour electricity, laundry, and an idyllic beach under trees. The restaurant serves delicious food and sometimes presents music and dance performances.
In the budget category, the Kusuma Jaya (tel.: 0363- 21250), next door to Santai (shown on the Bali Atlas map), offers simple rooms (some with air-conditioning) at between Rp100,000 and Rp150,000. Also check out the Balyogi which has very basic rooms with showers for around Rp100,000.
Local kitchens may be out of menu items like tahu, as staff must drive to Amlapura each day to shop and may not get back by mealtime. Food stalls (warung) sell snacks and nasi campur. The best restaurant in the area is the Baliku, approximately one kilometre south of the Blue Moon, but it has no website. Restaurant Gede (www.gede@freehomepage.com and www.gede@freehomepage.com) in the Lipah area serves good Indonesian food. Another recommended place to eat (also an accommodation) is Wa Wa We We 1 Bar & Restaurant (email: wawawewevillas@hotmail.com).
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2004 PakBill
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