Review: By Motorbike to Amed, Bali, Indonesia

Standing by the side of the Abang to Amlapura road, the supersaturated green of rice terraces in the Tukad Balunggah valley is a balm to eyes recently blasted by dust and grit from passing trucks.

The mountain roads of eastern Bali are a joy on a motorbike - unlike the roadworks-ridden Professor Doctor Ida Bagus Mantra Bypass. The highway that brought us east from Denpasar to Candidasa should have been a high speed run along the coast. Instead the roadworks and attendant convoys of trucks had made the bypass feel even longer than its name. It took three hours, but it was worth it: The scenic splendour and jungled tunnels of this sinuous ribbon of asphalt between Amplapura and Abang is something else entirely...

Riding a bike is by far the best way to get around on the island. Part of it is being able to cruise past long lines of idling cars and trucks, completing a journey through snarled traffic in less than half the time it would take in any four-wheeled vehicle. But the best of it is being exposed to the surfeit of scents and sounds carried on the moist tropical air. It's a wonder anyone wants to own a car given the advantages we see in riding a bike, but then we haven't experienced a wet season yet, so maybe that opinion will change!

We're heading for the Amed coast for a weekend of snorkelling and a low-key celebration of our birthdays. It's a long ride on a well loaded bike, but we've already decided to take an even longer route home to avoid the bypass and hopefully find more roads like this one.

          The view from Waeni's: Fishing boats line the bay at Bunutan           Fishing boats return to Banyuning village at sunset           Gunung Agung rises above the coral bay at Jemeluk           Lush shady gardens of the beachfront villas at Villa Coral           Fishing prahu and beach lounges in front of Villa Coral at Jemeluk The view from Waeni's: Fishing boats line the bay at Bunutan

As we roll through the string of coastal villages between Amed and Bunutan it becomes obvious that prices aren't all that have changed. There's also been an increase in accommodation options that closely parallels the 100% per year growth of prices. Given it's the high season, there seem to be very few tourists around. Hmmm - looks like the usual effect of supply and demand has been circumvented on the Amed coast...

Arriving at Waeni's, we find the stone cottages are occupied. We're offered one of their new rooms for 500,000Rp. They're not what we wanted, but the magnificent view remains unchanged and it's been a long day - so we accept, settle in to watch the sunset and plan tomorrow's aquatic adventures.

The next morning we headed for Jemeluk, a little to the west of Bunutan, where we'd been told the best snorkelling was. It turned out that there was better accommodation there too. I left Amber sipping juice at the Villa Coral cafe and rode back to Waeni's to collect our gear and check out.

The weekend was perfection. The snorkelling wasn't a patch on the Bandas, but there were plenty of fish and rumours of turtles and manta rays by the dropoff. Next time we're heading straight for Villa Coral!

Sunday's ride home via Sibetan, Rendang, Bangli and Gianyar was full of more green mountain goodness, even though roadworks and trucks are apparently impossible to completely avoid. Same with traffic jams. Our open road cruising came to an abrupt end when we ran into a temple ceremony on the main road through Blah Batuh. Two wheels or four, no-one was getting past this one. We waited for half an hour or so, then joined the exodus of u-turning locals in search of a detour to Sukawati.

Once again an unexpected journey on a road less travelled proved a highlight. A bonus half hour on picturesque backroads we never would have otherwise discovered. Water buffalo, flights of herons and tiny villages with tobacco drying on roadside racks under the late afternoon sun.

No wonder there's no such thing as road rage here.

Accommodation Review

Waeni's Sunset View Cottages - Bunutan

Stone cottages (sleeps 2, incl breakfast) Rp400,000 per night (if you can get 'em)
New rooms (sleeps 2, incl breakfast) Rp500,000 per night.

Food:
Indonesian and western menu. What we tried was OK, except for the eggs with toast at breakfast.

Impressions:
With one notable exception (thanks Wayan - it was great to meet you!), the staff at Waeni's seem over it. Some of the girls there even came across as surly. Unusual - perhaps we just caught them on a bad day...Waeni's have an absolutely spectacular location, but the trade off is that the place is blisteringly hot from early afternoon until sunset. The gardens around the stone cottages afford some respite, as does the rear area of the roofed restaurant, but the spacious verandah and new rooms are no place to be between about 1.30 and sunset unless you're after some serious tanning.

Villa Coral - Jemeluk

High Season Prices:
Double rooms Rp400,000 per night incl breakfast.
Beachfront villas (sleeps 5) Rp750,000 per night incl breakfast.

Food:
Indonesian and western menu with Balinese favourites. The food here was great - especially the Balinese dessert whipped up by Made when she heard it was Amber's birthday.

Impressions:
Fantastic place to stay. Absolute beachfront, lush shady gardens and truly friendly and helpful hosts.The double rooms here didn't have TVs and DVD players like Waeni's new ones, but they had better beds and mosquito nets and real wardrobes rather than bamboo rails that detached from the walls when anything was hung on 'em. And really - wouldn't you rather sit and watch moonlight on a whispering ocean than some DVD movie?