We are a family of 2 adults and 3 sons (11, 8 and 6). This JBR is about our trip to Amed and School Visits. I hope it is not too long winded so apologies in advance if it is.
Wayan Merta picked us up on Saturday morning and off we went to SD3 at Sembung. We met our young sponsor girl Ni Nyoman and she didn't utter a word as I think she was very overwhelmed with the whole situation. The children at the school seemed very happy. I got the impression that SD3 is perhaps not as used to getting sponsor visitors as the other schools, but they were very grateful for the donations we brought. Our children played soccer with the kids in the playground and had a great time with them, having their pictures taken. I urge anyone thinking about sponsoring a child to just do it. For $110.00 a year it makes such a difference.
Then off to Ubud Monkey Forest. The boys had been waiting for this and had the best time, especially when a baby monkey jumped on my head. My middle son got bitten by a monkey while sitting on a wall (much to his delight) and insisted on me taking photos of his bruise. Then off to Ubud for lunch at Casa Luna. Wayan came and had lunch with us. I've been to Bali quite a few times and met many driver, but Wayan would have to be the most courteous, knowledgeable and the best English speaking driver I've met. At the end of the day, he felt more like our friend than our driver.
We arrived in Amed about 3.30pm. I had done heaps of research on where to stay and like others before me from the forum had had trouble deciding where to stay. We ended up booking Bayu Cottages as it looked nice, had heard good feedback and Nengah the manager was involved with a Rotary project at the nearby Lean Beach School. Words and pictures cannot do this little gem of a hotel justice. For USD$40 per night we had 2 rooms for the 5 of us including breakfast. We were met by Anee (Nengah's wife) and her staff and given a cold drink while they carried all our stuff up to our rooms. There was quite a bit to carry as we had lots more school supplies for Amed schools.
Bayu has 6 rooms and the hotel is 7 years old , but underwent a refurbishment 2 years ago. The staff are fanastic. Within 5 minutes they knew all our names and the boys enjoyed spending time chatting to them.
I came to Amed with intentions of looking at other hotels, but was so happy with our choice that to be honest I really couldn't be bothered. Had a quick look at Pondok Vienna - great position, looks to be good value, but no pool. Met a few people staying at Coral View Villas who said although the pool is good and the grounds are nice, the rooms are quite rundown. I can't comment on this as I didn't see inside.
The rooms at Bayu are very spacious and extremely clean. Our rooms had a queen bed and a king single in each. The bathrooms are fantastic. Marble, nice fittings and a garden atrium is a very nice touch. Air conditioning, but no TV (even the kids didn't mind) and no Bar Fridge - But's that's okay as ice cold Bintangs are only 9000 rupiah from the fridge near the kitchen. The staff are fantastic. The rooms were cleaned with fresh flowers on the beds - a nice touch. There is a small restaurant with 4 tables and open kitchen so you can see (and chat to) the staff while they are cooking fantastic and cheap meals (from scratch I might add). The restaurant overlooks the small infinity pool overlooking the ocean. The pool is about 8 metres long, so not too big, but even our 3 kids were more than happy with it to cool off in. The Bayu is not at beach level, but it is less than a minute walk down their path to the beach.
Breakfast is included - we usually had juice, eggs, bacon, toast and coffee and the kids had jaffles and juice. Paul said he really noticed a difference in "Amed eggs", said they tasted much better than "Melasti Eggs" (mind you that wouldn't be too hard). Then we went for a snorkel on the beach. The coral is pretty dead, but there are plenty of fish. Don't go expecting the Great Barrier Reef, but all of us had a great time. The kids didn't find Nemo, but they did say they saw Gill and someone else from the movie. It is best not to go snorkelling in Amed at low tide.
We went off to a small warung near the hotel that someone had recommended. Can't think of the name, but it has lots of white tiles and you can't miss it. The owner proudly showed off her new fridge. It was very clean, the food took a while as it was cooked from scratch, but was great. Lunch for the 5 of us including a drink came to an unbelievable 46 000. The boys went back to the hotel and I thought I'd better find an internet cafe to check up on work. What a shame! The only internet cafe in town and it wasn't working - oh well had to wait until we got back to Legian in a few days to think about work.
Sudi from Bayu had organised her husband to take Paul and the 2 older boys fishing on a prahu - 100 000 for 2 hours for all of them. Youngest son decided to have a nap. So there I was sitting at the restaurant, overlooking the pool and ocean, eating the best lumpia I've ever tasted, drinking an ice cold coke and reading a trashy novel all by myself - what bliss. After Legian, this is a perfect break to recharge the body, mind and soul. Later in the afternoon I'm still sitting on the balcony watching the boats coming back in and I can hear the sound of childrens laughter. There is about 30 local kids having a swim and obviously having a great time! Daniel and I went down the beach to meet the great fisherman - no fish today but they had a good time.
Wandered down to Warung Brith to meet the man with the curly hair. Had some amazing tasting Fish and Lemon Soup, followed by Barracuda Steak - excellent meal and again ridiculously cheap. Went back to Bayu for a night cap on the restaurant balcony, a chat with other guests and of course some of their pineapple pancakes for dessert.
Next morning, up again for breakfast, followed by a morning of snorkelling. Then it was time to pick up the motorbike I arranged to hire the previous day. We agreed on a price of only 30 00 for 3 hours and was told to be careful and not go on main roads as the owner had no insurance. It was my first time on a bike in about 20 years, in 1st gear most of the way back to the hotel with oldest son refusing to get back on with me after that. Decided to let husband do the riding from now on. Maybe not such a good decision. Paul took middle son for a ride and youngest son for a ride (oldest son was still refusing to get back on). Then it was my turn. Sudie and Wayan said they would keep an eye on the boys, so off we went exploring.
We rode for about 15 minutes, up and down hills, through small villages and the views are just amazing. We decided to head back and were rounding a corner when it happened. Yes, we hit some gravel and sand and crashed the darn thing. I went flying one way, Paul the other and the bike in another direction. I'm too embarrassed to say how slow we were going. People from the village came running out to help us get off the road and to see if we needed any medical help. I had a deep cut on my had and a few scratches, but poor old Paul had not fared so well. Deep gravel rash on his lower leg, cuts and bruises on his hip and a deep gash on his hand. The pedal on the bike was bent so that it was stuck in 2nd gear. So we thanked everyone and hopped back on. I just wanted to get back to the hotel and see the kids. We took it very easy on the way back. Got back and quickly and ran to get Nengah as I was worried by this stage about the damage to the bike as the owner had no insurance. He came to our aid and got his cousin to take it somewhere to get fixed. Well it was back in half an hour, the pedal and been replaced and sprayed for a total cost of 70 000. The bike was taken back to the owner. After about 30 minutes the owner came back and said that the indicator was also broken (this was already broken before we started), but we gave him another 50 000, handshakes all round and he was happy and went on his way.
Paul went into the ocean to clean his wounds and we just applied antiseptic until we got back to Legian. He didn't think he needed a doctor, so we both just got some antibiotics from the apotek in case of infection. Needless to say, Paul couldn't swim for the remainder of the holiday, but that didn't seem to worry him.
On our last morning we went to visit Lean Beach School. I had bought heaps of schools supplies at Makro prior to coming to Amed and also had a huge suitcase full of donated clothing. Nengah said that there were quite a few schools in the area that needed things, so I divided it all up into 3 lots. Off we went to Lean Beach with Nengah. Rotary at Denpasar has been involved with the toilet project at the school. Until now there has been only 1 toilet for over 250 kids and staff. There is now a nearly completed toilet block with 4 toilets. At this stage they don't have running water or electricity, but apparently this is being connected soon. The children at Lean Beach were delightful and the kids had a great game of soccer and volleyball. A few of them could even speak quite good English, so the boys were able to talk a little bit to them. They have no grass, due to a lack of water and the grounds are very dusty. If you do get a chance to get to Amed, please just take a few small things for the schools as every little bit helps.
Well that is about it for Amed. I would have to say that in future, I cannot see myself going to Bali without spending at least a few nights here each time. The main things to do are swim, snorkel, eat, drink, read and relax - for me a perfect destination. Bayu Cottages was an absolute delight and I really felt like a part of their family. We all felt quite sad leaving after our 3 nights - although our 11 year old was ready to get back into the action at Legian.
Here are some pics on webshots on our trip to Amed and the School Visits.
http://community.webshots.com/album/159116937iEgTMi