After Padangbai I decided to spend a couple of days in the east coast. A german guy that was staying in the guesthouse told me that there was a beautiful coastal road trough Ujung and Tanah Barak to Amed.I followed the advice and actually that road was wonderful ( though not in very good shape ), you can see the landscape slowly change into a very dry area, with black lava all around. The floating palace of Ujung is very poetic, I think you shouldn't miss it if you visit Bali. For my stop in the east coast I chose Jemeluk, a small village of the Amed beach. I had great time snorkelling there ( the best snorkelling spot I found in Bali ), the coral reef it's fantastic and you can admire countless tropical fish. And this reef it's just two meters from the beach, you have just to put your mask and fins on in you hotel and go to swim. The beach of Amed is black and not much attractive but at least it's clean. From Amed the volcano Agung looks huge, especially at sunset.
The second day I left early morning and I went to Tista and Tirtagangga. What a beautiful contryside! There was a morning mist and all the terraces look unreal. I had to stop several times to admire this tropical paradise and to take pictures. Tista is a very small village of farmers and offers one of the most spectacular panoramic views of Bali. There'a scary gorge below the pass and the slopes are completely made of terraces. Highly reccomended!
The gardens and the pools of Tirtagangga are another jewel of this amazing island. There isn't much to say about this place ( my advice is to go in the early morning when there aren't tourists and the atmosphere is magic ) because words or pictures can't describe its beauty. That was really a beautiful day!
The day after I left for Lovina, it was one of my longest ( and most tiring ) routes I did in Bali. The road was good but there was much traffic in the last 20 km. I had to look for a guesthouse and by chance I met a young guy at the traffic lights in Singaraja who worked in a homestay and he asked me if I needed a place to stay. I followed him and the place was very good, clean and cheap ( 50000 rs ) so I took the room and went to sleep.