So, after 6 nights in Ubud, it was off to Amed, we organised transport with Alam Shanti, 350,000rp if i remember correctly.
the trip took 2.5 hours, through small villages, rice terraces
and up and down many hills/mountains, something the kids and the
missus weren't too keen on, we pasted around Amalpura and went into
Amed from the north via Culik. i immediately liked the look of what we were up for over the next four days, it reminded me of the beach strip north of Calangute in Goa, India. the narrow winding road,
hugging the coastline, going up over hills, dropping down into
tiny villages, one by one, Amed, Jemaluk then Bunutan and finally
arriving at Puri Wirata, just before the village of Lipah. these
villages are just tiny places a few shops and a couple of Warungs,
Chickens darting around, Fighting Cocks in thier coups and rice drying on the side of the road.
WE turned down the steep driveway of Puri Wirata, "gee this place is big", was my first thoughts "and has great views", my second.
we checked into our 2 adjoining deluxe rooms, $55usd ea. per night,
we were up the front, near the beach with a large balcony, the rooms were clean, had a nice bathroom, but the windows and door with the great view were wooden shutter type, so the only way to see the ocean
was to have them open, thus letting in the heat and mozzies. We grabbed a quick bite at the PW resto, nothing to flash here, just standard fare, certainly nothing to write home about. Went back to the room and changed for a swim. we headed over to the pool opposite
the PW villa's. i mentioned to the wife that i had checked these out
on the net and thought they were out of our price range, well, so i
thought. I knew she wasn't completely happy with where we were, so i headed to reception and enquired about the villa's. "yes", they replied,master villa, room 321, right opposite the pool ( the one we
happened to be eyeing off) $100usd plus $10 x 2 for 2 mattresses for
the kids. My wife went and inspected the place, took one step in the
door, turned around and shouted "go pack the bags"...i guess she liked it ;o)
So, for the next 4 nights, we were here in the master villa, 5 meters
from the pool and 15 meters from the beach, uninterrupted views, french doors all round, full size kitchen and a bedroom large enough
for the four of us....why didn't i listen to Stephjoy in the first place ?.
As things are spread out up here, i decided to hire a scooter to get the four of us around ( Bali family style), traffic was almost
non existant, in about a 10 minute drive i would see 2 or 3 cars
and maybe 20 or so bikes.
First night we headed for the much talked about Sails restaurant, pearched hight on a point, commanding fabulous views. The food, yeah
it was nice, but nothing outstanding, i ordered, on recommendation
from the Kiwi owner the Mahi Mahi, "rare' said, only for it to be
over done, my wifes calamari was tender though. Most dishes come
with homemade fries, just like you would make from scratch at home.
by the time they were serves they were soggy. We also had a lunch here on the last day and the nasi/Mee gorengs we ordered were huge!.
I took a drive one day south along the coast passing the villages of Lipah and Lihan and came across a sign for a japanese Resto called
Aquaterrace, i had read some glowing report about this place on the BTF just before we left.I went upstairs, saw that the chef was a japanese woman ( a plus), I grabbed a menu off them, headed home and
went back for dinner that night.
The place is pearched high up on a point, commanding great views, it's right next door to the Blue Moon Villa's ( which looked nice on inspection). Aquaterrace also have 2
rooms for rent, with great views, one for 180,000rp per night and the
top room. with, which must be the best views in all of Amed, for 480,000rp per night.
The Resto has seating for just 10 people, we ordered about half a dozen dishes ( the recommended ones) and wow, what great food, the
Vietnamese shredded chicken salad was to die for, in fact we liked
this place so much that we returned to it for the remaining 3 nights for dinner and ordered it every time!. We also loved the Gyouzu dumplings, Tuna Sashimi ( so fresh) and everything else we ordered.
The food did come out in stages, which was fine for us, but we did recommend the place to a group at the hotel, who, with a party of 6 were a little disappointed in the length of time the food took,
although they liked the food.
WE also ate at Barong Cafe just outside the PW. the food good.
We snorkeled off the bech at PW, ther were plenty of fish and nice coral, especially if you get out 70mtrs plus. We even took the kids
out that far. i took my youngest, just about to turn 5 with me, i put
a floaty type vest on him and he wore his swimming goggles, i dragged him along and he peered down into the water looking at the fish, only to turn around and see how far we were out and said "Are we leaving Bali daddy"....:o)
The Amed area of Bali has plenty of construction going on, it,will in time develope much like the rest of bali, but i reckon it will still remain a great, quiet place for some years to come and a place i want to return to.
Lets just hope, the jewel in the crown, the coral reef, remains
unspoilt ( as they have done in Candi Dasa).
The only think that will hold me back would be the kids and mum, who don't like the drive ( one of my sons was car sick on the way to our
next stop, Mara Safari park.)...they just don't like all the winding up and down, round and round the hills....
Next stop Mara Safari park...
Cheers S