A night in Jasri and dinner in Candi Dasa Bali

I just got back from an overnight trip to Karangasem in East Bali with Ika.

Our rented Suzuki Katana cost 170,000rp for 2 days and looked pretty new. The AC and radio worked and Ika could entertain herself listening to Indonesian radio.

The new coastal highway got us to Klungkung in a couple of hours from Seminyak and we ended up staying at Kangkung Cottages in Pantai Jasri. Owner Mark Cripp was there with his wife Kadek and we were the only customers.

Kangkung Cottages is tucked away down an alley from the street on a street that is unmarked. Heading along the main road from Perasi to Amlapura you take the right turn that indicates ‘pantai’ (beach) and keep going straight.

The place has 8 rooms (4 upstairs & 4 downstairs, all fan). We stayed in one of the upstairs rooms which cost 100,000rp including breakfast. The beach is about 100 meters down the street and directly over the bathroom wall is a section of rice paddy. The attraction of this area isn’t the great beach or surf, because both are tame, its the scenery and the low key village life.

I must say that East Bali is my favourite part of the island and it starts feeling like something special the nearer I get to Padangbai. Crusing through Candi Dasa the scenery is already tropical with the blue ocean on one side and the bright green of the hills on the other. The really special stuff is after I ride through Candi Dasa and over the neat little ‘butte’ or section of raised land on the coast between Candi Dasa and Jasri. Coming over that through the winding forest roads really gives me a sense of ‘this is how the provinces are supposed to feel like’. There are no tours buses and the road is somewhat torn up, but that all adds to the excitement for me.

My friend Mike who lives up near Tampaksiring is always going on about parts of Bali that are undeveloped and which are prime for buying. I still reckon East Bali is the place because of the scenery including Gunung Agung and some lovely terraced valleys, the cultural stuff including the water palaces, Besakih temple and other smaller ones and the mixture of basic village life with some modern hotels.

The new coastal highway is edging further east and when that baby is finished Pariwisata tour buses and luxury tourists from Nusa Dua will be heading out east because they can have their ‘Balinese experience’ and Martini on the rocks at the same time.

Just to wet your whistle. Mark told me about a new waterfall he’s discovered that he reckons is the best in Bali, that takes over an hour to hike to in wild country!

Ika and I drove back to Candi Dasa in the evening for dinner at a place called Toke Cafe [(0363) 41991]on the main street in Candi Dasa. I took photos of the place that I’d like to share with you but my camera is at Ika’s house. Very cool place with wooden furniture and high ceiling fans. There were western style tables and Japanese style. We took the low style so I could lounge like a lazy bugger. Mellow jazz was playing in the background and the staff were neatly dressed, standing to attention to greet newcomers. I felt like I was in a Humphrey Bogard movie and before long along came one older chat, about 55, from England who thought he was Humphrey Bogard. I watched this guy come in, swap highbrow pleasantries with the head waiter and sit cross-legged sipped a sherry and smoking a cigarette like a gentleman of leisure. He’s probably a retired postal clerk from Luton, but out here $50 can but you a story and a new life.

Ika had grilled shrimp, myself a bowl of very good vegetable soup and then grilled fish. Add on a a couple of drinks and the bill was around 100,000rp. The place is very nice, right on the main road and has a hotel there too.

We drove the 20 minutes back to Jasri and I wish I had more time to get mellow and enjoy the slower paced existence that is here in East Bali.