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Trip with Chris to Amed Bali

Tuesday morning was a day I’d been anticipating for a while now. Chris is visiting me in Bali and I wanted to take him on an overnight trip. The day before we’d ridden through the Bukit peninsula and Chris handled the bike with no dramas.

I suggested leaving Seminyak reasonably early and avoiding the traffic in Denpasar by taking the bypass that runs north of it from Kerobokan. We brewed up a pot of coffee, downed a cup each and hit the road, stopping at the gas station on Jalan Raya Kerobokan to fill our tanks. Here in Bali there is a motorbike lane where riders stop, open up their seats to reveal the tank. You then push your bike through and tell the attendant how much gas you want. Usually 6,000rp will get you a full tank, or almost full.

The time was heading towards 8am and although traffic was picking up the speeds were low and most of it was in the direction of Kuta. We made the turn northwards towards Ubud after maybe 25 minutes and were now on a mellower 2 lane road. Heading up to Ubud we climbed in elevation and the temperature droped slightly. The road there is lined with cement design places, their ornaments and brick work out on the street for customers to see. Nearing Ubud we saw an array of carving shops and shipping companies. Ubud is one of the main arts and crafts places in Bali and the towns around Ubud ( Peliatan, Tebesaya, Taman , Sambahan etc. ) produce a lot of the stuff on sale. I spotted a few foreignors checking out Peliatan, much better to go to the maker than the shops in Ubud where prices have already been inflated.

Chris and I stopped into a little warung on Jl. Hanuman, the same street where Sean and I stayed a few months ago. It was called Shakuntala Caf� and had a basic breakfast and Indonesian style menu. I had a crepe and Chris ordered a cap cay ( veggies and rice ).

Our waitress was still getting herself organised as there were no other customers yet. Jl. Hanuman has a selection of affordable losmans (guest houses ) in the lower section that you might pay 40,000rp for a twin room including breakfast. In the upper section there a juice bar that sells wheatgrass juice, I didn’t make it this trip, maybe next time.

After filled our own tanks we took off on the north road for Kedewataan and Kintamani in the highlands. This road has sparse traffic and is an easy ride. I wanted Chris to have the chance to enjoy the trip and not have to stress on driving too much. I led the way and kept my speed down so all he had to do was be careful and check out the scenery.

Heading north we approached one of the larger volcanoes Mt. Batur, which I had climbed in 1993. Conditions were now way cooler than in the lower elevations and Chris told me his teeth were chattering later. We skirted the western edge of the volcano and started decending through windy roads to the north coast. As soon as we had dropped a couple of hundred feet I could a waft of warm air hit me, the vegetation here was visible less dense and brown patches were visible. The north and east of the island receive less rainfall than the south coast and it shows. Everything is relative though and Bali is a lush tropical island. Chris and I stopped to admire the view and water the vegetation a couple of times, the ocean coming into view as we rode over each hill.

At the roadside in Bali you’ll see these little structures that the locals use for getting some shade in the afternoons, I couldn’t resist trying one out.

Hitting the coast around the town of Bondalem we turned east and made for Les, a town with a waterfall Mick had taken me to before. The hike up to the volcano lasted about 15-20 minutes and we were sweating pretty good by the time we got down to our BVD’s and jumped in. The cold water was like hail-stones on our heads and the pool fairly shallow. Still for a westerner like me who is used to rectangular pools of chlorine this was a treat.

While in the water 2 local kids joined us, stripped down to their birthday suits and cavorted under the water like a couple of dolphins.

Riding along the coast eastwards towards Amed we saw preparation for Galungan in every town. It was a great for me to get an idea of how the festival feels like outside of Kuta.

The time now was still early afternoon and we were making good progress. This time another volcano came into sight, Ganung Agung, the largest on the island. Unlike Batur which looks rather stark, Agung appears massive and green. The area surrounding it beautiful too and far too few tourists get out this way to appreciate it.

Chris and I turned inland and rode down to Celik then made the turn towards the coast towards Amed. We arrived around 4pm and rode slowly along the cliff top road checking out a few losmans. The Amed area consists of a string of tiny fishing villages that run for miles. In recent years decent quality hotels and restaurants have sprung up and if you want to pay $20 or more a night you can. I didn’t want to and checked out 2 places on the beach. The first guy wanted 80,000rp and wouldn’t budge. The second guy said he had a room with 2 beds, upon inspection it was a double bed with 2 single mattresses �see 2 beds� he said. I didn’t think 2 sweaty guys in 1 bed would be much fun so we went over the road to a place called the Amed Caf�. This place had cottages for 60,000 with twin beds and a pool!

We checked in and immediately got wet. The pool was small but was very clean and for $3.40 each ( including breakfast) I was a happy camper. I like their recycle bin.

There was a couple of hours daylight left so Chris and I rode furthur along the coast check out the scene. We rode around little bays that were populated by locals and heads would turn as we passed by at a leisurely 20 mph. Rounding the bay we’d climb up a steep hill where most of the hotels would be located, circle down to the next bay and do it again. I noticed one or two places offering yoga and massage.

I spotted the place I stayed at with Mick, Jasmine and Evan, called Good Carma. The bungalows were nice but cost 60,000rp each. A couple of hundred yards further was the Blue Moon restaurant.

We rode back showered, talked for a while then came back to the Blue Moon. A lovely place with classy bar and an outside pool and pool table. We had a starter of calamari, then Chris had a fish curry, myself going for the grilled tuna with rice and veggies. Here on the coast you can expect good seafood for low prices. I think my dinner cost 22,000rp ( $ 2.60 ).

Chris and I knocked a few games of pool and memories of John Henry’s bar in Eugene came rushing back.

Riding back to the Amed Caf� we took extra care as it as pitch black outside. This part of the island has sparse traffic though and I almost managed to lead us back to our guest house�.I stopped at the adjacent one as it looked the same.

Chris and I had a great day and burned through almost a tank of gas each. I reckon for 6,000rp ( 80 cents ) we got our money’s worth.