Break 3 Days 6-10 Amed - the Real Bali

Our drive to Amed took about 3 1/2 hours - again taking us past
spectacular scenery - including roadside monkeys! By now we had learned why the name Wayan - our driver's name this day - was so common. First born (male or female) are named Wayan, second born are Made (pronounced maudeh), third is Nyoman, fourth is Ketut and then if necessary, the fifth name cycles back to Wayan. Families are not overly large, but obviously Wayan would be the most common!

Our second place of rest in Bali was on the east coast in Amed. Here we were away from the tourist chaos of the south, and were surrounded by the sites and sounds of the 'real' Bali.

Our rooms were idyllic. Kyle had his own room with twin beds and Mike & I had our own room (photo). Each room had it's own bathroom - Kyles complete with a family of geckos who lived high up on the walls. They were nice 'pets' except for their noisy nightly chorus of throaty 'ohhh ohhhh' which woke Kyle (and us) up at times! Between the rooms was an outdoor sitting area where we spent much time lounging, reading and playing cards.

The restaurant at Anda Amed was very good and the menu while not excessively long, had great variety. We ate several meals there, although we did venture out to try a few other hotel restaurants also. Meals were accompanied by Punkie and Holly (the ducks in the photo). They loved the popcorn given as a pre-dinner snack! There was also Daisy and Creamball the two dogs who were often around. Although they did not beg as such, they sat under your table waiting patiently for any handouts.

Kyle spent endless hours in the pool which had an infinity edge overlooking the ocean. The gardens were again spectacular - with orchids, frangiapani, huge hibiscus trees and many others which I can't even name.

Amed is a fishing village. On a couple of the mornings, Mike rose early to venture to the beach to see the fishermen. The fishermen went out twice a day - morning and evening. When they returned with their catch, the women would meet them on the beach and carry the fish up the steep hill in baskets on their head. Needless to say, there aren't a lot of overweight people here!

During the day the locals would work on fixing their nets, maintain their boats, act as chauffeurs to the tourists, or otherwise occupy themselves. On Friday evening we joined several of the locals and other tourists at a bar to see a live band - quite impressive rock ballads (although we suspect that the lead singer learned his English by copying Bon Jovi), some Jimi Hendrix and even they even entertained us with their own creation.

In addition to fishing, there was also lots of local farming, and many of the rice paddies had been 'upgraded' by adding a well - this allows them to farm sweet potatoes, corn or other crops which require more routine watering rather than flooding.

School runs in two shifts - morning (7 am to 12:30) or afternoon (12:30 to 6:00). So you often see kids coming or going to school around the noon hour as they shift change. The older kids often share a motorcycle - the younger ones walk or get picked up by motorbike. Rush hour at the school consists of many motorbikes!

The area where we stayed was also a great diving and snorkeling spot. Having a more laid back holiday, we didn't spend as much time snorkeling this time around. We did get down to the water twice however - once off the beach in front of the hotel, and once we took a drive down to a Japanese ship wreck where there was good snorkeling. The fish were quite good and there was a lot of coral, but after the Ningaloo reef, we found this one to be quite bleached out. But it was still fantastic swimming amongst the schools of fish and seeing the brilliant colours of the fish. It really is a whole other world which you don't appreciate until you are under the water.

In Amed, Mike and I again visited the local spa - I had a pedicure and Mike a reflexology session. We even returned for another massage, scrub, moisturize, facial, floral / herbal bath treatment. It's hard to resist since it is so affordable - and there is nothing like having a spa outdoors surrounded by the wonderful aromas of the flowers and the sounds of free roaming chickens, cows and pigs :-)

With each sunset, we became more relaxed. Bali really is paradise!