Sunday, 26 October 2014
Sunday, 19 October 2014
Finale
Today was the final day of our road trip. Before heading off
in the car we had breakfast at The Gong www.thegonguluwatubali.com. Then
we went for a walk down a road where we had observed, from the swimming pool, a
surfer walking along a nearby street. The advertising sign at the corner
indicated a business called The Ritual was situated somewhere down this street.
At the end of the street we discovered The Ritual www.theritual-bali.com , perched high
on a cliff further south along the coast from Uluwatu. In addition to
accommodation they do weddings, similar to Blue Horizon hotel at Uluwatu. What
a find! I hope you enjoy the photos from the area…..we also ventured through
some paddocks for additional views.
Back at Batu Jaran we enjoyed our final swim. I’ll let you
know a secret….we haven’t showered since Lovina so regular swimming has been a
must. The reason for not showering has been that the water stinks.
Then we were off to Legian with a stopover planned at Bingin,
a beach not far away. I’d only been there once before but there are signs! As
per yesterday we got lost. Found lots of places that we hadn’t been to before,
but not the beach. Not to worry as we didn’t want to swim, maybe just get a
drink.
Back on the main road out we are travelling along nicely. We
come down the big hill from the Bukit and follow the road to the left. Lost.
Somewhere south of the airport.
Eventually, we get back on the main road through Jimbaran
and successfully navigate our way home to Legian. We both thoroughly enjoyed
the trip. Driving was an experience but not as daunting as expected.
Uluwatu 2
The accommodation here at Batu Jaran Hill is most pleasant.
It has an infinity pool that overlooks a gully. It’s not particularly
picturesque but I did mention that this is an arid part of the world. There’s
virtually no natural water supply so water is trucked in from Denpasar. Two
loads were brought here yesterday and they say it only happens on a Friday. I
asked because I had to move the car twice in the short time I was here.
Yesterday we went to a bar on the path that leads down the
cliff at Uluwatu. Incredible views and decent food. We go back a little later
today (18th) to try and catch a sunset.
The walk to the shops from our accommodation is only a few
hundred meters so we went there for brunch today. Then early afternoon we
headed of in search of Finn’s Beach Club and/or Karma Resort. Rather than
facing west, they face south with sandy beaches more suited to swimming.
We got lost many times and ‘discovered’ places we’d never
been to before. We didn’t actually get to either beach but we did get to a
cliff top and saw what we think was Finn’s Beach Club. We must have been 300
feet up the cliff with stairs leading down. Uluwatu involved a climb of 106
steps yesterday and I’m sure this would have been many more. Further along from
where we were standing we could see a
xxxxxxxx taking passengers up and down to the beach. Hopefully the
photos do a better job than my words in describing the area.
Life’s tough here at Batu Jaran Hill. The American girl next
door with a sensational body keeps getting massages on the verandah in her
bikini. The Aussie guys in rooms 1 & 2 have two good looking local women
sharing with them, there’s two yanks at the pool, one of whom is either in a G
string or has her pants hitched high. I have to keep telling myself that whilst
they might be younger than Heather, prettier than Heather, sexier than
Heather and smarter than Heather, even better navigators than Heather…….they’re
not Heather. My Love.
We’re now back from watching the sunset from Single Fin at
Uluwatu. Too much cloud but it was nice to watch darkness fall and the fishing
boats going out to sea. From there we went to Ulu Resto for dinner. Very
pleasant.
I think that the views from Uluwatu are the best in Bali.
Anyone coming to Bali should include Uluwatu in their planning.Uluwatu
We were both pleased to leave the Rising Star Beach Resort
(haha) for the long haul to Uluwatu. We were leaving the far east of Bali for
the far south. Only about 120km but it took about 4 hours. It’s a problem when
the navigator says left but the directions say right. It adds time to the
journey! And frustration for the driver!!
The trip first took us back through Amlapura and onto
Candidasa. We had thought of staying at Candidasa but were fed up with black
sand or rocky beaches. Lonely Planet didn’t give it much of a review either.
Seems that the coral reef was destroyed for lime for cement and subsequently
replaced with a sea wall after the beach washed away.
Continuing on we reached Padangbai. From here the ferries
and fast boats head to Lombok and Gili Islands. We shouldn’t have turned in
because entry was restricted so we had to join the long line of vehicles
exiting.
The journey south became slower, restricted by trucks. After
a while it became divided road, a blessing, although attitudes and actions of
drivers got sillier.
Much further south, after Sanur, we used the new toll road.
Unbelieveable. It goes for 12.7km across Benoa wetlands. So it’s a causeway and
it cost $US220M. Imagine what it would cost to build in Australia?! Despite
using the tollway to avoid traffic, at a cost of $1, we still got lost (on it
and coming off it). It has separate carriageways for motor bikes, keeping them
away from cars.
The Bukit area is extremely barren, hot and arid. The
overdevelopment here is matching that of Kuta. People come here for surfing,
beaches and ocean views. We’re staying at Batu Jaran hill, between Uluwatu
beach and Uluwatu temple. Other guests here are Australians and Americans. It’s
a short drive to the beach and just a short walk to cafes and restaurants.
Amed
Amed and a number of villages along the eastern coast of
Bali are commonly referred to as Amed. The area is mostly arid and volcanic.
The beaches are of black stones rather than black sand. The area is very hilly
with accommodation from the foreshore below the road, where we are, up to
places perched high on the hillside. As well as paths, we have a climb of 43
steps to get up to the road.
Lots of eating places and dive shops. All activities seem to
be centred on snorkelling and diving. Further up the coast is the wreck of USAT
Liberty and a little further south we saw signs regarding a Japanese wreck.
Upon arrival at Rising Star Beach Resort (hahaha) we were
offered one of two rooms that involved a 15 step climb. That was after the 43
step descent from the street. Both had a septic smell about them so we were
eventually upgraded to a better room. They did try and get an extra Rp200,000
per night, but that wasn’t to be. Even with the room upgrade it’s very ordinary.
Nicely located but well overdue for major renovation or a re-build. Even the garden needs work. Very
disappointing after the previous accommodation which was cheaper but so much
better.
Yesterday, Thursday, we headed off in the car along the
coast road going south. It was a very narrow road for about 30km and the
average speed would have been less than 30kmh. The amount of rocks was amazing.
With Bali you think of terraced rice fields. In this district the hills were
terraced with rocks. You wonder how the people there eek out a livelihood.
We were taking the scenic route to Amlapura and from there
onto Tirta Gangga. Amlapura is the main town and capital city of Karangasem
district. A very tidy town and most unlike typical Balinese cities and villages
in that regard.
Tirta Gangga (Water of the Ganges) is the site of a holy
temple, great water features and magnificent rice fields. The water palace was
originally built in 1948 by the last king of Karangasem and then extensively
damaged by an eruption of Mt Agung in 1963 and since rebuilt.
On the way back to Amed we came the quicker inland route
where we were treated to some of the typically lush tropical vegetation and
terraced rice fields.
Back to the accommodation. Last night more than 10 men from
Jogjakarta came and occupied the four rooms, two of which were previously
offered to us. They kept Heather awake ‘half the night’. The French family have
twins and one of the twins seems to have woken up grumpy, presumably the result
of last night’s noise.
Still on the accommodation, the power went out each night on
a number of occasions and the free wifi only worked the first day after they
topped up the credit. I feel bad reviews coming up on airbnb and Trip Advisor.
Our next overnight is the Bukit peninsula, the southern end
of Bali. It’s about a 100km journey so we shall leave about 10am. Two nights
there and then back to Legian.
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