Peace in Amed
Day trips can be such a rushed affair in Bali; you need to take a little time to explore the lesser-visited parts of the island if you really want to search out the true culture and experience the traditional aspects of Balinese life. With this in mind we give you ‘quick exits’, our guide to locations dotted around the island. This month we take to the hills of Amed and Manggis to ascend Mount Agung, dive the realms of Bunutan Bay, Amed and get back to the roots of local cuisine on the verdant slopes of East Bali with Alila Manggis and their new organic cooking school.
The trip up north to the eastern tip of Bali via the (relatively) new bypass stretching from Kuta, through Sanur up to the outskirts of Manggis is a painless journey and one that not too many visitors to the island embark upon, meaning that the areas north-east of Candidasa remain relatively unspoilt and rural life continues much the same as it has done for centuries. Golden Bird offer chauffer- driven transfers up to Amed (hotel pick ups available, T: 0361 701111) or, if you’re of a more adventurous persuasion, jump on a motorbike and cruise the beautiful, windy roads through the hills and villages of Manggis and Amlapura, soaking up the earth-shattering views of Bali’s least developed Karangasem regency.
The total journey time is around two hours, far quicker than the drive north to Lovina given the excellent condition of the road surfaces in the east, ironic given that the regency of Karangasem is home to some of the most poverty-stricken groups of indigenous Balinese people many of whom subsist far below the poverty line in the arid and harsh environments of the bleak, volcanic foothills of Mount Agung. It’s not unusual to see the Harley Club riders of Kuta powering through the tiny roadside villages where life remains relatively unaffected by the onslaught of villa developments and the neo-colonisation of the south of the island.
Our first stop is to dispatch German adventurer and volcano aficionado, Carl-Bernd Kaehlig to the summit of Agung, before continuing along the coastal roads into the small fishing village of Amed to check into a hillside bungalow with a million-dollar-view, then onto an underwater exploration of possibly the island’s most pristine reefs at Bunutan Bay.
Welcome to Amed hardy travellers, the original Bali.
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