As you may have noticed, our blog has been far too quiet lately. Our neighbor back in Hawaii, Mike, came to visit and we have been, well, distracted. For his first couple of nights in Bali, Mike rented a luxury bungalow called Mu Bali, located on the cliffs above Bingin beach. The property is owned and operated by a French couple who over the years turned their oceanfront, limestone covered land into a secluded oasis, with architecture and landscaping influenced by Balinese and European cultures. The rooms were constructed from natural coral and/or white stone, with dark Indonesian wood trimming, vaulted wooden ceilings and thatched roofing. An infinity pool looked out over the Indian Ocean. While it was only about 200 steps down to the Beach, we spent most of those first days lounging by the pool, soaking up the rays and enjoying Bali life outside of our normal budget.
The coast from the Bingin Beach Cliff
Mu Bali infinity pool
U'i and her plants, outside Mu Bali
Spot checking Bingin
On Mike’s second day, we decided to brave it into Kuta by moped. While only 20 miles from Uluwatu, Kuta might as well have been in another country. To reach it, you must navigate the narrow rural roads of the Bukit peninsula, drop down the hill into Jimbaran, and merge onto the heaviest traveled “highways” on Bali. I tried to explain to Mike how intense the traffic in Indonesia becomes once you exit the countryside, but nothing could prepare us for the reality of motoring through the chaos first hand. I remember my first time in Bali, sitting in the back of a Taxi cab as we weaved between scooters and busses, closing my eyes every few seconds and sinking my finger nails into the vinyl seat covers in desperation. Sitting on the moped, about to make the left turn onto the By-pass road which races past the international airport, my heart sped up and then abruptly stopped. It’s now or never, I thought to myself. It felt like jumping into a river during spring melt. Suddenly we were 5 lanes deep (on a 3 lane highway), scooters on both sides, their foot pegs inches from my spinning spokes, and my mirrors inches from the tour bus towering above us, flying along at 60km/hr. Seasoned motorcycle drivers with apparent death wishes blew past us, somehow knowing that the cement trucks would leave 18 inches between their tires and the guard rail. Every time the traffic stopped, we asked whomever was next to us the way to Kuta, as the signs did little to keep us going in the right direction.
Somehow we made it, and putted into the dirty, snarled mess of Bali’s tourist trap. T-shirt shops, surf shacks, scooter rentals and trinket stands extended for miles in all directions, an International Market Place on steroids. Mike was instantly turned off, and shared our disbelief that many travelers spend their entire time in Bali on these streets. We stayed only long enough to eat lunch, settle our nerves from the drive over, and mentally prepare for the drive back. We instantly got lost, heading in the wrong direction on a maze of one-way streets. Eventually we got going in the right direction, and with the help from numerous local motorists passing by, we continued south toward the Bukit. Somehow we missed our turn and ended up on another fast moving highway, this time taking us to Sanur. We squeaked across the ever flowing stream of vehicles and made a west-bound exit onto a junction towards Nusa Dua. I knew I could get us home from there. Suddenly I saw a sign for Uluwatu, and we pulled onto a smaller highway which brought us to the base of the Bukit hill. Even looking at a map today, I can’t figure out where we went. We got home as darkness was settling over the island, and exchanged excited and frantic recounts of what had just transpired, feeling happy to be alive. I do expect that anyone can grasp the intensity of driving in the cities here without doing it. It’s like explaining color to the blind. The next day, feeling confident and possibly possessing superpowers we previously had not been aware of, we decided that we would rent a car, and drive up the west coast of Bali. We enjoyed our last day at Mu, secured our Toyota for an early morning departure, and returned home to pack.
The kids at our homestay, happy to have us back alive
U'i packing up for our trip around the island
In the morning, after a short discussion, it was decided that Mike would drive and I would navigate. While a vehicle provides inherent safety from its size and closed structure, it is by no means easier to operate in Indonesian traffic than a scooter. For starters, traffic drives on the left side of the road, which means the stick shifter is controlled with the left hand, the blinker with the right hand, and the rear view mirror can be found by looking up and to the left. Enter into the situation that our blind spots are also reversed, and the judgment of distance between our car and the wave of scooters surround us is thrown way off. Lastly, consider that some red lights mean go and some don’t (often optional regardless for scooters), and roads are rarely labeled (both on the map and on the street), and some suddenly become one-way (again often optional rule for scooters). This became a hair-raising combination of new experiences for poor Mike as the pilot, for me as the navigator, and for U’I, who helped to spot for bogeys or oncoming trees that got too close (less than 6 inches). After several near misses the inevitable finally happened. A young woman on a scooter was driving at us on our left (the wrong side of the road for those who are catching on). A vehicle was passing a slower car in the opposite direction, momentarily coming into our lane. We squeezed tighter into the left side of our “lane” and smacked the scooter with the passenger side mirror (where I was sitting), which folded in against our car with a loud crack. Panicked and fearing the repercussions of any discussion with the Indonesian police, we kept going without looking back. We all agree that the woman was not injured, that we had made mirror to mirror contact (judging by the yellow paint on our mirror), and at worst had removed hers from her scooter. Nevertheless it was the topic of repeated conversation for the remainder of the day. U'i got the whole ordeal on video - watch for a post soon.
We continued North past Kuta, successfully navigated the streets of Denpasar, and exited the city towards Tabanan. Upon reaching the small town of Antosari, we turned right at the fork and headed north into the mountains. The temperature began to drop as we climbed through rice terraces, cocoa farms, and clove plantations.
Rice terraces on our way up the mountains
Mountain tree tunnel
The road began to narrow and winded like Tantalus into the sky. 23 miles later we reached the ridge roads through Pujungan and Pupuan. From here we could have continued to the north coast of Bali, but instead looped back down toward the south-west coast on another small mountain road, which deposited us in the isolated coastal community of Medewi Beach. The surf here is renowned, however, the long drive from Kuta (about 2.5-3.5 hours) usually keeps the crowds to a minimum, with local surfers typically out numbering tourists. We pulled in and were greeted by a low-tide, medium swell day. Left handers wrapped around the point. The beach consisted of large, round, perfectly smooth stones, deposited by a nearby river. The water color was a darker, brownish color, reminding me of the countless California point breaks. As the tide began to fill in, the waves got bigger and broke for well over 300 yards. There was one guy out. As the tide continued to fill in through the evening, the crowd grew to a maximum of 10, and everyone was getting waves. U’I jumped in on here bodyboard and proceeded to get several sets (though I only captured a few of the smaller ones with my dying camera battery). West of the point break, a black sand beach break was producing some nice barrels. To the east of the point, a long fast right wall was reeling down the coast. Several other rideable waves could be seen in the distance.
Low tide Medewi, showing the playing field
Inside section
U'i dropping in
U'i cruising
Rising tide means bigger sets
Some fun ones
We elected for a cheap room in a nearby homestay ($7 for Mike, $10 for U’I and I). The full moon that night provided a spotlight on the waves, and one could easily have surfed for hours on the high tide. Mike and I hung out by the water till midnight, watching about 20 native fishing canoes depart into the night. A couple of Bali cows wandered by chewing their cud, while U’I caught up on some sleep back in the run-down surfer room. The next day, U’I was up at the crack of dawn, eager to get back in the water before we pushed out. The swell and tide combination wasn’t providing waves as big as the day before, however, she still got several fun rides. We loaded up the car, and I took my turn driving as we pushed west. We reached Gilimanuk, where the ferry takes vehicles across the straight to the island of Java. While a vast jungle awaited on Java, it wasn’t in the plan this trip, and we continued around the tip of West Bali into the diving village of Pemuteran. A community reef restoration agreement has created an underwater sanctuary and some of the best diving on Bali off the shores of this North-coast town. The backdrops were stunning, the people friendly, and the atmosphere relaxing, making for a good place to stop for a few days. After stopping in at a few of the roadside accommodations, we found Amertha Bali Villas, a cluster of luxury resort homes on an ocean front parcel. Our jaws dropped when we saw the room available. It was a two-story palace, with a private pool, outdoor kitchen, and outdoor bed, surrounded by koi ponds and native foliage. The inside boasted luxurious flooring and trim, cold AC, satellite TV, and a King size four-post bed. We decided this was our time to splurge. U’I successfully negotiated the rate on this Master Suite Villa to $100USD per night, (which we split), and we booked for two nights. We have been living it up the past two days. The snorkeling out front is spectacular – it’s straight out of Discovery Channel with vibrant corals, healthy reef fish, and a multitude of creatures I’ve only seen in pictures. Tomorrow we push out of Pemuteran, and will continue only the north coast (heading east).
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