There are a few reasons for us to excited to be in Bali.
1- This was our first time back since we were married on this island 6 years ago.
2- Beds are a good thing
3- A little down time is a great thing
4- Okay, it’s Bali – I don’t think I need any more reasons.
We chose to stay in a more remote area as the area by the airport is mostly a party zone with nightclubs and bars, not the true Bali experience. After our 2 AM arrival and an hour long wait to go through passport control, we had someone waiting for us to take us to an airport hotel to sleep. Our short stay in Denpassar was our first bed in 21 nights so to be fair it was magnificent.
We planned on going to the far western area of the island but the reports of Mount Agung being active had us worried. Our driver put these fears to rest when he told us “it’s okay, mountain is sleeping”. To put this in to perspective Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii in 79 AD, Mount St Helens erupted in 1980, Mount Agung last spewed enough ash to shut down all air traffic, on Tuesday – – – – Okay, it’s sleeping—let’s go.
We were glad we did. As Mt Agung, as promised, was sleeping the entire time we were at the shores in the town of Amed. Amed is a small fishing town that has a few guest houses that cater to mostly divers. We stayed at the BBQ Guest House in our own private bungalow, complete with a day bed on the front porch. Our time in Amed was spent relaxing on the beach, snorkeling, kayaking, watching the locals make salt, and going out on a traditional fishing boat to catch Mackerel.
Snorkeling in Amed was some of the best we have ever had with tons of fish and the clarity was incredible. I felt like Jacques Cousteau witnessing the abundant sea life.
We left for fishing under the cover of darkness in our 3 person boat with outriggers for stabilization. As we reached the open ocean the outriggers worked – kind of. The fishermen do not use a rod or reel, just a roll of fishing line and a baited hook. The fishing was poor, but the views were outstanding.
We were fortunate enough to be able
to go to an Indonesian coffee tasting. This tasting had many different kinds of coffees and teas, but most famously the Kopi Luwak coffee. Yes, the same Kopi Luwak that was discussed in the movie Bucket List. For those who may have missed this movie, 1 – watch it – it’s a great movie, and 2 – Kopi Luwak is made from coffee cherries which have been eaten and passed through the digestive track of the Asian Palm Civet. So in a word – we drank Civet poo, and liked it – the coffee was wonderful.
Our time in Amed ended as we reluctantly left the island of Bali. We boarded a small boat to bound for the tiny island of Gili Tranawan off the coast of Lombok.