The last day at the Villa finally came and after breakfast, Joya, Jo, and I hit the town so Joya could attempt some whirlwind shopping. I think whirlwind shopping in Bali is a bit of an oxymoron and we quickly ran out of time. There’s just too much good stuff and it’s overwhelming! Joya decided she’d shop later so we headed back to the Villa and got a ride with Annie and Oka to a place called Amed, a strip of coastal fishing villages on Bali’s northeast coast.
Getting out of Ubud was refreshing, though it seems even hotter here in Amed. The crowds, traffic, and pollution of Ubud had gotten a bit overwhelming and it was refreshing to see the rest of the island. When we finally got our first glimpses of the ocean we were ecstatic! We pulled into Amed and looked at a few bungalows before settling on a small bungalow at Jukung Bali right on the beach for $30/night. With three of us, that’s $10 each per night. And it includes breakfast! Unbelievable!
Amed is such a different feel and personality than Ubud. It’s beautiful, relaxing, laid-back, and mellow. There are lots of young folks here operating beach bungalows, restaurants, and dive shops. The young guys in charge of our bungalows are massive flirts. They invited us down to the beach for drinks and a little bit of guitar music. We probably should have joined them but instead we politely declined and enjoyed a ladies night on our awesome little porch with fantastic ocean views. Throughout the night we could hear our bungalow hosts feverishly entertaining lots of young female visitors with their guitar music and drinks. They were certainly enjoying themselves!
We took a refreshing swim in the ocean water and were surprised how salty it was. We found out later this area is quite involved in salt production and you can find it just about everywhere. I’ll look forward to getting some snorkeling gear as I could barely get my eyes underwater without them burning.There is a large coral reef in the water that is supposed to have lots of marine life, so we’ll have to check it out.
We wrapped up the evening enjoying some fabulous grilled barracuda and a gorgeous sunset over the water. It’s so peaceful, quiet, and beautiful here that our planned two night stay might become a bit longer.
