After much deliberation we decided that rather than hang around in Uluwatu for the next four days, we would head north-east to a 10km coastal area known as Amed. Having started the process of extending our visa, the second stage was to return in four days to pay and have our photo and finger prints taken. So we couldn’t travel too far afield, but knew that a few days in Amed would be apt, having heard it’s all about the beach life.
Understanding that the quickest, easiest, and most flexible way of us reaching Amed was by our own means of transport, we zoomed up the road to the car rental and after much negotiation, managed to obtain Faith back. The trusty orange shoe was back in our hands and we wasted no time before hitting the road. Chris in the driver’s seat, me as navigator, we slowly made our way (due to such bad traffic) along the familiar roads out of the Bukit Peninsular and headed east.
After nearly two hours crawling along the dusty roads, our tummy’s told us it was time to stop. We had kept our eyes peeled for a busy warung along the way, but with no luck, we ended up stopping at ‘Hardy’s’, a large department store, having read that the car park is circulated with food stalls. However, today turned out to be another national holiday, hence why we were struggling to find somewhere to eat. Hardy’s car park had no sign of bustling food stalls, but luckily I managed to spy a warung over the road with a few people eating in. After stocking up with water and snacks, we hesitantly made our way over to the warung. A small family were busy away frying up rice and serving small plastic bags filled to the brim with noodle soup. We ordered nasi goreng (fried rice) and took a seat on some tiny plastic stalls. With some strange but friendly looks from the other customers, we sat patiently and smiled with assurance. It was clear the locals were not used to tourists. A plate filled to the edges with fried rice and a fried egg on top arrived, to which we added some homemade spicy sauce and tucked into. It didn’t take long before my nose was running, and Chris had to help me finish, much to his delight. Both meals cost us just £1!
Back on the road, as we turned off the main road and wound our way along smaller ‘off the beaten track’ type roads, we happened to come across a Water Palace. Unbeknown to us, its beauty and splendour enticed us in for a look around. The grounds were truly stunning and extremely picturesque. The Taman Ujung Water Palace complex consists of various large pools, a series of water ways, long elegant bridges, Balinese and European architecture, perfectly landscaped greenery, and set against a backdrop of Mount Agung and the eastern shoreline. The name ‘Ujung’ means ‘extremity’ in Indonesian, and the location is often described by locals as being one of the island’s largest historical landmarks.
It was another hour of scenic coastal road, taking us through small villages, up some very precarious roads, but providing lovely views over various bays with beaches hidden by hundreds of fishing boats. We enjoyed following a pick-up truck for several kilometres overflowing with Balinese locals of all ages; from the agile children standing, waving and giggling at us, to the elderly ladies hunched at the back of the truck. The kids were loving the bumpy, windy, hilly roads, acting as though they were on a rollercoaster as they waved their arms around and screamed with joy. Eventually they arrived at their destination and all waved us on as we passed by.
We made a brief stop at a hilltop to take some pictures of the beaches covered with dazzling white fishing boats. However, we soon attracted some unwanted attention from some local teenagers, who seemed as though they had been on the local rice wine (arak). After answering their questions with short answers, we managed to climb back into the car, and after nearly shutting the door with one of their hands in, we raced away. Harmless fun I am sure, but you can never be too careful.
Soon enough we arrived at the Amed stretch. There is actually a small village called Amed, but the 10km coastal stretch from Amed to Aas is known as the Amed area. We stopped in a village called Bunutan, and with the homestay we were hoping to find a room at being full, we were ushered next door to ‘Miss You Homestay’. A peculiar man showed us to a room, set back from the coastal road, up some very large steps. With a veranda, queen sized bed, en suite, AC (although we opted for the fan), and views out to sea, we negotiated a very reasonable price with him which would also include breakfast. Overjoyed with our find, we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave the veranda, since the view and setting was perfect, and it turned out there was just the one room at Miss You Homestay.
We ended up over the road and tucking into fish curry, washed down with a couple of beers, as Chris struck lucky and found a TV showing the Hungarian F1 qualifying.
 
It was perfect waking up to an ocean view with the sun beaming onto the veranda. The unusual man kindly prepared a pancake and a cup of Bali coffee for our breakfast. Unfortunately the coffee was undrinkable, and the pancake un-edible – especially after finding bugs cooked into it! Awkwardly he walked past and noticed we were not eating or drinking so asked if everything was ok. Struggling to lie, we said it wasn’t so good. Next thing we know he brings up some freshly sliced papaya. I was very reluctant to eat it, sure that wherever it had been prepared was obviously not particularly clean. But we risked it and ate up the papaya. We poured the coffee down the sink, trying to not offend even more.
It turned out that the best snorkelling around was at Jemeluk beach, which was just under 1km away from where we were staying. We walked the dusty road, taking in the wonderful view over the bay before we dipped down the hill and onto the beach front. A pebbled beach, not made for sunbathing, but that didn’t bother us, as we were keen to snorkel. We left our bags with a restaurant along the beach front and headed to the left side of the bay. We had stopped by a dive shop along the way and been shown a map of the bay, told where was best to snorkel, and explained the current movement. So along with this information, we decided to head off left, then loop back around and over to the right. We were out in the water for nearly two hours. Some really nice corals, plenty of fish, a huge barracuda, and even a turtle. There was also a sunken ‘post box’ as it’s known, but it looked more like a shrine of some sort. But with the water temperature being much colder than we are used to, we couldn’t bear to stay out any longer, with both of us covered in goose bumps.
We returned to the restaurant where we had left our bags, walking along the beach front trying to warm up in the sun, then tucking into mei goreng (fried noodles) to fill our hungry tummy’s. We managed to warm up properly on the steep walk back to Bunutan. Then grabbed an iced coffee across the road before chilling on our veranda for the afternoon, enjoying the peacefulness and sea view.
During our walk to Jemeluk beach earlier on, we had spotted a perfect viewing point to watch the sunset. So prepared with a large Bintang each and some bbq flavoured crisps, we clambered down the side of the cliff for the perfect viewing spot. Although the area was fairly busy, there were people playing the guitar and singing which made for a nice atmosphere, as we sat with views of Jemeluk bay and Mount Agung. The sun set just next to Mount Agung, providing some spectacular views of the sun rays beaming over the edge.
Reviews of ‘Titi’s Warung’ next door were very good on TripAdvisor, the prices seemed reasonable, and with not a lot of choice it made sense to give it a go. The two dishes we chose were extremely tasty and flavoursome, but the portion size was not quite adequate for Chris, who later filled himself up with Oreos!

We decided it was only polite to give a breakfast another go. Perhaps he just needed more practice at making pancakes?!? Luckily, the gamble paid off and the pancake was edible. But we didn’t risk it on the coffee again, instead choosing the fruit juice, which was nice and filling. Then it was back on the road again, heading north along the coastal roads and passing through the actual village of Amed, which didn’t seem to be much at all. We looped back around west, inland, to make a stop off at ‘Tirtagangga’, a temple based around a natural spring. Some of the views across the rice fields and mountains were amazing as we drove by, and couldn’t help pulling over to take some pictures. Where we happened to stop off was under a tamarind tree, shedding the fruits, allowing us to have a try and taste the very sour flesh.
Tirtagangga literally means ‘water from the Ganges’. The area is a maze of pool and fountains surrounded by luscious green gardens and stone carvings and statues. The beautiful water garden, with stepping stones and bridges, made it picture perfect. We leapt across the stepping stones, viewing the humongous koi carp swimming around, and came across some incredibly large lily pads floating in a pond. One of the hot springs was open to swim in, but at a cost of course. Wanting to get back on the road, we opted out, and carried on towards Sanur, our next destination.