Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
restaurant or café. Places with noteworthy
dining are indicated in the listings.
rooms and big comfy balcony sofas. A snaking
swimming pool, fringed by purple bougainvil-
lea, adds to the atmosphere. The restaurant
faces the beach and dishes cost from 20,000Rp
to 52,000Rp.
Aiona Garden of Health
(
WORKING IN THE SALT BRINE
For a real day at the beach, try making some salt. You start by carrying, say, 500L of ocean
water across the sand to bamboo and wood funnels, which filter the water after it is poured in.
Next the water goes into
palungan
(shallow trough), made of palm tree trunks split in half and
hollowed out, or cement canisters where it evaporates leaving salt behind. And that's just the
start and just what you might see on the beach in Amed.
In the volcanic areas around the east coast between Sanur and Yeh Sanih in the north a range
of salt-making methods is used. What is universal is that the work is hard, very hard, but is also
an essential source of income for many families.
In some places the first step is drying sand that has been saturated with sea water. It's then
taken inside a hut, where more sea water is strained through it to wash out the salt. This very
salty water is then poured into a
palungan
. Hundreds of these troughs are lined up in rows along
the beaches during the salt-making season (the dry season), and as the hot sun evaporates the
water, the almost-dry salt is scraped out and put in baskets. There are good exhibits on this
method at the Museum Semarajaya in Semarapura (p214).
Most salt produced on the coast of Bali is used for processing dried fish. And that's where
Amed has an advantage: although its method of making salt results in a lower yield than that
using sand, its salt is prized for its flavour. In fact there is a fast-growing market for this 'artisan
salt' worldwide. The grey and cloudy crystals are finding their way into many top-end kitchens.
Visitors to the Amed area can learn all about this fascinating process at the adjoining Hotel
Uyah Amed (see opposite) and Café Garam (see p238). Many of the staff here also work in salt
production. Tours are offered, and you can buy big bags of the precious stuff (per kilo 10,000Rp)
for a tiny fraction of the cost once it's gone through many hands and made its way to your
local gourmet market.
EAST OF AMED VILLAGE
Three Brothers Bungalows
(
23472; r 80,000-
120,000Rp)
The boys have popular and basic
beachfront accommodation, plus an adjoin-
ing café with a few tables right on the sand.
Dishes cost between 10,000Rp and 25,000Rp.
You can't get closer to the water.
Hotel Uyah Amed
(
%
0813-3816
1730; aiona_bali@hotmail.com; €18-25)
This slightly
eccentric place takes pains to let you know
that no animals were killed during the col-
lecting for its cute little seashell museum.
Like a bivalve allowed to live out its natural
life, you too will take joy in life thanks to
the many interesting herbal remedies and
other potions available here. Needless to say,
the food in the café is good for you as well;
the Swiss and German owners will ply you
with organic muesli, fibery breads, yoghurt
and other goodies all made in house. Expect
to pay 20,000Rp to 40,000Rp for dishes. Of
course all this wholesomeness might drive
you to drink. That's why they serve aloe vera
cocktails. The two bungalows here are shaded
by mango trees.
%
23462; hoteluyah@natrebali
%
)
This cute place fea-
tures four-poster beds set in stylish interiors
bathed in light. Some units have views of the
water; from all you can see the saltworks on
the beach. The hotel makes the most of this
by offering fascinating and free salt-making
demonstrations (see Working in the Salt
Brine, opposite). The tasty Café Garam is
appropriately named for salt.
Pondok Kebun Wayan
(
.com; r 270,000-330,000Rp;
s
23473; www.amedcafé
%
)
This Amed em-
pire features a range of 25 rooms mostly on a
hillside across from the beach. The most ex-
pensive have views and amenities like air-con
while the cheapest are two small beachside
huts. The good Amed Café is separate from
the lodging area.
.com; r 100,000-300,000Rp;
as
BUNUTAN
These places are on a sun-drenched, arid
stretch of highland.
Waeni's Sunset View Bungalows & Restaurant
has two simple rooms equipped with outdoor
bathrooms set back from the bay. On Sat-
urday nights the café hosts local reggae and
blues bands. Dishes range from 15,000Rp to
30,000Rp.
Bayu Cottages
(
SELANG
Blue Moon Villas
(
23515; madesani@hotmail.com; r 80,000-100,000Rp)
Waeni's is a hillside place with unusual rustic
stone cottages that have gorgeous views of the
mountains behind and the bay below. The café
is a good place for a sunset drink. Prices for
dishes range from 15,000Rp to 30,000Rp.
Wawa-Wewe II
(
(
0817 4738 100; www.bluemoonvilla
.com; r from US$70, villa US$120-185;
%
%
)
On the hill-
side across the road from the cliffs, Blue Moon
is a small and upmarket place, complete with
a little pool. The five rooms set in three villas
have open-air stone bathrooms. The café takes
usual fare and gives it a dash of panache, with
dishes costing from 20,000Rp to 50,000Rp.
JEMELUK
Deddy's Bungalows & Warung
(
as
23510; warung
_deddys@hotmail.com; s/d 35,000/50,000Rp)
On the hill-
side above the bay, Deddy's has three clean,
pleasant rooms.
Galang Kangin Bungalows
(s/d from 50,000/80,000Rp)
One of several budget places in this area,
this hillside place has clean, basic cold-water
rooms.
Hotel Prema Liong
(
%
23495; www.bayucottages.com;
%
r US$22-28;
)
The good-value Bayu has
rooms with balconies overlooking the coast
from the hillside. There's a small pool and
many amenities including open-air marble
bathrooms.
Hidden Paradise Cottages
(
as
23521; wawawewevillas@yahoo
%
.com; r 200,000-250,000Rp;
)
On the headlands,
this nice and peaceful place has eight bun-
galows on shady grounds that go down to
the water. The infinity pool is shaped like a
Buddha and is set far from the road. The café
is mellow as is the price range of 18,000Rp
to 23,000Rp.
Anda Amed
(
a
AAS
The Aas end of the Amed coast is sparsely
developed.
Meditasi
(fax 22166; r 150,000-200,000Rp)
Rooms
are close to good swimming and snorkelling
at this chilled-out yet tidy place where the
bamboo bungalows have balconies overlook-
ing the beach.
23486; www.bali-amed.com;
r 150,000-400,000Rp)
Javanese-style two-storey
bungalows are terraced up the hillside and
have a new age ethos. The cold-water, open-
air bathrooms are lush and almost double
as a garden, while the balconies have comfy
cushions and day beds.
Apa Kabar
(
23514; www.hidden
%
%
)
The 16 simply
decorated rooms at this older beachside place
have patios and open-air bathrooms. The
pool is the classic kidney shape; the bar shows
movies at night.
paradise-bali.com; r US$30-50;
as
23498; www.andaamedresort.com;
%
)
This hillside place feels
Grecian. The infinity pool has sweeping views
of the sea well above the road. The four vil-
las are a good deal; they have one or two
bedrooms and lots of posh details like deep,
soaking tubs.
villa US$55-85;
as
23492; www.apakabarvillas.com; bun-
galows US$60-95, villas US$90-150;
LEHAN
Life in Amed
(
%
Eating & Drinking
As already noted, many places to stay have
good cafés. Ones that are especially notable
are listed here.
Amed Café
(
)
Right in
front of fishing boats on the beach, Apa Kabar
has six stylish and spacious unites overlooking
a swimming pool that gurgles with a small
waterfall. Some units have ocean views.
0813-3850 1555; www.lifebali.com; r
US$65-75, villa US$90-150;
ais
%
)
If you can get
past the pretentious name, life at Life in
Amed is pretty posh although a bit urban.
The six bungalow-style units are in a slightly
as
LIPAH
%
23473; Pondok Kebun Wayan, east of
