Tuesday, February 17, 2015

A Month in Bali . . . Starting in Amed

Trying to decide where to go in Bali is a bit like trying to decide which cheese to buy in a French market - how can you choose from 400 varieties when they all look so wonderful . . . and you're very hungry??  That was our dilemma in Bali, but we finally decided on a 'taster' tour - some time on the upper NE coast, a visit to one of the out islands, a stop in Ubud and finally, another beach stop in Bali.  A month in all, the limit of an Indonesian tourist visa without incredible gyrations to extend it, which we opted out of.

Amed, our NE coast destination, is not really a town but an area that spans about 10km of coastline and has gained a lot of popularity of late for its dive and snorkeling sites.  It appealed to us because it was small, sparsely populated, and from all accounts retained a healthy dose of 'original' Balinese culture and charm.  It sits in the shadow of Bali's most sacred mountain, Agung, an active volcano which erupted just 50 years ago.  As a result, the beaches are a coarse black sand and the surrounding countryside a farmer's dream.

When you look at a map of Bali, it appears that getting from place to place isn't that big a deal - there are clearly marked roads and they seem to connect lots and lots of towns, not to mention the major tourist areas.  The distance from Denpasar airport to Alur Homestay in Amed looked to be about 50, maybe 60 km; it took almost 3 hours to make the drive!!  But worth it . . .

Amed is sweet, unspoiled and our homestay hosts were doting and caring.  Our room was right on the
beach with a perfect view of Mt. Agung.



Breakfast appeared each morning, delivered by the always smiling and delicate Wayan, sister of the owner, Made (pronounced Mah-day).  Somehow they knew within minutes of when we awoke and coffee appeared as soon as our eyes were fully open and a hearty breakfast shortly thereafter.



 The tourist boom has had its impact - there are a slew of guesthouses and warungs (restaurants) up and down Amed's one street.  But there is still a large indigenous population living as they have for years and doing what they've done for centuries - farming and fishing.  Every day at dusk, the fleet of boats that sat idle on the beach are lugged into the water by all available hands.  Men just seem to appear when needed and some number of them climb into each boat and somehow, using nets and muscle, bring in the catch. 


We eat a lot of fish.  Mackerel, snapper, tuna, and a few we've never heard of. 

Made tells us that the Indonesian government subsidizes the fishing industry by helping fishermen acquire the boats and the funny little outboard motors that propel them. That is the only explanation for the economics of this operation as there are as many as 15 men on one of these boats, and the catch doesn't seem to begin to support more than the feeding of their families, much less have anything left to take to market. 

Reminds us of the fishermen we saw in Kerala, South India - different boats, different catch but time-honored, collaborative traditions.






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