Bali Day 6+7+8 Amed

In the southeast of the island of Bali lies the diving and snorkeling paradise of Amed. Amed is a stark contrast to Ubud. Less traffic, fewer tourists, and plenty of peace and quiet coupled with a beautiful blue sky. The accommodation we rented is located directly on the cliff, consists of four units, and from the pool, you can observe numerous fishing boats and even the occasional herd of dolphins. If you get up early, you'll also be treated to a stunning sunrise. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Within walking distance of our accommodation, we tested our snorkeling skills for the first time. It was only satisfactory for 50% of our travel group. But we still have almost two weeks to try again. It was really cool that there was an old Japanese ship just 10 meters from the beach. Overgrown with numerous corals and plenty of marine life. If only the photos from my GoPro had turned out better, I would have been almost happy. But well, not everything can go perfectly. Steve Aoki approached us directly on the beach and volunteered to be our driver for the next few days. Our next stop was Lippah Beach. This region is characterized by black sand, which comes from the numerous volcanoes in the area. A nice change. It's even hotter in the midday sun than white sand, but well. We rented a beach chair, assigned Maren as the guardian against potential shark attacks, and started searching for Nemo and his buddies. Irwan, I might even get a proper diving certificate here. It's amazing what is hiding beneath the surface of the sea. You definitely need water shoes here because apparently corals make good building materials and the beach is lined with their remains. It's now prohibited because the government realized that they attract some tourists. In the evening, we were completely exhausted and fell into bed.

Early the next morning, we went with Steve Aoki to the hinterland of Amed. Our program included two temples and one palace. So lots of stones to look at and even more stairs.

First stop was Pura Lempuyang. Pura Lempuyang is situated on a slope and consists of seven individual temples. The temples are spread over multiple levels, and the seventh temple is reached after 1600 steps. We decided to explore the first two levels. Even from the second level, the view of Mount Agung (volcano) through the Gate to Heaven is magnificent. Since we were already in the clouds, it wasn't worth climbing further. This destination is also still considered a secret tip, so there were few people around, making it very pleasant. The next stop was Tirtagangga, which means "holy water of the Nile". The last king had a water palace built here with several pools and intricately carved statues and water spouts. At least that's what the travel guide says. It reminded us a bit of a botanical garden. Despite that, the crowd of tourists seemed to be thrilled. It's incredible what kind of stuff you can and have to take photos of. It wasn't really our thing. The highlight was the Pura Besakih. The mother temple of the Balinese people. After a seemingly endless drive up the serpentines of the volcano and a roller transfer from the parking lot to the temple complex, we finally reached the destination at an altitude of 1000 meters. It was about 15 degrees cooler up here compared to the valley. Since we had booked a guide this time, he explained a lot to us about Hinduism and Balinese practices. It's a really nice complex that the Balinese people carved into the mountain about 1000 years ago. Since the complex is also located a bit outside and there are many negative reviews (pushy guides, sellers, etc.), the number of visitors was very manageable. We give it a very good rating. After a somewhat longer return trip, we spent the remaining hours of sunshine at the pool. Irwan also needs to take a vacation.

Tomorrow, we will take a speedboat to the Gili Islands. It's said to be even more relaxing on Gili Air than here.