Paradise in Bali?

Amed's beach, with Mt Agung in the background.

July 2011
I went to the relatively quiet beach town of Amed, to the north east of Bali, to catch up with my two friends I met whilst on holiday. We had kept in touch via facebook since that trip, and I promised to pay them a visit, since I had never been there before. They had told me  how amazing this island was, about how it was to be their paradise, and I was keen to find out if this was to be my paradise as well.

I spent three quick days in Amed, of which approximately 7hrs (to and fro) were spent travelling from the airport at Denpasar to this quiet beachtown.

Without a doubt, Amed is a beautiful place, especially in the off season which I was experiencing then. Amed had, in no particular order of preference:
A long stretch of black sand beach
Beautiful corals not more than 50m from the shore (which I did not get to see due to my phobia of stepping on poisonous rocks/corals/fish in the low tide)
Cheap good food
Amazing sunsets and sunrises
Calm waters for swimming/snorkelling
Few tourist traps
Friendly locals (about 500 or so in this village)
Clear skies for seeing stars at night
Thousands of chickens used for cock-fighting (I hated them, but when was the last time you heard a cock crow?).

The town is not yet overrun with tourism, but is expected to be in the next few years, as fancy villas continue to be built along the coastline.

It was not difficult to see why my 2 friends had chosen to spend 2 months in this town.


Pura Lempuyang



Padi fields aplenty in Bali

Bali and Amed from a different perspective

Speaking with my friend and reading some of the Singaporean newspapers, I came to know about the Beach Boys of Bali. These men were said to hang around the beaches of Bali to prey on foreign women, with the hope of trying to find a better life with them away from the island.

I had the opportunity to observe them "in action" during the 2 evenings at Amed, and I could see why it was to be paradise - especially for women. There was an American lady of about 50 years old, and there were 7 local men sitting with her, chatting, listening, drinking and dancing with her, giving her the attention and praise to make her feel like a goddess. It reminded me of the stag night parties I attend with my male friends, with roles reversed. The same situation did not apply to men, as Balinese women were kept at home due to cultural/religious reasons. From my discussions with a Beach Boy and the chicas, Amed (and possibly Bali) was pretty much a chavunistic society. The men are not used to experiencing women with strong opinions.

My friend spoke of an incident one evening when her friends did not acknowledge her presence at the bar as they were entertaining a female tourist. It was later on when one of the guys apologised to her for his rude behaviour, as he was simply "working".

She accepts these men for who they are and understands their search of a better life, though at times she also complains about how the men on the island are generally lazy and abusive, leaving the cooking and housework to the women, and spending all their time getting high on arak (the local spirit, best drunk with Coke) or marijuana, and gambling on cockfighting. Her stories of Bali were truely entertaining.
She had lived in Bali for 6 months before, and she spoke basic Behasa to get by. She is living in Bali for 2 months or so. I do admire the way they have chosen to live freely and happily, and I am eagerly awaiting the publishing of her book of Balinese adventures.

Amed's amazing sunset