Bali, part 4: Amed

Our last two nights on Bali were spent near Amed, a little town on the far east point of the island. The hotel we stayed in was pretty remote. No phones, no internet, no TV, no ATM within 30 miles.

We were content to sit on our balcony, enjoying this view.

A nearby bay that plays host to many snorkelers

Our first day in Amed, we went snorkeling! In addition to hundreds of vibrantly colored fish, we saw a starfish that looked like this and must have been at least a foot and a half across. Very cool!

Low tide

Another low tide shot

A peek at the ocean from inside the hotel

Our cool open-air shower

The hill behind our hotel

Homes on the hill behind our hotel

A statue in the Bali airport

Bali, part 3: Ubud

Welcome to Ubud! We spent two nights in this cute, artsy town in southern Bali.

Monkey Forest Road. Yes, that is this street's real name!
It is lined with countless art shops, guest houses, cafes, and restaurants.
The forest at the bottom of this hill is home to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary.

This fearsome guy stands guard over one of the main intersections in town.

I don't actually know what this building is,
but it's on Monkey Forest Road and it looks typically Balinese (to my foreign eye),
so I took a picture!

This was the view from our room at the Saren Indah hotel.
It looks very peaceful, and it is...
until 6:30am, when the farmer who owns that rice field
begins yelling, banging two sticks together, and shaking rock-filled cans
in an attempt to scare away freeloading birds.

A kooky tree in the Monkey Forest Sanctuary.

Monkey vs. Dog. Who will win??
(Actually, the monkey turned around and walked away
with the dog prancing after him. When the monkey ignored him,
the dog lost interest and wandered off!)

On our second day in town, we took a stroll through the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. At the entrance, we bought a couple bunches of bananas, figuring we would throw them to the monkeys from a safe distance. That didn't go quite as planned:

Gus meets a monkey!

They sure do love bananas!



And pockets.



And hats.

And though they are wild, they are obviously used to humans.

Bali, part 2: Mount Batur (on the road to Ubud)

On Friday morning, after two nights in Lovina, we hired a driver to take us to our next destination: Ubud. Since Ubud is in the southeast part of the island, the driver offered to take us there the indirect route, past Mount Batur. Mount Batur is an active volcano. Of course, we said yes!

On the drive there, we stopped in a little village to take in the views. We saw coffee berries lying around, drying in the sun; we saw a fuzzy dog who posed aloofly; and we saw this view:

Panoramic picture of the valley

Fuzzy, aloof dog

Just past the village, we stopped for these pictures.

Mount Batur, Lake Batur, and - in the distance behind the clouds - Mount Agung

Gus!

Further along, our driver stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Kintamani. The restaurant's balcony overlooks the mounts and lakes.

Panoramic view from the restaurant's balcony.

Photo taken by our driver

Next: Ubud!

Bali, part 1: Lovina

From July 30 to August 6, Gus and I abandoned Thailand. We hopped a plane, flew from Chiang Mai to Bali (via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), and spent a week enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery, and delicious food.

What follows is a pictorial summary of our week. I'll divide it into three separate posts, one for each of the places we stayed. (Click any picture to see a larger version.)

First, we spent two nights in a resort on Lovina Beach, on the north side of the island.

Our villa at the Aneka Lovina resort.

The pool.


The ocean! (Actually, the Java Sea. Or maybe the Bali Sea.)

Looking west from the beach. The sand is black volcanic sand.
All of those boats are available for hire.

The beach at low tide, looking inland.

Cool low-tide sand ripples.

Same beach at high tide. (Picture taken from a boat in the early morning.)

Our first morning, we went for a walk through the neighborhood.

On our walk, we came across a small farm, complete with friendly goat.

Gus meets the goat!

We also saw this statue.
This is not something you see every day in Denton, TX.

Our second morning in Lovina, we hired one of the locals to take us out on his boat for a "Sunrise Dolphin Tour." The ride began in the dark at 6am, and lasted about an hour and a half. It involved heading about 15 minutes out to sea, wandering around until dolphins were sighted, following the dolphins for about an hour, and then returning to land.

The sun creeping over the horizon.

The mountains in the early morning light.

Sunrise!

And last, but not least, dolphins!

Next up, Mt. Batur.