Bali's lush unspoilt east coast

This is my favourite side of Bali, lush and green and off the beaten track. It really does offer the chance to see those beautiful rice terraces that are in the tourist brochures and also to see the locals still going about their daily business happy to give you a smile and a wave while still living the way they always have still relatively untouched by tourism.

The diving off Tulamben also rivals anything we have seen on Cozumel and other places.

Then there are the little hideaways where you can relax and unwind till your heart's content.

Quick Tips:

I think that the circuit out of the tourist strip up to Ubud then over to the east coast taking in Tulamben and Amed (the road is atrocious) is a great trip. You can then continue on to Sanur and then Jimbaran Bay. It is great trip if you allow approx 10 days.

Make sure you have a spare camera or have yours serviced before you leave home. The sudden change in humidity can play havoc with them. Ours decided to pack it in at the most photogenic section. We then had to backtrack a couple of hours to Chandi Dasa to find a store that sold the throwaway ones. Very bad timing, indeed.

Best Way To Get Around:

You can hire a private driver, we have done this in the past but we prefer to hire our own car. I know; everyone says they are atrocious drivers but if you have your wits about you it is no different to driving in any chaotic city in the world. At a cost of US per day, fuel about 10-20 cents a litre, it's cheap.

This is Nirvana!!!

It is hard to find the words to descibe this idyllic little hideaway tucked away outside of Amed.

Beautiful thatched roof bungalows that feature four poster beds with mosquito nets, open air sandstone bathrooms, lofts, spacious balconies overlooking the garden or pool - heaven! Then the little touches like waking up and having a thermos of hot coffee and tea delivered unbeckoned to your balcony each morning. The open air restaurant overlooks the pool and then the beach, great food. Snorkelling equipment is available for hire and you can snorkel off the beach or keep the locals employed and hire a boat and sail around the next corner for...you guessed it the same thing!

These bungalows are basic but pretty cheap, no hot water or air conditioning but they serve the purpose and that is to go diving. They have the dive shop attached so it makes sense to stay here. There is a cheap restaurant also on the premises so it has everything you need. When you are ready to go diving you walk along the (rocky) beach and enter straight into the water.

We dove the wreck of the Liberty first - I'm a serious claustrophic but it was so interesting I forgot all about it. Going in through what was the old entrance way and along the coral encrusted passage way and being able to peer out through the port holes, it was fascinating. Loads of fish life all very inquisitive of course.

Then the coral wall still great starting at 18 metres and gradually ascending with a myriad of coral and fish species. Visibilty of about 20 metres.