We have a car and driver to take us to Pemateran on the north-east coast. We drive through picturesque villages which line the roadside arriving at Siririt on the coast where we stop to get cash. Munduk didn’t have an ATM, bank or moneychanger and according to Lonely Planet neither does Pemuteran or the ferry port of Gilmanuk where we will pick up a ferry to Java in a few days time. Siririt seems to be our only opportunity to get some money for a while, so we use both cards to withdraw the maximum allowed – which is only 1.2m rupias per card – a mere £140 in total! At least it gives a small stash to cover us for those occasions when we are out of reach of an ATM in Java – credit cards not being very widely accepted here.
Pemuteran occupies a narrow coastal strip not more than 2 or 3 kilometers wide at most. There are wonderful mountain views to one side and the sea on the other. Small and relatively uncommercialised, there are a few, self-contained beach resorts offering bungalow-style accommodation set in lush gardens fronting the beach, a handful of family-run restaurants on the main road and the occasional homestay or bed and breakfast. We arrive without having been able to book ahead (no internet in Munduk and the homestay recommended in Lonely Planet doesn’t answer the phone). So for the first time on our travels, we turn up on spec; to find, of course, that it is full! We try a couple of other places – one is full and the other, far too expensive at £60 a night. Then we happen on a sign for ‘room’ which initially doesn’t look very promising, but turns out to be a delightful bungalow complex set in lovely gardens between the road and the beach. In typical Balinese fashion the enormous teak bed (with firm mattress which is always a plus) is strewn with frangipani flowers and flower arrangements decorate the bedside tables. The room is spacious and open to the rafters. The traditional Balinese shower is also a treat; partially open to the sky, flag stones for the tray surrounded by pebbles from which a large green plant is growing, rough-hewn stone walls and a small, rotund gargoyle which spouts water. All very nice for £16 a night including breakfast and only a stone’s throw from the beach.
Pemuteran is on a long curved bay of grey volcanic sand. Typical Balinese narrow-hulled boats with outriggers dot the bay or a hunched together on the beach. There are several resort restaurants to choose from, but we soon discover that the smaller local restaurants are far better value and the food is just as good. People come here primarily for the diving and snorkeling, particularly off x island 15 kilometers along the coast, and there are a surprising number of dive centres for such a small place.
We stroll along the beach and have lunch overlooking the sea, but by this time I’m feeling completely exhausted and lacking energy; probably due to a cold that is developing (caught, I think, from one of the family in the Ubud homestay) and the sudden increase in heat and humidity. But I’m done for the day and we spend the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and reading on our veranda.
Pemuteran occupies a narrow coastal strip not more than 2 or 3 kilometers wide at most. There are wonderful mountain views to one side and the sea on the other. Small and relatively uncommercialised, there are a few, self-contained beach resorts offering bungalow-style accommodation set in lush gardens fronting the beach, a handful of family-run restaurants on the main road and the occasional homestay or bed and breakfast. We arrive without having been able to book ahead (no internet in Munduk and the homestay recommended in Lonely Planet doesn’t answer the phone). So for the first time on our travels, we turn up on spec; to find, of course, that it is full! We try a couple of other places – one is full and the other, far too expensive at £60 a night. Then we happen on a sign for ‘room’ which initially doesn’t look very promising, but turns out to be a delightful bungalow complex set in lovely gardens between the road and the beach. In typical Balinese fashion the enormous teak bed (with firm mattress which is always a plus) is strewn with frangipani flowers and flower arrangements decorate the bedside tables. The room is spacious and open to the rafters. The traditional Balinese shower is also a treat; partially open to the sky, flag stones for the tray surrounded by pebbles from which a large green plant is growing, rough-hewn stone walls and a small, rotund gargoyle which spouts water. All very nice for £16 a night including breakfast and only a stone’s throw from the beach.
Pemuteran is on a long curved bay of grey volcanic sand. Typical Balinese narrow-hulled boats with outriggers dot the bay or a hunched together on the beach. There are several resort restaurants to choose from, but we soon discover that the smaller local restaurants are far better value and the food is just as good. People come here primarily for the diving and snorkeling, particularly off x island 15 kilometers along the coast, and there are a surprising number of dive centres for such a small place.
We stroll along the beach and have lunch overlooking the sea, but by this time I’m feeling completely exhausted and lacking energy; probably due to a cold that is developing (caught, I think, from one of the family in the Ubud homestay) and the sudden increase in heat and humidity. But I’m done for the day and we spend the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and reading on our veranda.