Contains affiliate links
Do you know how it is when you have a mental image about a place, and travel to find it? And do you know how it is to search high and low without being able to match your expectations to reality? – and finally, the feeling when it suddenly happens?
That’s what happened for us when we travelled around Bali this summer. We couldn’t find the tropical paradise Bali used to be, and the Bali of my (having never been to Bali) dreams.
After spending a lot of time looking for something to match our expectations, we decided to try our luck in Amed, more specifically Lipah – with bungalows right on the beach: Wawa Wewe II (Affiliate link)
It was a choice we didn’t regret!
Amed was what we dreamed of experiencing in Bali
Here we were away from the scooter and car hell that was still running through us like a tinnitus that wouldn’t quiet down. Here, there were only a few cars and lazy scooters on the roads.
Green the way only Bali can be green! And tiny houses – filled with families, children, barnyard animals, and chickens that cackled as we walked by.
And then, of course, the diving shops for the tourists, a few other tourist shops, and a handful of restaurants and cafés.
Around the town, over the hills, and around the bay is Lipah, the place where we lived – Wawa Wewe II. An honest-to-goodness hangout for backpackers, families, and groups of friends travelling around Bali.
A place with atmosphere, life in the restaurant (the only place with internet), and a handful of locals hanging out with a guitar, Bob Marley songs and a round of Arrak (Balinese alcoholic drink).
The restaurant
It was in the open restaurant on Wawa Wewe, the restaurant with the open veranda right out to the sea, that everything happened.
Of course, we had our bungalow to stay in, but it was here – in the restaurant, we hung out. Here we hung out in the morning, in the afternoon, and again at night. Always accompanied by their home cooking, their newest guitar song, and a good, ice cold Bintang (Indonesian beer).
The food was heavenly, Indonesian, homemade and completely fresh from the kitchen. Sebastian fell for their prawn crackers, which they fried in the kitchen themselves. Every night, Peter and I dove into their crazy hot Indonesian dishes – all while going off into a reverie of the horizon, which not surprisingly consisted of huge, heavy, Balinese waves weaving in over the beach.
Our bungalow
At the bottom were the restaurant and the swimming pool. Up the mountain was out bungalow, facing the sea. Although it was covered by palms and trees, so we couldn’t see the sea, but honestly, we were only there when sleeping or changing clothes (and charging our devices).
The bungalow had a wide bred sleeping loft with a mattress and covered with mosquito netting. That became Sebastian’s place to hang out when he wanted to be alone, play with Lego for a while, or listen to his audio books.
As for us, we slept below, which gave us easy access to the bathroom, which was an honest-to-goodness Balinese bathroom – outside!
Yes, we have sat on the toilet in all kinds of weather – rain and sun, and while enjoying the starry sky. My fear of snakes and giant spiders in the toilet roll (and under the toilet seat) proved unfounded, and after the first night on the pot that fear was put to bed.
Instead, I was able to enjoy the sound of cicadas, the endless roar of the waves and the croaking of a pretty large gecko, right behind me on the wall.
Yes… it was actually a true adventure here… on the northern side of Bali!
Useful links
-> Wawa Wewe II (Affiliate link)
-> Amed
