Paradise in Bali Revisited

(Last updated Sept. 14, 2006)

Two days after I returned from my visit to the U.S., Alma and I boarded a plane with friends Pat Knox and Dennis Floyd and flew to Bali for a holiday break from the chilly weather of Melbourne. Pat and Dennis are veteran visitors to Bali (25 times or more for Pat, and nearly that by Dennis), but for Alma and I this was only our second visit to this paradise island. This time, after spending a few days in the central highlands, which are reknowned for their lovely terraced rice paddies and tea and coffee plantations, we drove for four hours up to Pemuteran, on Bali’s northwest coast, for 10 days of beach relaxation and snorkling.

The highlight of this part of the trip was a decision by Pat and Dennis to purchase one of 16 villas being built on the beach about 200 meters from the Taman Sari resort where we stayed. They made their decision after we stayed a couple of nights in a similar villa, with a private swimming pool, and who could blame them? The setting is stunningly beautiful, with small mountains that descend right to the sea, and tropical trees and flowers of all colors and varities. The coral reefs in Pemuteran are slowly being restored after being heavily damaged by local fishermen using explosives to stun and then catch the fish, and also bleached by warmer waters attributed to global warming. But we went by boat to a reef nearby, called Coral Gardens, and saw huge numbers of wonderfully-colored tropical fish through our snorkel masks.

Words cannot begin to capture the beauty of this Balinese paradise, so I’ll go right to the photographs.

Pat starting out the journey right…..

…with a bloody Mary, of course

Alma at one of 3 pools at Ananda Cottages in Ubud, which is in central hills of Bali

Pat gets into swing of things in Bali

In Ubud, rice paddies are everywhere. This one is just outside our room

Dennis, Alma, Bill and Pat set out on a day sail to Lambongan Island for snorkling

Life’s not very rigorous on this boat

Dennis and Alma make a plan

Then Alma puts her feet up for a rest

Sailing off to an adventure off Bali

Bill snorkling off Lambongan Island. The reefs were nice, but we found some better coral and more fish later in our stay in Pemuteran, on the northwest coast of beautifu Bali. Efforts are being made to restore the coral reefs damaged by locals using dynamite to stun and catch fish. Growth of the new coral is helped along by 12-volt electrical cables run out to sea from the shore, and by volunteer “reef gardeners” who remove destructive starfish.

Bill playing the Titanic scene for photo op

Pat, Bill, Dennis and Alma at dinner

Dennis in a familiar pose during this holiday

Bill in a “horizon” pool on Pembongan Island

View from our room in Ubud

The private pool at our rented villa in Pemuteran, in northwest Bali

One of two luxurious bedrooms in our villa

Alma exiting private pool at our villa

Bill, Pat and Dennis have a cup of coffee

It’s a hard life in Bali, but we endured it

The beach at the Taman Sari resort, Bali

Bill at the poolside bar for an espresso

Bill, Pat and others ride to snorkling reef

One of the villas we stayed at in Pemuteran’s Taman Sari resort

The view from a plot of land where Pat and Dennis are building their own villa in Pemuteran, Bali

A villa similar to what Pat and Dennis are building in Pemuteran, Bali

A typical day’s activities in Bali

Visiting a temple for rise of a new moon

Lovely sunset in Bali, a paradise island

Pat, Dennis and Balinese builder at the site of their planned Bali villa. Their villa will have three bedrooms, a swimming pool and great views of the ocean about 75 meters from the front door. When asked by family and friends what they bought on their holiday, Pat has been answering, “A shirt and a house with a pool.”