Would you rather 'chill-out' in a luxurious villa instead of a cramped hotel room....?

After the morning spa treatment, pakdokter had arranged a car to take pakdokter for a game of golf at the Bali Handara Kossaido Golf Club. Pakdokter had arranged to pick up pakdokter's partner's grand-neice's husband...(what a mouthful... and they were pakdokter's house-guest 2 weeks ago), who was holidaying at a villa located at the Lovina beach.

Lovina Beach is located along the same stretch of the northern Bali shore as of our Spa Village at Tembok , facing the Java Sea. The drive from Tembok to Lovina beach, though only about 50 km in distance took easily about 90 minutes as the road was narrow and winding with stretches of repair work and traffic slowing down the journey. However the many picturesque spots made up for the crawl.

Pakdokter's 'supir', by the name of 'Gede' was a polite and pleasant gentleman who was an equally good tourist guide apart from being a patient, gentle and careful driver. Gede had worked in a tour company in downtown Denpasar but after getting married and having a child he decided to work for the YTL Spa Village as he had originally come from this district. His wife did not like the cramped, busy and noisy city life and his elderly parents were happy to see him return to his village. His wife now runs a small sundry shop and his parents tend to their farm. Village life is less hectic and more healthy for them.

The drive from Tembok to Lovina took us through many pretty and green Balinese villages. We passed Tejakula, with the Java Sea to the right and the commanding Mount Batur to the left.

At a village called Julah, Gede told pakdokter that this village is unique in that this is the only village in Bali where they still practice a 3-day wedding celebrations where the bride and groom will provide a feast for the whole village at their own expense for the whole duration of the 3 days! Pakdokter commented that it would be an expensive affair and asked how could they afford it? Gede explained that they have devised a 'credit system' where the feasts could be paid for incrementally and progressively over time through many harvests.... After all on many other days you may not need to spend on your own meals as new couples get married and offer 3 days of free feasts....

Gede also talked about Balinese religion and customs to pakdokter. The Balinese are in the majority Hindus and are still quite religious. In their Hindu beliefs, oxes,cows, dogs and ducks are considered as 'holy animals' (haiwan suci) and as such they do not make a meal out of them. So they mostly eat chicken, fish and pork.

We also drove past an area called Bukit where according to Gede, during the early years of Pak Suharto's reign, he had developed a massive chicken farm in the area which provided thousands of jobs for the local youths. However after his retirement the farms were closed down ( ? resulting in loss of jobs to the local populace?) and is now planted with seedlings of teak trees ( kayu jati)

The drive from Tembok (No. 15 on the map) to Lovina Beach ( No 8) passed through Singaraja ( No. 11). Singaraja was the original capital of the Balinese Empire until it was moved to Denpasar some time in the 1940's.

And from Lovina Beach pakdokter trekked up a narrow and scenic winding mountain road to Bali Handara Kossaido located at about 1300 metres above sea level near Lake Buyan ( No. 12 on the map).

Gede was good with directions and had no difficulty in locating the villa where pakdokter's relatives were holidaying at (after all he is local, his original village is from north Bali).

Lovina Beach is popular with European tourists ( unlike Kuta which is the favourite of the Ozzies) and being somewhat far out is less developed than Kuta, Sanur or Jimbaran. As such prices are generally also cheaper here. And Lovina is famous for its coral reefs and dolphin viewing which surfaces early every morning...

the Anais Villa at Lovina, the pool fronting the Java Sea with a 'bale' at the front corner..

Bernard ( a French dude who is married to pakdokter's partner's grand-neice) was already waiting to jump into our car to the golf course. But before that pakdokter had to take a look at the villa they rented!

Villa Anais, owned by a French gentleman, is a sprawling complex of a main villa with 2 other independent guest-houses on its large ground with its own expansive swimming pool overlooking the Java Sea.

The main villa has 4 luxurious bedrooms, each with its own decor, one typical Balinese, another Zen ( Japanese) decor, another contemporary.....

And the 2 independent villas are fully equipped and fit for a couple or a small family. All in all the whole complex can comfortably fit in a party of 12.

The villa also provide a cook, a car with a driver ( for a small additional fee), a maid for house-keeping and a gardener and pool attendant.

And all these for about 600 Euros a week!

So, would you still want a holiday in a cramped hotel bedroom in downtown Kuta?..

lunch at the veranda overlooking the pool and Java Sea...




a seperate guest-house of Villa Anais good for a couple...

another double-storey guest-house at the side of the main villa...

Rae hugging the exhausted and hungry little Mae as Hanie looked on because pakdokter and Bernard had finished our golf game quite late in the evening..