My relatives are here from Java so tomorrow I will take them on an overnight trip to Lovina on the north coast. Many Indonesians never use a map, they either know where a place is or they don’t. In the past I have taken Ika to the beach in Nusa Dua and she has asked me “is it the same way as Sanur?” Asking my relatives where they wanted to go in Bali I gave them the option of beach or mountain and they chose mountain.
Getting to Lovina from Seminyak will take around 3 hours, following the route via Tabanan, Antosari, Pupuan and Seririt. Its a pleasant drive and given the fact we’ve had some cloudy weather in Seminyak lately, there might be a mountain shower on the way. Bali is cool right especially in the evenings and I’m looking forward to see how my relatives enjoy the cool mountain air. We’ll stop at Sanda Butik Villas (that place is so good how could we not?) for lunch and then finish off by enjoying the last part of the climb before the lovely scenery descending to the north coast town of Seririt. Last time I was on the north coast I had a close call. Cruising through Pemuteran on my motorbike I slowed to check out the local hotels and passed a woman at the side of the road with a look of horror on her face. A moment later I felt a tug on my neck, the sarong I used for sun protection flying off. During my ride the thing had become unwrapped from my neck, the loose end finding its way to the back wheel, where the entire sarong was deeply embedded by the time I stopped. No harm done, just have to use a different sarong method in future.
A trip through the changing climatic zones in the highlands means roadside fruit sellers. Indonesians tend to be earthy folks who love to hunt for a bargain and chew on a bag of local produce. Lovina is about 10km east of Seririt and with a young kid aboard we’ll be anxious to get into a hotel. My choice is the Nirwana Seaside in Kalibukbuk. You could get more central if you tried and this place is next ot the beach, a stone’s throw from the restaurants and has a pool. Last time I visited the price for a modern AC room was 175,000rp. I just rented an SUV from Bali Puspa on Jl. Dhyana Pura. It took 5 minutes and I got the thing for 150,000rp, no license, no ID. The owner is cool and will negotiate on price, check it out.
