According to the book, the tiny beachside town of Amed lay on the northeast coast, quite secluded but surrounded by some of the best dive and snorkeling sites on the island, and also a stone’s throw from the largest mountain/volcano in Bali, Gunung Agung. The only question was how to travel the 150 or so miles to get there. Without a reliable bus service, one option was to rent and drive my own transport. With the previously stated Indonesian rules of the road in effect, I wasn’t about to consider that. I could have hired a taxi to take me all the way, but ruled it out on account of that breaking the bank, likely a hundred dollars or more. So I opted for the public transport method, an auspicious start to a seriously long day.
What is a Bemo?
One of the fascinating things about almost any Southeast Asian country is the unique public transport vehicles. The Tuk Tuk in Thailand, the Cyclo in Cambodia, the always extravagant Jeepneys in the Philippines, Double Deckers in Hong Kong and of course the Bemos of Indonesia. Here we have an older model extended van, dusty vinyl bench seats on the inside with little padding and certainly no AC. Used mainly by locals, the traces and scents of agricultural products, livestock and gasoline is readily apparent on most Bemos. And the thing about Bemos is when you locate the one that you thinks is going to your destination, they will sit and wait at the origin until the Bemo is almost full before departing. There are no schudules, planned stops or strict routes for that matter. And after today, I learned that usually, there is not even a defined destination.
I got an early enough start and prepared for a long hot day. Acting on a tip from a neaby travel agent, I walked up to the corner to locate a waiting Bemo which I was told would take me to Ubung bus station where I could board a bus directly to the transit town of Amlapura then on to Amed. I skeptically got on the Bemo and told the driver the name of the bus station. A smaller Bemo, I was among several local women hauling their treasures of the day and we were quickly away. A short 20 minute ride to a bus station, not my bus station. As always in these situations, the tourist was quickly approached by another driver who promised to take me straight to Amed for an exhorbitant price. I quickly walked away, found a motor scooter driver and had him drive me 5 minutes down the road to the correct bus station, Ubung. Two rides down, who knows how many to go…
After circulating through the bus station, I was finally pointed to a waitng Bemo that would take me to Amlapura, another small town from where I could get a direct ride to Amed. This being a larger Bemo, I was only about the third person waiting, so we were in for a wait for remaining passengers. With the hour wait, I managed to locate a power outlet and with a newly purchased converter, I was able to charge my blackberry, find a connection and check the news of the day. Finally, with almost a full Bemo, we were off. We headed north into the countryside, city fading into suburbs, then to fields, mountainsides then coastline. I tried to make friends with a couple of small boys who got on at one stop, one of whom was holding a box of dull knives. Soon the passengers started getting off and soon I was alone on the Bemo. We rounded a corner, the driver yelled to the driver of another Bemo parked on the side. It seemed I was being bartered for. I was soon ejected from my original Bemo and passed to the waiting Bemo. Ride #3 to #4. I managed to only give the driver about 80% of the agreed upon rate, which was about 5 bucks. Our destination in this Bemo was apparenlty Amed. My skepticism remained. This was a long bus ride, I even managed to catch some uneasy shut eye, sleeping through the endless bumps in the road, the rude honking of horns and steamy afternoon heat. When we got nearer to Amlapura, the driver stopped just behind another parked Bemo. Hmmm, I know this drill…
Sure enough I was passed off to another driver, paid the previous driver less than the agreed upon amount then negotiated hard core with the new driver. We were close enough now to Amed that I was sure this, #5, would be my last ride of the day. We took off into the foothills, traversing winding roads. All of a sudden we were coming down a hill, a gorgeous volcano in the distance, rice paddies all around and a crystal clear view of a sparkling ocean straight ahead. This was Amed, my home for the next 5 days. The stress of 6 or 7 hours of hectic travel and haggling faded into utter relaxation as I arrived on Amed beach, secured a cheap room to stay in, filled my stomach with a hot meal and a cold Bintang beer. The sunset over Gunung Agung was, well…
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