Luxury villa living, thriving scuba diving

by Adi Arifin

I am not a diver myself, however, about two years back, just out of being curious, I spent a weekend at Amed. Amed and Tulamben on the East coast of Bali, with their crystal clear waters and the Liberty ship-wreck, have been famous as divers' paradise for years. With the distance to travel to get there, they are not really took tourists attention unless those seasoned scuba divers. Casual divers mostly went to Sanur or Tanjung Benoa on the greater South, minutes away from the Airport.

The almost three hours drive was completely paid off with the good time I had. It was a really sleepy fishing village with only a few modest accommodations available. Even my cell-phone, subscribed to the widest network provider, could not get a signal. I stayed at a very modest bungalow called Three Brothers, less than $8 for an absolute beachfront bungalow with private bath. Whilst it did not have luxurious amenities like TV, AC, or hot water, it is nice and clean, but the more impressive thing of friendliness of the staffs treating guests like old friends.

Just a few weeks back we got in touch with Scott, a Seattle based American furniture exporter, who has just completed a beachfront villas at Amed. His invitation to visit his new villa was really appealing. But I was calculating about the chance that we can rent it out to our mostly Seminyak-minded clientele, and the time I had to spend to pay a visit. No other holiday rental agency listed villas outside the greater South, literally means "close to Seminyak". No one has ever inquired villas at those remote areas. It was simply just like a question of who came to earth first between a hen and an egg.

A few days back, we rented out a villa Talia Vasthi at Candidasa for two weeks. I felt this occasion like a moment to clear the cloud out. It proved that there were certain holiday makers who are interested in off-the-beaten-track areas. So decision was made, I would drive east to meet Scott at his villa.

I was surprised that things have been progressing quite quickly. The new bypass connecting Sanur to the East has now been completed. They even started construction to make it four ways instead of two. This new road ended just a few kilometers away from Padang Bai, the main ferry port to Lombok which was very close to Candidasa. It cut out the traffic hassle at Batubulan, Celuk, Sukawati, Gianyar, and Klungkung. Only a few minutes over one hour I have passed Tirtagangga. The traditional fish-market which was the entrance to Amed was reached within less than two hours. Turning right from the fish market, I just followed the road along the beach. Everything remained the same, nothing seemed to change compared to my previous visit almost two years back. There was nothing to notice until the road hiked up hill and sloped back down, I saw a big house on the beach. The road hiked-up again after the house, so it was in between the two hills.

Built on roughly 5,000 square meters of land, it has spacious parking space at the front. Entering the gate, narrow pathway leaded to the house through soothing freshwater pond full of koi fishes. The main door opened directly to the living area opening to spacious terrace at the back, overlooking the beach through its indigo swimming pool. On the left hand side was a huge LCD-TV with state of the art sound systems equipped the living area furnished with modern comfortable couches. On the right hand side was a dining table and fully equipped kitchen. At the same floor there were a study room with a double bed, and a private home gym with complete set of body-building equipment and a mini-pool table.

The stairway next to the front door leaded to a hall at the upper floor, which housed all the remaining three bedrooms. The spacious master bedrooms enjoyed both ocean views in one side and mountain views in the other side. Both views are magnificent, however, after a while stunning at the ocean views I found the mountain more appealing. The two smaller guest bedrooms enjoyed either one views, a bedroom enjoyed the ocean views while the other enjoyed the mountain views. All bedrooms had adjoined western en-suite with bath-tub and running hot water. Functional minimalist furnishing suggested the guest to enjoy outdoor living. However, the master bedroom had a wide LCD-TV.

While the upstairs balcony offered spacious space gazing at the stunning views, the downstairs terrace offered even more space for more purposes, with large daybeds, lounging chairs, and dining table. At the opposite of the swimming pool, very close to the beach was a garden gazebo. A small pathway leaded to a small door to the beach where hundred of traditional boat decently parked nest to each other.

There was nothing special about the beach, really. For lovers of underwater world, the treasure was hiding under the calm surface. Boat parked just in front of the villa to transfer you to chosen diving spots. Scott, the owner, was a well-seasoned scuba diver who managed a diving operator in addition to his main furniture business. I would personally suggest that he owned it more for his personal enjoyment than to deliver decent income. However, the point was that the he offered package of daily diving to various diving spots in the area to guest renting his villa.

He should be away when you stay at his villa. That was the reason why you could rent his villa anyway, because he left the villa vacant while he was away, either taking care of his business or dive other underwater treasures in the other sides of the globe. But Wayan, his right-hand aide would do his best to pamper your stay in and out of the villa, on the surface or underwater.

Find photos at Amed Diving Villa

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Find photos at Amed Diving Villa

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