Beachside or sea view property in the southern part of Bali has become so expensive in the last few years, that astute investors are starting to look further a field.A growing number are taking a good long look at karangasem on Bali's east coast The Aman group's amankila has been here for some years, and have been joined by Alila hotels more recently. Large new projects are underway. Just north of Padang Bay, at he seaside village of Amuk five kilometers to the south of Candi Dasa, plans are well advanced for the construction of a an international cruise ship terminal comprising two 150 metre piers and terminal complex contruction is expected to be completed in 2009 and to cost almost US$10 million. Ultimately it is hoped that the facility will attract as many as 200 cruise ship a year. Large yet, Korean investors are developing 124 hectares at Bugbug and perasi, north of Candi Dasa. The project is said to be worth US$153 million and includes an 18- hole golf course from one of the world's elite designers, as well as an integrated resort with villas, and condole. Perhaps the most important incentive for the potential purchaser is that by the end of this year, the provincial government is expected to change the zoning of much of the coast so that it can be developed from a tourism development point of view. What's the attraction and why has it taken so long for people to acknowledge it? The reason is simple- beachfront property, or property with panoramic coastal and mountain views, is still abundant and still at very affordable prices. The topography is somewhat similar to the Bukit. From Padang Bay right the way through to the northern borders of the regency, the foothills rise quickly from the coast. And this type of landscape allows homes to be designed constructed to take advantage of stunning views. So why has it taken so long for the east coast to be" discovered" Up until a couple of years ago, few but the most independent of visitors made it to Karangasem. For one thing it was agony getting there. Sure, you could climb on the perama shuttle with enthusiastic German backpackers, or for the truly hardy, the Batu Bulan-Amlapura public bus, along with the chickens, pigs and sacks of rice and sugar. This was a bit of an adventure, but the novelty palled somewhat after the first six or seven hours, as the bus stops at every wide spot on the road. One of Bali's best kept secrets Karangasem, the regency which makes up most of the east of the island, is one of Bali's best kept secrets. Because it has had relatively little tourist development, large parts of the regency are still "the way Bali used to be" It contains some real treasures. For example there's a village inhabited by Bali Aga, the original people of Bali, whose culture and traditions are unique. There's world class diving on the wreck of a 10,000 tonne ship.
There are two fabulous water palaces, there's an astoundingly attractive temple on the side of the island's biggest volcano. There are stunning rice fields and snake-fruit plantations, white-water rafting, a temple in a cave with a troop of monkeys, there is wonderful snorkeling at bay after bay along the Amed Cemeluk coast. Unspoiled friendly people, great accommodation to suit all budgets, fresh sea food. The local government seems to be highly efficient and visitor-friendly. the roads and other infrastructure in Karangasem are some of the best on the island. The list goes on. What the regency does not have, is the noise and crowds of the tourist centres of the south. Karangasem is peaceful, laidback and relaxed. Back in the 1980s,there were high hopes that the seaside village of Candi Dasa would become the Kuta of the East coast. This expectation was doomed from the start because it was based on a fundamental misunderstanding. It happened like this… intrepid travelers passing trough Candi Dasa liked what they saw-a white sand beach with a beautiful unspoiled lagoon full of coral and tropical fish, simple bamboo huts on the water's edge, cheap local food- so they stopped and stayed. And when they returned to the south they told their friends who come too, and stayed and stayed. The Candi Dasa locals, a bit bemused by this influx, popped down to Kuta to check it out and decided (without asking what people wanted) that they would build Candi Dasa something to rival the success of Kuta. And this was the misunderstanding, for the flood of visitors to Candi Dasa were motivated as much by a desire to escape Kuta's commercialism as to enjoy Candi Dasa's unspoiled ambience. The result? The more Candi dasa developed, the fewer the travelers who stayed. Word-of mount did the rest. It wasn't until almost a decade later that the area started to realize its true potential. Fast forward to the mid 90s, and the very canny Aman Group, creative hoteliers par excellence. High above the Lombok Strait, they built the truly outstanding Amankila. Stand-alone villas cascading down the cliff-face to the sea below. More recently, Alila Hotels, as creative and unique in their own way as the Aman people, put the village of Manggis well and truly on the map. So what's the Karangasem coast all about and what opportunities does it offer? Coming from the south on the new highway you cross into Karangasem Regency a little to the north east of Kusamba, at Goa lawah , the famous "Bat cave" temple. It's at this point that the foothills of the mountains in the interior come tumbling down to the coast, and this is where the fabulous views across the Lombok Strait begin. A little further on, you come to the Padang bay turn off. Padang Bay This is the ferry terminal for road traffic to and from Lombok and the islands of nusa tenggara timur A succession of rusty roll. The crossing round the ---- usually takes about four hours but the Lombok --- otorious for its currents and sometimes the crossing can take up to 20 hours in adverse conditions. ( At 250m, it's one of the deepest straits in area and carries vast volumes of water as it's one of the main passages for the Indonesian through flow that exchanges water between the Indian ocean and the pacific Ocean. Despite its role as a ferry port, Padang Bay has more than a little charm. The land overlook the bay has great views north, east and back down the coast. Labuan Amuk Bay From Padang Bay north east to Manggis, the road runs a little inland from the coast, but minor roads lead trough coconut groves down o he shore. It's along this stretch that the national oil company pertamina has its oil-tanker terminal. There are also plans o build a cruise ship terminal nearby. Manggis Home to boat the Amankila and the Alila, Manggis is one of the most attractive parts of the coast. An elevated promontory, the patih hill at 227 m and the 136 m Indrakila Hill, juts in to the strait. From its cliff tops there are wonderful views across the strait to the east, and back to the volcanic peaks to the north and northwest. On clear days the 3726m peak of Lombok's mount Rinjani, Indonesia's second highest mountain can be plainly seen. At see level, along the black sand beach are acres of coconut plantations. It's along this stretch of coast that the international cruise ship terminal is being built. Balina Now the road hugs the coast. Inland there are rolling foothills giving good views up and down the shore. Balina is moderately developed with guest accommodation, and there's marine reserve. The beach is black sand and rocky in parts, but it's pretty and largely unspoiled. Tenganan This community, living in a valley between the 340m Pudak and 315m Kangin hill, inland from the main road is home to the Bali Aga people whose forebears were the original Balinese who came to the island before the Hindu Majapahit era. Their villages are built in a style totally different to a typical Balinese community.Although particularly conservative, the Bali Aga have parlayed their uniqueness into becoming a major tourist attraction.The land to both the east and the west of the valley is particularly attractive and offers fantastic views. Candi Dasa The village of Candi dasa proper is of little interest to the prospective landowner, beyond the facilities it offers. It has money changers and several reasonably well-stocked mini markets. But it's mostly under-occupied mid-range hotels, guest and restaurants. The beach no longer has the appeal it did 20 years ago. Much of the reef was dynamited to provide building-foundation materials. The currents swept away the white powder sand and upset the ecology to the point where nothing much lives in the lagoon any more. Ugly groynes were constructed from concrete drainage pipes to halt the erosion, but their effectiveness is questionable. However he land to the east of the village, after the road to amlapura has disappeared inland, is particularly interesting. The 229m Gumang Hill Lies a little inland and slopes o the coast providing a bit of elevation over a largely unspoiled stretch of coast. This is where the Koreans are building their US$ 153 million 18-hole golf course and integrated resort. A quick look at the map show ha that even with this development, there is still plenty more beach and hillside land available along this stretch of coast. Amlapura The regency's capital and the largest city in East Bali, Amlapura has little to recommend itself beyond being the seat of local government. As has been already mentioned, I seems that the civil service is particularly competent here, since the infrastructure throughout the regency is the envy of the occupants of the rest of the island. The roads are particularly good, for example, and it's said that to the bureaucracy is very investor-friendly in terms of permits and smoothing the way for development. Mount Seraya Coast The north of Amlapura is dominated by Mount Seraya, 1238m. the main road on its way to Amed, Tulamben, and points further a field, runs inland to the west to skirt it. But the coast, because of its historic inaccessibility, is largely untouched and offers spectacular views. However there is a coast road that runs all the way to Amed. To go the whole way is a bit of an adventure, especially in the wet season when the hundreds of mountains streams are in flood. But a both the Amlapura and Amed ends, the road is quite good, and already westerners, who prize views and peace and quiet over shopping and nightlife, have bought substantial plots and are building homes to take advantage of the stunning views. Amed The road from amlapura to amed winds up the western slopes of the mount seraya massif, passing the Tirtagangga water palace, before crossing the pass at Abang.
Here are spectacular rice terrace views that many contend are second only to the views at tegallalang north of Ubud. Here the views stretch all the way to the coast, and on a clear day, right to Lombok.
Amed more properly refers to the first of a series of fishing villages that run southeast back down the coast towards Candi Dasa, but to westerners the whole stretch of coast is known as Amed.
Previously Amed has its hardy fans-those prepared to drive for hours and to put up with indifferent restaurants and funky accommodation-but now it is well and truly on the map. For reasons that are unclear, it has become incredibly popular with the French, and this is the foreign language of choice during the season.
As a result Boutique hotels and beachside bungalow abound and there are quite a number of more than adequate restaurants, many of them specializing in fresh seafood,(this is, after all, a major fishing community and the barbecued mackerel is to die for.) there's a small but surprisingly well-stocked mini-market, moneychangers, and event internet. Live bands perform at venues such as Wawawewe twice a week.
Villas, both beachfront and those perched on the steep hillsides, are appearing like mushrooms after a shower of rain.
So what's appeal of Amed? Apart from its really interesting topography (the road hugs the sea, swooping from headland to white sand beaches back to headland like the Adriatic coast), the swimming is good and safe, the snorkeling and diving is excellent, the people are simple, friedly and honest the air is clean, and there's no traffic. Tulamben Half an hour further to the north is Tulamben, fast becoming one of the major underwater photography sites in Asia. The road meanders through rice fields and crops and then breasts a ridge in the foothills before dropping in to the Tulamben area.
It's markedly different terrain from Amed. It perches on the edge of the lava flow from Gunung Agung's last major eruption in 1963 and is a rocky and wild environment. What brings westerners to Tulamben is the diving. It's long been know for the wreck of the 10,000 tonne USAT liberty, a cargo ship run ashore after I was attacked by Japanese planes towards the end of world war two. The cargo and all items of value were stripped from the ship and it sat on the shore quietly rusting away until Gunung Agung blew its top on 17 march 1963. the seismic activity was so strong that he ship was this lodged from the shore and quietly slipped into the sea.
Over the years it has been colonized by hundreds of different species of fish, corals and marine life and has deservedly become known as Bali's premier diving site. More recently, adventurous divers started to explore other areas nearby and to their surprise found some of the world's rarest sea creatures living in the volcanic sand. Now Tulamben has become a Mecca for underwater photography enthusiasts and is regularly featured in international dive magazines.
There's feeling that Tulamben , in the not too distant future, will experience a blossoming in eco-tourism related development. Already some substantial parcels of beachfront land have come on the market. An eye to the medium term It's grand spectacular view that Karangasem is an area that is certainly well worth considering by the purchaser who is either looking to build for him or herself, or for the investor who prefers to take the longer view.
While the tries and true areas of south Bali such as Oberoi, the Bukit , Batu Belig, and Cangu offer more immediate benefits.- the opportunity for early and consistent rental revenue streams for example-karangasem has its pluses, not the least of which is the relative affordability of the land iself. Karangasem is well worth taking a closer look at. by Adi Krisnayana
