Amed, Bali, Indonesia.

Just like Lovina in the north, Amed Bali is not just one village but a string of smaller villages located on a 10km road in the Karangasem province.
It starts with the village Amed in the north followed by Congkang, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning and ending with Aas.

Most travelers stay in the 4 most eastern villages as there is more choice in accommodation, restaurants and dive operators. Aas is the less visited village of them all.
But more developments are taking place along this strip so perhaps soon enough it will be one of the tourist areas to visit when in Bali.

Now Amed Bali is mostly a quiet place with a stunning ocean view. Since this area is one of the best places to go to for scuba diving in Bali, travelers mainly come here to marvel at the diverse sea life.

Besides diving and snorkeling the main activity is just relaxing far away from the crowds in the south...
As mentioned before the Amed area offers stunning ocean vistas. Headland after headland offers amazing ocean landscapes. Everywhere you go you will see crystal clear water.

Climate wise this part of East Bali is not ideally located. It is located on the dry side of the mountains Agung and Saraya resulting in minimum rain throughout the year.

Every time we went to Amed area it was really dry and hot. It felt like the sun was setting the whole area on fire. The landscape is very arid and the slopes of the mountain all look bare.

Rice fields are out of the question and the only food that is grown in the wet season are peanuts, soya beans and corn.

So what makes Amed Bali special?
I guess besides the fact that it is right at the sea and its refreshing breeze, Amed is a really easy going place where you could be the only one staying in one of the hotels or restaurants.
And the locals in Amed seem to mind their own business. Despite the fact that they are friendly and helpful, the Balinese in this part of the island don't seem to be behind you everytime you turn around.

While we are usually up and about during our trips through Bali, Amed made us just want to slow down a bit and enjoy the breathtaking setting.
So if you want to leave the crowd behind without anybody wanting something from you then this Amed Bali definitely the place to go.

source : http://www.bali-travel-life.com/amed-bali.html

Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home of a pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot (literally "Tanah Lot temple") and a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.
The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. However, the temple had significant Hindu influence.

The area leading to Tanah Lot is highly commercialized and people are required to pay to enter the area. To reach the temple, visitors must walk through a carefully planned set of Balinese market-format souvenir shops which cover each side of the path down to the sea. On the mainland cliff tops, restaurants have also been provided for tourists.

Amazing Birds, Indonesia

Blue Bird of Paradise or the scientific name Paradisaea rudolphi is a kind of medium-sized birds of paradise, with a length of about 30cm, of the genus Paradisaea. Regional distribution of Blue Paradise found in the forests of the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea and southeast, generally from a height of 1,400 meters to a height of 1,800 meters above sea level.

Red Bird of Paradise or the scientific name Paradisaea rubra is a type of warbler-sized, with a length of about 33cm, from the clan Paradisaea. Endemic to Indonesia, Red Paradise found only in lowland forests on the island and Batanta Waigeo in Raja Ampat, West Irian Jaya province.

Bali Starling or the scientific name Leucopsar rothschildi is a kind of warbler-sized, approximately 25cm in length, from the tribe Sturnidae. Endemic to Indonesia, Bali Starling is only found in the woods west of the island of Bali. This bird is also the only endemic species of Bali, which in 1991 was named the fauna symbol of Bali province. The existence of endemic animals are protected by law.

Cekakak-forest bird has a unique and distinctive voice. In general, they are loud. Whistling high and reads "kwii-kwii ...". Uniquely, each whistle is produced approximately one note per second. These types of birds live in the woods and hunt from a low perch. Unlike a loud voice, this bird was rather shy. They are just looking for prey from the ground with leaves keep turning.
In Indonesia, bird species are scattered in Sumatra, including offshore islands, Borneo and Java.

Black Parrot also Red Parrot of Biak, which the scientific name cyanogenia Eos is a kind of parrot-sized, with a length of about 30cm, from the tribe Psittacidae. Endemic to Indonesia, found only in forest habitat on the coastal island of Biak and the islands of the Gulf of Paradise, Papua. This species is often found nesting in the plantations and coconut.

King parrot, This species lives at an altitude of 0-1520 feet above sea level, usually in groups. Cockatoo generally long-lived, until reaching 60 years even more. Cockatoo inhabits primary and secondary forests are high and the forest edge; also monsoon forests (Nusa Tenggara), high bush forest, rare trees and shrubs that tree cultivation is rare. From sea level to an altitude of 900 m (Sulawesi), 1520 m (Lombok), 1000 m (Sumbawa).

Java Peacock or Green Peacock , the scientific name Pavo muticus is one of the birds of the three species of peacock. Like other birds found in the tribe Phasianidae, Green Peacock have a beautiful coat. With green feathers golden. Adult male birds are very large, can reach 300cm in length, with a very long tail cover. Female birds are smaller than males. Feathers are less shiny, green-grayish. Population scattered in open forests with grasslands in java and sumatra, Indonesia.

Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia

Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. It encompasses more than 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya. The islands are the most northern pieces of land in the Australian continent.

According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.
The area's massive coral colonies along with relatively high sea surface temperatures, also suggest that its reefs may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardize the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as coral and fish larvae are more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and role as a source for larval dispersal make it a global priority for marine protection.
1,309 fish species, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleractinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur in these islands), and 699 mollusk species, the variety of marine life is staggering. Some areas boast enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.