Seraya Shores, Seraya Berat, East Bali

Jamie and Amanda Pummer, the one from Noosa Heads, the other from Perth, have created in Seraya Shores a little patch of stylish green out of the dry scrubby shore of East Bali in the village of Seraya Berat, a couple of headlands north from Candi Dasa (pronounced "Chundi Daasa"), and a fifteen minute walk down the road from the water palace in the village of Ujung (pronounced "ooj'ng"). The regional capital, Amlapura (also known as Karangsem, apparently), is closer than Candi Dasa. It is on the coastal road from Ujung through Seraya and up into the string of villages which are collectively known as Amed (including Aas (pronounced "arse") and Lipah. Though only about 25 km from Amed proper, the journey takes more than an hour by car and, inexplicably, is said to take the same amount of time by motorbike. The villages along that coastal road seem very impoverished and far far away from the modern world of tourism. It is a fascinating drive though inconvenient for the drivers. Take it if you get half a chance. There are large fishing villages with hundreds of fishing boats hauled up on the black beaches, and steeply terraced slopes of scratchy dirt which are cultivated only in the wet season. Then there are lush landscapes on the other side of ridges. It's windy and the views are great. Bali