Bali (vi)
Day 7: Nusa Dua
23rd
January 2007, Amanusa (Nusa Dua)
The Amanusa is first and foremost a golf resort, the way the
Amankila is a beach hideaway and the Amandari is a village retreat. But it’s
right where the beach is, and where there’s a beach, there’s a pair of
honeymooners who can’t find it.
On the map, it’s real easy. You head out of the hotel and
you’re there. It’s an entirely different affair when you’re cycling without a
brain. I can understand if May got disoriented because she does space out a
lot. But I pride myself on knowing clever things like where the sun rises, so
it shames me to say we took 20 minutes to get to a beach that was just two
minutes away. The humiliation was complete when, on the return trip, the blokes
at the Beach Club showed us the way, and it was utterly obvious. Except that it
wasn’t.
***
Nusa Dua may not be the ‘real’ face of Bali (it’s an exclusive enclave of 5-star resorts on the southern tip of the
island), but nobody goes to Nusa Dua for culture and spirituality. If you’re on
Nusa Dua, you’re there for the luxury of escape (and the escape of luxury). And
boy do the chaps and ladies over at the Aman make sure you indulge in it.
Take their private beach, for example. There’s the beach,
and there’s the Aman Beach Club. Like the one at the Amankila, this one was
designed to provide privacy. Some of the resorts here share a stretch of fairly
densely-populated beach, with Caucasian tourists jostling for prime sunbathing real estate. Over at the Aman Beach Club, we saw only one other patron, and if there
were any more, we certainly didn’t hear them. There were eight private bale (little open-faced but sheltered
pavilions for resting in) spread across the beach, each separated by tasteful
shrub-bushes that also doubled as a clever disguise for showers. Each bale was equipped with comfortable
cushions, cold towels, sun-block lotion and icy refreshments.
And at 3 on the dot, a Beach Club representative swung by
with cones of home-made Wildberry and Honeycomb flavored ice-cream. After this,
there’s no way we can ever go back to East Coast Park.
The beach? It’s right next to the sea, stupid
