Amed is a fishing village in the east of Bali.
Understand
Amed is the most recent tourist development area in Bali. It was only in 2000 that tarmac was laid on the roads, telephone lines were installed in 2003, and it took until 2007 for a bridge to be built over a section of the road that regularly washed away during the rainy season. To this day, phone lines are so limited in the area that most hotels only have one landline each, so it is wise to bring a mobile phone (cellphone) when visiting if you need to stay in touch with the outside world. Local Indonesian SIM cards can be purchased in thousands of places around Bali. There is also a public telephone office in the centre of Amed and a couple of internet cafes (the connection speed is V-E-R-Y slow, though).
English is widely spoken in all the hotels, restaurants and shops.
Get around
There are public 'bemos' that pass through Amed several times a day but the easiest way to get around is to hire a car and driver.
See
Most people come to Amed as a getaway, including expats from other parts of the island. It's a favourite honeymoon destination for tourists and is also popular with divers and snorkelers. Sailing trips in small Balinese sail boats can be arranged, and day trips to local places of interest such as the Water Gardens of Tirtagangga and Bali's most sacred temple, Besakih, high on the slopes of Mount Agung.
Do
For entertainment, a local live band performs at Double One Restaurant once a week and there are sometimes free Balinese dance performances in some of the restaurants. A local Gong & Genjek group performs about once a month in the Bali Mandala room at Dancing Dragon Cottages.
