– ESCAPE THE CROWDS –
AN INDEPENDENT TRAVEL GUIDE
Experience Medewi
We've explored Medewi to scout out interesting experiences that'll help you connect with and support the people who live here, and give you a deeper understanding of Balinese culture. For yoga, surfing and other things to do "in town", please click here.
Paddy walk with pink buffaloes
THE ESSENTIALS
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• Flipflops are the best shoes to wear as you'll walk along the beach, cross a river (which is usually up to knee deep) and then walk in the paddies (which can be muddy and so probably best done barefoot).
• The experience is Rp150,000 per person; minimum 2 people. This includes a generous serving of traditional Balinese refreshments.
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• Please book at least one day before. Contact Komang via WhatsApp on +6285931213933
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• The best time to do the walk varies with the tides, as there is a river that you will need to walk across (it's usually about knee deep). Komang will advise the best time to go.
Paddy walk with pink buffaloes
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Buffaloes were once common in West Bali but today they’re almost an endangered species. You’re unlikely to see them outside of West Bali and there are just five left on this part of the coast. Sudana, a traditional rice farmer, owns the last three pink ones. His son, Komang hosts an unforgettable walk along the beach with Sudana and his buffaloes, followed by a walk through Sudana's rice paddies, where you'll learn some of the intricacies and traditions associated with rice farming here in West Bali.
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Sudana has been raising buffalo for many years and has a rare affinity with these giant bovines (he's even able to command them by voice alone). As a tenant paddy-farmer – working on a feudal system that would have been familiar to any European mediaeval farm worker – he also tends a section of rice fields in a spellbindingly beautiful spot between wild Pulukan beach and the picturesque river where the buffalo wallow (where they're often visible only by their snouts, like giant pink dolphin).
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What to expect
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Meet Komang at his family home near the beach in Pekutatan, and together you'll walk along the beach to the paddies (about 1km, one way). A fresh coconut/snack is supplied in Sudana’s shelter at the paddies, where you’ll have a chance to learn about Bali's unique rice-farming traditions. Sudana speaks very little English but Komang is on hand as a translator, offering his own fascinating insights into the ancient Subak system (part of the island’s UNESCO heritage), petitioning blessings from the Rice Goddess and the intricacies of rice farming. During the short walk through the village and with the buffalo along the beach, you’ll also learn about medicinal plants and local spiritualism (even local shamanism), and about some of the traditions surrounding the jukung outrigger fishing boats.
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After the walk you’ll be invited to Sudana’s home. Sudana’s wife Ketut makes the best coffee – harvested in the hills above the village and roasted by the neighbours – and her snacks will have been prepared on a fire in a traditional woven bamboo dapur (kitchen) that is in itself by now also a disappearing aspect of traditional Balinese life.
Make coconut oil
THE ESSENTIALS
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• Classes cost Rp300,000 per person, and you'll take a small bottle of the oil you've made home.
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• The class is about 3 hours long.
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• Please book at least one day before. To book contact Ratna and Sup via WhatsApp on +6281717313493
Make coconut oil
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Across Indonesia coconut oil is a common staple in most homes – both as a beauty product and an essential cooking ingredient. Ratna is a young woman who grew up making the oil with her mother – and she now hosts lovely, informal "classes" where you can make your own small bottle of coconut oil in the way that it is traditionally made here in Indonesia.
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Classes
Ratna and her husband Sup live in a quiet part of Medewi, up among the paddies and coconut groves. Once you turn off the main road near Medewi's big mosque, it's a scenic drive to reach their home. The location is marked on the map below. Google maps is likely to give you two route options; we recommend you take the route that goes past Rasta Cafe. While it is longer, the road is in good condition and it's a very scenic drive. The road along the river is quite pot-holed.
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THE ESSENTIALS
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• The walk costs Rp150,000 per person (minimum 2 people), or Rp200,000 per person with lunch included. If there are 3 or more people, the cost is Rp150,000 per person and lunch is included.
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• It's a 30-minute walk to reach the river, and the whole experience (river swim, coffee at Putu's etc) takes two to three hours.
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• Please book at least one day before. Book with Putu via WhatsApp on +6285858626773.
Putu's Secret River
Putu's Secret River
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Look at a satellite image of West Bali and you'll see crumpled land covered in great swathes of green. Look closer and you'll notice intriguing dips and valleys, streams and rivers that are surrounded by jungle and plantations and paddies... and Putu's Secret River is a brilliant way to explore a part of this intriguing landscape.
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What to expect
Meet at Putu's family home for a coffee and a chat before he takes you on a walk to find the river. It'll take about 30 minutes to reach the river, and it's a beautiful walk through plantations and trees, and Putu will track down some fruits in season for you to sample.
The river is stunning – a wonderful place to chill out for a while, leap off rocks and simply wallow. Once you've worked up an appetite, walk back to Putu's house where his wife, Ayu will have prepared a traditional Balinese meal and a selection of fresh fruit, too.
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