Bali, beyond the Bintang and beaches

Beyond Bali’s reputation of yoga, Bintang, and backpackers lies an island offering wellbeing for the body and environment, fine wine and a luxury escape in the jungle like no other, writes Kiri Gillespie

For years Bali has been the Australasian go-to destination for those wanting a good, cheap time with plenty of beer, beaches and a touch of culture thrown in for good measure. But such tourism demand in a nation where you can’t drink the tap water results in serious plastic pollution of the island’s waterways and beaches.

Then along came Covid-19. International tourism was stopped in its tracks and in that time, it appears Bali has taken stock of its environmental footprint. Now, with tourists flooding through the airport doors once again, the island is moving on from its fun beach club parties and beaded bracelets to embrace tourism’s higher end.

Sure, the good, party times will always be there (and let’s not write off an incredibly fun Pirate Ship Cruise of Harbour Benoa) but Bali appears to be working its way to a cleaner, more sustainable, and far more discerning market.

Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Seminyak, down a long palm tree-lined driveway, is Desa Potato Head.

It’s an unusual name for a five-star hotel but it seems the Potato Head team like things unusual. A creative village/sustainable movement/funky beach club, it has it all going on.

In 2016, Potato Head founder Ronald Akili was out surfing when he became so concerned at the frequent plastic bottles he would encounter in the ocean, that he did something about it.

The beach club owner turned his business into a movement and a village charged with an environmental awareness ethos.

Guests at the beach resort can learn all this by taking part in a sustainability tour. Tours take people behind the architecturally designed walls into the staff-only areas to see first-hand how waste is collected, sorted, and – for the most part – used again.

Potato Head’s efforts have resulted in the entire resort sending just 5 per cent of its waste to landfill. The rest is recycled, re-used, or re-purposed. Its daily average of waste collected is about 1500kg. After sorting, it becomes about 2.9kg.

Evidence of this is everywhere – the shampoo and conditioner dispensers in bathrooms, the pots for plants at a coffee table, or even the bar stools at the resort’s rooftop cocktail lounge – they’re all made from recycled bottle caps, hand-moulded into their new purpose.

Wine bottles are cut in half to make candle holders, and even the nitrous gas bullets used for cocktails are collected after use and turned into kitchen knives. Many of the recycled plastic amenities could be mistaken for quirky art pieces.

Nothing is spared at Potato Head when it comes to attention to detail. The soft, dim lighting that offers the relaxed, dreamlike quality at reception is carried throughout most of the complex and into the suites which, despite the contemporary brick exterior, feel warm and homely (although, if you have poor vision, this could be an issue). Beautiful, subtle smells are placed everywhere and calm meditation-like music floats through the airwaves everywhere you go. The touches are subtle but the result is a zen-like stay for all five senses.

While Potato Head’s vision is one of looking after the planet, it’s also a case of looking after you.

Potato Head offers not just the standout Indonesian Kuam restaurant, but there’s also Talaman, a fine-dining vegan restaurant that will impress even committed meat-eaters. It’s clear a lot of love and effort goes into each dish, and who would’ve thought a convincing fish sauce could be replicated out of mushrooms?

To burn off any of the plant-based cuisine are two 24-hour gyms – with minimal carbon footprint thanks to low-power cardio equipment – plus morning yoga and group fitness classes by the infinity pool and beach. It’s almost enough to put you off your oysters and cocktails at the rooftop bar that night… but not really.

As if to reinforce the resort’s quirk, suggestive art installations pepper the landscape and even a dedicated vinyl room is available for your ears.

One of its more famed and Instagram-worthy of these is the installation of 15,000 jandals collected from Bali’s beaches and sorted into a rainbow of colour at the entrance to the resort’s beach club area, which itself is created out of old kitchen shutters.

The mantra around here is “Good times, do good”, and you feel it.

But down the long, palm tree-lined, driveway into Seminyak and beyond, there are constant reminders of old world meeting new world; enormous monuments dedicated to old gods dominate road intersections infested with traffic chaos. Thank the gods, old and new, we don’t have to drive. We have a winery to get to.

About an hour northeast of Kuta is the Saba Bay Winery, which has won 50 awards since it was established in 2011.

The winery itself is an idyllic oasis where picnic areas are set up with cushions and blankets under shady trees. Nearby, a man stands at a mobile icecream cart that has been transformed into a wine cart, ready for an order.

Of course, if you want air conditioning, a tasting room and restaurant is also on offer.

The place is simply heavenly. The wine isn’t bad either.

Saba Bay’s signature Moscato du Valley was awarded a prestigious silver in last year’s AWC Vienna awards, in which it was judged against 11,000 other competitors.

If the thought of Bali producing award-winning wine isn’t enough to surprise, consider this: in a country of more than 86 per cent Muslims, the winery also makes Sacramental Wine for all the Catholic churches in Indonesia.

Saba Bay’s chief of human relations, Yoke Dharmawan, explains that while it is aiming for greatness, it’s unlikely Kiwis would find any of its wines on New Zealand shelves. The winery is not focused on an international market, rather, it is embracing Indonesian flavours and qualities.

New ventures into other alcohols are evidence of this; grappa, and vodka infused with Bali’s local pepper has also been brought on to the market.

“People are very proud of Indonesian eating and Indonesian drinking but wine is new. This is a situation where Saba Bay is right in the middle of being part of that,” Yoke says.

“I want people to understand what Indonesia has.”

And it’s not just beaches.

Nestled in the heart of the Balinese jungle sits the magical Hanging Gardens of Bali.

Atop a 45-degree angle, the resort was built in 2003 by 700 local craftsmen using traditional materials, and designed with Feng Shui principles in mind.

Guests are taken to where they need to go via a cable car system, not unlike those found in Wellington. Except in the Bali version, everything is much more luxurious.

As you glide down from the immaculate reception area the lush and vibrant flora and fauna visually wrap around you. It is from this platform that you can truly take in the resort’s utterly stunning surroundings.

At the geographical heart of the resort sits its famed double infinity pool, named “The World’s Best Swimming Pool” by Conde Nast Traveller. Suspended over the jungle, it gives swimmers the sensation of floating above the treetops.

It’s enough to take your breath away, and that’s before noticing an ancient temple (with what seems to be a stairway of thousand steps) at eye level across a vast, bush-clad gully. Hanging Gardens do romantic dinners there and it’s an ideal place for romance.

At night, candles line the paths to the 44 individual cabins which – probably because of the terraced-design of the place – are incredibly private.

As I enter mine, I find a large mosquito net hanging above the incredibly plush bed – with my Irish blood, I’m grateful.

Outside, the cabin’s expansive deck offers its own lounge area, bar, sun bed, and the piece de resistance – its own infinity pool with uninterrupted views of the dense green jungle. But I’ve left the door open for too long and it’s dusk. Frogs make quick work of leaping indoors, prompting the concierge to chase, catch and release.

When the sun crests over the jungle’s horizon the next day there’s one thing on my mind – the private infinity pool at my deck. It’s so private, I don’t worry about a swimsuit. I get to experience my own personal sensation of swimming atop the treetops.

I shed clothes again later that day after travelling (via cable car) down to the river that flows below to where the spa treatments are held.

A wall of roaring waters, cicadas, and birdsong accompanies the massage and takes me to another place entirely. There are no windows, just large open walls with only the jungle to see.

The fine dining restaurant, which offers Western and Indonesian cuisine, is also open and has even better views.

But it’s not all indulgence. We spend the morning walking with a guide through the nearby village and rice paddy fields to a temple populated by monkeys. They don’t bother us as we eat a picnic breakfast but we are some distance away.

The luxury Hanging Gardens offers might not appeal for those more budget-conscious travellers to Bali but if you’re after an experience unlike anywhere else, it’s simply a must.

And Bali’s unmistakable culture can’t be overlooked. A dramatic Uluwatu Kecak Dance at sunset at the southern tip of the island is worth the crowds of tourists.

Performed in an amphitheatre with naked flames and gaggles of cheeky monkeys about – avoid taking food – the show at such a location is an unforgettable experience.

For Bali tourism, it seems the Bintang and beers on the beach have had their time in the sun. Whether it is because of the Covid break or not, it seems people are embracing the opportunity to offer something different and showcase a different Bali to visitors. It’s just up to visitors to consider the Bali on offer.

Checklist

GETTING THERE

The writer flew with Garuda Indonesia, direct from Sydney to Bali. garuda-indonesia.com

DETAILS

For more things to see and do in the region, go to Indonesia.travel