Lovina

I left the wonderful, quaint village of Ubud and headed to Lovina, a town known for its black sandy beaches, friendly dolphins and some of the best diving and snorkeling on the island. I was really looking forward to this journey to the city of the north.

I arrived in Lovina after taking a hot, cramped bus that took us through narrow windy roads at speeds only a small sports car should approach. I was met at the bus station, along with the other passengers, by the usual grouping of touts, people who try and get you to stay at their accommodation. They in turn get a commission for bringing you back to the owner's guesthouse.

The bus station was around 10-15 minutes by motorbike to Lovina central, the main hub of the action in Lovina and a place I definitely wanted to stay. Knowing this in advance, I made the decision to find a tout and take the free ride into town.

After many touts had come around and shown me there literature, I finally settled on a nice looking place that had a pool, lots of amenities and was very close to the ocean and the black sand beaches. I was told they had rooms there for 60,000 rupiah or just over 6 dollars. It was right in my price range. I was a bit skeptical, seeing how nice the place was, but I knew at least I would be getting a free ride into town

I introduced myself to the young man and he told me his name was Putu. After our pleasant exchange of greetings, we hopped on his motorbike and headed for town.

It's a great feeling riding on the back of a motorbike. Warm air breezing over your body with many new sights and sounds to see. I thoroughly enjoy every time I prop myself on the back of one. I still haven't built up the courage to rent one myself but that's a different story for a different time.

We arrived at Hotel Suma a short time later. I gathered my belongings and headed with a nice professional looking woman who worked at the front reception. From first glance I saw it was very beautiful, just as the photos in the literature had portrayed. I could see immediately that this place was way out of my price range. I asked how much a room was and I immediately new my previous skepticism was right. They wanted 250,000 rupiah for one night.

I've gotten very used to the notion of being told one price by one person and then a getting told a much higher price by another more official person. It's part of there selling technique. They do this on everything from the buying t-shirts, souvenirs or in this case accommodation. It's just a way for them to get you to take a look.

I wasn't flustered having sensed that this was too good to be true so I explained to the lady from reception that I was promised a room for 60,000 rupiah. She kind of chuckled and said "Oh no, no not here mister." I politely asked here where then and she told Putu to bring me to that location. I thanked her and off we were on his motorbike again.

I really liked what I saw as we headed down the narrow streets for we were heading closer and closer to the beach. We finally arrived at a place hidden amongst a forest of tropical plants and trees. It looked beautiful from the outside. The place had a good feel to it. It was very small, holding only five bungalows. Putu showed me to bungalow number 5 and I instantly fell in love with it. It was perfect. Clean, big, had a desk, fan and adequate bathroom. Now it was time to ask the dreaded question, the price.

Putu told me 70,000 rupiah, which I managed to get down to 50,000 rupiah after some hard bargaining. I was set. I had a great place to stay at a very fare price and it was right on the beach. Exactly what I was looking for. Things seem to always work out in the end, it just takes a lot more time and patience than it would back home.