Villa Barong

Quiet, cool, luxurious wooden bungalows up on posts on the steep edge of the valley, each with a spacious, shaded porch immediately overlooking intensely green rice terraces, trees along the valley-floor stream, and the steep, forested slopes on the other side, under the watchful eye of Mount Agung as it appears and disappears behind the clouds. You reach the each bungalow from a small maze of stairs and elevated walkways that reveal new views with each turn. The Barong Villas are located at the end of an unlikely-looking narrow road that many drivers will justifiably not want to take their car down, and that turns into a path passable only by scooter or on foot. If you call or walk down to the villas to announce your arrival, the staff will come out on scooters to collect your bags as your driver waits on the main road. This makes the Barong Villas relatively isolated and peaceful, a little away from the commercial center of Sidemen -- exactly what we wanted. The small staff are friendly and helpful. Made, who says that they have no manager but seems to be the first among the group of equals running the Villas, set us up with Nyoman, the gardener who created the lush, colorful, and thoughtfully-conceived gardens throughout the Baron Villas, to guide us for several hours on a delightful hike right down from the villas through the rice fields, across the small stream below the villas, to the larger river a bit further away. The scenery is stunning and photographers will be in heaven. Nyoman is cheerful, patient, and knowledgeable; I highly recommend this excursion if you like to walk in the countryside and forest and don't mind getting a little muddy. You could try striking out your own, but you would likely not see as many interesting things, would not have Nyoman's explanations, sharp eye, and good company, and you could easily find yourself lost and unsure about where it was OK to walk on farmers' land or where you could cross a stream. If hiking is not your thing, you can order meals on your patio or in a small roofed outdoor dining area, swim or lounge in or by the small pool, or watch the many different butterflies in the garden, and you are just an easy scooter ride away from all of the more typical pleasures of tourism in Sidemen. You can breakfast on your own porch overlooking the rice fields, from where you may see some spectacular, if not particularly rare, birds. We had great views from our porch of a Javan Kingfisher with its cobalt blue, turquoise, and black back and wings and bright orange bill, and an elegant glossy black and chocolate brown Greater Coucal, not to mention many graceful Javan Pond Herons. We really enjoyed our two nights at the Barong Villas, and would gladly have chilled out here for another day or two before moving on.