North Bali,

North Bali is different from other parts of the island: less tourists than down south including Ubud, less traffic, drier in many parts of the north, less touristy in many ways. Health care facilities are not as good as the south, there are several relatively large supermarkets in Singaraja, not as many options for internet but I find Speedy works ok for what I need. There is an immigration office just to the west of Singaraja that is less crowded than the Denpasar office.

Main tourist areas are Lovina which stretches out west now so there are plenty of options for hotels and homestays; then there is Pemuteran out by Menjangan and Air Sanih over on the east coast. The main problem for some folks is the distance to the airport. Lots of cultural events but nothing like Ubud in terms of quantity. Lots of expats live in the Lovina area and seem to cluster together, but the same could be said for most tourist areas in Bali.

I live in Singaraja, and I rarely venture out of the city these days, so I'm not really up on restaurants and things like that. Life here tends to be slower than the south. Singaraja is pretty much a city divided up into small neighborhoods where people know each other and keep an eye on each other. That's one of the main attractions here for me.

Hey Doc!  I was hoping you'd spot Vin's post and reply to it. 

Are you heading down to Ubud anytime soon?  Cheers!   

Thxs fir the info Doc,

I am just doing some research, about areas on bali and lombok, regarding relocation.

I came across a area - Air Sanih wondering if you have heard of it anf if so could you tell me something about the area.

Cheers


Vin

I'll be down next Saturday. Got some time?

Air Sanih is on the coast about 15 km from Singaraja. It's a small touristy area with a few hotels and some homestays. There are a number of "villas" in the area surrounded by high walls. A few spas. The area stretches out to include some other small villages heading south down the coast. A friend of mine, Symon, a famous artist, lives just down the road in a wild place called the Art Zoo among other things. Shopping in Singaraja is convenient. I see some of the villa people come in to shop in a group at the local carrefour in Singaraja. Quiet area. Nice. Interesting landscape. I'd live there if I was looking to move.

"I'll be down next Saturday. Got some time?"

You bet, and a case of ice cold Bingtangs as well.   

See you then. 

Sorry Vin, but the "Doc" and I go way back, and you can be sure of his advice about northern Bali.  He goes way, way back up there...almost to the days of Cornelis de Houtman!