Sidemen: a breath of fresh air with crickets playing Mozart with their legs, the night filled with diamonds in the sky and the sound of rice swaying in the wind. We thought that Ubud was peaceful but we now realize that this is the true Bali. The lush green fields and tropical hills filled with banana, coconut and other fruity-trees is an eye catcher. It’s very quiet here so we only stayed 2 days because otherwise you might get a bit bored. The hotels here are mainly owned by one guy, who owns a total of 8 hotels in Sidemen. Therefore it’s difficult to bargain here because all the hotels agreed to the same prices (which are pretty high), try tourist offices for alternative prices. Sidemen is particularly loved by french people and thus you’ll hear a lot of french being spoken.

Must Sleep
Abian Ayu Villa: My oh my dipping in the infinity pool and staring off into the rice fields, what better way to start a day? Our hotel room was amazing, we had a huge shower head and luxurious bathroom plus our bed felt like a kings throne with a beautiful net around it to protect us against the mosquitos. Breakfast was a bit slim for us, but we are big eaters so might have just been us. We stayed here two days and the price was per day around 425000 which was pretty expensive but worth the while. During the night we heard weird bird sounds, of which we still need to figure out what was making the sounds.

Must Do
White Water Rafting: Like I said Sidemen is great to relax but if ya snooze ya loose. Therefore Hé Ho Let’s Go and head on over to the river flowing off the slopes of the great mount Ganung Agung. It was a 3 hour expedition including a 4 meter fall with your boat down a water dam. Hold on for your dear life because the waters are pretty rough especially when your instructor yells ‘Boom Boom’ that means you’re in for a good one. The water was actually really nice and warm and the scenery was like from the Madagascar movie: wowzers! You can bring stuff like a camera or phone it won’t get wet as they put it in a sealed bag. We even were able to test it out when the boat flipped over and I got sucked into the river. My boyfriend and I even had a little Titanic moment, when he tried to grab on to me so I wouldn’t float away from the sinking boat. Don’t forget to bring a set of dry clothes with you and towel (hihi because we did and you don’t want to make that mistake).  Plus remember to butter up and put some SPF on your body.

Here’s a sneak peak of a really easy peasy area we glided through, for more insider peaks check out my Instagram account!

Must See
Rice paddy field walk: During breakfast in our hotel we met our waiter Ekko (like Gekko) who said he could show us around the town. His family had a bit of land and he knew a lot about Sidemen and the rice fields.
If you’re in Sidemen, ask around for a guide and you’ll be sure to find one. We were able to do a 2,5 hour tracking through the rice fields and it was nice to walk through the green fields and in the tropical jungle. Ekko explained how the rice grew for 4 months and then the field was plowed using cows that stayed in the hills in small cabins. The fields would be changed into small hills where flowers, chili or other vegetables could be grown. This way the soil would stay good.
He also let us taste a fresh young peanut growing in one of the fields… uhm… it actually tasted like an uncooked bean but, still very cool!
Further on we had to cross a river and jump over a waterfall. We also discovered a HUGE dead snake lying in a small canal used to irrigate the fields with. Thank the lordy he was knocked out cold! Ekko told us that this was one of the deadly snakes that you can find here in the fields.. uhm thanks Ekko, we still had another 1 hour to walk. Another exciting moment, was when we discovered a steel bridge that had simply broken in half last month because, a truck on it was too heavy: Woops.

Must Eat
Juglo D’Uma: The food was really good and the the view was great from our table. You could look straight over the rice fields and into the jungles on a hill. We noticed that there were some fires going on in the jungle so at first I called to ask the waitress if everything was ok and then she explained that there were often smaller fires around there to burn trash. We also met our newest friend here…. Mr. Rabies Wigggle Butt…

Must Find
Mr. Rabies Wiggle Butt: Imagine walking down the road seeing a strange dog come up to you wiggling and jumping while trying to ‘bite’ your hand. At first we freaked out and even at our second petting session my boyfriend made the funniest joke (not) by saying ‘OH MY GOD I swear he has rabies!’. But seriously joking aside this was our newest friend! We found out that his weird ‘biting’ were actually friendly nips and he never bit fully, it was like his way of giving a handshake. He would run up to you and gently put his mouth around your hand. Why the name then Wiggle Butt? He constantly wiggled his tail but since he had no tail it was more wiggling his butt. He was really cute and walking with us both days while there from village to village and from restaurant to restaurant. He even started barking at locals that came to close to us HAHA how hilarious is that. Some tourists even thought he was our dog because he seriously listened when we called him over. So if you see him, don’t be afraid he’s awesome possom.

That’s all folks, next stop: Amed.
For tips on other places: check out my older posts on previous villages and cities that I visited.
Keep you updated and posted. Until then Matur Suksma or Terima Kasih!
Want to ask me something? Feel free to leave a comment below!
Like me on Facebook & follow me on Instagram to get even more tips and on the spot highlights.

#HeHoLetsGo