text by frankie miller
images by foued kadachi & frankie miller

the rough narrow racetrack through the rice fields was lined with thousands of people; illegal betting was rife, dozens of makeshift food stalls were selling fanta and nasi jingo, and i had just narrowly escaped being trampled to death by a pair of magnificently decorated bull buffalos.

life moves at a very different pace an hour and twenty minutes west of seminyak…

It was nine o' clock on a Sunday morning and I was watching the famous buffalo races at Negara in West Bali. Despite my near-death experience at the side of the track, the non-existent safety measures, the lack of First Aid facilities, the unfathomable race rules, and the absence of portaloos and a beer tent, this was a truly thrilling and spectacular event. A loud jingling of bells heralded the next wave of contestants and, once again, the crowd leapt out of the way as two pink buffalos thundered around the corner in a cloud of dust.

The sport, which is said to have originated as a simple ploughing contest, was introduced by migrants from the island of Madura and is staged every year, after the rice harvest, between July and November. Set against a backdrop of mountains the contest features Bali's sleekest, most handsome water buffalos, and the winning bulls then go to stud, based on the theory that fast bulls can also plough fast. Teams are divided into two clubs, from the eastern and western sides of the Ijo Gading River, and as many as 200 buffalos may take part. Each race is comprised of two pairs of bulls running against each other at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour around an erratic two-kilometres track. Each pair is hitched to a gaily painted wooden chariot, driven by a precariously-balanced whip-happy jockey. Festooned with strings of bells, silks and a decorative harness, every winning team gains a point for its club, with the most stylish contenders picking up bonus points for the splendour of their presentation. The event is full of hilarity and mirth as jockeys are catapulted out of their carts and the occasional tourist is pulled out of the path of the speeding participants.
As the races drew to a close, I walked over to a special area where the buffalos were resting and feeding after their exertion. I stroked their gentle faces and watched them being unharnessed from their carts and coaxed into large open trucks for the journey home. One man loaded his wife and kids into one of the little chariots and led his triumphant team home by foot.

My personal mode of transport, however, was motorised. I was on a 300-kilometre road trip around West Bali, traversing four of the Island's great regencies. Badung, Tabanan, Jembrana and Buleleng. The previous day, my route to the 'Wild West' had taken me through the Tabanan Regency, past rice terraces reminiscent of amphitheatres and along the sweeping coastline of Soka before arriving at my destination for the night, the enchanting Gajah Mina Resort (Jl Suraberata, T: 0812 3811 630) at Balian Beach.

This romantic hotel is a masterpiece of graceful simplicity: with ten individual Balinese style villas, a restaurant and a swimming pool leisurely spread across a dazzling headland above a private beach, it is an ideal choice for honeymooners and holidaymakers who are looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas.

I absorbed the peaceful ambience from a cushioned daybed in the bougainvillea-framed garden of my little villa, where a rustic doorway marks the entrance to a hidden world. Here, local materials and gemstone colours and have been blended to create a resort that harmonises with the environment. Rotund architecture, arched windows, hand-carved teak furniture, indoor-outdoor bathrooms, and the resort's new, chalet-style, timber villas all combine to blend traditional form with contemporary function.

As darkness fell, Gajah Mina took on an even more romantic persona. Guided by soft yellow lamplight, I made my way to Naga Restaurant, a semi-open pavilion that invites the gentle, sea breezes to waft across its terrace. Here, I relished a delightful dinner of green papaya salad, followed by banana heart curry. Chef Bagus combines fresh seafood, Italian pizzas and pasta dishes, classic Thai recipes and Indonesian favourites with the delectable and rewarding harvest of his fruit, vegetable and herb garden.

In the morning I awoke to the sound of birdsong, and stepped out into the garden to savour the crisp morning air. Following a footpath, I walked to the very edge of the cliff, above the beach, and watched a clutch of surfers waiting to catch the best of the Balian breaks. In the coconut groves, squirrels performed acrobatics and big black butterflies flitted around fragrant flowers. I felt privileged to be in such an astonishing place.

My appointment with the buffalos was in the neighbouring regency of Jembrana, or 'Jimbarwana', meaning the great forest: it is Bali's least populated regency and is characterised by the impenetrable highlands of the West Bali National Park, which also provided a dramatic backdrop to my next port of call - Menjangan Jungle & Beach Resort (Jl Raya Gilimanuk, T: 0362 947 00). Located in the Buleleng Regency within the boundaries of the National Park, this remarkable eco-tourism resort overlooks the serene and beautiful Bajul Bay, the tiny uninhabited Menjangan Island, the craggy folds of Bali Barat's north facing ridges and the towering Mount Raung in East Java.

The resort offers a contrasting choice of accommodation, set within three separate areas, each about two or three kilometres apart. The Monsoon Forest Resort is situated in the heart of the jungle with 12 deluxe rooms and two presidential suites grouped around a shaded swimming pool. The luxurious Menjangan Cliff Villas are available with the option of one, two or three bedrooms, together with a living room, private plunge pool, personal butler service, and an eye-boggling view over the bay and the mountains. Finally, the Mangrove Gazebos present a simple yet magical sleeping experience, with eight stand-alone rooms positioned on boardwalks at the water's edge in the mangrove forest, beside the watersport activity centre.

Activities at Menjangan Jungle & Beach Resort include mountain biking, birdwatching, horseback riding, jungle trekking, snorkelling, kayaking and diving. When the heat of the day had diminished, I visited Bali Saddle, the Resort's own stables, housing 22 horses, 21 of which are Australian stock horses chosen for their strength and trekking endurance. Riding a friendly chestnut by the name of 'Kris', I followed the tracks of the forest to observe the sunset, dismounting for cool a drink at the edge of a narrow beach festooned with numerous shells and small pieces of coral. The natural setting constantly changes with the seasons; this being the end of the dry season, the vegetation had died back and the trees had become bare of leaves, which meant I had the opportunity to see numerous barking deer and Menjangan deer leaping through the undergrowth, together with bands of playful grey macaques, and jungle chickens galore.

I rose early the next morning to go birdwatching. As the first shafts of sunshine penetrated the forest, the cool fresh air filled with a multitude of birds cheerfully going about their first business of the day. My knowledgeable guide told me that, so far, their team has recorded 98 different species in this tranquil area of monsoon forest. Ascending thirteen metres above the ground to the top level of the birdwatching tower, we focused our binoculars on a long tailed shrike, before spotting a black drongo, a coppersmith barbet, a fulvous breasted woodpecker, and the iridescent flash of a collared kingfisher. Menjangan Resort is also the site of a breeding programme for the Bali Starling. Extremely rare, this is the only surviving bird endemic to Bali, and is one of the world's most endangered species. It is a striking snow-white in colour, featuring black wingtips and tail, silky feathers and brilliant blue rings around its eyes. Currently, 19 birds are housed in an aviary at the Resort, while 11 others have been released into the wild, roosting and nesting in the nearby trees.

I completed my adventures by visiting an extraordinary feat of engineering, the Resort's own unique, working monument, the 'Bali Tower'. Twenty-seven metres in height and constructed entirely from wood, the structure has five floors and tapers to a peak like a church spire with an alang-alang roof. Massive ironwood tree trunks are the pillars that support the structure: each one had to be carefully selected for its length and straight, regular shape. On the second level is a restaurant, and a spiral staircase leads to the remaining three levels, where guests will also be served food or drinks at sunset. At the very top, there is a panoramic vista of a jagged mangrove - encrusted coastline stretching out across an azure sea past the bays of Bajul and Trima. Here, way above the tops of the trees, I enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the Monsoon and African forest covered terrain to the south, and the mountains of Java to the east. To the north I could see Menjangan Island, in perfect alignment with Java's Mount Baluran. To the east was the landscape of Bali laid out like a map, nothing but trees, sky, sea and nature.

Not so many visitors make it this far, but those who are bold enough to venture away from the humid and crowded southern plains, the traffic, the late nights and the excesses of hedonistic Kuta and Seminyak, will truly discover another world.