Even among Bali regulars, few have heard of Tejakulu, a small town on the island’s sleepy north coast.
There are no waves to surf, no bars or beach clubs. The beach itself is covered with shiny black rocks and it’s a bit of a slog getting there: three to four hours drive from the international airport.
But that’s a big part of the appeal: Tejakula is worlds away from the overdevelopment of the island’s south, a forgotten place where the gentle rhythms of coastal life have not yet been upended in the race for tourism dollars.
Tejakula also lies close to the many great dive sites and waterfalls of north Bali, and is home to the most architecturally daring hotel and one of the best places to eat in the north.
WHERE TO STAY
Even in the south of Bali, where there are thousands of hotels, The Tiing would stand out for its design. But in Tejakula, in the lost north, it shouldn’t even exist, decades ahead of its time.
Imagine a row of seven double-storey concrete bunkers, with one guest room on each floor, and floor-to-ceiling windows at each end: one looking back on to towering mountains, and the other a picture frame of a palm-fringed coast. Inside, Scandinavian blonde wood finishes, dark fabrics and low-lying replica mid-century furniture create the epitome of cool. Outside, there is a wooden deck and plunge pool.
The 20m seafront resort pool is pure Hollywood. Instead of boring old blue or green tiles, they’re fire engine red with yellow and blue square beanbags floating about like works of art. Chilling out on the daybeds after breakfast or at dusk when the sky above Tejakula turns red as the pool is a rock-star experience, while the attention to detail in the service demonstrates a very well-oiled machine.
When Wayan, my room attendant, born and bred in Tejakula, noticed I hadn’t drunk the young coconut reception gave me on arrival as it had gone warm, instead of throwing it away, she took it to the kitchen, poured it into a glass, added a wedge of lime and put it in my fridge. Throwing it back after returning from a long, hot walk was pure magic.
“For many years, I worked in the south because there was no work in my village. I only saw my family one time per month,” she told me. “But eight months ago, I found this job. Now I can be with my family every day. I am so grateful.”
Rooms at The Tiing start at $182 per night, including breakfast. See thetiing.com for low-season specials.
WHERE TO EAT
You can always get a good nasi goreng (fried rice) or ikan bakar (grilled fish) in the north, but by no means is it a culinary destination.
That’s why I was so excited the first time I discovered Warung Seni Tejukala during a weeklong kayak trip along the north coast.
Famished after a day on the water, I ordered a double helping of pork ribs with crunchy potato wedges smothered in a sweet and sour sauce at this restaurant. It only cost $15, and tasted as good as it sounds.
They also do a lot of vegetarian and vegan dishes, smoothies and bowls, and woodfired pizzas, so I made it my mission to return there on this trip to see if everything else on the menu was as good as the spare ribs.
Warung Seni Tejakula is tucked away on a small road behind The Lumbung Resort, about 50m from the beach. It looks like one of the many hippyish cafes in Bali’s spiritual capital, Ubud, with Indigenous decorations, antique furniture and lots of little nooks and crannies to sit in, as well as a small art, jewellery and clothes boutique around the back.
I started with the black mojito, which has vodka, cola, lemon and mint for $6. I am not a cocktail person — I prefer wine — but this one was so good I had two. 10/10.
For a starter, I had the vegetable samosas, three for $3, deep-fried and served with soy sauce. They were as good as any I’ve had on the streets of India. 9/10.
For my main, I had the salami pizza with onions, mushrooms and capsicum topped with rocket salad for $7. They could have been more generous with the salami, and the crust was a bit doughy and undercooked, but it tasted great. 7/10.
For dessert, I had two chocolate balls for $2 each, but failed to notice they were “healthy” sugarless chocolate balls. They were hard as rocks and tasted like sand. 0/10. I guess you can’t win them all.
instagram.com/warung.seni.tejakula
WHAT TO DO
It’s a cliche, but Tejakula is really the kind of place where you can do nothing at all, just lounge around the pool, take a dip in the ocean (the water’s clear as glass) and start knocking back Bintangs at midday. But at the same time, you can easily fill a week here with little adventures.
Hire a scooter ($10) and ride to Yeh Mampeh Waterfall (10 minutes) or the Pura Ratu Gede temple, which climbs up a hill. The Tiing offers water purification ceremonies with a Hindu priest ($50 per person). Its half-day Les Village Rural Experience ($60) takes you trekking through rice fields and traditional villages, while the private sunset sail experience on a traditional Indonesian outrigger is the stuff holidays are made of.
The Tiing also outsources snorkelling and diving trips to the coral reefs and shipwrecks of north Bali, but it’s just as easy to go straight to the source: there are five dive shops in town.
Yet the best thing about Tejakula is meeting the locals. When I went for a walk through the back streets, every man, woman, child, chicken and dog who crossed my path said hello without exception. They don’t speak much English, but the people of Tejakula are a remnant of the old face of Bali: kind, curious and unhurried.
“When tourism began in Kuta in the south 50 years ago, if you were a foreigner, everyone would say hello. Now they only talk to you to sell you things,” says Gusti Nyoman Triana, the Tejakula-born general manager at The Tiing.
“But here the people are still natural and are not just thinking about money. Everyone still says hello because they care that you come to north Bali.”
+ Dave Smith was a guest of The Tiing. They have not influenced or read this story before publication
