Thread: Waterfalls in Bali

I first came across the waterfall at Kemenuh in the early 1980s. Over a period of some thirty years, I've literally been there hundreds of times. It was a lovely place until some idiots built the ugly bungee -jumping tower.

Being a frequent visitor to the tiny warungs on the opposite side of the river, I got to know many of the locals very well. They couldn't quite grasp why people would spend a small fortune to climb the thing and then leap off attached to a big rubber band.

I wouldn't describe the waterfall as particularly spectacular, even in its pristine state. Pretty enough, not very high and the pool at the bottom was very nice if you had the energy to climb down all the steps. Coming back up was much harder.

tintin asserts that:

The restaurant was owned by a couple of obnoxious Australian men: they also went bankrupt.

That's not really true. There was one Australian guy and a Balinese partner. When the Australian wanted out, he was continually blocked by the Balinese partner. That impasse went on for several years. I know this because at one time I considered buying the place myself. I met the Australian in his own house in Australia. He hadn't bankrupted himself - he couldn't get the Balinese guy to relinquish his control over it. Well, he could have but the Balinese partner wanted a ridiculous amount of money. In the end, nothing happened. The place fell apart and everybody lost. These on-going dramas were the main reason I decided against buying it.

To my knowledge, the "villa" underneath the restaurant was never a place you could rent by the hour. Unless, of course, the Balinese partner did that when the "owner" was away.

begonia reckons:

There is a nice (ok ok maybe tipical lokal warung!!! I love lokal warung!!!) where you can sit and drink a kopi and just see the waterfall in front, a popular place for couples and young people on Sundays.

Well, there is, kind of.

I wouldn't describe it as a "typical local warung". Maybe "typical" for a warung at a tourist spot, for both domestic and overseas visitors. As I said, I know the families that run those places very well and regard them as dear friends. They sell cold drinks, coffee, crackers (krupuk), sarongs, some carvings, all the usual stuff. Many beautiful children from the village do the usual trip of trying to sell stuff to visitors.

It's been nearly a year since I was there last time. Quite frankly, I don't recall that the bungee monstrosity had been removed then. If that's true, that's great because it was always an eyesore!

:D

Pretty good recount of the recent history of the waterfall.Tintin,in your opinion,its not worth swimming there? Another waterfall,located near Munduk,any info on that one?

Originally Posted by dug

Another waterfall,located near Munduk,any info on that one?

Nice waterfall but not much good for swimming as most of the area under the fall has very shallow water.

Thanks Mat,
I pass there often from Bedugul to Gerokgak,just haven't stopped and hiked to it!

Just for you tintin

Then, I must have met with the ONLY Australian partner (several times), but I still maintain that he was really obnoxious.

I have no idea who you met "several times". I can't remember the original Australian guy's name. I know that he was involved in a significant way with theatre, plays, reviews, and so on, with well-known, (in Australia), "identities".

There were many photographs hung on the left downstairs' wall, (on the way to the toilet, as I recall), attesting to the fact that this person was a member of some important arty crowd. I know that because he told me later, (when I met him in Australia), and he was in many of the photos. They weren't done in Photoshop.

Now, about the "villa". That might be too strong a term but it was a very pleasant, tasteful area, again, to the left-handside of the main downstairs' entry, looking from the front. (The waterfall behind you.). I literally stumbled upon it one time when I was busting for a piss coming down from upstairs. In other words, it was not obviously there.

I'm not sure when you visited the place, but at one stage, lots of Qantas Airways staff, (hostesses and gay cabin crew), stayed there. I am neither gay nor have ever been employed by Qantas. This "Qantas connection" was part of the selling-point when I was considering buying the joint.

How are the links joining together in your head?

The Ozzie Thunder From Down Under dude was intimately involved in a fringe but very lucrative entertainment industry, mainly in Sydney. For all I know, he might have owned The Pink Pussy Club and Les Girls

Even if he didn't, he mixed in those circles and was prominent.
Years later, he's trying to sell a "restaurant" with a waterfall view, in an area most people weren't aware of.

His Balinese partner might have been gay. Maybe some jealousy arose as a result of Qantas cabin crew staying in "the secret villa". The mind boggles.

I vaguely remember the "rooms" at the back. I saw them, (of course). They were rooms for staff to sleep in, not dens of prostitution.

Don't forget that I was frequenting this place well before the "cafe/restaurant" was built, or the bungee bullshit across the way. If there was some kind of funny business going on, my Balinese friends from around there would have told me about it. Lots of people, including Balinese, love gossip. Everybody "knows" what's going on. In a small place like Kemenuh, nothing is undetected, or commented upon, rightly or wrongly.

8)