INSTANT KARMA

JON WALL finds himself falling for the barefoot-chic vibe in Bali’s Karma Kandara resort

A HUGE HUNK of limestone lying at the island’s southern tip, to which it’s connected by an isthmus, the Bukit peninsula (the Bahasa word simply means “hill”) is about as far from popular conceptions of Bali as it’s possible to get. For in stark contrast to the dazzling viridescence of the rice terraces and forests of the “real” Bali, this is an arid area whose often brown and desiccated surface supports little vegetation, save for the kapok trees whose fluffy fibres are blown here and there under the hot sun by the trade winds that come whipping in from the Indian Ocean.

Aside from the Nusa Dua tourism district on the peninsula’s eastern flank and another smaller enclave of hospitality around Jimbaran beach, the cliff-top temple of Uluwatu and its colonies of predatory macaques were for years the Bukit’s only attraction – that is, until shrewd developers realised that the combination of white-sand beaches nestling beneath rugged cliffs, convenient proximity to Bali’s airport and the low cost of the otherwise next-to-useless real estate held serious potential both for tourism and profits.

The result is that the past decade has seen resorts springing up along the edge of the Bukit’s southern coast, some bearing names as prestigious as Alila, Banyan Tree and Bulgari, as well as several private holiday villas. Invariably built in the off-white, coralline local stone that’s mined just minutes away, and with the deep blue sea shading into aquamarine below, such developments often suggest the Caribbean or the Greek Islands – anywhere, in fact, other than Bali.

That’s certainly the case with Karma Kandara, a 46-villa resort and real-estate complex perched 85 metres above the crashing surf and clinging to the sides of a narrow gorge that slices into the cliff face. Compared with its near-barren environs, this oasis of green fecundity almost takes the breath away, liberally strewn as the place is with fat, lush leaves and blooms.

From the reception area, shaded paths and stairways meander down toward the guest villas, each located in its own private walled garden, with pool and wooden sundeck, and accessed via gaily-painted doors set in high stone gateways. I’m in a two-bedroom pool villa (the choice ranges from single-bedroom villas to mansion-like ocean-front residences), which comprises a duplex pavilion with two large en suite bedrooms, the upper floor accessed by an open staircase; a separate lounge, dining and kitchen pavilion; and a six-by-four-metre swimming pool.

Architecture is modern with Balinese hints – such as the thatch and wood-tile roofs that abound in the resort – and while the villa comes with almost every imaginable amenity, from a full Italian kitchen and a voluminous fridge to a DVD home-theatre system and wireless Internet, both decor and furnishings are functionally pleasant without being especially lavish or remarkable.

Indeed, with simple teak furniture and floors, and a preponderance of wheat and coffee shades, the effect and ambience are of an expansive and laidback home-away-from-home. It’s a place for kicking back and relaxing on the pool deck with friends – an activity, if such a word can be used, that could easily turn into a house party, and one that ends only when it’s time to pack the bags.

In fact, it’s the pervasive air of barefoot, easygoing conviviality that’s one of Karma Kandara’s most engaging aspects – that, and the awe-inspiring views that greet me once I manage to tear myself away from the indolence of my villa and head out to reconnoitre. Although I’m staying just two minutes from the oceanfront, I have no idea how spectacular the resort’s location is until I descend the path toward the spa, which teeters at one edge of the cliff and ravine, and faces the restaurant and main pool that are reached across a narrow bridge. Ahead of me lies the endless cerulean expanse, which from this point I not-too-fancifully imagine extends without interruption to the icy shores of Antarctica, while directly below is the resort’s narrow but blissfully sheltered beach that, it turns out, guests reach aboard a tiny funicular tram running up and down the cliff face.

If there’s a focal point at Karma Kandara, it’s right here where the ocean and sky, the spa, the swimming pool, and the di Mare restaurant and bar all meet in an intense palette of blues – and when I’m not chilling in my villa, or out exploring Bali, I find myself drawn here time and again. On my first evening, just as the sun paves a golden trail towards the horizon, I lie on a bed open to the sky, drifting in and out of sleep as one masseuse kneads and pummels my joints until I reach a state of deep repose, while her companion treats me to an Ultimate Oxygen Infusion, smoothing out the railway junction of lines that normally adorns my face to leave my skin feeling plump and moist for days.

Equally hard to resist is the di Mare restaurant, where chef Simon Blaby and his team conjure up some of the most exemplary cuisine on the island (think Southern European with a subtle Asian twist), and sommelier Karim strives with considerable ingenuity to negate the effects of the crippling alcohol taxes that give every wine professional in Bali headaches.

And then there’s the resort’s Mediterranean-style Nammos Beach Club & Grill, a brief ride down the cliff face, that on weekends and evenings attracts guests and a select band of revellers from outside the resort for relaxed DJ sessions and movie nights, beach and water sports, breeze-cooled massages, and food (from a proper brick oven) and drink, or just to soak up the troppo-rock-star vibe that lies somewhere between Mykonos and Mustique, Byron Bay and Buzios.

It’s in this geographically indeterminate zone of cool that Karma Kandara finds its most compelling raison d’être, as you lay back in your lounger, caipirinha in hand and shaded by a canopy of straw, while some bikini-clad debutante from Jakarta languidly shimmies past to a subtle samba electro-groove. Because if that doesn’t strike the right chord of blissed-out indolence, what on Earth will?

karmakandara.com