I am thinking seriously of staying in Bali for one month in July/August. Could anyone kindly tell me anything useful about finding good, private, and hopefully cheap accomodation for this time? I’ve heard you can rent a house short term. Does anyone know where to find information on this? Or does anyone have info? I’d like to live in a foresty area, or at least a natural one.
You could try Ubud, which is a small village in Bali. A friend of mine used to go there annually and swore by it. He crashed at a homestay (not unlike what you might find in Taiwan). Seafood, beer and accommodation were all very cheap (combined total of less than $300NT/day).
Alternatively, there’s the island of Lombok, which is less touristy/rowdy/commercial than Bali. In place of the hordes of hawkers that will harrass you in Kuta, are lots of temples, pagodas and wildlife.
I stayed for about 2 months in Nusa Dua and Sanur (beside Kuta) on a “workstay” basis when I was doing my Divemaster scuba certification, but after a couple of visits to Kuta decided to spend as much time as possible in other regions. If you’re into diving, you could also try Nusa Penida or Lovina. I’ve also heard good stuff about Amlapura.
You can read about it in the Bali/Lombok Lonely Planet guide.