Part 2 - Sanur and coastal south Bali
This is the second part of the Bali Travelogue - read the first
part here.
How to plan Bali itinerary?
An ideal dream tourist destination is one which can provide diverse
experience without too much effort (think snow city in Dubai!), but through its
own topography and culture. Bali qualifies on this effortlessly,
given its vast coast, tropical forests, volcanoes, numerous temples, strong art
and culture scene, and influence of colonialization. Bali travel itinerary
should sample most of these, at least for the first time
traveller. That requires basing oneself in more than one place in
Bali. While Ubud is a clear choice, there is more than one option to
experience other aspects of Bali.
For the much touted beach experience in Bali, there are a whole lot of
places in the tourist circuit and in other parts of Bali and in
Indonesia (which has more than 15000 islands, some
uninhabited!). The southern tip of Bali has countless beach front
properties ; Nusa Dua is a good choice if you are looking for many water sports
activities. We were told Kuta is the place for
partying. There are other choice like Seminyak. There are
also slightly lesser known places, like Padang Bai or Amed if one is looking
for scuba diving for instance.
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| Map of Bali showing popular beach destinations |
We chose Sanur, a reasonably quiet town close to Denpasara, known for
its community living culture as our second base and were not disappointed.
Why Sanur?
Ubud and Sanur are like chalk and cheese; both exhibit the heart warming
Balinese hospitality but the similarity ends there. Sanur has a distinct
Bohemian culture. The number of non Balinese living here might
outnumber the locals but both seem to be happy in their zone. The
locals are mostly in hospitality and (shop) business. Lot of Dutch and other
Europeans have taken up long term or permanent residence in
Sanur. Our host was a Dutch family which was doing business
exporting from Bali, and have chosen to live now in Bali.
What we loved in Sanur was the relaxed vibe, the endless stretch of
beach promenade and roads offering lovely sights and sounds, countless
restaurants and cafes with world class cuisine, Travellers' comforts like
laundry, bicycles, supermarkets, and the shops. If you plan to do a
long stay in Bali and want to cook and take care of yourselves, and be a part
of some community, Sanur is the place to be in.
What to do in Sanur?
Though it is a beach town, the beach itself is nothing great in
Sanur. I know this sounds weird for a beach town but it need not put
you off. That is, unless your beach experience involves going for a
swim in the sea every day. The water that is near the shore in Sanur is almost
back water, and the sea is a bit far off.
However, there is a lovely long beach promenade with cobbled
walkway. The entire stretch is dotted with restaurants and cafes of
the hotels and resorts that face the sea. Then there are shops and
ferry boarding points. A leisurely walk or a bicycle ride
is the best way to take this all in. I can guarantee you
would want to do this more than once to catch the mood at different times and
stop in between to grab some Balinese coffee, or a dessert from one of those
high end restaurants or a local snack from the vendor on the road.
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| Sanur Beach Promenade (Pic Courtesy Travel Triangle) |
Now come to the other side of this promenade away from the beach and it is totally a different atmosphere. Sandwiched between the entrances to the resorts and hotels, are numerous restaurants and shops. Because it was Christmas and New year's time, all of them were done up, and most were hosting a music gig every day. It was bliss to just walk up and down the street soaking the decor, the crowd and the music, or enter a cafe and enjoy the food, or even chip in at a gig.
To me, the ideal dinner was at the Beach House at Sanur, a restaurant
right up the beach front, run by an Australian. There was a gig
playing, loud chatter and much merry, excellent food and the owner ensured that
the lone Indian family was not out of place. He walked up, chatted
about the cricket match and raised a toast for our win! That is the spirit of
Sanur, to welcome all into their folds and have fun together.
Sanur Night market
Sanur has a night market famous for its local food stalls and
shops. But our family and night markets are always jinxed! This is
the third time that the night market has eluded us. At Hongkong, a
typhoon did it. At Goa, the off season did it. At Sanur,
the Galungan festival did it. We were disappointed to see only a
handful of food stalls and none of the other shops
open. But with a determination to make he best of it, we compensated
by helping us to generous servings of the sinful Rupanggi - local bread
slathered with butter, toasted with layers of topping of your choice.
Attractions around Sanur:
Nusa Dua
Our vote for top attraction at Nusa Dua is not the beach (which was
pretty good) but the Museum Pasifika, with quite an unusual theme covering all
Pacific countries. It is housed in a beautifully ventilated
building, has some stunning art work and sculptures and totem poles,
etc. Worth the visit to know about the art, culture, lifestyles and
history of Pacific countries.
Nusa Dua has lovely beaches and many water sports activities like
surfing, banana boat. It is one of the bases for deep sea activities
like snorkeling and scuba diving. There are also glass bottom boats
and sea walking activities (with a special helmet). There is an amphitheatre at
Nusa Dua which was showing Devdan, an art show. Seems to be a
popular one showcasing Indonesian history and balinese culture and dance forms,
and of course we missed (too much of avoid popular attractions mood) !
Cycling:
Highly recommend cycling around Sanur. There are bikes on rent and many
B&Bs and Hotels provide them readily for guests. Chart your own
route like we did to the Turtle conservation centre. Or join a
guided tour. Beware of afternoon sun though! We came back heavily tanned.
From Sanur, attractions in Denpasar are quite doable. We
could not do much but there are some good attractions at Denpasar like museum,
aquarium, etc.
Signboards in Bali
One can spend days admiring the sign boards across Bali. Not
just those for sales but ones in use too. In the main market in Ubud
and Sanur, we saw the drain covers on the roads also carrying messages or art
work. Have never seen such stuff before. My husband feels that is one thing he did justice to while photographing and that I am not doing justice to them with this one short para! So here are some pictures keep him happy.
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| That's art in drain cover! |
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| Again on the drain cover |
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| Beat that! |
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| Where do you want to go? |
Frangipani in Bali
If we have to choose a visual identity for Bali that encapsulates all it
stands for - the beauty, the sophisticated design & aesthetics, the
delicate balance of nature and people, the heady aroma of food and the fun of
shopping, and the different shades of life, It is the Frangipani
flower!
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| Add caption |
And we will come back to savour more of you Bali. So long, Bye!
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