Bali - Sanur beach and Uluwatu

This is the third and last day of my trip to Bali. Since the flight home is in the late afternoon, we still have the day to spend in Bali. For the ladies the morning was reserved for the spa and massage while I had a walk around Sanur and also the beach there. Since Sanur is the earlier beach development in Bali and is thus quieter, older and more relaxing, thus it seems more for the mature (read, elderly) tourists. On my way to the beach, I passed two temples - the very old Pura Belanjong and the Pura Dalam Semawa.

The beach is not too busy and has the colourful fishing boats that are typical in Bali.


The bigger hotels here include the Bali Hyatt with a very nice garden compound. Hotels here are low-rise and add to the rustic charm.



I had a drink at one of the cafe lining the beach and watch the sea and sand which is soothing for the mind and also my feet.

On the way back to my hotel, I had lunch at D'corner, a restaurant serving very reasonable priced fusion and Balinese food. Nasi campur is only RP25K.

After lunch, we went shopping for kacang disco (fried peanuts coated with spicy flour) and other take-home snacks. Then we went to Uluwatu, with the temple perched on a cliff.


The view down the cliff at the Indian Ocean is breathtaking.



And those damn monkeys; everything you read warning you to watch out for them is true. They are lightning fast and will snatch anything at sight so hang on to your loose items or put them out of sight. My wife lost her hat to one of these snatch thieves and during my short visit there, I have seen them playing with sunglasses, hair bands, cigarette lighter and even shoes! And they are aggressive too so not sure if they are trained to do their snatching.


On the way there, there were golf courses and other beach resorts but we gave the GWK Cultural Park a miss since they charge RS50K for entrance (if I remember right). I think it is not worth it since they have the usual cultural dances and man-made monuments.


Instead we drove to Kuta to have look at the beach. We were only at the southern part since we were near to the time of our flight home and we did not want to be caught in a traffic jam. Not much activity here in the afternoon.



Soon it was time to bid farewell to our driver and to Bali. We gave him our loose rupiahs after making sure we had enough for some food in the airport and also RP150K for the airport tax. Then it was home sweet home.

Ronald Kwok.

Choosing a Holiday in Bali

Before leaving for your holiday in Bali, you must decide the type of holiday you want. If you just want to relax by the beach and get away from it all, just book yourself into a beach hotel and spent all your time there. There are several popular beach areas, all in southern Bali, around the Airport. Kuta is the most popular and thus crowded and has plenty of nightlife. Nearby, Jimbaran is less crowded and famous for sea-food restaurants. Sanur is less popular and is less hectic. Nusa Dua is more exclusive with plenty of luxurious hotels and hence the most expensive area. Then there are those who go for mainly sight seeing in Bali or for the art scene and culture and I suppose the majority of the tourists are somewhere in-between, combining both sand and sight seeing.

For doing this, there are 3 main choices. 1. Take an all-inclusive package tour where everything is arranged for you but you have no choice in what to see. 2. Hire a car and self-drive around Bali where you are in complete control but may have to endure some chaotic traffic. 3. Lastly, get a car with a local driver where you can decide where you want to go and without all the stress of driving in a strange land. But you'll need to do some planning for the last two options to minimise the driving time and maximise the numbers of sights to take in.

For my holiday, I opted for the last choice. (Actually my daughter decided for me since this trip was arranged by her, I just tagged along and enjoyed the free ride!) She has booked rooms in the Puri Sindhu Mertha Suite in Sanur that comes with a free use of a car and driver for a day for each room booked and you can pay for any extra days to extend this service. Also, this is only for day use and night use is extra. I cannot remember the price but it is best to check on their website here and I believe there are many hotels that have this kind of arrangement. (This hotel is differenct from the Puri Sindhu Mertha Guesthouse further down the road that has more rooms and less exclusive, same management though.)

This is a smallish boutique hotel in a quiet part of Sanur (near a scuba driving centre) with only 9 rooms and a family suite and all are facing a swimming pool right in the middle. No crowd and great for relaxing.




The included breakfast is very simple and basic but location is good for exploring the major tourist sights in Bali. The NPV provided was fairly new and thus very comfortable and good for sleeping in between sights!


OK enough about the hotel, so back to my travel story. The driver was waiting for us at the airport when we arrived and we went straight to Jimbaran for dinner before checking into the hotel. Since we did not specify any restaurant, the driver took us to Aroma Cafe, so probably not the cheapest in Jimbaran Bay. Nevertheless, the food was fresh and good but we could not sit out on the beach as it was drizzling and the wind was very strong. Liked the orange juice (the green skin type) since it has a tinge of lemongrass. After dinner we headed for the hotel and rested for tomorrow's full day outing.

Ronald Kwok