February 15 to 24, 2020
Sanur
After 15 days of love and hate relationship with Ubud and after 8 days of dengue fever crisis, we were ready to explore another part of Bali.
And because we hadn’t even seen the beach and the sea yet, we headed down to Sanur (on the south east coast) and planned to spend 3 days in Nusa Penida island (South east of Bali).
As much as Kuta on the southwest side is known to be the party city, Sanur is know as "Snore" city, being the city where most retired westerners stay in Bali (and like in South Thailand, you would see a lot of advertisement for retirement visa). Anyway, we went there because we needed some rest on the beach after the dengue episode and we’re not that much interested in partying anymore... Another reason was that Sanur is also the departure point for boats to Nusa Penida.
Family Guesthouse
We found a nice family guesthouse, close to everything but far enough from traffic (though too close to a live music bar that would play lame cover songs on Saturday and Wednesday nights).
Three generations lived in that house with a really nice courtyard and where people live mainly outside. The fun part is that there were 2 pairs of twin girls (6 and 3 years old) that got along very well with Naema and Lana. It was amazing to see those 6 little girls playing all together without even speaking the same language.
We rented a scooter and it opened up a little our horizon there without being dependent on taxis or Grab (Uber).
That time, we went the cheap way and rented only one scooter. That was ok as the roads are flat and we were not going to ride for hours anyway (unlike Phuket, Ko Lanta or Nusa Penida).
Side note: in Ubud, but also in Sanur and I believe everywhere else in Bali, Uber or Grab taxis are tolerated but not really accepted in the most touristy areas (close to attraction, beaches, ports, hotels and city centers). This could be acceptable if a decent and legal taxi (with meters) offer was common. But most often, it’s not easy to find a metered taxi and you depend on drivers that would ask a crazy price, then start to haggle which in the end is really annoying. To give an example, to go from our guesthouse to the port of Sanur, drivers would ask for 200,000 Rp while the metered taxi costed us 20,000...
Add to that, that every 5 meters, somebody would ask you for their services when you clearly don’t need it. That’s why having its own vehicle is so much appreciable...
Mertasari Beach
Located 15 min away by scooter from our guesthouse, we went there 2 times. First day, we just chilled on the beach, enjoyed the waves and the girls played, built some castles made of sand (fall in the sea eventually) . We also met a young British family, Ben, Hannah and Roddy, who had just arrived for a 1-week vacation in Bali. We spent the afternoon chatting with them while the girls played with Roddy, a 6 year old boy.
Surf lessons
The next day, Coralie and Naema took a surf class and had a really fun time. First practicing on the beach and then taking a boat to practice on the reef. They both managed very well and were able to stand on the board quite quickly. Well done girls !
Nusa Penida
We took a boat to Nusa Penida from Sanur pier. Of course, we had (again) to find the best deal, negotiate with many boats companies. We managed to get tickets at a reasonable price after haggling quite a bit.
The 30 min fast boat travel went well (this time) and as soon as we arrived, we got our 2 motorbikes so we could go to our guesthouse. Coralie had found a renter in advance and he met us at the pier. That was very convenient and at least we didn’t even have to go through the hassle of finding a taxi. We left our 2 big backpacks at our Sanur guesthouse (as we would come back there 3 days later) and took only 2 small ones with a few clothes.
It took us 45 minutes or so to drive to our new guesthouse. We were located in the middle of the island, in the mountains, not really close to beaches but it turned out to be a good choice because it was central. And we were in a small village, far from the tourist craziness. For our first lunch, we found a small warung (local restaurant) and asked if we could eat (it was already 2:00 pm). The lady cooked us some really good chicken and rice and we ate with our bare hands, on the floor, surrounded by kids and chicken...
Crystal Bay and crazy storm
On the first afternoon, we headed down to Crystal Bay, which is a 25 min drive (west of the island). On our way we stopped at Reeflex, a diving club owned by Frenchies to get some information and ended up booking a dive for myself the next day.
We spent the end of the afternoon on the beach and decided it was time to go back home around 6:00 pm when we saw big dark clouds in the sky.
Unfortunately, it was already too late and a huge storm hit us hard. It took us almost an hour to get back home under heavy rain and lightning strike hitting nearby. A bit scary, but I guess that’s part of the Bali experience. We arrived completely soaked but alive.
Diving with turtles
The next morning, I woke up early around 6:30 to go to my diving sessions. It was a holiday in Bali and I had the chance to see people getting ready for the celebration, preparing the offerings and decorations.
I met my instructor, Fanch and he reminded me of some safety basics before we went to a neighborhood swimming pool to learn how to use the equipment.
Then we met the rest of the people who would come with us on the boat to dive. We went for 2 dives, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of that day. First my phone stopped working a few days before, second I am not really equipped to take pictures under water and to be fair sometimes it is also nice just to enjoy something we do without thinking of the next instagram or blog post...
It was an amazing experience. This was my second time scuba diving and I really loved the feeling of being free to breathe and swimming for 45-50 min under water. It would be hard for me to explain how beautiful it was. Corals were colorful, there were tropical fishes of all kinds everywhere and the best part is that I got to swim close to a turtle for a few minutes.
When I came back to the club, the girls came back from the beach where they spent the day and Coralie decided to book a session for the next day. She has already dived many times before, even started a Padi but had to stop after an internal ear infection.
She went through the same process as me and had also a great time swimming with turtles.
Sightseeing the bays
Nusa Penida is not very big and it is quite easy to drive around to see the beautiful landscapes and bays that the island has to offer. We took our scooters and just drove all around. The nicest drive took us to Diamond Bay, southeast of the island: one hour drive through the mountains and beautiful point of view.
On our way
Kelingking beach
Still Kelingking beach
Diamond Bay
Diamond Bay Beach
Last afternoon in Nusa Penida
We heard our British friends, Ben, Hannah and Roddy were on the island so we decided to spend some time with them. We met them at lunch time close to their hotel and spent some time at the beach with them.
While we were talking, we could see a huge pile of garbage getting closer and closer to the beach. Probably a boat that dumped all this trash a few miles away. After all these paradise views, it was sad to see that ugliness. But to be fair, that’s also the reality here (and in Asia).
Trash coming to the beach
Back to Sanur and end of our trip in Bali
We came back to Sanur but this time the boat travel was not that nice. It was raining and the sea was rough. So I got sick (not a big surprise for people who know me well).
Anyway, we came back to our nice family guesthouse in Sanur and the girls were super happy to meet their 4 little friends.
We spent the last day in Bali getting ready to travel to New Zealand, preparing our visas our luggage’s and buying the last souvenirs. We also met our friends Alain and Martine, who had just come back from Lombok with a bad arm injury for Martine (after she fell down in a hole on a sidewalk - pretty common in Bali - at night in Lombok).
We also came back to the beach nearby and enjoyed a last view on Nusa Penida.
And then, that was it, we left for the airport, getting ready to fly to New Zealand and leave Asia, where we spent 5 amazing months (more on that in the next post).
Nusa Penida in the background
Salah
留言