Day 8 - Jimbaran, Kuta, Sanur, Denpasar

Arriving at Sanur beach
Along Sanur beach
This is my last day in Bali before returning to Australia. Simone however will stay on for another 10 days. Because I was flying out from  Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar) we decided to spend the day at Sanur which is just north-east of Kuta and close to the airport. The main road runs parallel to the beach which is fronted by hotels, although there is a pathway along the beach. Apparently it's quite different to Kuta with no high-rise buildings.

Sailing ship shaped kite
Fishing at low tide
The weather was beautiful, hot with irregular cloud cover and a nice onshore breeze - ideal kite-flying weather. There were a few kites flying (and for sale) including one shaped like a sailing ship!

During the time we were there, the tide slowly drifted out, leaving a very shallow lagoon between the beach and the reef which lies a few hundred metres offshore. And as the water level dropped, more and more locals could be seen fishing within the lagoon.


Sanur beach,
looking south
Shipwreck on the reef
slowly being stripped
Outrigger boats
resting on the shore

Simone 'wall' shopping
Lunch at a warung on the beach
There were a few 'shops' along the beachfront and many cafe/restaurants ranging from the very upmarket (expensive) to the relatively downmarket.We chose one of the latter which both suited out budget and provided a selection of local Balinese food.

As is common in Asia and Europe, you could hire reclining chairs sheltered under umbrellas and just chill out. Unable to resist the temptation,we delegated John to undertake delicate negotiations over the cost of hiring the beach chairs. After settling on a price, we hired our chairs and spent the next hour taking it easy.
Ric & Simone
Offshore yoga/recreation platform
John negotiating the price


Of course we could have practiced yoga in one of the offshore facilities, but that just seemed like too much effort.

Restaurants on Jimbaran beach
Tourists on the beach
Later in the afternoon we drove to Jimbaran which is south-west of Kuta and a popular place to have dinner and watch the sunset. The restaurants were in the process of setting up tables on the sand in preparation for the evening diners. Although there was many different restaurants, the menu and pricing of each was almost identical - large seafood banquets. Not expensive by Australian standards, but expensive for Bali.

Net fishing in the shallows
Obligatory sunset photograph
We strolled along the beach with the other tourists, taking in the ambiance and the approaching sunset. What surprised me was the number of Chinese tourists, slowly replacing the Japanese, Americans and European travelers as the big spenders. There were very few people in the water, but there was one local though, net fishing in the shallows.

Smoke from the kitchens billowing over the diners
After sunset we headed to the far south end of Jimbaran beach which had a wider selection of restaurants - and less expensive. What was interesting was that although the restaurants were on the beach, the kitchens, mainly barbequing seafood were across the street. I realised why later as the kitchens revved up to full speed and smoke started billowing over the beach. We were glad that we were at the far end, away from the worst of the smoke.

Following dinner and a couple of Bintang beers it was time to head to the nearby airport and catch my flight back to Sydney. Unfortunately I had to leave, but Simone, Tamar and John will have another 2 weeks in Bali - have fun you guys.