Along with our SCUBA adventure, we wanted to hang out at the beach a bit. Tulamben has rocky beaches not suitable for playing in the sand or sunbathing, so we headed southwest over to Sanur and Kuta.
Sanur faces east, so we'd be able to watch the sunrise over the ocean from that shore if we woke up early enough to do so. We did the last day, and sat in the little bungalows set up along the shore to provide shade during the day. We stayed at the Laghawa Beach Inn, which wasn't a bad hotel, but we'd be likely to upgrade to a better hotel if we were to go back. It had beach access, lovely gardens, and a few really cool birds (peacock, blue and green macaw, and a cockatoo), but wasn't exactly the nicest hotel we've stayed at. Especially after staying in the amazing Wreck Divers villa, we were a bit disappointed with the hotel. The doors had cracks in them so you could hear what was going on outside, the locking cabinet didn't really lock, and for some reason when the cleaning service came, they re-set the sheets but put the top blanket somewhere else. Breakfast was included and about the same as at the villa, lots of fresh fruits and very delicious.
Sunrise at Sanur
The beach at Sanur had a cement boardwalk between the hotel compounds and the beach. There were a lot of vendors, trying to sell massages, pedicures, fruit drinks, kites, and anything else people might pay for. Most hotels had restaurants and/or bars near the boardwalk and lounge chairs or couches with umbrellas on the beach. At night, the lounge chairs/couches on the beach were sometimes replaced with tables, and they set up grills on the beach. The night following our first full day in Sanur we ate at the beach barbecue of one of the higher-emd hotels. The side dishes were set up on a buffet table, and you ordered whatever drinks and main courses you wanted. There was an assortment of sea food along with some meat dishes. We shared an amazing grilled grouper steak, a grilled spiny lobster, some clams, and really enjoyed the evening. There was a live band playing and the lead singer was excellent. She sang a John Mayer song much better than he ever could, and had a voice like Ella Fitzgerald - deep, throaty, and just wonderful.
The next night, we stayed in Kuta for dinner after our surfing lessons. Lee will describe those in depth in a later post.
Sanur is more laid-back, for those who want to hang out reading in the lounge chairs, take a walk along the beach, and have some good food. The water has a lot of vegetation in it, so we never swam in it. Kuta, however, is for those who like to play in the sun and is more of a party town. Kuta has warm clear water with constant waves. This beach faces west, so we watched the sunset on the beach before heading over for dinner. Kuta's beach has a lot of sunbathers and surfers hanging out. There are fewer vendors, but they of course are there, selling kites, cold drinks, towels, renting surfboards, and anything else people might pay for.
Sunset at Kuta
Walking around Sanur and Kuta, especially if you are walking on the side with the traffic (left hand side, like Japan), the taxi drivers continually slow down, beep, and call out, "Transport?" Everyone is trying to drive you wherever you need to go, even
if it's just down the street. People are always asking you to walk through their stores or buy something or other, newspapers from home, souvenirs, again, anything people might pay for. There are the expected souvenir shops and restaurants, as well as tailor shops everywhere. Most of what is being sold is expected, t-shirts with interesting phrases and designs, sarongs, other beachwear, but there were a few odd designs everywhere, like phallic incense holders and keychains. There were also a lot of offerings of food, flowers, and incense in palm leaf dishes set out by every restaurant, shop, hotel, and everywhere else to make their business successful.
Our hotel didn't have internet access even though it was supposed to, so we tended to go to restaurants with internet access for lunch. We found one really excellent little American style restaurant named Spike's, which we ate at twice.
Lee was very happy to have a full-size cheeseburger with real fries and some fresh salsa and guacamole with an enchilada and the feta from my salads. I enjoyed possibly the best Oreo shake I've ever had and delicious lasagna with real ricotta both times. It was wonderful. We also really enjoyed the Indonesian food for every other meal. The flavors and spices were very different from what you get here in Japan, and so delicious. Curries, fish steaks, and drier, long grain rice were a nice change of pace from Japanese food. The food, weather, beaches, activities, and scenery made for a darn good tropical vacation.
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