Saturday, April 09, 2011

Sanur Beach... Bali


While in Bali, I stayed in a hotel near Sanur beach (I'll write about the hotel later). So in the morn, I decided to walk there. It took roughly 5 minutes, and there I was, in Sanur beach.

Some Balinese I met told me that Sanur beach is kinda slow, meaning, not much is happening there. Unlike the busy and tourist-swarmed Kuta, for instance. I think I prefer it that way. During my short walk, I encountered some cafes, beauty saloons, hostels, convenience stores, souvenir shops, restaurants. And not to mentions lots of taxi drivers/cars to rent.

I saw lots of canang--some kind of offerings consisting of flowers and leaves. They're pretty and fragrant. They're for buto kalo (unsure about the spelling), beings with negative energies. Since they're blind, they need positive energies to "see". Human beings have positive energies. So let's say to protect themselves, humans should put some canang (with positive energies in them) and buto kalo will take the energy from canang instead.

My driver in Bali told me that the students are learning about canang and special flowers that can be used, the rituals, and such. A pity I didn't stay in Bali for long. I'd love to get my hands on the books concerning canang, rituals, flowers and buto kalo.

Back to Sanur... I arrived there at 8.30 GMT + 8 and it was scorching hot! I saw some foreign tourists sunbathing and I couldn't fathom how they could stand to lie down there, in bathing suits, soaking the rays of the sun. I gingerly felt the sand using my bare feet and ouch ouch ouch, I felt like I was being baked. I then chose to walk on the wet part of the sand instead.

Some portions of the beach are lined with rocks. The rocks are inhabited with crabs! Lots of them. Small ones, gray-blackish ones. I meant to sit on the rock while writing my journal or composing a poem but I feared the crabs might bite me!

So what should you do in Sanur? You can collect some shells if you want while walking around, sit near the crabs (he he), shop for some souvenirs (the shops were fairly empty when I was there, perhaps because it was still morning and March is not one of the busiest months there), enjoy some meals (sea food, mostly), take pictures (but of course), and I think you can also rent a boat to do some sightseeing.

Unfortunately there isn't any public transportation in Bali. To go to Sanur, you can walk (if you're nearby), rent a car, motorcycle, bicycle. There's a parking lot in front of the beach.

PS: It's better to visit Sanur before 9-10 AM. Or when sunset approaches. You might want to bring your own sunblock and mat if you plan to sit and relax on the sand. Alternatively you can also buy beach sarung in the souvenir shops. Bring your own mineral water too, walking around is bound to make you thirsty.

1 comment:

Rina Suryakusuma said...

banyak senang di bali ya Donna :)
sayang nggak bisa terlalu lama ya. Tapi tetap happy bisa ketemua teman baik ya
semoga next timenya, bisa gathering sama aku, ya :)

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