The Best So Far

One of the best things about living in Bali is being close to so many different beaches around and near the island.

First, there's the famous Kuta Beach. We went there the 1st week we're here and didn't think we'd go back anytime soon. It's nice and all but we're not tourist. (eksen ah sket..hehe) I think we're just a lil bit too old for hectic Kuta now. We'd still take visitors there, cos u know, it's Kuta Beach. You just HAFTA experience the vibe there, or at least get a picture.

Then of course Sanur, where we live, the beach is only about 10 mins away. We try to make it down there at least once a week after work if not on weekends, just to hang out, have a swim and snack on the fried goodness of tempe, beancurd, springrolls and veggie fritters in peanut sauce sold by the ladies that walk around with those goodies in a container above their head - sometimes the only reason we go to this beach!

Sanur is known as the sunrise beach. Meaning you don't go there for the sunset. It's breathtaking and panaromic for sunrises, so i've been told cos i've never been to the beach that early hehe. But still, whenever we go there late afternoon, it's always lovely & relaxing.

The beach is not super wow nice but clean enough and the water can be quite clear sometimes. It's good for kids to swim and play because the water is calm. The only thing is, we have to check the tide before we go cos sometimes it can get so low. Can't really swim then but you can walk far away into the ocean and the water's not even ankle deep. Ayisha loves it tho. Running & wobbling & dogding the seaweeds.

Very low tide. Can you see her?

Tho we've been spending lots of beach time in Sanur, we've also been exploring other beaches either for Michael to surf or just to chillax.

So far, we've been to Serangan Beach about 20 mins from here, quite famous among surfers. I love that the food stalls around here are pretty reasonably priced, unlike Sanur cos of its touristy area. This place is more of a surfer dudes & chicks hangout place - good for the eye exercise. I do enjoy it but because there's not much trees & shades around the area, it can get very hot n sticky eventho im chilling under the big umbrella.

Another surfing beach is Echo Beach, Canggu. We went there one weekend but none of us got in the water. Not too ideal for Ayisha as there's lots of rocks and water's quite rough. We just enjoyed having meals at the beach and loving the sunset in Canggu.

Then, there's Mengiat Beach at Nusa Dua, about 45 mins from here. It's absolutely beautiful here. Almost white sand & clear blue water. Nusa dua is known for big expensive hotels & resort but you don't have to stay there to enjoy this beach cos there's public access. We would've come here more often but an incident that involved a lil snake dropping just inches away from Ayisha, made me a lil bit hesitant to go back.

Which brings me to this very special place in Candidasa (doesn't it sound lovely?). Candidasa is located east of Bali and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there. The 1st time we drove there, it was raining so heavily and the beach didn't look very appealing to me so we just had lunch & left.

Then recently Michael suggested that we go to a beach where Julia Roberts supposedly filmed Eat, Pray, Love. He didn't wanna tell me where exactly but the mention of my best friend Julia got me excited enough so i agreed.

On the way i noticed the familiar road it would take me to and i wasn't that impressed. Altho i love the name Candidasa, the beach & the place really didnt do much for me the 1st time. Michael insisted it's not Candidasa, but a place called Bugbug, 5 mins around the corner of Candidasa town.(Candidasa lah tu! I just love saying the name.)

We turned at a narrow road where there's an old hand written sign that says 'White Sand Beach'. Judging by the old dogdy sign, I didn't really have high expectations. Then soon after we saw another sign that says 'Virgin Beach'. At that point i joked that maybe this is where virgins hang out. Michael on the other hand, joked that it's a place where people lose their virginity. (men & women DO think differently)

We have to go thru this rough road about 500m downhill. (more unimpressed!) Few times i was nervous whether or not we'd make it especially when the Avanza car in front of us got stucked in one of the holes.

Finally, we got there...and OH EM GEE!!

 t's soooooooooo lovely!!!

The place is called Pasir Putih aka White Sand Beach aka Virgin Beach. Dunno bout the Virgin part but the name White Sand fits perfectly cos it's exactly that. It's not the closest or the easiest to get to but it is probably the BEST hang out beach in Bali so far.

The water is so nice and crystal clear, it's great for snorkelling too. There's lots of shades even without the big umbrella and i don't get hot & sticky. There's plenty of food stalls, reasonably priced and lots of variety. We were constantly snacking, having big & small meals with desserts and all, for a total of about RM40 for the day. Cheap massages & sarongs for sale? Haggle all you want.

So far, this is the only beach in Bali where there's no dogs around so i was TOTALLY relaxed. See, I get jumpy especially when Ayisha keeps waving them over but freaks out when they're near. So I'm always on alert if i know there's one running around. :p There's also no snakes to be seen!

I just love the atmosphere. It's equally popular amongst locals and tourists but it's not crowded at all. It's just very comfortable being there.

We had such a lovely day that we stayed till almost sunset. As we always have a spare bag of clothes when we drive around looking for beaches, we decided to stay the night in Candidasa. We chose a charming lil retreat called Aquaria, about 10 mins from Virgin Beach.

Aquaria is just MAGNIFICENT! It's not a big place but it's beautiful. The room is pretty standard but it's clean and not too pricey and it's got everything that you need, including a dvd library of movies that we haven't even heard of and we have a LOT. It's walking distance to town (tiny town) and situated by the ocean.

Entrance to the room

For a couple honeymooning there. Love the ocean view!

Squeaking reading 3 Lil Kittens while waiting for sunset

As the lil town is only walking distance from the retreat, we thot of having dinner outside but when we found out the menu was quite impressive and the price is right (lazy lazy lazy) we ended up having dinner in and it turned out to be one of the best (yet cheap) dining experiences.

You can have a 3 course meal at about RM30 (AUD10) or mix & match or just have desserts.
They change their menu everyday and gave 2 options for each course. I love that there's not much to choose from but at the same time i wanted variety too u know. BUT, when you look at the choices, they all sounded soooo good it feels like you're spoilt for choice anyways.

They do sorbet instead of ice cream and grilled fish in tarragon sauce with chilli jam & steamed rice (fancy yeah?!) instead of fish & chips. It's all about eating healthy & fresh and making you feel good about eating desserts.

Aquaria rocks!!

I guess all the beaches that we've been to in Bali probably look the same but the whole experience of it is what makes the difference. Of course, with a name like Virgin Beach and Candidasa (how could you not love just saying that!), makes it all the more attractive. We are definitely coming back!