Sanur - Resort capital if you're rich (fun if you're poor too)

see all photos »

From Lovina we took a bus ride with some other backpackers, and had a great chat throughout the bumpy, windy, three-hour ride.  Seatbelts are optional in Bali, unless there is a child in the car.  There was one in the bus, so the driver and Michelle had to pretend that their seatbelts had working buckles.  Which they didn't.  Or buckles at all, actually.

Sanur turned out to be everything that we expected about Bali.  Crystal clear blue water with a gentle surf and fine white-sand beaches.  Most of Sanur still experiences tourism, and the shopkeepers were pretty open about their dichotomous pricing.  Basically, if you look poor, you pay only mildly inflated rates, whereas the majority of the tourists (who look rich) pay much higher.

the shopkeepers were pretty open about their dichotomous pricing

Balinese dancers performing at a restaurant. Fantastic performance!
see all photos »

Our hostel is a story in itself, our only Lonely Planet stop, it was in great shape, beautiful gardens and super clean.   It was also home to more animals than the Singapore zoo, from little Balinese pigeons to a baby Komodo dragon.  Needless to say, Michelle had endless entertainment teaching birds to talk and chasing cats around while Susan engaged in more civilized pursuits, like napping.

We found a great Canadian restaurant, called "Randy's" that we ate at three times, so happy were we to see potatos on a menu!  They made a passable meat pie, and dinner was served with free alcohol, so we became regulars.  There were quite a few fantastic restaurants in Sanur, and we had our choice of tables at almost all of them.  Like the beach, the shops and restaurants were pretty deserted.  We went looking for a party one night, but only succeeded in finding a mini-mart, buying the local equivalent of Big Bear and getting tipsy at the hostel instead.  Two lizards entertained us quite well, (The Rock and Carl Lewis), who may have either been battling or mating.  Either way, good fun towards the end of a Liter of "Bali Hai".

Beautiful beach, and we were the only ones on it!
see all photos »

We spent our remaining Balinese money wandering around Sanur's laid-back streets, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  From Sanur we headed off to the airport, our "decontamination phase" successful and over too soon!