Serangan, Bali

When I last wrote, our boys had just flown back to Australia after spending time with us in Bali. We spent a couple more nights in a hotel before mooring Thorfinn in Sernagan. Trish (a friend from Western Australia) had arrived in Bali. We caught up with her for a drink and a swim in the pool at her hotel.

Seragan

A few days later, we moved Thorfinn to a mooring at Serangan. Trish came along for a sail, which was a good thing she did. During a routine check on the engine room, Dwayne found the bilge full of water. We had a leak somewhere… a very fast leak! A semi-controlled panic ensued as Dwayne set up the manual bilge pump. It was my job to pump, and Trish steered the boat. Dwayne searched for, found and fixed the busted hose.

Tragedy averted, we sailed on to Serangan, where we discovered the waypoints we were given to guide us through the reef, which surrounded the opening to the bay, were out by a mile! Eventually, we were guided through and to our mooring. We then lazed about on Thorfinn’s deck until we took Trish ashore for local food at Warung Pak Cong.

At Serangan, we spent time at Warung Pojok having a drink and a chat with a bunch of sailors and ex-pats. Warung Pojok means Corner Eatery. The proprietor Dana and his wife are friendly, helpful people. It was a great relaxing place to hang out.

We went to the Department of Immigration to extend our visas, but they told us we needed to go through our agent, who is in Jakarta. We went to Ruth at Isle Marine Services and asked if she could help us. We were told we needed an explanation for why the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin had put “Thorfinn” on the visa document. So we had to wait for that letter to arrive before we could apply for an extension. Long story short, we didn’t get our application in soon enough (one week before the expiry), and it was therefore rejected. Consequently, we had to fly out of Bali and back in to renew our visa (but that’s another story!)

Sanur

While in Bali, we spent some time at Sanur. We like Sanur with its warungs and restaurants along the beach. Sanur has a bit of everything, shopping, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, most water sports, surf, local food stalls and a walkway for miles along the beach. We spent a couple of afternoons lazing in the sun-lounges reading, and swimming.

We spent a lot of time on our stand-up paddle boards, and I caught my first waves at a reef break off the point. Dwayne, who used to surf all the time, was a natural and could enjoy the waves for hours. On the other hand, I often had my sinuses cleaned out while being flung around under the waves. It was a lot of fun and good exercise!

Riding a scooter – Bali

We have been to Bali plenty of times and know our way around Kuta and other parts of Bali. Therefore we chose to once again ride a scooter. This is, as always, a test of skill, concentration, and my ability to grip Dwayne with my thighs!!! Once you get accustomed to riding in Bali, and if you are an experienced motorcycle rider, then getting around Bali on a scooter is the best, most convenient way.

We often see people, locals and tourists alike, riding around without a helmet. WTF? Ok, I understand that you think that you look sexy riding around with the wind in your hair… whatever. You are mad if you don’t wear a helmet… even if you think your skills are superb; you are super intelligent, quick reacting and don’t make mistakes; remember the other road users are not always as smart as you… especially the tourist! When riding in Bali, you need to be aware of, and dodge, the other cars, bikes, trucks, dogs, cows and chickens! Don’t ask me why the chicken crossed the road…. I just know she did…. often!

But I digress… we have gone around Bali before on a scooter, taking in places such as Lovina, Singaraja, Negara, Medewi, Giimanuk, and even over to Java. We would have loved to do that again, but we were with our beloved Thorfinn, and no girl should be left alone while on holiday. So we stayed with our girl.

The bike made it easy to visit places such as Nusa Dua, Uluwatu, Denpasar, Sanur, Kuta, Legian, Ubud, Canggu and Seminyak. We spent a day riding around Uluwatu and along the coast. At Uluwatu, we took in the view and had a fresh coconut to drink before moving on.

We found a cute little beach called ‘Impossible Beach’. It was a lucky find as there were just the words ‘Impossible Beach’ written on a stone wall and an arrow pointing to a path. It was a bit of a walk along the trail and many stairs before arriving. The view is beautiful, but the beach, although gorgeous, was not very good to swim at. There was a strong undertow, and although we had a dip, the water kept pulling me out, so I gave up the fight and got out.

We often went to Kuta for a massage at Bali Beauty Salon on Jl. Benesari, Kuta. Agung and Ari, there are fantastic. Both have strong hands, and we would get a great massage from the tips of our toes to the tips of our fingers. We would then usually go across the road to The Rooster Bar to say hello to Nick, have a couple of drinks and play pool.

Delicious food!

We love eating and love Asian food! Indonesian is one of our favourites, and when in Bali, we eat with the locals whenever we can. We ate ayam goreng, ikan bakar and soto ayam at some small warungs on Serangan and enjoyed Bakso from the carts. I had a birthday lunch of grilled fish, kangkung, seaweed and rice at one of the warungs… it was delicious.

At Sanur (away from the touristy area), we found the best sate babi (pork sates) served with Lontong (rice cake). Through the streets of Denpasar and Kuta, we often stop at little warungs for a freshly blended fruit juice and found the best babi guling place in Denpasar. They use every part of the pig!

On Jl. Raya Kuta, there are a vast number of warungs that sell cheap, delicious meals. If you are interested to know more about the food we ate, its price and location, read more HERE.

Next up – Serangan to Surabaya (Java)