A Quiet Time in Sanur

Sanur was where the majority of pre-WWII expats settled on Bali. It's easy to see why they chose the Eastern Coast of Bali with its protective reef and warm water to build their fine homes. While some of these old homes still exist, hotels and modern villas have taken up most of the beach front property.

                                     You too can get hitched in this giant glass diamond!!!

After the madness of Gili T, Sanur was a welcome break. A package holiday destination, Sanur also caters to those who come to Bali for retirement, as well as those who work for the few embassies and NGOs in this part of Indo.

The entire area of Sanur is connected by a 4 km long beach walk; great for running, checking out the waste array of traditional; fishing boats all freshly painted for the tourists or having a bite of fresh seafood. We were also happy to learn a bit about those Europeans who were first drawn to Bali. Belgian painter Adrien Jean Le Mayeur traveled the world in the early part of the 20th Century and finally made Bali his home when he fell in love with a much younger Balinese woman (the European painter, young Balinese dancer combos happened quite often it seems, another famous team being Spaniard Antonio Blanco and his lovely dancer wife). Nearly 100 of Le Mayeur's works are on display at the artist's former residence, a small hidden home surrounded by garden. Unfortunately, as one of the oldest museums in the country, without proper ventilation, or shelter from the elements many of the paintings have faded. There are however many lovely works, as well as beautiful antique Balinese carvings and artwork decorating Le Mayeur's former home.

Apart from our trip to the museum, our time in Sanur was dedicated to catching up on our reading, and sleeping (thanks to the lack of early morning wake ups due to the call to prayer or the multitude of roosters that liked to hang outside of our door on Gili T).

                                          Boat stuck on the Sanur reef

Sanur or Snore?

Five relatively action-filled nights on Gili T (I say relatively because we are no longer 22) included watching Canada and Ireland both win at rugby, a full moon party (our first...though we didn't last past midnight, and it really wasn't all that exciting) and a new sport.

I am fully convinced I will be paddle boarding again.  I am a big fan...and I am sure Tom will become one some day. Fashionable with celebs, and good for the abs, paddle boarding is a simple as the name. It involves a large windsurf board and a long paddle used to prople the board forward whist sanding.  Lots of fun, an easy way to stay dry, move through currents and see the fish. As you can probably tell, I am sold.

Paddle boarding asside, Gili T was an interesting part of the adventure. A part of muslim Lombok, the Gilis or Islands, are a huge European tourist attraction, which has been quite detrimental to the environment, both land and sea. The coral surronding Gili T has been trod on so much that most of it is dead. While the fish are still around, there are fewer than we expected; however, those we spoke to who were diving, said it was pretty decent the further down they ventured.

Other than the water sports, venture from Bali for the day, or arrive in order to relax. We ended up having to do quite a bit of relaxing, as we both were a bit under the weather. Five days on Gili T, left us a bit saltier (given the island's water system is purified salt water, as well, generators run most of the electricity, but we were encouraged when we climbed to the top of the island and fund brand new solar panels) and a bit poorer, as the prices were far higher than other places we had encountered, understandable on such a small island packed with tourists and few locals.

Tom at the Irish Bar, Gili T is the smallest island in the world to host one

Sanur, Bali was next on the list. A place were expats with fat bank accounts go to retire....exciting... or not...?

Bali photos so far

Kuta Market

Our new friend Red

Snooze on Gili T

At the Top of Gili T

GT

Quiet in Kuta and on to Gili T

Our five nights on Lombok had us raring for some excitement. Other than driving from beach to beach, there was little to do on the south end of the island, if you weren't a surfer accustom to surfing reef breaks. Our adventures on the scooter we rented were interesting. Traveling through traditional villages, past vast fields of tobacco and mines, and avoiding pieces of glass left on the road by giggling village children. We did visit some pretty phenomenal pristine and empty beaches, but we were excited to visit the Gilis, small islands the larges, Gili Trawangan, 6 km around.

View from Ashtari Restaurant, Kuta Lombok

We travelled up to the West Coast of the Island through lush forests where tourists stopped their taxis on the narrow roads to view the many relatively tame, but devious forest monkeys. A 10,000Rupiah, 25 minute "slow boat" ride had us in Gili T, the "Party Island", where we would spend the next 5 nights at the English-owned Pesona Resort (http://www.pesonaresort.com/).

From Kuta Bali to Kuta Lombok

The plan was to aclimatize with all the Western comforts before heading out to rural Bali. After two days we were ready to leave Kuta-Legian, but had two more nights booked, so we tried to make the best of it. We surfed Kuta Beach, had a few decent meals accompanied by Bintangs, and did very small amount of shopping.


Now, there is nothing wrong with taking a holiday in Cancun, if your Canadian, or Mallorca if your British, or Kuta, Bali if your Aussie, but drinking late and getting up at noon isn't my idea of a holiday at home, let alone one that takes me half way around the world. With package tour destinations also come elevated prices, wispers of elicit drugs and tipsy teens. We were more than happy to leave the decently impressive Kuta Bali Resort and the crazy Legian club scene (which we didn't patricipate in, except for having a few beers at the Irish Pub, and another few at British Sports Bar talking politics with an Aussie miner) for a 4 hour (6 hour including the hour we spent before leaving the dock and the hour waiting for the boat to leave so we could moor on the other end) to Lombak.

Lombak is the island furthest to the left in the Nusa Tenggara arc, which also includes Komodo Island, the home of the famed dragon. There are quicker ways to get to Lombok, either by fast ferry or small airplane (both costing around 50 or so Euro, of 500,000 Indonesian Rupiah*). The slow ferry is the cleapest (32,000 Rupiah, or about 3 Euro) and from it you the an awesome view from your spot on the less-than-tidy floor of the outside deck. We did see a pod of about 50 dolphis palying up along side the boat making the trip even more worthwhile.

We finally got off the boat around 6:30pm, and shared a taxi to Kuta beach on the South of the Island with two young Brits, with boards in tow. Kuta is well known by surfers for it's aweomse waves and chilled out atmosphere. We were especially lucky to have reserved a room at Yuli's Homestay (www.yulishomestay.com), a B&B run by a local woman (Yuli) and her Kiwi husband (Mike).

So far, Kuta Lombok has been the relaxed sort of place we tend to enjoy. We've found a couple of places serving good food (Warung Bule and Astari - http://ashtarilombok.com/) and have spent a number of hours checking out the numerous beaches stretching along the South coast, while really getting to see how rural Indonesians live. *1 Euro = 11,000 Rupiah 1 US Dollar = 8,000 Rupiah 1 CND Dollar = 9,000 Rupiah

MORE DETAILS - Ste. Emillion

As mentioned in an earlier post, Ste. Emillion is by far the most touristy town in the region near Château de Sanse. Many will recongise Ste. Emillion as one of the most prestigious wine areas in the Bordeax region of France, producing some of the most delicious reds you'll ever drink. (http://www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com/)

The Jursdiction of Ste. Emillion is made up of a number of small "towns" or "areas", whose names you will also notice on a wine label. These areas are some times refereed to as "Saint-Emillion satellites" or more properly as Appellation d'origine contrôlée(AOC).

One example of an AOC is Lussac, a small town 9km from Ste. Emillion proper. Most of the vineyards are small and family-owned. That is something I really noticed in this wine region, the wine makers are front and center in the sales of wine. Names are almost always mentioned when you enter a Maison de Vin to taste and purchase their wares.

Towns like Lussac have all you need. A grocery store, a small market (on certain days), a wine seller...really food and wine is all you need in life...right?

The only issue with small towns outside of a main center is transportation. There is a bus route and I am sure it runs more frequently during the high summer season, but didn't see one at all over our stay. Rental car is by far the best way to get around this area of France.

NYC: HERE I COME!

Just about a week now until another trip to NYC. I figure I will make this a yearly thing :) Dinner reservations are already made for Artisanal (http://www.artisanalbistro.com/art_bistro_menus_index.php) for the Friday evening. Oh cheese how I love thee. I pretty much figure Artisanal is a fair bet. Any one that Anthony Bourdain can call a hero, I figure is a good guy. Terrance Brennan, bring it on.

So, wait for the details, because I am excited to deliver.