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Published: January 14th 2024
There is a prawn hiding behind the rock… ~ Indonesian Proverb
HE SAID... Today (and tomorrow) we were continuing to explore
Sanur – by foot.
Locations > Sanur is a bustling coastal town in southern Bali.
Transport Walking (and the occasional resort shuttle car).
Accommodation …The Pavilions, Sanur…
This enchanting resort is tucked away from the madding crowd in a magnificent tropical garden just one block back from Sanur Beach. It offered us a very welcome retreat at the end of our Indonesian adventure, and we’d booked it especially as a treat for my birthday – which we’d celebrated in style the previous day.
Cuisine – Day 1 …Breakfast (The Pavilions, Sanur)…
Breakfast is a big deal at The Pavilions. You order your breakfast preferences a day in advance (via an online app), and it is carried to your villa the next morning by the resort’s friendly staff, who carefully lay out each item on a table in your private courtyard. Unfortunately, the items themselves were not very exciting. Breakfast has been the only downside to our stay at The Pavilions (to-date).
The ordering process promised so much, especially the description of the various dishes on offer, but the reality was quite disappointing. While Ren’s
omelette with mushroom and parmesan was passable, my granola with yoghurt was very ordinary.
…Lunch (Lilla Warung, Sanur)…
We headed out for a late lunch in the mid-afternoon. We probably would have pottered in our villa for the rest of the day, but a couple of resort staff arrived to service our rooms, and this gave us the impetus we needed to get moving. We first stopped at Coconut Tree, a tiny reggae-style eatery just along Jalan Danau Tamblingan from The Pavilions. However, we bailed without ordering…
We continued walking until we arrived at Lilla Warung, our second choice for lunch. This little eatery is on the same laneway that leads to Bumi Ayu Bungalows, where we stayed one night on arriving in Sanur. The less said about the Bungalows, the better.
When we walked into Lilla Warung, I was taken by the relaxed atmosphere, the boutique furniture and the jazz-style music. It was perfect for a late lunch on a hot and humid afternoon. We were also enticed by the urban décor and styled menu. However, the staff were a bit awkward. Two waitresses stood beside the serving counter and stared at us, waiting for the
slightest indication we were about to order.
We decided to grin and bear it. After all, we had already bailed from one eatery. It was an auspicious decision on our part, as the food was fabulous. We ordered the following:
> Balinese chicken curry (served with vegetables and steamed rice)
> mixed satay (grilled chicken, pork and shrimp skewers with peanut sauce and steamed rice).
Ren ordered a Long Island iced tea, while I refreshed with a large Bintang beer. The Balinese chicken curry was sensational, but the mixed satay was a bit hit-and-miss. The peanut sauce was amazing, and the chicken and shrimp skewers were great, but the pork skewers were chewy and inedible.
…Dinner (The Pavilions, Sanur)…
Snacks in our villa.
Cuisine – Day 2 …Breakfast (The Pavilions, Sanur)…
We settled in our private courtyard for breakfast, and to our delight, the provisions were quite good. It was a big improvement on our previous two breakfast experiences at The Pavilions. Apart from the dry cardboard-like toast, everything was tasty and enjoyable. My healthy breakfast bowl (comprising granola, yoghurt, fresh fruits and coconut) was great, and Ren’s shakshuka (comprising eggs, tomato sauce, herbs and feta)
was delicious.
…Lunch (The Pavilions, Sanur)…
Snacks in our villa.
Highlights …Exploring Sanur by foot…
After selecting a few photos for social media posts and working on our travel notes, we jumped into the resort’s shuttle car and sped to the beach. It was incredibly hot. We slowly made our way along the promenade before turning into a narrow shady lane that led us back to Jalan Danau Tamblingan. As we emerged onto the busy main road, we stopped at White Orchid. It was the first café we came to, and we desperately needed to hydrate. Ren’s iced lemon tea and my iced coffee hit the spot. We were dripping with perspiration. It was so incredibly hot!
On our return trek along Jalan Danau Tamblingan, we encountered countless touristic shops selling exactly the same products. The seeds of capitalism thrive on well-worn paths. We eventually arrived at a rambling and dusty old trinket shop. We’d been intrigued by this place since arriving in Sanur. It was close to The Pavilions, and it exuded a warm family atmosphere. The staff were friendly, the pet dogs were friendly, and small children were sitting on wicker mats at one side
of the store.
I tried a batik shirt, but it didn’t work for me. As I’ve mentioned previously, it was incredibly hot, and I was perspiring more than I had the whole time we’d been in Indonesia. My shirt was saturated, and the change room was not entirely private (from the waist up). I decided against the shirt. We picked up a few gifts for family and friends back in Australia, then beelined to our villa. I couldn’t get into a cold shower fast enough. I favoured the luxurious outdoor shower at the back of our villa, while Ren favoured the indoor shower. Showering outdoors with the sun on your skin is a fantastic experience. I absolutely loved it.
We headed out for lunch in the mid-afternoon, then made our way back to the villa, picking up some drinks and crema along the way. After relaxing in the bath, we settled in the air-conditioned comfort of our open plan lounge and caught up on our travel notes.
We were planning to wake early (5am) on our final day and head to Sanur Beach to capture a classic Bali sunrise photograph. Rain had been forecast, but we were
hoping the clouds would hold off until the sun rose. Our fingers were very much crossed. Unfortunately, the heavens opened in the middle of the night. We had to jump out of bed and gather all of our shoes inside, which had been getting a well-earned airing since we’d arrived at The Pavilions. Some things are not meant to be.
Our Indonesian adventure was coming to an end. It was our final day, and our flight out of Denpasar was scheduled for 11:10pm. It afforded us a full day in Sanur. However, our villa checkout was 12pm, so we were in the unenviable position of not having a base between midday and midnight. However, we negotiated an extended checkout with the friendly reception staff, which allowed us to keep our villa until 8pm (for half the normal price). What a relief! It was a fantastic position to be in.
We spent the early morning organising our packs for the flight home to Australia. After breakfast, we headed into the intense midday heat to capture a few last-minute photographs. We wandered along Jalan Danau Tamblingan, then cut through an exclusive private resort and gated Hindu temple to get to
the beachfront. We retraced our well-worn steps along the promenade (which we’d walked many times over the last couple of days), passing old haunts that now felt so familiar. We even found time to drop into the Sindu Dwarawati Turtle Conservation tanks, which we’d walked past so many times. The heat on the promenade was searing, as there was no cooling wind blowing off the Badung Strait. It was debilitating.
We decided to retreat to our villa. We wandered back via a different route, passing some interesting shops and eateries along the way. We picked up a few gifts from The Pavilions’ reception shop, then beelined for our villa. My shirt was once again saturated with perspiration. I walked straight into the outdoor shower, then cooled with a large Bintang beer while I scribbled a few notes. Ren had a quick nap. The heat, coupled with our residual chestiness, had started to catch up on us.
Lowlights …Recovering from sickness on holiday …
After a reasonable night’s sleep, we were feeling better. My sore throat was waning, and my raspy voice and heavy chest had all but disappeared. I was still coughing, as was Ren, but we’d improved.
The cold & flu tablets we’d purchased from a nearby chemist were finally working.
SHE SAID... Our last full day in
Sanur was upon us. We’d slept reasonably well for two sickies, and even though we were both up at 6am, it was so pleasant lazing around our comfortable villa until breakfast was delivered at 8:30am. We were required to order our breakfast the day before (a very Bali thing), and we could choose a main dish, juice and tea or coffee (to complement the standard inclusions of fruit, jam, toast and pastries). This time I’d chosen the farmer’s omelette with mushrooms and parmesan, and Andrew had ordered the homemade granola and yoghurt. Andrew changed his juice to pineapple, but all the other sides – fruit (pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe), toast, jams (pineapple and dragon fruit) and pastries (chocolate croissant and escargot) – were exactly the same as the day before.
Even though Andrew preferred the granola dish he’d ordered the morning before, my choice of omelette was significantly better than the banana pancakes I’d had. Andrew didn’t have a ‘birthday incident’ to recover from, so breakfast was a much quieter affair. The breakfasts hadn’t been
brilliant, and coupled with their small portion sizes, it was probably the only not-nice thing I had to say about The Pavilions.
We again booked a resort shuttle car to get to the beach. This time we requested to be dropped off at the northern point of Segara Beach, and we aimed to walk 2 or 3km southwards along the beach promenade. We’d taken very few photos the previous two days, and we wanted to record beach life with its restaurants, warungs, bars and sun beds etc. My favourite part of the beach was around and south of the Patal Temple. From this point onwards it was a lot quieter, and the promenade curved so you couldn’t see the horrible construction sites further north of the beach.
On every previous walk along the beach promenade, we’d always find ourselves chuckling at the tourists posing on a particularly picturesque beach swing. On this trip the area near the swing was surprisingly empty, so I just had to give it a go… but much to Andrew’s disappointment, I wouldn’t do any of the typical Instagram poses. 😄
There was barely any wind compared to the near-gale that had been
blowing the day before. And even though the still day made some parts of the beach quite lovely, it also made the heat almost unbearable when we were in direct sunlight. Our plan was to walk as far south as the shaded lane we’d discovered on our first day, then walk back to our resort via the main road (Jalan Danau Tamblingan) and do some last-minute souvenir shopping.
On getting back to the main road, we first stopped at White Orchid for some cold drinks. An iced coffee for Andrew and an iced lemon tea for me were exactly what we needed for cold hydration and quick sugary energy. Despite the merciless sun, we managed to survey all the different types of trinket-filled shops on the street. In hindsight, I think what I thought was motivation to shop was actually us embracing the airconditioned shops as a respite from the sun. We walked for kilometres but we ended up buying everything we wanted in a shop just next to our resort! We were even able to pop back to our resort’s reception area to confirm that ‘cendana’ was indeed sandalwood incense before making our purchase.
On returning to
our villa, we revelled in a cold outside shower to wash off all the sweaty layers of sunscreen and beach sand we’d accumulated on our outing. After resting a while, we ventured out for lunch… stopping at reception on the way out to organise a late 8pm check-out for the next night. We had planned to go to Warung Coconut Tree for lunch, but the vibe of the staff felt a bit off, and nothing on the menu jumped out at either of us. So, we apologised and kept walking.
After looking at a couple more menus displayed outside eateries, we made it to Lilla Warung, which was on a small lane very close to our first hotel in Sanur. Even since we booked our trip, I’d been following a few Facebook dining groups in Sanur, and Lilla Warung consistently got good reviews. It was a nice-looking quiet place, made all the nicer for being away from the dusty main road. Andrew ordered the Balinese yellow chicken curry, and it was superb. My plate of mixed satays (prawn, chicken and pork) on the other hand, got a mixed review. The prawn satays, chicken satays and the satay sauce were
all very delicious, but the pork satays were decidedly very un-delicious. Even though Bali is renounced for its pork dishes, our experiences had been between ok to unpleasant. My ultra strong Long Island iced tea cocktail more than made up for this pork satay blip though. 😊
We walked back to the resort via a Circle K minimart to get some drink and snack supplies, then settled in our comfortable villa for the rest of the day. After our nightly turn-down service (the gift was again a tube of incense), we had an early night.
Our Sanur days had fallen into a comfortable pattern – a long breakfast; head out to the beach; return to the villa for a shower and short rest; head out for a late lunch; and return to the villa to relax for the rest of the day. We are creatures of habit, and this routine enabled us to get the best of exploring the town and beach, but also allowed us to rest and enjoy our amazing villa to the fullest.
An aspect of the villa I had unexpectedly fallen in love with was the fish pond in our front courtyard. We
spent a lot of time at the porch table and I started realising that the fish reacted to our presence. I’ve never had fish as pets, and I’d never expected to be one of those people who watch fish (and talk to them!). Over our stay I got to know which one was the top fish in the pond and I also started recognising patterns in their behaviour. I never thought I’d say this… but I’d be open to a discussion about adding a fish pond to our old schoolhouse. 😊
It was another relatively early night, and we set our alarms for 5am. The plan was to walk to the beach for sunrise. Well, at about 3am we were woken by a very loud thunderstorm. After jumping out of bed and rushing around to bring in our shoes and other belongings from the two courtyards, we went back to bed without much hope of seeing a sunrise. After much deliberation and checking of the sky and weather Apps, at 5:30am we abandoned plans our sunrise adventure. Sanur Beach is famed for its sunrises, so we were a bit disappointed that we’d eft it until our last morning and
missed out…
Our flight home wasn’t until 11:10pm, but because we’d managed to get a late 8pm check-out, it didn’t really feel like a normal rushed travel day. We had a lazy morning packing and writing travel notes until our late breakfast arrived at 10:45am. Andrew had returned to his choice from our first breakfast (healthy breakfast bowl with granola, yoghurt, fresh fruit and coconut), while I had ordered shakshuka baked eggs with toast – which was delicious! We were slowly figuring out which things we liked on the menu, and it was funny that we had hit our winning formula on our very last morning. Even the fruit plate had much tastier fruit (dragon fruit, papaya and watermelon) than the preceding days.
We decided to venture out to the beach one more time, and this time we decided to look for an alternative route. We had been walking the same lanes and streets for almost four days, and the street vendors, taxi touts and massage women had begun to recognise our faces. One taxi driver made eye contact when we approached his corner and joked ‘just walking, just walking – I know now’. In laughing with him,
we decided to ask what the best shortcut to the beach was. He and his mates pointed to the nearest and plushest resort on the main street and said ‘walk through there’. We looked dubious, and they insisted that it would take us through to the Patal Temple on the beach.
We had previously attempted to enter the walled Patal Temple on our walks along the beach promenade, but the gate had looked locked. Even though we had our doubts, we were game to test the theory… so we put on our best ‘confident’ postures and walked past the resort’s boom gate. The security guard didn’t stop us and neither did the gardeners, so on we walked until we came to a large lawn that seemed to lead to the walled temple. Following the lead of a woman on a motorbike, we entered the temple through a small gate.
The Patal Temple was every bit as atmospheric as it had seemed from the beach, with carved doorways connecting the quiet and tranquil courtyards and shrines that rested under shady trees. We hurriedly took some photos before discreetly making our way towards the colossal old sacred tree that sat
majestically at the entrance. As the taxi driver had said, a small side gate seemed to have a chain around it, but it easily opened from the inside and admitted us onto the beach promenade. Even though I felt we’d been very cheeky in cutting through the temple, I also felt lucky to have (accidently) visited a temple we had been curious about since arriving in Sanur.
We’d walked past the Turtle Conservation sanctuary many times, but hadn’t stepped foot inside yet. It was a small enclosure with a few tanks containing rescued turtles. We read a few information panels and observed the turtles swimming around their tanks. It was interesting to see their amazing shell markings so close-up, and it also didn’t take long to figure out which were the big grumpy turtles and which smaller ones had learnt to keep out of their way.
We meandered into the Sindhu Market, but realised very quickly that there was nothing in the handful of open stalls that interested us. We finally found a street that took us back to the main road, and for the last time we walked back to our villa under the mercilessly hot Sanur
sun.
I had postponed our resort’s complimentary ‘Welcome Foot Bath and Massage’ to this afternoon. I thought it would nicely fill in time while we waited to leave for the airport as well as relax me for the flight. However, when it came to it, I opted to relax in our villa rather than go out again. It was a good call – my afternoon nap felt so good!
We were both feeling marginally better than the previous days, but we had certainly not recovered yet. When doing our final packing checks, we made sure we had an ample supply of cold & flu tablets to get us through our two flights home.
Our stay at The Pavilions had been seriously amazing, and I really loved that Andrew got to celebrate his birthday with a feet-in-the-sand seafood meal on a tropical beach. However, neither of us felt even the slightest draw to return to Sanur or this part of southern Bali. If we do return, I guess it will be a quick transit through to other parts of Bali or Indonesia.
Next we catch one medium and one short-haul flight back home! We will write again from our plane seats and the odd airport lounge.
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Chris L
non-member comment
Idyllic setting
Without your descriptions of intense heat and noise, one could well assume this was a perfect idyllic escape in the perfect setting.