Bali - Sanur and Tulamben

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The flights from Thailand went without a hitch - just a slight panic at customs when we realised we had bought more tobacco in Thailand than was allowed into Bali and were just hoping we could get it through customs!! Visas in hand and all through customs we ventured out to find our driver. We have booked into a hotel as the only backpacker places are in Kuta and we don’t really want to go there as it sounds a lot like Phuket is in Thailand so unfortunately that means upping the luxury and staying in a hotel - which luckily do airport transfers as its 9.30 PM when we land and having no money and no clue where we are this seems like a good idea!!

Safely in our hotel, Prima Cottages, we are shown to our room and straight to sleep as its now gone 11pm. Breakfast is included in the price of our room but there is no way either one of us can lift our heads from the pillows before 10am when they finish serving breakfast. Eventually we crawl out of bed around lunchtime and go for a wander around the streets of Sanur to get some money as we have no Indonesia Rupee on us. We found lots of ATMs but the three we tried refused to give us any money and just kept giving us the card back so a little panicked we phoned are bank - which when using skype is quite a palaver - who eventually told us there was nothing wrong with the card it must be the ATM. So off we head again, this time in the opposite direction to see if we can find another ATM. We eventually do and after trying both cards a few more times Marks eventually works and we manage to get some money out - Relief!! So finally off for dinner and a new beer called Bintang. After a few tasters we decided its not as nice as Chang but will do for now1

I had been in contact with a guy who was trying to build a special needs school in Bali as such a thing does not exist in Bali but unfortunately one of his financial backers had to pull out so the construction had stopped but we decided to meet up anyway. He has got twin boys who are on the autistic spectrum (though not officially as you can’t get them assessed out here) who are high functioning especially where language and languages are concerned. So after chatting with Rich and his wife Hatra for the morning they invited us to go to the Turtle Conservation centre with them and the boys. They picked us up and took us to Serangan to see the turtles. First we stopped at an aquarium to see lots of different fish and Mark held a turtle. There’s no charge to get in just leave a donation for the running of it! We then moved onto the conservation centre. This had an area where you could hand feed the turtles fish, as well as a hatchery and then a nursery. There were turtles there that were just one day old!! These turtles are released back into the wild once they are big enough to survive (about 3 months old). They even have a holding pool which has live fish for them to catch instead of being fed bits of fish or dead ones they are taught to catch their own. This is done by putting younger ones in with an older turtle who can demonstrate what to do. The turtles are released on an island free from their natural predators so when they come back to lay eggs on the beach the conservation team can collect the eggs to hatch at the centre and restart the cycle. On the way back Hatra was telling me about a place called Jimbaran beach where there are seafood restaurants and the tables are actually on the beach. With that Rich and Hatra had a quick conversation in Indonesian and then asked if we wanted to go with them over the Jimbaran that evening for dinner - we just as quickly accepted their offer and they dropped us off at the hotel to get changed before picking us up and hour later. Jimbaran is about an hour away by car but we managed to find plenty to talk about. Once there it was easy to see why it was the best seafood place to eat. It is also the place where the second Bali bomb went off in 2003, but you wouldn’t know it now. All the fish, prawns, crabs etc were still live in tanks at the front and you went and ordered / choose what you wanted and then they cooked it how you wanted it before bringing it to the table along with rice and vegetables. A table on the beach where you could here the waves with a variety of fresh seafood and a cold beer was brilliant. Now, you are probably thinking the same as we were - that’s gonna be expensive. However, we were surprised and equally delighted to find that the total price for the meal was about £20!! That’s not £20 each - that TOTAL! Can’t get much better than that! It had been a great and unexpected day.

A relaxing day reading books and taking a dip in the hotel pool was just right as Hatra had arranged for a driver and car to take us on a tour around the South Peninsula the next day so we needed the break. We had been told to go to Uluwatu Temple and Dreamland beach as these were really good to see and then back to Jimbaran for sunset. Having been told to go to these places by locals we had high expectations. We were picked up by Ray at about 9.30am and headed off. We thought we were going to Uluwatu temple first but he told us we were going somewhere else first as he had been instructed by Hatra. Had we truly understood where we were going we probably would not have bothered. We arrived at our destination of the GWK Cultural Centre. It was 50,000 rupees teach to go in and I can truly say it wasn’t worth the journey or the entrance fee. There was very little cultural information and we both got bored during the ‘cultural show’. You could pay to go on the adventure sections - rock climbing, ATV trail, Segway trail or flying fox, or have your hair braided or nails painted for free - not sure what that has to do with Balinese culture though. So after enduring part of the dance show we headed for the exit and onto Uluwatu temple. We had been told that this was a very beautiful temple at the southern most tip of Bali. It is up a hill and does indeed sit on the very Southern tip of the island - literally at the edge of the cliff. You can’t actually go inside the temple as unlike Thailand, they have kept their temples for worship only. So you can walk around it, see the view and play with the monkeys - all of whom are cute but the one we found sound asleep in the tree was the best!!
After about a 15min walk up the hill and around the coast we went back to the car and onwards for lunch. This was at a brilliant place just around the coast called Blue Point. It is a surfers paradise and unsurprisingly the place consisted of a dozen surf shops and cafes built into the side of the cliff. We wondered down about half way to eat at one of the places overlooking the surfers. We spent most of the time gazing out at the surfers and watching some of them wipeout quite spectacularly!!
After lunch it was on to Dreamland beach - which according to Hatra and Rich is the best beach in Bali, so we were expecting a lot - we were very disappointed. You have pay 15,000 Rupees to park (just over £1) but its not worth it. A short breaking surf with very strong waves, though not long enough waves for body boarding. The sand is littered with rubbish and debris that the sea has washed in and the sand is a mixture of white and black sand making a very odd colour in places. There were also thousands of people around and only a few feet of beach! We had been planning on spending a couple of hours relaxing on the beach and playing in the waves but after about 30 minutes - which consisted of walking the length of the beach and back as well as stopping for two 5 minute sit downs, we headed back to the car and decided to call it a day so we went back to the hotel for a swim in the pool and a sunbathe on a lounger!! Overall a very disappointing day and I certainly wouldn’t recommend GWK cultural park or Dreamland beach.

We booked a taxi transfer across to Tulamben as there are very limited bus services and even more limited information on those services! The journey took just over 2 hours and this time we had Indonesia’s answer to Michael Schumacher!! It wasn’t my own safety I was worried about it was the numerace motorbikes that we looked ever so close to. The scenery was lovely so I kept looking out the side windows trying to avoid looking at where we were going. I have to say that the roads leave a lot to be desired and most they are still building so have massive potholes and ramps and you get diverted from one side of the road to the other quite frequently!!

Finally arriving in Tulamben early afternoon I definitely needed a Bintang to settle my nerves and get over the journey! We were going to have some food and then wander around Tulamben which is our usual sequence of events when we arrive somewhere new so that we can orientate ourselves. However, this was not necessary as Tulamben basically consists of one road that has several dive shops with restaurants and accommodation attached!! There is no ATM and the shops only sell a few drinks and cakes / fruits. I don’t mind being in a small place but its all expensive restaurants and nothing about it says traditional or cultural. I think Tulamben exists purely to service the diving community that come here, as the only thing to do in Tulamben is dive or snorkel - that’s it!!

I wanted to arrange to dive the following day so asked where I could book the dives. In answer I was asked when and where I would like to dive and how many I would like to do. I eventually settled on 8 AM dive at the USAT wreck in the morning and then would decide where for the second dive of the day. I had no idea who my guide was or what I needed to do except turn up at the dive shop (well more of a room) at 8 AM the following morning! I thought they would be flexible about the diving but this all seemed a little haphazard to say the least!!
After making Mark get up for an early breakfast, my guide came and found us in the restaurant. I then went to gather all the equipment that I had sorted out the night before. Feeling a little apprehensive about remembering how to assemble all the equipment I found that it wasn’t necessary as they do it all for you!! On the way to the dive he explained that his Cousin was getting married that afternoon so as it was a bit stormy and the visibility wouldn’t be that good, and after emphasising about the huge ceremony and celebration that was happening at his house, he asked if I would mind doing the second dive the day after!! Never one to ruin the party I agreed to spread the dives over two days. So the first and only dive of the day was at the USAT Liberty wreck. It was a WWII cargo ship that was sunk of the coast and is now a well known dive site. Luckily we are staying less than 30 metres away from it so at 8 AM there were only a few other divers around - apparently there can be as many as 50 divers at the site at high season!! It s hull sits only 3 metres from the surface and goes down to about 30 metres in depth. It is a huge ship with a lots of marine life around. I saw a large Barracuda as well as about 10 Bumphead Parrotfish the six of a small child!! On the way back in I also saw a green starfish!! I think I was more excited about seeing the starfish and the little fish than the big ones - much to Mark’s amusement. However, the dive didn’t start out well. In Thailand I had been diving without a wetsuit so because I was using one here I added an extra weight to compensate for the shorty wetsuit. However, this was obviously not enough as I couldn’t sink and had to be pulled to the bottom to add rocks to my BCD as extra weight. This was not a sensation that I enjoyed and had got myself a little panicked so I surfaced again to gain my composure before heading back under in a more controlled manner!! I spent the rest of the dive trying to constantly adjust my buoyancy as I just didn’t seem to be able to regulate the depth I was at!! But I eventually relaxed a little but it wasn’t the most comfortable dive I’d had so far.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the room and playing cards as it was dull and grey all day and threatened rain and storms for most of it.

The following day I had agreed on a 9 AM dive so slightly later breakfast - that I still made Mark get up for!! I went and met Wayan and after adding more weight to my belt I had a much better decent for this dive!! I decided to go to the coral garden as I like looking at the abundance of sea life rather than searching for the big fish! So a steady decent across the coral and down to 20 metres had me feeling really relaxed and was a much better start than the day before. Happily floating along Wayan suddenly points out into deeper into the water - I follow his outstretched arm to find a turtle munching on coral!! He was huge!! We floated there and rested on the bottom for at least 5 minutes just watching it and it never paid any attention to us - just carried on feeding!! I was happy that it wouldn’t have mattered if I didn’t see much after that! However, there is so much life in the coral garden that everywhere you look you see something different. I saw two different starfish, lots of anemone fish (including nemo), a moray eel, ribbon eels, a box fish hiding in tube coral, a mini lobster type creature and so many fish!!! So I can definitely say that this dive topped the wreck dive completely. While sitting in the restaurant I overheard someone else saying about the turtle - they’ve been diving about 60 years and that’s the first one they’ve seen - so I really felt privileged!!

The next couple of days were nothing but rain so we are very glad to be heading off to Lovina for Christmas.

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Photos

Monkeys at Uluwatu Temple
How cute!