Sanur and Tanah Lot | Bali - Life of a Passion

Exploring the beaches of Sanur, watching the Barong dance, and visiting Tanah Lot is already quite the adventure but the UNESCO rice fields of Jatiluwih are just breathtaking. Here is what I did in the South of Bali.

Sanur

Sanur is a place where you can enjoy yourself with a beach-day or where you can spend your day shopping or enjoying yourself a massage. This is the perfect place to start and end your vacation. Sleep that jetlag away at the pool or loosen those muscles in your legs at the local massage place. If you want to do a Balinese massage in Sanur, prices lie around 100.000 Rp. (1 hour). It’s also possible to do a foot massage or a pedicure and manicure.

The beach

The beach in Sanur is just 10 minutes away from the Jl. Danau Tamblingan street. Just ask a local for directions if you are lost (which is pretty impossible). When enjoying yourself at the beach, you’ll be able to see Nusa Penida if the weather allows it. There is also a path parallel to the beach, that allows you to walk around the shore of Sanur/

Fun fact: Tourists staying in Kuta are going to party all night long, tourists staying in Sanur are going to sleep all night long. Sanur is like a safe haven from noise.

temple at sanur beach in Bali, indonesia

Batubulan

Next to the Batubulan temple, is the Barong and Kris Dance theater. Several performances are played per day. Before entering the place, you get the storyline of the Barong Dance on paper. This way, you’ll be able to understand the story the dancers are trying to tell us. The Barong dance represents the eternal battle between good (the Barong) and evil (Rangda).

Tabanan

Tanah Lot is a temple upon a rock near the beach. It is also a holy place to honor water deities. We heard that the temple is at his most beautiful by sunset. The lights would give a holy vibe to the temple. Unfortunately, we visited the temple in the morning. It was low tide so we enjoyed ourselves a walk on the beach, but the water was rising rather quickly.

If you follow the path on your right, you’ll end up seeing the Pura Batu Bolong, another beautiful temple. You can find deserted beaches behind the Pura Batu Bolong.

Tip: Before entering the pathway that leads you to these two beautiful temples, you’ll first have to pass several shops. You can buy lots of fruit, sarongs, dresses, and cocktails. Some places are dirty, but it was overall clean.

water temple next to tanah lot in Bali, indonesia

Coffee break!

Time to take a toilet and coffee break! On our way to the Jatiluwih rice fields we held a break at a little cafe. The cafe let us taste 14 kinds of coffees and teas. We also bought ourselves a cup of Luwak Coffee.

The Luwak Coffee has established fame in the movie “The Bucket List”. The Luwak eats the ripe berries at night, digests the fruit and expels the beans, which farm people collect, wash, and roast. This coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, with retail prices reaching €550 / US$700 per kilogram. The prices in Bali are cheaper, thus we tried a cup of luwak coffee. Verdict? It didn’t taste like shit or coffee at all for me. It was a soft taste and quite pleasant to drink it.

UNESCO rice fields of Jatiluwih

In the north of Tabanan are the UNESCO paddy fields of Jatiluwih. These rice fields lie at an altitude of 700 meters and are spread over 20 km. Our guide took us for a walk amid these rice fields and showed us the different types of rice. You can have white, red or even black rice. You can cultivate rice in two ways: in a 3-month period or in a 6-month period.

Sad fact: Balinese people are putting their garbage on fire due to no waste recycling programs. You can even see smoke around the rice fields. Pity.

Fun fact: To preserve the large area, authorities do not allow hotels in the area anymore. Hotels that are nearby must follow rules. 30% of the ground can be occupied by buildings and the remaining 70% has to be left for nature, paddy fields or plantations.