Living in Bali offers certain advantages including proximity to the beach. Not being a beach goer, my tan is the same as it was back in England, but having access to the fresh air is a pleasant thing. This morning Ika told me the tide was high and the waves seemed big. Investigating a while later it was true, the beach had mostly disappeared and the tide was way in. The predictions of stormy weather didn’t materialize although it is overcast.
In Indonesian the word for beach is pantai, the most famous beach being Pantai Kuta. As you get further up the coast, the amount of beach side development and beach activity drops off dramatically. In Seminyak in front of La Lucciola / Pura Petitenget, you’ll get wandering salesmen selling watches and kites, but other than that its just expats walking their dog and resort tourists lounging in front of their hotel.
As I was taking the photo, the guy with the umbrella had to scoot up the slope as a swell charged in. So easy to get swept away if you’re not careful. Most surf shops handout free tide-charts, which will give you the schedule for the upcoming couple of weeks. For early morning beach runs you want the tide out (low tide) so the beach is wide and flat. There are little estuaries that cross the beach in Legian / Seminyak (I won’t say what comes out of some of them) and at low tide you can skip across them without getting your ankles wet. At high tide you’ll be knee deep, so I wear sandals.
Favourite places in Seminyak to enjoy a beach-side breakfast / lunch include KuDeTa (nice breakfast selection for 70,000rp) and La Lucciola.
For people staying in Seminyak hotels, a pleasant morning walk might be to stroll along the beach from Jl. Oberoi to Jl. Dhyana Pura, then head towards Jl. Seminyak and around to Jl. Oberoi. You’d get the fresh air of the beach and the interesting sights on the street. The loop will take about an hour. Best done a dawn as the temperature climbs fast.
