Another day trip…wooo hooo!! February is starting to become a really fun month…Hope we keep this going!!
We made a quick stop to visit a friend in Canggu, which is approximately 20 minutes from Seminyak. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Seminyak, Canggu is a tranquil area for village life amidst the beautiful rice fields. You wake up and enjoy your cup of coffee (or milk, in my case) while admiring the views of the surrounding rice fields.
You can check out the surfers at Echo Beach and Berawa Beach. We were short on time so only went to Echo Beach. It seemed to be a quiet day as we didn’t see too many surfers. Or perhaps, was it still too early? The surfers may still be catching a few Zzzzz’s after a night of partying? Not quite sure how often I’ll be coming to build sand castles here, cuz the waves look pretty intense for me…
We then headed out towards Uluwatu to see the temple and more beaches. It was a very hot and sunny day so by the time we got to Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Uluwatu Temple), we needed to stop and fill up on liquids. As usual, milk for me, and whole coconuts for the adults…looks yummy! One day, I’ll get to taste one of those…maybe when my head will actually be bigger than the size of the coconut!
When we got to the entrance of the temple, of course we knew the drill by now. Pay the entrance fee, put on the sarong, make sure you meet the conditions for entering the temple (Refer to post ‘Day Trip – Ubud, Jatiluwih & Batukau’ for an example of the temple rules). Again, I had to wait outside, but luckily still got the inside scoop.
Apparently there are so many monkeys inside, when you first enter they have ‘bodyguards’ that offer their protection service. Mom apparently refused Pak Wayan’s offer to ‘scare the monkeys and give explanations of the temple’. She was willing to brave the visit without the ‘bodyguard’. First thing she did was take off all jewelry and sunglasses, put away the camera and all other things likely to provoke the monkeys, just like they recommended at the entrance. The funny thing is they warn you to beware of the fearless monkeys, but at the same time they sell you bananas to offer to them. So of course, if you show them a banana they’re gonna come running at you!! If you showed me a banana, I’d come crawling at you too, and crush it between my fingers right before your eyes (that’s my new Super Power)!
Mom’s friend found a large bamboo stick to scare the monkeys away. Looks like it is the ‘weapon’ of choice, as all the ‘bodyguards’ have a bamboo stick in hand. In the end, they had no incidents with any of the monkeys. The hillside view at the top is simply gorgeous and the water looks crystal clear even from up high.
Boy, it was extremely hot – it was time to hit the beaches!!
Two planned stops at Padang Padang Beach and Bingin Beach. We took the road along the west side to head back north and reached Padang Padang first, not with a little assistance by a Frenchman though! There are only a few signs indicating directions to the beach and often they’re just small hand-written signs, so you may wanna remove your shades and keep your eyes open.
After a small ride on a little dirt road, we arrive at what seemed like a parking to a local Warung (Small Indonesian food joint/stall). But as we got closer, we saw the staircase which led all the way down to the white sandy beach. I was scared to death going down, cuz mom did not feel too steady with her Havaianas flip-flops and the ‘stairs’ were quite narrow. At some point, we thought there was a ‘rope’ to grab onto for support, but it turned out to be a pipe, most likely to bring water down to the beach-front warungs. I was grabbing on tight, but we made it down safe and sound!! There weren’t too many surfers and only a couple of people sunbathing. So we pretty much had the beach to ourselves and took a dip in the clear turquoise water. Aaahhh…it felt good! Time to work on my tan too 🙂 The only thing I haven’t figured out is how to tan between my fold lines…
After a quick dip, we hit the road again to find Bingin Beach. We ask a local for directions and he tells us where to park and indicates that it’s a short walk straight past the parking. It looks kinda dodgy, we’re not sure this is the right spot. We ask another local, who points towards the same direction so we keep walking. Over a small wooden ‘bridge’ we go, past a field of cows, between some villa gardens, then through a narrow alley, then we hit a path with hand-made signs for different warungs and guest houses. We must be close! Going down these sets of stairs is again like a circus act, similar to the Padang Padang Beach. Mid-way down, we stop for a late lunch – mom needed the energy, her legs were getting wobbly! The warung is on the side of the cliff, so you get an amazing view while grabbing a bite to eat.
Then we go down for a dip. The water is clear and beautiful, but unfortunately the beach is not as nice as Padang Padang. This is truly a surfer’s beach. When we were there, the waves weren’t too high so there were no surfers 😦 The beach itself is rocky and not so great for sunbathers or people who can’t even walk yet, like me. I wish we could’ve stayed to watch the sunset, it must be beautiful, but we had to head back in time for me to hit the sheets. I’ve been exhausted lately with all the site-seeing and the days spent in the sun!
On the way back, we saw a whole bunch of tourist buses and mini-vans heading south towards Uluwatu…most likely heading to the Temple to catch the Kecak-Kecak dance at sunset. If you don’t mind the crowds, this might be a worthwhile activity to see at least once at sunset…
Little Sumo Girl 