Welcome to Sanur, our favourite city in Bali.
Thrice we've been to Bali, thrice we've checked into Sanur. We find it less touristy as compared to Kuta, Ubud or Seminyak.
It's less crowded and quieter. And the things are generally cheaper in Sanur. We were once quoted 120,000 rupiahs for a pair of sunglasses in Kuta. We told him we came from Sanur and knew the rate. He sold us the sunglasses for 40,000 rupiahs.
This time round, there was a new reason to love Sanur even more. Bicycles!
Cycling is very much encouraged in Sanur. The government built a cycling lane to encourage both locals and tourists to pedal their 2 wheelers. The lane stretches down the main parts of Sanur city and connects to a beach front cycle path that stretches for around 5km along the beach.
We arrived early before check in and wasted no time in hitting the road while we left our backpacks at the conceirge for safekeep.
La Taverna, our accommodation of choice this time round.
La Taverna has this rustic old world charm about herself. They used this wheelbarrow like thingy to transport our baggages. No buggys.
Here is our room. Interesting concept.
We liked the little cozy corner outside our room...
Brommies lined up...
It's not the biggest room but the architecture and theme is intricate and exotic. The whole feel is as of a cave, or a tavern, a la La Taverna.
The room could easily pass off as one of those cave type rooms in Europe. Here is the shower area.
To illustrate how low the toilet ceiling was.
Small antique writing table...
See this thing here...what do you think it's used for?
It's the lock to our room from the inside. No chains, no locks. Just a plain old piece of stick. It took me a while to come to terms with that. Just imagine...at night, only a piece of wood stands between you and the outside...
Make sure you insert it properly...
It's worth noting that there are NO televisions in all La Taverna rooms. So if you're a television kind of person, this is probably not the place for you.
However, if you're a beach kind of person, then do consider La Taverna. It's strategically situated in front of the beach. There is a private area in front reserved specially for guests of La Taverna. Do however be mentally prepared to be approached by touts for sea sports activities every other moment.
Apple and Buck, by the beach at sunset...
Less touristy, lower costs and pretty beaches aside, there is one more reason that keeps drawing us back to Sanur...which we will reveal in our next chapter... Stay tuned!
To read about the rest of our Bali adventure, click here
We interupt our sequence of Bali adventure entries with a recollection of Sunday morning's Kranji Countryside ride with the good folks from LCSG (lovecyclingsg).
Bollywood Veggies, a home grown organic farm founded and managed by Ivy Singh Lim and her husband, was top on the agenda.
A short ride from Kranji MRT station took us past Kranji Reservoir into the countryside towards Bollywood Veggies.There were parking lots available for bicycles.
I have to admit. The BV (Bollywood Veggies) concept is too cool. If anyone tells you that farms are passe or it's impossible to farm your own crops in Singapore, ask them to visit BV.
Set up a farm, live just next to it, grow your own food and at the same time educate and spread the green message. Now that's a way to retire in style! We like that!
Visitors are allowed time to walk through the farm which showcased countless types of flora.
What caught our attention were the many quirky yet inspirational signage located throughout the farm. The Eco-friendly, green message was evident for all to see.
"Let Nature be the Driver of the Future"
"Life's Good"
"Back to Nature is the Future."
"Gentle Woman or Gentle Man is a Genuine Person"
More green messages...
And a tribute to our Nation's birthday...
Ivy is ex-president for Netball Singapore and it was nice to see her passion for netball still evident in her farm...
Not often do you see scarecrows in Singapore...
It was like going back in time and felt like a class excursion as we walked through the farm on a guided tour.
Had no idea Aloe Vera could grow in our local climate...
The classic Papaya tree...
Overheard near this blue flower: "this is what you use in your Nonya rice dumplings. (Nonya Zhang)"
A huge gourd...
We love our chilli...
Cat's Whiskers!
We had breakfast at Poison Ivy, the in house cafe within Bollywood Veggies.
Western breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Some samosas to go along...
After BV, we headed down the road towards Hay Dairies, one of the last few standing goat milking farms in Singapore.
If you do make your way there, do try their fresh goat's milk. It's $2 for a small bottle, but the freshness is second to none. Must try!
After Hay dairies, we moved on to Lim Chu Kang jetty. The thing about joining the Sunday LCSG rides is that it brings you to places where you never knew existed. And more often than not, these are beautiful locations.
I would never in a million years imagine myself at Lim Chu Kang jetty had not for Sunday's ride!
There's a wooden platform that you can walk on. Very picturesque.
It was an enjoyable and insightful ride. The terrain at Lim Chu Kang is worth mentioning though. Enroute the farm tours, there are a couple of rolling slopes.
We bade farewell with the pack after Lim Chu Kang jetty as we headed back towards Boon Lay. The long stretch of Lim Chu Kang road (rumored temporary runway) was quite a killer. I used to think that runways were supposed to be flat. It was on this fateful Sunday morning that we realized that it is not flat at all!
Do think twice before trying to ride along this seemingly never ending, perpetually inclining stretch under the scorching rays of the 12 noon sun.
We know we certainly will!
Our riding journey continued from Denpasar to Seminyak. The sun was getting stronger as we approached noon. The weather in Bali at this time of the year is pretty much similar with that of Singapore. Hot.
However, the sights and sounds of the unfamiliar yet scenic surroundings made it a lot easier to keep going. During one of our detours, we chanced upon this rice field on the way back to our Villa in Seminyak.
Rice fields were part of the scenic landscapes that we were hoping to see during our trip and we were very pleased with our first encounter.
Cattle sightings along the streets of Bali were common.
We came across this interesting petrol station. Well, more like a top up counter. Notice how they store their petrol in Absolut Vodka bottles!
To savour can never be complete without good food and in Seminyak, we found the best satay we've ever eaten. 10,000 rupiahs (SGD1.40) for 10 sticks, a ketupat and some wicked spicy sauce to go along. It was pure heaven on sticks.
No frills, charcoal grilled. You should be able to find her on evenings at the corner of the beach in Seminyak, less than 1km past Kudeta.
The meat is lean and non-fatty. The satay sauce is less peanuty unlike the ones we have back home. And it's actually spicy, ideal for all the chilli fanatics. It was so good, we didn't even ask what meat it was...
This is what we call Life's simple pleasure.
That concluded our first day in Bali. The ride both ways took about 25-30km. Riding indeed brings a whole new perspective in exploring Bali and we're glad to be a part of this exciting adventure. Next up, off to Sanur we go!
To read about the rest of our Bali adventure, click here
