A lot of people asked me: Why Bali? Great question, since I’m not exactly into beach vacations, nor am I into the whole Elizabeth Gilbert thing. Well, over the past year or so, two separate friends have spent extensive time there and both have told me — specifically me — that I had to go surf there. One is a fluke but two is a trusted recommendation right? So off to Bali for a month!
I was waiting for my friend to quit her job in New York and she finally did back in January. Bags packed, apartment ditched, belongings stowed away, she met me in Taipei and then we set off to Indonesia together. My main concern heading to Bali was the volcano situation but as it turned out, that potentially Bonnie situation wasn’t really a situation at all.
Nobody told me about the food though. But more on that later.
Our first stop, Canggu, is on the southwest coast of Bali, about a half hour from Ngurah Rai airport. A friend of a friend was already there and he said “It’s like Brooklyn.” And indeed, Canggu was like Brooklyn. Substitute all the hipsters for European travelers and there you have it. Needless to say, I didn’t really talk to many people, except to say hello to our hostel mates.
We stayed at an almost hostel, Swan House, and for $23 a night it was perfectly fine. I did little to no research about Bali beforehand so really knew nothing, except that I wanted to be as close to the beach as possible. (I didn't even know how far south Bali was from Taiwan!) I picked Batu Bolong beach for its non-reef breaks and we spent the first few days going to Old Man’s daily to surf -- so-called because the beachfront bar is called Old Man’s. The basic setup is this: rent a lounge from the locals for about seven bucks, grab a surfboard for $3.50 or so, and off into the waves.
As for night time activities, there was basically none. Canggu had some bars and music spots but the few that we took a look at were either not our speed — a lot of rock n roll — or mostly empty. Luigi’s, a red-and-white striped outdoor pizzeria, played excellent music both nights we were there, but the crowd either obnoxious or non-existent.
We did skip out to Seminyak on a Saturday night, trying to hunt down some hip hop. Seminyak is where the upscale restaurants and clubs are and I was told it was a must go We ended up setting in at La Favela — which has a strict “no locals” policy — but was beautifully verdant and at eleven the restaurant transformed into a raging dance party. We ended up staying until 2AM or so, but didn’t get a chance to look at any of the beachside stuff like Ku De Ta or Potato Head. To be honest, I wasn’t in Bali to party but the options exist I guess. Our theme song for the trip: Enrique's "Bailando," which we heard no less than three times in different contexts.
And so we come to the food. If you want cheap smoothie bowls and healthy green fare, it’s all here. "This would cost $15 in Williamsburg!" True. Our very first Canggu meal was at Crate Cafe, which we thought would be an aberration as the place was completely filled with Euros sipping on lattes and chowing down on avocado laden items. “Okay cool, we can do this out of the gate and then try the local stuff later.” Little did we know that the local stuff was hard as shit to find. Sure, there were plenty of warungs — casual outdoor restaurants — but that’s about it.
No street food, no in-between food, just mostly stuff I wasn’t there to eat. And even though the warungs featured Indonesian food, I suspect it was mostly tilted toward foreign taste buds and the fried rice (nasi goreng) and fried noodle (mie goreng) that were ubiquitous soon became groan inducing. Imagine a lot of Panda Express level fried noodle/rice over and over. Yeah, I’m good. Delicious dragonfruit and giant fruit platters though!
Basically, if you're looking to hipster out but in a tropical, third world setting that caters to your every need, Canggu is it. By the end of the week, we were ready to leave Canggu and its beachside paradise. Oh, I did wander into a tattoo shop and found this one local artist that I liked. If I had known I wasn’t going to hit the water again, I would've maybe tried to get a piece from them. Lots of tattoo shops in Canggu actually...
I was waiting for my friend to quit her job in New York and she finally did back in January. Bags packed, apartment ditched, belongings stowed away, she met me in Taipei and then we set off to Indonesia together. My main concern heading to Bali was the volcano situation but as it turned out, that potentially Bonnie situation wasn’t really a situation at all.
Nobody told me about the food though. But more on that later.
We stayed at an almost hostel, Swan House, and for $23 a night it was perfectly fine. I did little to no research about Bali beforehand so really knew nothing, except that I wanted to be as close to the beach as possible. (I didn't even know how far south Bali was from Taiwan!) I picked Batu Bolong beach for its non-reef breaks and we spent the first few days going to Old Man’s daily to surf -- so-called because the beachfront bar is called Old Man’s. The basic setup is this: rent a lounge from the locals for about seven bucks, grab a surfboard for $3.50 or so, and off into the waves.
Surf Review: I’ve never surfed in water so warm, and I spent two hours at time in the ocean without a rash guard and never got cold. The downside was that the waves were pretty tame this time of year and it was much weaker than I was accustomed to. I’d sit out on the glassy water and float around, hoping to catch a wave or two before heading in. As far as beginner conditions go, Batu Bolong would be hard to beat, but I was hoping for a little more oomph. By the end of our week, I had stopped surfing altogether as the conditions worsened or the winds picked up. Still, I got some fun waves in.Canggu isn’t that small but it’s also not large. Just two or three long streets with shops and eats, and we were right in-between the beach and the main areas, about a ten minute walk each way. Most people recommend renting scooters but K and I didn’t, for various reasons. Walking wasn’t tough and once in awhile we’d haggle with a taxi to get somewhere. Note: Haggling with a taxi is a necessary evil, as few taxis are on meters and drivers try to rip you off at every opportunity, as is their prerogative. Uber was mostly a no-go.
As for night time activities, there was basically none. Canggu had some bars and music spots but the few that we took a look at were either not our speed — a lot of rock n roll — or mostly empty. Luigi’s, a red-and-white striped outdoor pizzeria, played excellent music both nights we were there, but the crowd either obnoxious or non-existent.
We did skip out to Seminyak on a Saturday night, trying to hunt down some hip hop. Seminyak is where the upscale restaurants and clubs are and I was told it was a must go We ended up setting in at La Favela — which has a strict “no locals” policy — but was beautifully verdant and at eleven the restaurant transformed into a raging dance party. We ended up staying until 2AM or so, but didn’t get a chance to look at any of the beachside stuff like Ku De Ta or Potato Head. To be honest, I wasn’t in Bali to party but the options exist I guess. Our theme song for the trip: Enrique's "Bailando," which we heard no less than three times in different contexts.
And so we come to the food. If you want cheap smoothie bowls and healthy green fare, it’s all here. "This would cost $15 in Williamsburg!" True. Our very first Canggu meal was at Crate Cafe, which we thought would be an aberration as the place was completely filled with Euros sipping on lattes and chowing down on avocado laden items. “Okay cool, we can do this out of the gate and then try the local stuff later.” Little did we know that the local stuff was hard as shit to find. Sure, there were plenty of warungs — casual outdoor restaurants — but that’s about it.
No street food, no in-between food, just mostly stuff I wasn’t there to eat. And even though the warungs featured Indonesian food, I suspect it was mostly tilted toward foreign taste buds and the fried rice (nasi goreng) and fried noodle (mie goreng) that were ubiquitous soon became groan inducing. Imagine a lot of Panda Express level fried noodle/rice over and over. Yeah, I’m good. Delicious dragonfruit and giant fruit platters though!
Basically, if you're looking to hipster out but in a tropical, third world setting that caters to your every need, Canggu is it. By the end of the week, we were ready to leave Canggu and its beachside paradise. Oh, I did wander into a tattoo shop and found this one local artist that I liked. If I had known I wasn’t going to hit the water again, I would've maybe tried to get a piece from them. Lots of tattoo shops in Canggu actually...