In Bali, you can do water sport pretty much anywhere since the island has numerous beaches. But, the one beach that provides you all kinds of water sports is Pantai Tanjung Benoa. The beach is located in Nusa Dua, 40 kilometers away from the capital city of Bali.
Unlike any other beaches in Bali, where you can usually spend your money on getting your nails painted and hair braided, you can spend some Rupiah to do sports at Pantai Tanjung Benoa. Banana Boat, Scuba Diving, Surfing, Seawalker - you name it! - are available and the price of each activity varies, starting from Rp100.000,00.
I went for the parasailing, since it's the only water sport I have been dying to try. Each round consisted of you soaring in a circuit for two minutes, and it was worth a hundred Rupiah. I didn't know parasailing would be this expensive. Dad was very kind for buying me two rounds. I ended up flying for five minutes for Rp200.000,00 because of the crew's generosity. I wonder what made them give us this valuable time discount.
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| That's me flying! |
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| The line for parasailing was not that long |
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| Up up and away! |
It was eleven in the afternoon when we finished our acitivity, but the scorching sun made it feel like as if it was two o'clock. Lunch time was still an hour away, but we decided to drive casually in search of a nice restaurant to dine in at. We headed to Pantai Kuta, another popular beach in Bali, and it seemed that the people outside our car was heading the same direction with us.
In just five minutes, we spotted a nice place to eat and parked the car immediately. No, it was not a restaurant, nor it was a cafe, but merely a humble and small
warung on the roadside. You see,
warung is Indonesian for a small family-owned shop. Here, you will most likely find powder drink sachets, traditional snacks and crackers, and bunch of other knick knacks. But, this particular
warung had something that I have never found in any kind of
warung before, which is Nasi Campur Bali.
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| Your choice of instant thirst quencher |
The owner of the
warung came out and offered us food and drink. We immediately ordered three plates of meal, consisted of rice and every side dishes available that day. There were more than five kinds of side dishes - Hallelujah, praise the Lord! - and all of them were pork. Pork Broth,
Satai Ikan, Gorengan Babi, Spicy Pork,
Kerupuk Kulit Babi, Urap, Ayam Balado, Sambal Goreng Tahu were the ones that accompanied the rice.
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| The wife of the warung owner |
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| Scooping side dishes onto the plate |
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| Yum, look at them food calling out, "Eat me. Eat me." |
While we wait for our lunch to be served, we chatted with the owner. He built the
warung so that he can earn some extra money for his family. His boss own a particular hectares of land and told him to take care of it. "Since it was merely hectares of nothing, I decided to built up this
warung and start my own business. That way, I'm doing what my boss told me to do - which is taking care of his property - and I'm earning additional salary for my wife and kids," he said while doing some tricks with his dog. Smart man.
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| Woof! |
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| The legendary puppy dog pout |
After a while, the wife of the warung owner finally served our lunch. My plate was decorated with numerous kinds of side dishes. All I could see was bits of fried pork, chicken, fish, and other unidentified object - I didn't know which was which. So, I just ate it.
The thing about Nasi Campur Bali is that it is always hot and spicy. Always. As a person who can't handle peppery dish, it tormented me. I love Nasi Campur so much - with all its' combination of flavors; savory, sweet, salty, and peppery - but on the other hand, it will always give me a hard time in the loo.
My favorite side dish was the Gorengan Babi, or leftover-pork-skin-meat-and-fat fritters. As unhealthy as this food may sound, it tasted beyond delicious and very addictive- savory, slightly oily, porky, and crunchy.
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| Nasi Campur Bali |
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| Lunch is served! |
Our lunch came with a bowl of soup, consisted of pork meat, fried onions, and some diced carrots. It tasted very delicious, very savory and rich in flavor. At the bottom of the bowl was where you can find them pork meat and diced carrots. Mom and Dad loved it so much. As for me, I sticked with my Gorengan Babi instead.
We finished our lunch and we bid goodbye to the sweet and friendly warung owner. It's a shame I didn't get to know their names and the exact location of their warung. People ought to try eating at their humble shop, as it was very cozy, home-like, and simply enjoyable.
We continued driving to
Pantai Kuta to spend our afternoon at. The blazing sun was excruciating. Tourist were in bikinis, putting on their sunglasses and beach hat to protect them from the cruel ultraviolet that the sun emitted. It was one o'clock sharp when we arrived at the beach. We immediately rent us some seats and ordered cold beverage. And by cold beverage, I meant cold beers.
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| Beer in the afternoon? No problem. |
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| Your choice of cold beverage |
I don't do beers because I think it tasted bitter, fizzy, and absolutely far from being delightful. I got myself a couple bottles of cold tea and simply enjoy the sweet sugary sensation of the drink. While Mom and Dad leisure around with their beers and cigars, I took my camera and went down to the sea and shoot some pictures.
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| Kuta Beach, Bali |
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| Time to relax |
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| Got your surf board? |
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| The beach was filled with girls in bikini |
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| Tanned skin |
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| Another surfer spotted |
Panai Kuta will always be filled with people. There will be those who are in their bikinis getting sun-tan, and those surfers with their surfboard and funky wet hair, and those who are being chased by nail artisans and hair braiders who go, "Miss! Braid your hair, Miss! Very beautiful! Paint your nails! Only 80 Ribu, very beautiful!".
Don't mind the crowd, just enjoy the beach.
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