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While I came to Bali in search of many important elements of life, indulging in the more tourist like activities were pretty low on my priority list, but the girls and myself included were craving to go to the beach on an all day excursion. Kuta Beach was actually closer to our apartment and was where we had first thought of going, but then we had Pandawa Beach recommended to us by our new found friends in the neighborhood, which is located on the southern most tip of the Island of Bali.
We packed what we had, most importantly for me, being white as a ghost, some SPF 70 sunblock, our water resistant, ass kickin’ blu-tooth speaker to have some great tunes for our day, a beach towel, and a few snacks for the girls.
We decided to get there by GoCar, which is a mode of transportation similar to Uber, via the GoJek App. Our ride there was close to forty-five minutes long, as it seemed to be quite a haul from our apartment, and there was even a toll bridge on the way. I should importantly note that since this trip, we no longer use GoJek at all, and if we ever need a car, we much prefer a Grab Car, which is another company similar to Uber or GoJek, operating here in Bali Indonesia. We quickly and from experience, found their drivers to be plentiful, timely, efficient and professional, whereas GoJek was frequently canceling on us, which quickly became annoying and just too unreliable. On a side note, being from The United States, I am extremely accustomed to tipping well, even when I’m poor, and the Grab Car drivers who are braving the intense Indonesian traffic for you for a fraction of what a regular taxi would hustle you for, deserve a little something extra on top of their stated fee on the app. Please take care of these guys and gals when you have the means to do so.
As we got very close to arriving at Pandawa Beach, there were rows of Indonesia flags on the side of the road, left over from Indonesia’s Independence Day which is August 17th. The video associated with this blog was taken in September, so it kind of reminds me back home in The United States how some people’s Christmas decorations end up staying visible, well into the new year that follows. Then it was a winding road coming down the side of a cliff to drive down to the parking area at the beach. When you do get to the bottom and then look back up to the road that you just came down, that is one of the wonderful sites of going to this beach. Check out the video to see what I am talking about, because of course, I was having so much fun taking video, that I forgot to grab a simple picture to insert here. Haha!
When you arrive on the beach, there are rows of merchants, selling everything from snacks and drinks, to cooked food, to clothing, to souvenirs, and yes, even renting out lounge chairs and umbrellas, as well as canoes, should you wish to venture out far into the water, paddling yourself in pretty bitchin’ little boat. Be aware that the prices for everything here are tourist prices. Don’t expect to pay for your favorite bottle of iced tea, the same that you’d pay the local merchant in your neighborhood. Easily triple that price, no matter the item. Keep this in mind if you ever go to Pandawa Beach. While still affordable to many people who have the money to travel and see the world, such as places as wonderful as Bali, this is not an issue, but my goal here is to spend as much time living in Bali as I possibly can, and do that by stretching every dollar that I saved to embark of this crazy adventure of life. We did however, indulge by securing ourselves a slot of two lounge chairs with a large umbrella and a table in between (for a negotiated three hours) for about 40,000 rupiah, which was well worth it, as we setup our space to relax and soak in the beauty of the experience, and not to mention even jamming great tunes from our little speaker without bothering anyone too close to us.
The water is clear, and this is a feature about a beach that I’ve always found so very fascinating in this life, especially having grown up in The San Francisco Bay Area, where all along the coast, there is no clear water beach to be found at all. My brain automatically associates clear water on a beach with some sort of island paradise, so this was a fitting observation to make for the effort that we put into this day of adventure. The water is also plenty warm enough to swim in, freely, without a wet suit, as is all the ocean water that surrounds the entire island of Bali. One small but notable complaint for someone like myself who isn’t the barefoot type, is that the sand as you walk out into the water is very rough on your feet, and I must have jammed a hundred sharp little pebbles into the bottoms of my feet before it finally clicked just to go put my sandals on to take in the water with me. I think this is just me though, seeing as how everyone else had no problem with this rough sand at all.
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The kids and I absolutely loved to play in the water, which I indulged in plenty of times between relaxing at our rented space and soaking in our perfectly accompanying tunes. After we were all finished swimming for the day, there is a free shower (as you can see in the video) to wash the salt water off, which we all used, and then changed back into our clothes that we would wear back to the apartment. I can say from this day long excursion that Pandawa Beach didn’t blow my mind, but it certainly didn’t disappoint either. It was a great day, and one of many that will always be with me now in memory, from my time living on the island of Bali Indonesia.
I should note that when we finally got everything packed up and ready to look for a GoCar to get us home, we had at least four drivers accept our request, and then shortly thereafter cancel on us. We suspected this was due to the length of the ride back to our apartment in Denpasar, but either way, we were beginning to wonder if we might be stuck taking a ripoff taxi to a more convenient pick-up point. This is when we discovered Grab Car, and the very first Grab Car driver that accepted our request actually showed up, even from about ten minutes away, and from the hassle it takes to drive down that cliff and get into the parking area of this beach, we were now sold on always using Grab Car over GoCar (Gojek) for the rest of our time in Bali. The prices on average seem to be only just a tiny bit higher, but when were talking about merely a couple thousand rupiah, which amounts to twenty cents back home, then the difference in price is well worth the higher quality and reliability of service. And need I remind you again to please tip them if you can?
I hope that you took something from this blog and video about my trip to Pandawa Beach, and should you decide to visit there, I wish you a wonderful day! I’d also love to here of your experience, or even answer any question that you might have in the comment section of the video or of this blog. And if you enjoyed this read and/or the video of Pandawa beach, please give an up vote. Thank you for checking out my trip to Pandawa Beach.
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