Boat out to surf Serengan island Flagging down a Bemo
In this blog post I’m going to tell you a little bit about my life in Bali. What my day to day life is like.
Where I live:
I live in a place called Sanur. Sanur is on the East side of Bali and is quiet compared to the main tourist places like Kuta and Cunggu. It’s great though because my house is down a little lane way (called a gang) off the main road in Sanur, Jalan Tamblingan. My gang is only 100 metres long but it is a thriving, interesting community and I love it. As you walk down it you notice a warung (tiny local shop) that sells freshly cooked street food. Lots of Bali families live in little compounds in my gang and it is always full of happy children, adults sitting and chatting and cats and dogs. Opposite my gate is another warung that makes hand woven offerings for the gods and ceremonies. If you see my story on the ABC’s Behind The News (fairy story) you will see my gang and the families that live in it.
I love our house. It has a beautiful Balinese garden with fish pond and waterfall, lots of orchids and bonsai trees. And we have a pool. My room is lovely with a big bed and net and a big balinese bathroom. Our house is full of Balinese statues and lots of carvings. It was decorated by our landlord who is one of the owners of the Tangjing Sari Hotel, one of Sanur’s famous Hotels.
2 minutes walk from my house there is a 5km board walk that goes along the beach and I like to run along there in the afternoon when it is not too hot.
Also the main street is full of restaurants, cafes, shops and hotels so I have lots of fun with friends shopping, eating ice-cream, riding the bemo’s and eating right on the beach at one of the little warungs.
School:
Everyday I catch a bus to school, the Australian International School in Kuta, at 7am and I’m the only one on it. It comes right to my front door, down my narrow gang. My school is one hr away on a good day without traffic and some days 2 hrs. In my grade there are 10 kids including me. It’s a small school and the only one in Bali that does the Australian curriculum.
To get into my school we have to stop at a security gate and be checked. At the moment there is a terrorist alert that ISIS want to hurt an Australian teacher so the guards are being very careful to check everyone who wants to get in.
In the school yard there is a small temple. This is so Indonesians can go pray and they think it will help keep the school safe.
Food:
When I first arrived in Bali I wasn’t too sure about the food. To me it looked strange and smelt different and I was really worried about food poisoning. But that has all changed and I love street food. The night markets are 5 minutes away from me in a bemo (which I will be talking about shortly). During the day the market sells fresh fruit, vegetables and meats but at night time the car park is filled with little local food stalls and they sell really yummy freshly cooked street food. I was worried about eating local food and my local Australian GP said we had to be careful. But now I eat there at least 3 times a week and it only costs $1 for a huge plate of food.
Transportation:
The way you get around Bali is on either a motor bike or car! Or if you are a tourist you can hire a car and driver for about $30 for the whole day. However by favourite way is by Bemo, a very local taxi van. In Sanur they are old, rusty green vans that drive past every few minutes. They will even do a U turn in the narrow main street to come and pick you up. Bemo’s will take you anywhere around Sanur for 5000 rupiah (50c) They are driven by local Balinese and you will meet lots of interesting people in a bemo.
They look like kombi vans but don’t fall out the door, haha.
Things I like to do in Bali:
Surfing. Going in small boat with a friend to Serengan Island, being dropped by the boat then picked up 1 hour later. I also like surfing in Kuta
Walking down the main street of Sanur. There is so much to explore and do
Running with the Hash House Harriers and on the Sanur board walk
Hanging out in Sanur with friends, eating at warungs on the beach, its safe so you can go off on your own
Browsing & bargaining in all the little shops that line the main street, kilometres of them
Snorkelling and spending the weekends at Amed
Riding on the Bemo’s
Eating at the little warungs on the beach and my favourite, the night market for great street food
Going places like the Rock Bar and seeing the rest of the island
Seeing the way Balinese live and learning about their culture
I will write more about all these things in future blogs.
In this blog post I’m going to tell you a little bit about my life in Bali. What my day to day life is like.
Where I live:
I live in a place called Sanur. Sanur is on the East side of Bali and is quiet compared to the main tourist places like Kuta and Cunggu. It’s great though because my house is down a little lane way (called a gang) off the main road in Sanur, Jalan Tamblingan. My gang is only 100 metres long but it is a thriving, interesting community and I love it. As you walk down it you notice a warung (tiny local shop) that sells freshly cooked street food. Lots of Bali families live in little compounds in my gang and it is always full of happy children, adults sitting and chatting and cats and dogs. Opposite my gate is another warung that makes hand woven offerings for the gods and ceremonies. If you see my story on the ABC’s Behind The News (fairy story) you will see my gang and the families that live in it.
I love our house. It has a beautiful Balinese garden with fish pond and waterfall, lots of orchids and bonsai trees. And we have a pool. My room is lovely with a big bed and net and a big balinese bathroom. Our house is full of Balinese statues and lots of carvings. It was decorated by our landlord who is one of the owners of the Tangjing Sari Hotel, one of Sanur’s famous Hotels.
2 minutes walk from my house there is a 5km board walk that goes along the beach and I like to run along there in the afternoon when it is not too hot.
Also the main street is full of restaurants, cafes, shops and hotels so I have lots of fun with friends shopping, eating ice-cream, riding the bemo’s and eating right on the beach at one of the little warungs.
School:
Everyday I catch a bus to school, the Australian International School in Kuta, at 7am and I’m the only one on it. It comes right to my front door, down my narrow gang. My school is one hr away on a good day without traffic and some days 2 hrs. In my grade there are 10 kids including me. It’s a small school and the only one in Bali that does the Australian curriculum.
To get into my school we have to stop at a security gate and be checked. At the moment there is a terrorist alert that ISIS want to hurt an Australian teacher so the guards are being very careful to check everyone who wants to get in.
In the school yard there is a small temple. This is so Indonesians can go pray and they think it will help keep the school safe.
Food:
When I first arrived in Bali I wasn’t too sure about the food. To me it looked strange and smelt different and I was really worried about food poisoning. But that has all changed and I love street food. The night markets are 5 minutes away from me in a bemo (which I will be talking about shortly). During the day the market sells fresh fruit, vegetables and meats but at night time the car park is filled with little local food stalls and they sell really yummy freshly cooked street food. I was worried about eating local food and my local Australian GP said we had to be careful. But now I eat there at least 3 times a week and it only costs $1 for a huge plate of food.
Transportation:
The way you get around Bali is on either a motor bike or car! Or if you are a tourist you can hire a car and driver for about $30 for the whole day. However by favourite way is by Bemo, a very local taxi van. In Sanur they are old, rusty green vans that drive past every few minutes. They will even do a U turn in the narrow main street to come and pick you up. Bemo’s will take you anywhere around Sanur for 5000 rupiah (50c) They are driven by local Balinese and you will meet lots of interesting people in a bemo.
They look like kombi vans but don’t fall out the door, haha.
Things I like to do in Bali:
Surfing. Going in small boat with a friend to Serengan Island, being dropped by the boat then picked up 1 hour later. I also like surfing in Kuta
Walking down the main street of Sanur. There is so much to explore and do
Running with the Hash House Harriers and on the Sanur board walk
Hanging out in Sanur with friends, eating at warungs on the beach, its safe so you can go off on your own
Browsing & bargaining in all the little shops that line the main street, kilometres of them
Snorkelling and spending the weekends at Amed
Riding on the Bemo’s
Eating at the little warungs on the beach and my favourite, the night market for great street food
Going places like the Rock Bar and seeing the rest of the island
Seeing the way Balinese live and learning about their culture
I will write more about all these things in future blogs.
