Sanur, Bali

You know how you just catch a vibe ?. well as soon as I arrived at my accommodation in Sanur, the first place that popped into my head was Byron Bay, NSW Australia. For those that haven't been there, think beachy/boho/laid-back/trendy with loads of delicious places to eat and atmosphere to burn.. with the usual Bali-ness you would expect, all mashed in. Loved it straight away 🤩 That said - Sanur is sort of split into a couple of parts - and I stayed at the southern end - the furthest from the harbour where the ferries 'to and fro' from the Nusas.

So after dropping my bags at Signature Hotel Sanur (signaturesanur.com) I did what has now become my routine in a new place, and set off for several miles on foot, to get the lay of the land.

I son found what would be my morning coffee stop for the next few days - The Bare Bottle Sanur - (turns out they have a 5-star rating on Trip Advisor, deservedly so), then made my way into the main area of Sanur and straight also found somewhere to sit down in the cool and be treated to the most delicious hot chicken salad - at a cafe called THE HIVE - SANUR - Restaurant (business.site) which sports a little side-gig called The Island Grocer - stocking things like kombucha, home-made granola, and bliss balls, as well as a beautiful range of natural skincare, candles, and essential oils.

After re-fueling I headed off through town and spotted the first place I've seen in Bali, that I would risk getting my hair coloured. I did my little 'inside happy dance' when I secured a next-day appointment, as I'm now entering week 8 post-colour and my roots are back with a vengeance!

Just around the corner, I discovered the beach so close, and after sneaking through the lobby of a fancy-schmancy hotel - boom!. a wide cobbled boardwalk that takes you the full length of the beautiful white sands of Sanur beach, lined with back to back beach clubs, infinity pools, deck chairs under the palms in the breeze, a super-safe swimming beach, and beyond the shore towards the reef there are a multitude of water activities for anyone feeling like they want some action, or back under the shady palms, you can rest your holiday bones and indulge in a 'beach massage' for up to an hour. If you can't find something to suit your holiday needs along this stretch of the Bali coastline, I'd wager that you're very hard to please.

At the end of the boardwalk, the sky was filled with the kites I have seen so many of, this time in Bali. It's clearly one of the most popular pass-times for locals and against a clear blue sky, they are quite mesmerising. My subsequent return past this spot on Sunday morning, revealed it to be a bustling market/hub for the locals, where they gather with their entire families to swim, eat breakfast and indulge their passion for the kites

Back at my hotel I jumped into the crystal blue pool, and to my delight, I had the place to myself. After cooling down I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone, and actively seek some company for dinner on Saturday night - via the 'Single Ladies in Bali' Facebook Page. There are just so many places here that look like they'd be amazing at night, and although I am perfectly happy on my own 99% of the time, I'm feeling like some company here.

So my 3 days in Sanur turned out to be some of the best so far on this trip. My time was spent clocking up the most serious amount of km's on my walking app to date, cooling off in the pool in the afternoons, indulging in a sublime 2 hour full body massage and facial treatment - (for just $44 hard-earned NZD's!), a root-revival with a stylist so good, I gave the salon a 5-star rave on Google reviews (thanks again Glo Day Spa and Salon Bali | (glospabali.com) !) and my first night out to dinner with company - thanks to a Brazilian lady named Maisa - who jumped at my plea on the FB group page. We found a great place with a live musician (turns out there are many here in Sanur) - and it was the first chance I'd had to get dressed up - (make-up and all!) - so it felt good.. and the swish 'do made me feel even better.

Even though I've been nourishing my bod with healthy-af fuel this entire trip, it seems that as well as the record number of km's I clocked up while here, I may have overdone it with the fruit and raw veg on this occasion. So on my last zen-journaling session for this leg, I expressed my sincere gratitude to the exceptionally clean bathroom I found inside an unoccupied eating establishment, with about 10-seconds' notice, when making it all the way back to my hotel was not an option.

Sanur - I will definitely see you again. And I would like to bring friends.

(R.I.P. to the bathroom at the Brazilian Aussie BBQ joint😬)

Stuff I ate in Sanur...

Sanur sights...