A chorus of roosters woke me up this morning. It was still dark outside so I went back to sleep again and woke up around 8 A.M.
Last night, Marieke told me that there was a couple staying in the other room.
When I woke up and still lying on my bed, I could hear them talking. Suddenly I felt nervous. I didn’t have the confidence to greet people, especially strangers, early in the morning, before I had the chance to brush my teeth and take a shower. So I sort of hide in my bedroom until I couldn’t hear them talking anymore. Then, I went out to go to the bathroom. It turned out that they were taking a bath and so I met them in front of the bathroom…..he…he..he…so much for the hiding action….I got caught at last.
After taking a bath and donning some make up on my face, I met them again in front of our rooms. I started painting my finger nails – something that I wanted to do since the week before but never got the chance to do it – and listening to Marieke spoke to the couple. At first it was a bit awkward but after a while we were talking smoothly. The couple (well….I didn’t really catch their names….I guess….it was Martha & Mark…..but…..I probably wrong here….sorry for that guys….) came from Holland too. Both are in their 20s, I guess. They came to Bali about a month before and it was their first time visiting Bali.
Martha was doing most of the talking with me and Mark looked a bit shy but maybe he’s just the quiet type of guy. I learned that Martha was taking a Criminology major. Wow…..none of my friends studied that……and I asked her why she chose that subject to study. She said, she had experience working with criminals while she was a social worker and she wanted to help them to be a better person. Wow again….
By the time I was about doing the second layer of paint on my finger nails, Joost came home. My first impression of him was…..a friendly guy…..he shouted out Hello to me even before his motorbike machine went off. He’s tall..a bit taller than Marieke (and a lot taller than me of course)..he had a mass of blond curly hair..and for a surfer, he looked thin and pale.
He told me that they had been in Bali for 9 month. He inherited (if I may say so) the Ombak Bagus home stay from his friend who lived in Bali for 4 years before he went to another place. From him I learned the reason why young people like him & Marieke wanted to live in such a quiet & remote area like Canggu. It’s because of their love for surfing & Canggu beach is one of the well-known beaches for surfers.
So, I decided that I wanted to see the beach for myself.
I know it’s a bit of a walk from Ombak Bagus to Canggu beach. I recalled that in one of the reviews about the inn, somebody wrote that it took a while to get there but I didn’t remember precisely how long was the walk. So I set off to walk to the beach.
Marieke already gave me the map of the area and the way to the beach…..but you know…..women can’t read maps….so…I did take a wrong turn….luckily I had enough sense in me to ask for the direction….otherwise…I might never see the beach and reached the Kapal area instead (no….I don’t know what’s famous in that area….because….I’ve never heard any information about that area before).
It was around 10 A.M. when I started my journey to the beach. The weather was a bit cloudy. As Pak Wayan told me last night, it had been months since the last rain dropped in Bali. I hoped it won’t decide to visit suddenly then. But, some water dropped that morning. I wouldn’t called it a rain since it lasted for only 2 minutes and didn’t do a very good job in wetting the street. I did stopped though during that water fall, at a church. I was a bit surprise to see a Catholic church there because the majority of population in Bali are Hindu people. Here are some pictures of the church exterior:



I couldn’t see the interior yet because at the time I was there, the caretaker of the church was sleeping soundly in front of the television. He didn’t hear my call and the bell at the door was broken.
So I continued my walk to the beach.
After about an hour or so, I finally arrived in the…..no….not the beach yet……intersection. Straight ahead was the road to the beach. To my left was the road to Tanah Lot and on my right side is the road to Denpasar. The rain cloud was already moved away and the sun proudly shone on me. I guess it was almost 30 degree but luckily, the wind occasionally dropped by so the walk was still bearable (at least for me) in that weather. I saw a convenient store across the street. I went there to buy water, snack and ice cream. It was the perfect weather to eat an ice cream…although….maybe….not the right place….because along the way, people stared at me a bit strangely (or… a bit envious for my ice cream?…he..he..he…).
The road seemed endless but after almost 2 hours, I finally heard the sound of the sea. I was so glad that I finally reached the beach. Yippieeee!!!!
I was so happy that I decided to make my friend jealous …he…he…he…evil me was unleashed…..so while eating Nasi Goreng for lunch at a warung by the beach, I sent sms to all of my closest friend and I enjoyed their envious remark….he..he..he…
I spent hours at the abandoned pura (temple) by the beach, taking pictures and singing…yes….I do like singing when nobody was around. Then, I got sleepy. I noticed that the sun still shone so proudly and I kind a discourage to walk under its scorching shine but I thought it was the better option than getting asleep at the abandoned pura so I walked along the shore. Taking more pictures.






At first, I wanted to catch the sunset there. But on second thought, if I did that, it would be dark halfway to the inn and I didn’t find the idea appealing. So I set off to walk back to the inn around 3 P.M.
Btw, nobody was surfing around the time I was at the beach. I guess it was too hot to do that or maybe the waves were not that good.
I was taking another road back to the inn. In the map that Marieke gave me, there was an intersection. One way leads to Tugu beach and the other to Canggu beach. I arrived at Tugu beach and then walk along the shore to Canggu beach. So I head way back from Canggu beach, following my instinct to lead me to the right way. Although I can’t read maps, I have a good sense of direction and of course, I can always ask for direction to the people in that area. Besides, I always choose to go home by different routes whenever I go to a new place. It is risky, but I like the adventure of going to unknown places. It’s not fun to see the same vista everyday….especially during holiday like this.
On the way back, I stopped by at the church again hoping there was somebody that I could ask to about the mass schedule. But nobody was there. I was amazed that the caretaker left the back door of the church unlocked and only shut the door to the house…..not locking it at all…..something that you will never find in Jakarta…..leaving your house unlocked will be like giving a present to the thieves.
The sun hasn’t set yet by the time I reached the inn neighbourhood. So I decided to take a walk to a nearby paddy field. Hoping to catch a good view there and this is what I saw that evening:


After 4 long hours of walk….I was drop dead tired…..but there’s something that I noticed….my feet…..they didn’t hurt at all……wow…..I was so impressed by how the right shoes could really take you anywhere. I have flat feet…..very flat….and about 2 months ago it was really hurt to walk. The hurt drove me to search for the right shoes, special shoes made for flat feet. I finally got the shoes and it was….still….is….the most expensive shoes I ever had….but after today….I was really glad that I bought that pair. Thank you Asics Gel Kayano 14!