Bali Beaches ... Not Bitches

Pandawa Beach 

"Often referred to as the secret beach"- located in Southern Bali 

(This is a panoramic view of the beach from the cliff top)

Pandawa is not too far from Jimbaran and can easily be reached by either car or scooter as the roads en route are in good condition, however there is not one single road sign pointing towards the direction of Pandawa, so it is advised to either have a map, GPS or simply ask a local. 

At the main entrance you have to pay a small fee for parking (less than one pound) from here it is about 5 mintues to the beach and it looks like this:

Pandawa was visually beautiful, however like any public setting it had both positive and negative    aspects....for example:

Positive:

1. Still very rural- Upon my visit it is obvious that large numbers of tourists and locals are visiting daily, which brings me to the conclusion that Pandawa Beach is not so "secret" anymore,  and in most cases beaches like Pandawa change dramatically due to business opportunities, (hotels,restaurants, highrise buildings etc) However i am happy to say it is still very rural, a lot of little shacks, owned by locals selling,  drinks, snacks and both Indonesian and western food charging a little bit above normal, but still cheap if you compare it to the GBP. 

^ This is an example of one of the shacks, it is popular to eat roasted corn and drink young coconuts.

Around 4pm onwards when the tide is out you get to see the locals setting up there fishing equipment which is interesting.  

2. Local paradise- For me there is nothing better than knowing you are live in the action by sharing your experience with the locals, i think there is a sense of knowing "Its not the guide book tourist trap" and there is always that thought, "well if locals come here, then it must be ok"

-Nobody likes the feeling of being ripped off. 

^ Heres a picture of some of the locals

3. Good condition- Like any beach it faces factors, such as 

- foot fall

- pollution 

- littering

- natural disaster

However it is good condtion and there are locals working at the beach who clear up the rubbish.

Negative:

1. Crowded-  Especially on a weekend it is over run by locals gathering in groups of about 10+ very noisey and all fully clothed.

^ If you look in the distance behind the couple you can see the locals.

2. Over priced- This may seem crazy, it is cheap for the GBP but for me cause im living here i want to spend as little as possible, but as soon as i arrived i was hassled into buying a bed then a coconut, but the man was nice about it so i just thought why not, but before i had chance to explore i had already spent about three pound!

3. Single White female- If you look similar to a milk bottle then i would totally avoid this place on a weekend because its literally like throwing a juicy steak into a lions pit. It was that bad i couldnt take my   clothes off cause i felt that uncomfortable, at first its its quite sweet cause to them we are so different , light skin, light eyes , red lips and freckles but after the 5th person asking for a photograph it's quite embarrassing, this stems from teens to grown adults. 

Pants off , he means business 

^ After this, i had to move from my bed to the other end of the beach to avoid people and i was able to relax. 

Beach selfie 

Milk bottle??

4.High tide (for most of the day)- if you plan to visit i would recommend arriving for around 1pm as the tide is slowly going out, before this time the current is far to strong to swim in or relax.

5. Poor dogs- stray dogs, just hanging around causing no harm

Poor thing, look at his expression 

6.Limited toilet access- Now we all know having a pee in the sea is the law , but if you need anything other than a pee I strongly recommend that you use the public toilets provided, there is a small payment of around 9p each time, (please note it is not the nicest toilet).

Until next time, 

"Nature, Cheaper than Therapy"

- Unknown 

  

WELCOME TO BALI

As some of you may know I have left Liverpool once again in search of another adventure and I choose Bali because I have never ventured to to that part of the world before. However this time my adventure isn't so glamorous. I will be working full time, This is good for me to improve my skills, knowledge and experience but who likes to work ?. It would be perfect if I just had a unlimited money supply and time to travel the world non-stop but I have to stop dreaming and get my head down. This time for me it was quite hard leaving Liverpool because I felt for once , everything was running smooth, I had my family around me I felt so happy, healthy and had the best friends in the world and I met someone I liked. The only thing that was wrong was my job I hated it so when the job offer from Bali came along and it was so hard to pass up the opportunity and I know deep down if I had of turned it down I would live to regret it.

(Waving goodbye at the airport- April 2014)

So I am currently living the life of an "Expat" which means (A person taking up residency in another country).

My home : 

I rent a little room for about £130 per month , it's so nice owned by a little family with a new puppy called Lilly and nice neighbours , it's not too far from shops and work. I also rent a scooter too so it's easy to get from place to place.

(My room )

About Bali:

Bali is an island and province of Indonesia, and includes a few smaller neighbouring islands. It is location at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Java to the west and Lombok to the east, and has its capital of Denpasar at the southern part of the island. With a population of 3,890,757. Bali is also the largest tourism destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture , painting, leather, metalworking, and music. A tourist haven for decades, the province has seen further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.  (source. Repat pleno 25 May 2013)

Imagine the map of Bali the shape of a chicken..

Well my location is the feet..

So as you can see there is a lot of Bali to explore. 

My Job:

I am currently on a 6 month management trainee internship programme working for an amazing 5* hotel resort, however it does have its difficulties, one of them- the language barrier resulting in bad communication with staff resulting in mistakes being made, however  the more time i spend with them the more we are able to understand each other and i do make mistakes but that is part of the learning process, i realise i fucked up , i fix it then it doesn't happen again haha. But overall i am embracing my time here and  i am having a blast. learning and meeting new people nearly everyday and starting good friendships with staff and of course how could i forget the beautiful views:

(Me working hard) 

(My view from work)

Until next time,

"KEEP GOING, You'll get there, every moment is your opportunity to add a little more value to your future"

- Unknown