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