Sunset here in Bali is usually around 6.30pm, give or take. My friend Richard from Australia, a musican who will be doing music tours in Bali, invited me to watch the sunset with him.
Blue Ocean Beach at the end of Jl. Double Six, is where most people flock to around 5pm. Okay, they also flock to KuDeTa, but prices are steeper. To park at Blue Ocean Beach, at any time of the day, will cost a motorbike 1,000rp, more for a car. Hitting motorists up for money is a trick that the British government has been pulling for decades. Now the Balinese are stepping it up. It bugs me really, as they add no extra value to the experience of coming to the beach, except forcing me to stop and waste time. I really hope Bali doesn’t turn into a big turnstyle, and can see the real possibility of that happening.
Richard and I ordered a juice at Blue Ocean, myself the Thirst Quencher (carrot and lemon for 9,000rp). It was very good, as are all their juices. Right after that we jumped down onto the beach to get ‘closer to nature’. The sunset scene at Blue Ocean is interesting, there is a lot going on, and a pair of sunglasses allows you to check out all the action.
Basically, the bars / restaurants are the most comfortable places to watch sunset. Nice chairs, music, waitstaff, menu…who could ask for more? The beach scene though, is a hive of activity, being viewed from the bars / restaurants. The beach has many small drink shacks, with ‘friendly locals’ (Bali boys selling everything you can imagine, such as carvings, bows and arrows, paintings etc. and girls trying to meet that next longtern boyfriend). We sat at a drinks place run by a Balinese guy that had only 1 other Balinese fellow sitting there. Richard got into negotiating for carvings, including 2 coconut lampshades, and 2 carved cigarette dispensers. I stayed completely out of it, not interested at all. I have to say, prices really drop, when you chat for a while and say you’re not interested.
For sure there is an Earthy feeling, about sitting on a simple wooden bench on the sand, and watching the sunset. Single guys in Bali for a vacation, be advised this is a good place to meet women. For people out here to enjoy the creature comforts, you might be better off in Zanzibar, Blue Ocean, or anyone of the other great beachside places on Blue Ocean Beach.
Today the sun was an orange ball, which made its final decent at top speed. Here on the equator, the sun can be high in the sky 2 hours before sunset, then drop rapidly as the time gets nearer. As I screwed my tripod on, the sun lost about 25% of its size to the ocean.
