|
SANUR BEACH
Save
for a few scattered villas owned by lords
and heiresses, during the thirties Sanur
beach was left in seclusion. Pandy's Art
Gallery was then an aquarium and coffee
shop. Tandjung Sari was a solitary temple
on the cape, and Hotel Bali Beach had
not neared its conception. The only surviving
home of those times is that of the Belgian
painter Le Mayeur, who moved to Bali in
1 932 and lived there for 26 years. The
house, with its statued gardens, luxuriant
gold and crimson carvings, and Le Mayeur's
own paintings is now cared for by his widow,
Ni Polok, once a renowned Legong dancer
and famed beauty-the ideal Balinese of his
paintings. On his death Le Mayeur willed
the house to the Indonesian Government.
A guidebook is available. The house is situated
close by the Hotel Bali Beach.
By
the fifties, the first cluster of bungalows
was built as a small hotel. The villagers
were amazed that someone would want to settle
by the ocean, as beaches were traditionally
shunned by the Balinese because of spirits.
Yet Sanur continued to attract an international
elite and today is a prominent luxury resort
area in the Far East.
The
Hotel Bali Beach, a Soekarno-era project,
was opened in 1 966. While the Hotel Bali
Beach expanded into a new wing and bungalows
(called the Bali Seaside Cottage), more
than 30 hotels opened their doors up and
down the beach.
 When the Hotel Bali Beach first opened,
and even to this day, it was a source of wonder
to the Balinese. They came from all over the
island to set eyes upon what, to the modern
world, were everyday matters-skyhigh rooms,
running water, electricity and elevators.
The Bali Hyatt and Sanur Beach are
the next largest hotels. The building boom
reached its peak for a PATA Conference in
1974 when hotels at Sanur alone provided about
1,600 rooms. A new, open highway now links
Sanur to Denpasar and Nusa Dua. The volume
of traffic to the Bukit Peninsula has increased
since more luxury hotels opened at Nusa Dua
resort in 1982.
 A wise government
regulation that forbids buildings taller than
a coconut palm has allowed Sanur to retain
much of its village character. The luxuriant
vegetation soon covers building scars, and
moss transforms a new stone wall. The regulation
encouraged the growth of bungalow-style hotels
based on the style hotels based on the Baiinese
norm of many small buildings within the one-house
compound. The hotels of Sanur are all comfortable
and elegant. The bungalow-style hotels are
popular with tourists who enjoy the peace
of garden settings.
 Built along the
beach, the hotels of Sanur are ideal in the
early morning, for the coast there faces the
sun rising over Nusa Penida. On the clearest
days, Lombok's Rinjani voicano floats distantly
above its collar of clouds, with Baii's own
Gunung Agung closer by. Elegant triangular
sails of fishing prahus glide on the
calm sea. These boats are called jukungs
and there are many for hire for trips
along the shore. At low tide, the waters recede
leaving great swathes of sand and coral that
stretch for hundreds of meters to the reef,
It is then that villagers wander among tidepools
to collect coral, which they burn nearby to
make building lime. At night, fishermen wade
by torchlight to catch shrimp and small bait.
Sanur is famous, too, for its magic, because
of the many B rahmana families that live there
and its proximity to the sea. Its farmers
are reputed to grow the most delicious rice
in Bali, formerly reserved for the tables
of kings.
It
is easy to spend a day around Sanur: lazing
by the pool-side, walking on the beach,
or following paths through the surrounding
hamlets, rice fields and coconut groves.
You can take a look at the coral pyramid
in the sea temple or the old pillar inscription
at Belanjong. In the evening the choices
are several. Relax on the beach (especially
around the full moon) or on the porch of
a bungalow. Wander down to the beach market
and try the local food stalls. Watch a dance
or drama (your hotel can tell you when they
are on) Or if it is action you are looking
for, there are night clubs at the three
largest hotels |
