Day 258: Rice Terrace Trekking — Moving to Jess and Josh’s House in Pererenan — Sunset and Dinner on the Beach
Margaret left at 7:30 for a hike in the rice paddies. Nyoman drove her there and took some pics.
It was a bit touristy at first but she said most were there for instagram shots and it cleared out as she walked further. At the end she stopped at Tis for a coffee. She said it was lovely and the pictures confirm it.
I did a 25 minute body-weight workout on the balcony.
Willa, James and I wore our bathing suits to breakfast and then checked out both Sri Bungalows pools — adding to our massive and growing Swim Locations List from this year. That list actually grew by *four* today.
As we were packing up I had a good chat with Pedro, our Aussie travel agent partner for Australia and Indonesia. After coming into Sri Bungalows not knowing what to expect, I asked for a better understanding of the accommodations at each stop in the coming weeks — what’s more rustic and budget, what’s more luxurious, etc. Talking to him got me excited for what we have ahead of us in this part of the world.
We left Sri Bungalows and walked to lunch at Clear Cafe. This place was highly recommended by Margaret’s work friend Amanda. The requirement to remove shoes before entering, the bamboo-heavy design, and the woo-woo feel good vibes were quintessential Bali.
I wanted to order the entire menu. We got nachos with cashew cheese, a spicy blackened fish and pineapple wrap, quesadillas, gazpacho, and fresh juices. Everything was delicious.
Nyoman picked us up at Clear Cafe and we drove the hour or so to Jess and Josh’s villa in Pererenan Beach. It’s a beachy, breezy, all-white 3-floored house with a large yard and a pool about two blocks from the beach.
We got comfortable, swam in the pool (#3), played with Noah’s legos and kicked the soccer ball. Margaret tested out her new bathing suit bottom. A successful purchase IMHO.
Later in the afternoon we walked down to the beach.
Such a great sunset scene down there. It was low tide, so kids (and dogs) could run around the mossy rocks and ankle deep pools (#4). There were legit surfers in a lineup down the beach a bit and beginners getting lessons on long boards on the beach breaks.
We took a *ton* of pictures — too many to post here. Note to future self reading this post: check the Google Photos gallery for Sept 20 for guaranteed smiles and fond memories.
As we walked south towards Conggu Beach things were definitely busier. There are a bunch of little surf shack / bar / bbq joints and a couple “unst-unst” beach club restaurants for a more fancy crowd.
If you keep going on this strip of beach it you get to the parts of Bali that have been completely overrun by tourists. Jess and Josh have seen the tourist invasion rolling down the beach even in the months that they’ve been here.
We’ve come to learn that Bali is to the Aussies what Cancun or Cabo is to Americans. Super accessible, great weather, tourist infrastructure and comfortable because everyone else is doing it.
We grabbed ocean facing seats at one of the shacks, the Barack Durga Beach Cafe.
The kids stayed in the sand while Margaret and I ordered drinks. She had G&Ts. My mojito was shit (stupid, high-risk order) so I switched to Bintang for round two.
We ordered a couple dinners plus some edamame, making the kids small combo plates out of what we had. We called them away from a bonfire gathering down on the beach. They ate their edamame with black-sand coated hands.
We strolled home in the dark.
James and I were sleeping downstairs in one bed and Willa and Margaret headed up to the second floor.
We decided on this arrangement because the house was different from any other place we’ve stayed this year. We’ve done AirBnbs, but always in city apartments. This place doesn’t have AC — it’s designed to just have the huge, nearly floor to ceiling windows wide open so the ocean breeze can flow through. So if you are downstairs, you basically feel like you’re outside — cool, but too exposed for the kids by themselves. The second floor bedroom is a bit more secure but the stairs getting up and down are a bit treacherous. James and I went to sleep listening to the crickets and the geckos, hanging out and searching for bugs both inside and outside the house.
MISC:
On the way to the beach James saw this sign for Beer and Pizza restaurant and asked, “Coffee plus watermelon equals love?”
A new O’s hat has been acquired. Lobsy will bring it to Sydney.
