Blast from the past

As soon as I stepped out of Denpasar airport, the smell hit me, transporting me back 32 years.

I was eighteen and I’d just arrived in Bali for a two week holiday. I was travelling with my friend Jess en route to a working holiday in Australia. The start of six amazing months.  We were staying in a traditional walled compound near Legian Beach, sharing it with a large extended family and an assortment of chickens, dogs and cows.  As soon as we stepped out of the room, there was that smell. I soon realised it was the smell of the myriad of daily offerings which are left in tiny baskets of woven palm – on the streets, on the steps, in the houses, on shrines and in temples.

These offerings are made every day to give thanks and appease the various Hindu gods and demons. It is the smell of incense and frangipani flowers. To me it is the smell of excitement and possibility as I stood on the brink of my first adventure.

First stop, Canggu

We have just under a month in Bali this time, and plan to move around and see different parts of the island. Our first stop is Canggu, an area best known for its incredible surf and its laidback, surfer vibe.

Back in 1985, Canggu would didn’t even feature on the tourist map, and was principally given over to agriculture. It is in the West of Bali, north of the busiest area of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak where I stayed last time. It is now developing rapidly with lots of cool new places to stay and eat popping up every day.

I’d booked us into a one bedroom apartment in Echo Beach Villas, a five minute walk from Echo Beach, one of the beaches which make up the Canggu area. We were delighted to find that the place was overbooked, so we’d been ‘upgraded’ to a two bedroom house with a private pool for the first couple of nights. A stunning place which I’d recommend to anyone coming here. It’s a contemporary place, but they’ve borrowed from traditional Balinese architecture so that the living area and bathrooms are largely outside. The owners have made a real effort to be eco friendly, with recycled wood, and various schemes to conserve power and water. Breakfast of fresh fruit, bread and coffee is brought to your accommodation every morning.

Shabby chic

As soon as we’d settled into our new home, we decided to head out and look at the beach. First impressions? To be honest, not great. It is the rainy season in Bali right now and the sky was grey and cloudy and so was the sea.  Unfortunately the massive waves had thrown a lot of rubbish onto the beach. The beach was edged with a wall of corrugated iron which was covered in graffiti. Admittedly some of it was quite good but nothing to rival Banksy. All in all, I thought it looked more ‘shabby’ than ‘chic’.

Old man

However, we returned the next morning when the sun was out and I began to see its charms. There’s some stylish little surf shacks selling cocktails and coffee and some incredible restaurants, including one called ‘Breeze’ which looked a bit like the Popeye’s village in ‘Popeye’ the movie, with wooden treehouses on stilts and in the centre of it all, a swimming pool. We walked along from Echo Beach to Batu Balong, the next beach along. There were some incredible waves and the water was full of surfers. We stopped at a well known surfing hangout called ‘Old Man’. Not sure why it’s called ‘Old Man’ –  it was full of young surf dudes – and Dave, of course!  We drank fresh juice and ate Nasi Goreng and Gado Gado. Indonesian food is delicious, and generally good value, although not as goood as it used to be. Oh dear. You know you’re getting old when you say things are not as good as they used to be…