Bali beaches and the tacky temporary tattoo

(part 3)

Tulamben Beach

Ever seen a ship wreck? This is the place, especially if you dive. It’s only 25 minutes of driving westward from Amed. It’s known for the USS Liberty ship wreck which sank in the 1960s and fortunately took no lives. It’s sinking deeper and deeper now, and it’s about 20 meters from shore. You might wanna check this out for more details http://www.bidp-balidiving.com/eng/location-tulamben-liberty-wreck/ .

Visitors are not allowed diving and snorkeling at Tulamben without hiring a guide. After negotiating, we got a deal with a guide named Made. Each of us had to pay about Rp 30,000 for his service, Rp 50,000 for a life-jacket rent, and Rp 10,000 for a snorkel rent. That is after we haggled off the offered price. Then Made went swimming with us to the shipwreck spot which wasn’t visible from the beach. (They most probably would charge you foreign visitors more than they charged us, but they’re also usually looking for more than just business; they like to befriended with you lot. Especially when you love to party at the beach…!)

The water was crystal clear, the clearest sea water I’ve ever seen, it was breathtaking. And literally I was also almost out of breath because 20 meters felt so far away, added to all the energy I’ve put out while snorkeling in Amed. But Mumun was the champion, she didn’t need no life jacket, she was swimming like a healthy fish, after all the driving all night and day long. I started to doubt if she’s really a human, she might be partly fish. Teehee.. 

The shipwreck was waaaay down in the water, about maybe 10 meters below us, visited closely by divers. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed because I expected something huge right in my face as how my friend Indra, back in Jakarta, had described his own experience when snorkeling at the exact same spot. Here’s where subjectivity and exaggeration take important roles in story telling :P

Done snorkeling for an hour, we rested a while on the beach. I uttered my astonishment on how clear the water is, and how big the size of the fishes are (well, nothing beats the fish size that Mumun has seen at Bunaken, North Sulawesi). Too bad the fishes aren’t so diverse. Made said that if you wanna see more diversity, you should go diving and get closer to the shipwreck. Well, lucky you, divers! (Made said diving apparels are for rent there for US $30.) 

Lovina Beach

Our friend Edo was coming to join us in the trip. Our meeting point was at Lovina beach, northwest part of the island. We drove the whole 1,5 hours to Lovina. It was easy to navigate, just take the main road all the way. 

To reach Lovina beach, we had to go through Singaraja town. It’s the old Bali capital in the Dutch colony era. It’s quiet and doesn’t seem to have many interesting things going on except the beach. 

Lovina is most known as the beach to spot dolphins. Just hire a boat (and the boatman, of course) in the very early morning for about Rp 150,000 and wait for the dolphins to show. Unfortunately we were there in the afternoon, plus it was drizzling, and we were too tired to go for dolphins anyway. 

As soon as we met Edo, we had our late lunch at Warung BU, on Jalan Lovina Raya (also known as Jalan Seririt Singaraja), more or less 500 meters from the gate to Lovina beach area. My Rp 26,500 was really worth the fried rice + pepes tuna + hot tea.

Then, satisfying our need for some rest and relaxing time, we decided to just hang around and have some drink at one of the cafes by the beach called Illy Cafe. I was curious how arak tastes like, and so I ordered a glass of arak mixed with honey, which cost Rp 12,000. It was.. warm inside my throat and tummy, and really fit the cool weather :)

Coffees there cost Rp 25,000, liquor coffee Rp 50,000, Aqua (the most notable bottled mineral water brand) Rp 6,000.

Before it got too dark, we decided to take off and back to the south.

Kerobokan – where we stayed

This is where we stayed. Room rent was only Rp 100,000 for a week (!), thanks to Bondy. He lives at a rent room whose owner also owns another building of rent rooms next to Bondy’s. 

The location is near Kerobokan Jail, Kerobokan. It’s only a few minutes of driving or motor riding from Legian or Seminyak, two other shopping and beach spots. There’s not really much to see at Kerobokan, though. There are mostly just regular houses and small shops.

Seminyak and Legian, temporary tattoo

You want shopping? Seminyak and Legian streets have rows and rows of stores selling clothes, jewelries, footwear, surfing apparels, even dog’s accessories. 

Tattoo parlors, car and motorcycles rentals, cafes and some hotels are also easy to find in these areas. 

The Seminyak beach is where I got my temporary tattoo for Rp 30,000. It was unfortunately kinda smeared because of my sweaty skin after biking. So you better be all dry when getting a temporary tattoo and about an hour after. 

This kind of service is available at other beaches as well.