Beaches in Candi Dasa

Candi Dasa used to have a good beach, but it washed away, because the locals destroyed the reef for lime. That is a well known story. There is however a bit of beach left, and I checked it out this weekend.

Between Senkidu to the west and Candi Dasa, there is a small section of beach. The main road runs very close to the shore in this part of Bali and its easy to stop and take a look. In the evenings, young Balinese like to park their bikes and chat here, its the local hangout scene.

The Lotus Restaurant has a nice little chunk of beach next to it, a low tide anyway. Lotus Restaurant is right there at the entrance to the Candi Dasa main street. At the far end of the main street, the road curves to the left and heads off into the boonies. If you keep going straight, you will drive down what feels like a quite lane, but one that is lined with small hotels. There is also a sign saying ‘The Beach’, which I followed. The sign directed me through a nice boutique hotel, staff saying ‘no problem’. At the pool overlooking the waters edge, at massage lady working for the hotel, asked if I wanted one. I told her I was ‘glee’ (spelling?) which means, ‘ticklish’.

Down on the beach a couple of kids played around. I hopped down onto the beach and jumped in the water, which was pleasant. The waves break here off of the reef, so it perfectly safe to swim. During my soak, a young Balinese approached and asked what my ‘program’ was. I tinkered with the idea of saying “Windows 95, but my brain needs an update.” Asking your program, is a sport in Candi Dasa, many people wanting to hook you up with a boat providing snorkeling. This guy quoted my 150,000rp for 1 hour. He also asked me where I was staying. When I said Flamboyant (= budget = I don’t have much money), he said “Okay I can make cheaper.” If I had of said “Amankila”, he would of probably offered me a ‘deluxe boat’ for just $50 an hour.

Riding to the very end of the beach and coming to a headland, I snapped a photo looking back.
Sections of white beach were around, with not too many people on them. Maybe next time I come to Candi Dasa, I’ll try one of the hotels in this part of town.