Riding to the Secret Beach with Sharmila in Bali

BootsnAll is a great way to meet travelers and help other people when they are on the road.

Having recently returned from Bangkok I was fortunate enough to meet up Sharmila from Los Angeles who was looking for me in Internet Outpost. She was born in Nepal and is on her way back there for several months to live with relatives in Kathmandu. Being a photo-journalist this is an excellent opportunity to really access the local scene and also get re-acquainted.

Sharmila is in town for just a few days and wanted to get out of Kuta to explore the island so I suggested we take a day trip down to the Bukit peninsula to check out the famous surfing spot Ulu Watu and take a swim on the �Secret Beach’.

I met Sharmila at her hotel on Jalan Benesari about 10.30am and after getting her sorted out with the reception staff we took off at about 11am. The ride down to the Bukit is easy and after a few switch backs heading to the big roundabout at Simpang Siur we were on our way to Nusa Dua. The highway gets you to the Bukit in about 20 minutes and we took the right turn to Ulu Watu, riding over the hill and finding smaller less trafficked roads. My �bebek’ (duck) handled quite well up the hills considering it had to carry 2 of us and some gear.

A motorbike is such a great way to explore Bali, quick, cheap and totally flexible.

Arriving at the overlook at Ulu Watu We sat at one of the little shops and drank a juice. I saw Peanut, the lady I talked to before and she convinced Sharmila that karma would be improved if she bought her a Sprite. Looking over the cliff we saw a surfer treading carefully over the coral to get to the deeper water where he could paddle out to the breaks. Ulu Watu has 5 breaks, the biggest being The Peak.

A group of Brasilians congregated on the cliff top and had their photos taken with the ladies making offerings. The ladies would laugh and whoop every time this would happen.

After a hour or so of chatting and watching the surfing we decided to take a trip to the Secret Beach I had visited before. Of course there are no secret places in Bali, the locals know full well where these places are but its nice to pretend. What I liked about the beach was that it seemed un-spoilt and had no other people.

We took the tiny road which was very bumpy down to Pura Masuka and hiked down the cliff for about 15 minutes, the views were lovely and we noticed that 2 other couples were already on the beach. �Did you think you’d be the only ones here?� said an Australian lady. I did but I’m not adverse to sharing.

The sky was slightly overcast and the tide was out, but anyway Sharmila and I got into our swimming gear and splashed around for a while. I practiced the �legs only backstroke’ that Sean had taught me and Sharmila said this was a perfect place to be. After 20 minutes the sun came out and really lit up the place. Rock pools were abundant further along the beach and it was a wonderfully relaxing thing to swim and paddle in the clear water.

Sharmila has a little plastic figure she calls Gordon and photo’s him everywhere on her travels. For this trip she positioned him on her beach towel and snapped him with the sand in the background.

One piece of travel equipment I strongly encourage everyone to get is a sarong. We both had one and you can use it as a wrap, ground sheet, towel, you name it. It dries super quick too.

The salt water has carved out hollows in the rock structures on the beach and these provide shady over hangs for whiteys like me. Sharmila was working on getting nicely toasted. We talked about her career as a photo-journalist and she would love to have her own travel show. I suggested getting a digital video camera and practicing doing her own stuff, maybe an inspired independent journalist might attract the attention of a larger company.

As the shadows got longer we noticed our conversations were all about food and agreed it was time to depart this lovely spot.

We rode back to Kuta in no time and I suggested the bargain basement Bamboo Corner. It was great. Sharmila had a chicken dish with vegetables and rice while I had sirloin steak for 14,000rp ( $1.70).

I dropped her off on Benesari and said goodbye. Sharmila is heading to Kintamani today for hiking and to check out Mt. Batur. Hope to see her again on the last night maybe.

Great to meet travelers and lend a helping hand.