Visiting Padangbai SE Bali

Padangbai on the SE coast used to be a sleepy fishing village until it was discovered by tourists. I visited the town in 1993 with my friend Mark as part of our trip through Bali, Java and Sumatra. Back then it was had a decent amount of travellers passing through and I remember sharing a dorm room floor with other people from Europe and Australia.

From my house in Seminyak I took Jalan Raya Kerobokan to Denpasar and from there on to Gianyar and Klungkung before dropping down to the coast and Padangbai. It was a lovely sunny day and as usual I made sure I wore my pollution mask because those big trucks put out some nasty fumes.

The ride takes roughly 3 hours depending on how fast you ride. Of course as a tourist starting out in Kuta you can a Purama bus.

As the route neared the coast traffic eased and I passed fertile fields. Along the way I stopped and bought a small watermelon from these folks. There were a lot of watermelon vendors camped along the same road taking shade and hoping for business. We did the usual ‘where are you from’ ‘where do you stay’ ‘how long you been in Bali’, then I hacked into the melon with my hunting knife and ate the whole thing ( it was a small melon ).

Arriving in Padangbai around 4pm I made my way along the seafront on my motorbike behind rows of fishing boats and checked out a bunch of guest houses. I spotted one set with small 2 storey bamboo cottages and pulled over. The owner Wayan told me they were 35,000rp with breakfast and I didn’t bother to negotiate. The place was almost empty and these folks are aching for business.

I climbed into my swimming gear and took a little dip to calm the nerves. It was very refreshing and I wore my sandles to protect against coral cuts. Many places here snorkeling equipment and there are dive shops.

Drying off at a beachside cafe I was approached by a variety of vendors including this lady who was dissappointed that after all her effort she went away empty handed. I must make the worst target for any of these people because I simply do not want anything they are selling and never buy. I tell them this straight away but it dawns on them after about 15 minutes that I might have told them the truth.

Padangbai is the port where the ferry to Lombok departs from and after showering I rode down to the ferry terminal at the right end of the beach to see what was shaking.

At the passenger terminal were lines of snack vendors hoping to score from the constant arrival and departure of traffic. I talked to one vendor called Wayan who told me she will be there all night as the boats come in every 90 minutes. She said there used to be a lot more foreignors but now most of her customers are locals or people from Java and Lombok.

Over in the cargo zone was this truckload of chickens. I reckon Bali isn’t a good place if you’re a chicken, the females get packed for consumption and the males end up fighting each other. The guys who owned the truck were busy giving the birds feed and collecting eggs that had appeared. With the lack of entertainment in Padangbai locals have to make do with what they have and this truck drew attention.

Many of the local kids fly kites for fun and seem quite skillful.

I rode out of the ferry area and up the main street looking for something that might be going on. There wasn’t so I came back to the main beach row and ate some satay and rice at a cafe. The staff were very sweet and treated me like a special guest. Cool when people maintain a good attitude.

The owner sat opposite me a tried to pursuade me to go on a snorkeling trip next morning ( private boat 2 hours, 2 bays, 100,000rp ). That’s spendy for me especially as I know I can rent a snorkel for cheap and hike to one of the bays ( Blue Lagoon ) myself.

Riding down the street it was now dark and Padangbai was very peaceful. It really felt like it could of been from 20 years ago. Occassionally a foreignor would pass by but they were in the minority. I stopped at another small cafe for something to do and started talking with a Japanese tourist who is doing a mini SE Asia tour. I ordered a fruit pancake and an Arak Madu and we chatted about how it is travelling in Indonesia. She had just come by ferry from Lombok after spending 10 days in the Gili Islands ( NW Lombok ). Considering herself somewhat of a partier she headed for the main island and found about 40 foreignors there. The Gili’s are beautiful though and I’m looking forward to getting over. Plenty of water sport activities and a relaxed ‘party scene’…say no more.

I explained that I’m helping to do a web site on Bali and gave her my card. Looking at it she said ‘I think I have this card’ and pulled out one of green ones Sean and I made in Legian. On the back is a place for contact info when you meet a new friend and someone had given it to her. I was so happy that someone was using our cards!

Tips for anyone going to the Gili’s. Don’t believe the vendors in Lombok when they tell you there are no mosquito nets and other stuff on the islands, its all there. Don’t buy all your supplies of cigarettes and other personal stuff in Lombok, its cheaper in the Gili’s.

After a nice interaction I strolled home and went to bed. A mixed family of Americans and Balinese were getting into local songs next door and the occassional hooting of the ferry kept me awake for a while but my bed was comfortable and I slept quite well.