Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in which Muslim extremists from Java detonated two bombs at Kuta's most popular night-
spots,
Paddy's Irish Bar
and the
Sari Club
. Three years later, on October 1, 2005,
bombs
at
Kuta Square and in Jimbaran killed twenty. The
Monument of Human Tragedy
, dedicated
to the 202 people from 22 countries known to have been killed in the 2002 attack, now occu-
pies the “Ground Zero” site of the original
Paddy's Irish Bar
on Jalan Legian.
Paddy's
has
been rebuilt just down the road.
Kuta and Tuban
Young, fun and frequently trashy,
KUTA
is the original Balinese mass resort. It's hard to be-
lieve that as late as the early 1980s eating and accommodation options were fairly limited
here. Today it's frantic; jam-packed with shops - from tiny outlets to big-brand megastores
- and hugely popular with travellers on a budget or visiting for a party, chiefly backpack-
ers, surfers and young Australians. It's almost a surprise to see a temple squeezed between
the endless T-shirt and sunglasses outlets in the traffic-choked lanes. The main two lanes,
Poppies 1 and 2, and the winding alleys around and between them are the accommodation
hubs. Jalan Legian is the 4km-long shopping strip. However, the beach is the real reason why
everyone is here - often crowded, but a long stretch of fine biscuit-coloured sand.
Just beyond Kuta Square's Matahari department store, Kuta Beach officially becomes
Tuban
, or
South Kuta
, and things quieten down. This area is often the choice of families or
older couples, many of whom stay in the resort hotels that have direct access to the beach.
No bemos run this way but the beachfront promenade runs from the lifeguard post near the
corner of Jalan Pantai Kuta to the fence of the airport and it's about a thirty-minute walk from
Kuta Square to the final resort hotel, owned by
Holiday Inn
.
