Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Police
There are police stations on Jl Patimura and Jl Diponegoro; the main police station is
in the far west of the city on Jl Gunung Sanghiang ( 0361 424346).
Post office
Denpasar's poste restante (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm) is at the General Post Office on
Jl Raya Puputan in Renon. The Sanur-Tegal and Kereneng-Tegal bemos pass the front door;
otherwise, take the Tegal-Sanur bemo, get out at the Jl Cok Agung Tresna/Jl Panjaitan junc-
tion and walk 500m south.
Sanur
If Kuta-Legian-Seminyak is too frantic and Nusa Dua too manufactured,
SANUR
could well
be your sort of place. Though a resort since the mid-1960s, it's a low-key destination strung
behind 5km of fine beach, with a laidback atmosphere and an appealing lack of hustle. It
lacks the clubs and all-night party venues of Kuta - younger travellers once nicknamed it
“Snore” - but for many visitors who seek only an abundance of accommodation and restaur-
ants that is decidedly a good thing. Its calm shallow sea also means it's a safe spot for the
kiddies. For more action, there are two surf breaks and some so-so diving. At a push, you
could use it as a base to explore nearby - Kuta is 15km (about 45min) southwest and Ubud
an hour or so's drive north, while laidback Nusa Lembongan is a short boat ride away.
It could all have ended so differently. Sanur was the site of Bali's first major beach hotel
in the 1960s. The high-rise
Grand Bali Beach
(currently part of the
Inna
hotel group) did
not go down well locally and led to a Bali-wide edict against building anything higher than
a coconut tree. Even if that edict has slipped (or there are some seriously high coconut trees
in Bali), the ethos against high-rises remains. Sanur's other claim to fame is as the source of
some of Bali's most powerful
black magic
and as the home of the most feared sorcerers and
respected healers, or
balian
. Not so long ago it was not uncommon to hear stories of police
enquiries that used the black-magic practitioners of Sanur to help track down criminals.
