Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Indonesian and seafood is long and cheap. Fried rice with crab from Rp25,000.
Daily
8am-8pm.
Tanjung Alum
Dermaga Pelabuhan (waterfront) 0362 7050696.
There are four restaurants
hanging over the sea on the old Dutch pier and this one specialises in fish and seafood - ex-
pect the likes of grilled squid or prawns for around Rp50,000.
Daily noon-9pm.
The northeast coast
Beyond Kubutambahan, the black-sand beaches along the
northeast coast
are quiet and loc-
al; though clean, they are often narrow and stony. If you have your own transport and fancy
some tranquility, you can check out a number of hotels here, especially in
Air Sanih
, and
further east, en route to
Tulamben
at
Tejakula
,
Sembirenteng
and
Tembok
.
Air Sanih
AIR SANIH
, 13km east of Singaraja's Penarukan terminal, is a locals' beach resort with
some uninspiring cold
springs
(daily 6am-8pm; Rp5000). It's a popular getaway for Balinese
couples who want a private few hours away from the village and while that doesn't make it
seedy it does mean that are few
places to stay
overnight, one exception being the relaxing
Ponjok Batu temple
Daily 7am-6pm • Free admission, though own sarong and sash required
About 12km east of Air Sanih, the road climbs a headland at
Ponjok Batu
with views along
the coast. The impressive
temple
here was founded by the sixteenth-century Javanese priest
Nirartha - the story goes that he used his powers to bring a shipwrecked crew back to life.
Surya Indigo Handweaving Centre
Pacung • Daily 10am-6pm • Free • 0812 362635
Less than 1km east of the temple at Ponjok Batu, the village of
Pacung
is worth a visit for
the award-winning cooperative
Surya Indigo Handweaving Centre
, especially in the morn-
ing when you have more chance of seeing looms in action. It's known for its striped
bebali
cloth, used in Balinese ritual, especially for babies' six-month ceremonies - the stripes sym-
bolize transition between key life stages - and you can see every stage of the process on site,
from dyeing the silk and cotton with natural colours to weaving on
cagcag
(backstrap) looms.
The art of hand-weaving
bebali
was only revived here in 2000 but now the cooperative sup-
plies cloth around the whole of Bali. Prices start at about Rp250,000 for a small cotton
be-
bali
. Since the cooperative launched, the owner Nymoman Sarmika has expanded to preserve
other traditional handicrafts such as silversmithery and ceramics under the name Bali Utara
Gaya (
baliutaragaya.com
).
