Kuta Area, The Surfing Spot

Kuta is a big urban area close to the sea. Nearby stands two other well known cities: Seminyak (the chic equivalent of Kuta) and Denpasar the main city of Bali. When you arrive in Kuta, at first, it destroys any ideas left about Bali as a paradisical island. It's overcrowded, sellers who harass tourists are everywhere and western people mainly come here to get drunk.

Fortunately after one hour, you start enjoy it. There are many locals there, it's easy to find anything you need, and the prices are cheap. Finally you discover a huge beach of white sand in front of a 30 degrees sea with nice waves. It looks like a popular beach of the south west of France but ten times bigger. Another good thing is it's easy to find a surf teacher that can show you the basics.

The sunset is gorgeous and there are beach bars where you can drink good cocktails while seeing the sun goes down. On top of them, there is the fantastic Potato Head. The architecture of the place is unique, the cocktail menu is nice and the crowd is happy.

Around Kuta you have many beaches and temples to visit. I went to Padang Padang (a beautiful beach) and Blue point (a spot for experimented surfers). Then, I visited the Ulu Watu, a temple on the top of a reef. At night they organized impressive Kecak dancing shows (highly recommended). Finally I went to Nyang Nyang beach, it's hard to access because you have to do some hiking, but at last you can enjoy a wonderful beach just for yourself!

Many people come for the sunset. Some of them bring their earphones to listen to their favourite music while enjoying.

The sunset in Kuta.

A surfer who is going to ride waves in Blue Point.

Kecak dancers at the beginning of the performance. They make an hypnotic sound all along the show.

The reef of the Ulu Watu temple.

After the sunset, the people eat and prepare either to go to bed or to party. Some dance very late, some clubs close at 9 in the morning. I went to a club called Sky Garden. It was nice but I didn't like it much. It looks like I'm getting old and snobbish and can only enjoy German electronic music.

After these two days I had to go to the quiet Denpasar for my passport extension. Then I felt a little bit sick and decided to go back to Ubud where I relaxed, waiting for my passport before heading to the Gili island.