Nusa Penida
I spent three days / two nights at Nusa Penida, the largest of three inhabited islands to the Southeast of Bali. I was in the area for a seminar and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to tick this off of my bucket list. I wrote this up for a friend that’s going in a week, so I thought I’d share this with everyone. There is a lot of development happening in the island, so it may not be relevant in a few years. But here is my experience during December of 2019.
Getting There and Back
My hosts in Bali tell me there is a boat from Padang Bai and most locals leave from there. But because my friend and I were staying in Sanur, we decided to take the fast boats from there instead. Sanur doesn’t have a port, so we had to wade knee-deep in water to get on the boat. Be prepared to get wet.The Sanur boats all leave from the end of Jalan Hang Tuah. A really good fish restaurant is in that area. Mak Beng. And if you’re up for it, a little to the south is an amazing place to get nasi campur — Warung Nasi Ayam Bu Weti.
There are a lot of people in the area who will try to scam you and promise two-way tickets but only give one-way ones. I fortunately spoke enough Indonesian to haggle down prices and not be too tricked. But I suggest booking your tickets online to avoid this. There is one group called Maruti which seems fair and was nice enough to call me when I didn’t make it to the port in time. We took Angel Billabong because it fit our schedule. None of these boats felt very safe. They were speeding and I heard they can overload the boat during high season. I hope some day all these companies will be regulated, but until then travelers need to have faith. You can take a same-day boat back using the same boat service, or go to the Toya Pakeh harbor for more options.
Getting Around
Once we landed in Nusa Penida I had thought I lost the tickets to go back and ended up talking with the Angel Billabong company on the island. This is when I realized we weren’t in Bali anymore and why I wanted to come to this island in the first place. I felt like the people in Nusa Penida weren’t trying to take advantage of tourists. It felt so comfortable talking to people who were trying to make a decent living in as honest a way as they can imagine. It helped that I spoke Indonesian. But it’s still a wonderful thing to see. There is still a long way to go, but for now the island of Nusa Penida feels more innocent than many other touristy places in Indonesia.
I rented a motor from the same guy who helped me out. At first he offered an N-Max which is a superpowered motor for 300k and I thought I didn’t need that because I have been driving my Scoopy around Solo for months. So I asked for a cheaper Vario for 150k for two days. I regretted that decision. I think a stronger motor is important on Nusa Penida. The roads are quite windy and there are many roads that were just broken. Also, Google Maps is not so reliable. You can use it to generally get an idea where places are, but following the directions usually take you through some bad roads or nonexistent ones. It’s better to follow signs and ask locals if you can.
If you aren’t comfortable on a motor, I do not recommend renting one. Rent a car and driver and they will guide you through the island. You have to haggle a little for the best price. But I find the people on this island to be mostly honest. I asked some locals whether there were incidents of violence against women or queer travelers. Their response was “not yet,” and I do hope this remains this way for now.
Staying There
We stayed at Ampel Hill homestay and it was amazing to wake up to the view of Mount Agung over the water every morning. The rooms were quite comfortable and the staff were very nice. They even called me up when I forgot my earbuds in my room. There is a bigger resort across the street with a pool and a warung that is open early and until 10 pm. I highly recommend staying there.
What to See
The advantage of staying on the island overnight is you can avoid the crowds by going to places when the tour groups are not there. We managed to do so using this itinerary:
Day One
Pura Puncak Mundi — 12 pm. This is a relatively newly built temple. There are some high hills to get there, making me regret not getting a stronger motor, but I think my favorite experience was asking my friend to get off the motor while I revved up a particularly steep hill. At the top of the hill, a man in traditional clothes holding a freshly killed chicken was waiting and checked in on me to make sure we made it OK. He gave us directions. It’s a nice temple to visit on the way to other places, but as someone who is not hindu, I wouldn’t go out of the way to go here. It’s a nice pit-stop to other places in the island. As we were leaving, several religious tourists were driving in. The driver gave me directions to our next stop.
Pura Sekar Kuning and the view to Manta Point— 1 pm. Don’t mistake this for the snorkeling spot the tours take you to. This is a view to that point, not access to the actual spot itself. The ride here was treacherous. There were several broken roads and we met some travelers who had kissed asphalt earlier. But we took things slow and got off the bike when the road got particularly bad. One other foreign tourist told me he couldn’t find the viewpoint. After looking around the completely empty temple, I found a small path leading to the back that had amazing views of the spot. We decided not to stick around too long though. It was getting hot and we were getting tired.
Klingking Beach — 3 pm. Most tour boats leave the island around 4 pm, so we had a quick lunch on a warung by the side of the street and headed to the famous Klingking beach. I had been wanting to see this T-Rex shaped hill overlooking this pristine beach for a while. At first I wanted to walk down to the beach. But we passed a woman passed out from dehydration and the stairs down looked very steep. We decided to skip and admire the view from above with some ice cream.
Crystal Bay — 5 pm. Avoiding tourists in this area is impossible. But it’s still worth seeing. This is hands down the most comfortable way to spend the sunset on the island. The beach is nice and clean. There are lots of people selling things like coconuts and snacks. There are lounge chairs to rent out and some nice hikes to go for exquisite selfie spots. We watched the sun set but didn’t do too much else because we ran out of cash. It turns out finding an ATM is an adventure. So I would suggest budgeting for the island ahead of time and getting cash before getting there.
Pasar Toyapakeh — 6 pm. Looking for an ATM turns out to be difficult on this island. There are a few near the pasar but they didn’t work. It turns out this area always runs out of money. But by chance there was an upacara at the temple next to the traditional pasar. Witnessing people praying with the Balinese gamelan in the background was such an amazing experience. Later in the night there was also a bit of theatre and dance. We were still desperate for cash so after the dance we went around the temple by way of the mosque next to the pasar and drove to the northern side of the island. Thankfully there was one working ATM (after trying out two different ones).
Avocado Spa — 8 pm. We were exhausted and we caught sight of a well lit spa next to the road. It was a bit late so we asked if they could get a massage. Luckily the owner and her sister were able to. My friend got a shiatsu massage and I got a Balinese massage with oil. What we couldn’t see from outside is that this spa is right next to the beach, and the sound of the waves were very soothing. My masseuse, the owner, told me that they used to harvest seaweed for a living but the money ran dry because of lack of demand and not enough room to dry the seaweed because of new developments. So she and her sister opened the spa just one year ago. She says she serves around 240 people per month. Doing the math, that averages to a 60 hour workweek. People in Nusa Penida work hard for their money. She tells me it’s difficult as well because there aren’t enough resources like housing or public transport, leading to young people illegally riding motorbikes without licenses so they can go to school, and then leaving once they graduate. She also said the spa may not be there in a few years because of all the development going on. I really hope that her business keeps going.
Day Two
Angel Cafee — 9 am. After a beautiful view of the sun shining its early rays on Bali’s Mount Agung, we went to this cafe because the Avocado Spa owners tell us the food and views are nice. The owner is her sister-in-law and the cafe is brand new. Most people head further south to an always-packed restaurant called Secret Penida. But for me, this was a better place to start the morning. Clear views of Bali and people snorkeling/diving right next to the cafe.
Pasar Umum Bantununggul— 10 am. We wanted to go to some more temples but didn’t have traditional kain (cloth) and sash to cover our legs. The cafe owner told us to head to this pasar and it was a great experience watching locals buy fresh fish, fruits and vegetables next to clothing and traditional cloths. We spent about half an hour looking at the cloths and made our choices. I wish it weren’t the case, but all the cloths are made with synthetic polyester-blends. The owner tells us they are also woven in Bali, not on the island.
Goa Giri Putri — 12 pm. I had wanted to see this temple for a long time. You have to wear the sarong and sash before walking up the many steps up to the entrance. At the top, they asked for donations. We decided to give 25k each and the temple caretaker gave us each a glass of water. The entrance is a small triangle and you do crawl through for a short period, but after that it opens up to a huge cave. The lighting isn’t as bad as the ones I had seen in other touristy caves — no colorful LEDs here. It felt calm and peaceful, but also damp and warm. The scent of incense flowed from the rear of the cave. We walked through towards the exit and I asked how to get back to where I parked the motor. The caretaker at the other side of the cave told me that when the cave is full, you had to walk out through the back and around the cave outside. But because we were the only visitors at the time, we could walk back to the entrance and exit there. On the way back, we passed several people praying and some other foreign tourists. We had just missed them. But unfortunately while climbing out we interrupted a small prayer service. After climbing out, we stood by the side and stayed silent out of respect. One of the caretakers led us out.
Diamond Beach — 3 pm. At first we followed Google and went to the wrong entrance — one to Atuh beach. It turns out that if you go to this entrance, you’d have to climb down to Atuh beach, climb back up and climb down again to Diamond. So we got back on the motor and I asked for directions from a family of weavers next to the road. We had a very nice discussion about how they made their cloths, and I ended up getting another kain as a souvenir for a friend.
After asking for directions three more times, we ended up on a somewhat treacherous road (nothing as bad as the day before) and got to the top of the hill overlooking Diamond Beach. It was breathtaking.
There is a steep staircase where you do need to use your hands for balance and climbing down, but it’s not as bad as other places I have seen in my travels. At the entrance of the beach, there is a group that set up some nice selfie opportunities — A nest you can sit on for 100k, or a swing you can ride for 200k. I couldn’t say no. It was a bit scary signing a waiver to get on a swing attached to two coconut trees overlooking a tall cliff that is hours away from the nearest hospital. But it was worth it! The guys running the selfie spot seemed serious about safety, and they’re actually quite good at taking videos and photos for you on your phone.
As we climbed down to the rest of the beach, the selfie spot guys warned me that the current was too strong on the east side of the beach, so stay on the west. This beach has got to be one of the top ten I have ever been on. There were several Russian tourists who had gotten there and it definitely was a place for jealousygrammers. So I had to jump in and join them.
And here’s a special behind the scenes peek to show you what it takes to get a shot like this.
Gamelan and Sunset near Toya Pakeh — 5 pm. We tried to make it to a beach on the west side of the island in time for sunset, but on the way we saw a group of Balinese Gamelan Angklung, which a professional musician acquaintance from Sinapore tells me is very special and rare to see. They carry the instruments and play them as they walk. We stopped and enjoyed the music for some time. But when they were about to pass where we parked our motor, we realized we could easily be caught and not be able to ride out. So we started driving again. Instead of going all the way west, we took a detour to the Toya Pakeh harbor. It turns out to be a nice and clean beach with a few boats docking for the night. There was a muslim warung named Warung Makan Restu that was closing up but the kind woman agreed to cook us dinner after sholat. She stayed open just for us. We were very grateful, and the food was really nice, and we got to watch the sunset from a pretty much empty beach!
After the full day of events, we ended up going back to Avocado Spa for another night of massage. The next morning we took the latest morning boat but were those awful tourists that got there a little bit late because I forgot my earbuds at the hotel. However, the kind people at the port took us on a small boat to get to the big speedboat and we made it to the Bali airport in time for our flights. Thank you to the people of Nusa Penida. I don’t have hope that the island remains pristine, but I believe that with good investment on infrastructure, ethical tourism on our parts as foreigners (less plastic & more cash to women-owned businesses!), and stronger regulations against to ensure safety standards, I believe Nusa Penida could continue to charm visitors for decades to come.
