Bali Holiday Guide - About Sanur

About Sanur

Maps - Sanur : Kuta, Tuban & Legian : Ubud : Jimbaran : Seminyak : Nusa Dua & Tanjung Benoa : Denpasar : Bali : East Bali : North Bali : West Bali : Central Bali : Indonesia : Java

The peaceful village of Sanur was Bali's first tourist resort and the nearest beach to the capital of Denpasar. Stretching along a wide stretch of coastline facing eastward, Sanur is protected by a shallow reef. Hotels, bungalows and landscaped gardens face the ocean and the picturesque beach boulevard stretches the entire length of Sanur village. Water sports are very popular in this area, both within and beyond the reef. Sanur is a centrally located resort and close to other tourist resort areas.

The beach is very quiet and it is the best for relaxing for visitors who want a quiet and peaceful holiday. On the far northern beaches have volcanic black sand, a remnant of the large volcano eruptions of the past, but the southern beaches are white sandy as are all beaches on the southern part of Bali.

Sanur offers many good hotels, villas, restaurants, shops and other tourist facilities. Sanur is also the ideal place for quiet family holidays.

The Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel and Suites islocated in the tranquil coastal village of Sanur. Bali. has it all and Sanur is a great place to begin your discovery of Bali. The Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel commands an ideal location just minutes from good shopping, entertainment and the cultural and natural attractions of Bali. With all rooms located around the lush tropical poolside gardens, the resort provides to all the needs of both the business and leisure traveler.

The Bali Hyatt is a resort hotel that is well loved for its timeless appeal which blends perfectly into the serene village life of Sanur, with its distinctive architecture, lush tropical gardens, exotic foliage and secluded lily ponds. The resort hotel features alang-alang thatched roofs, natural wood finishes and local fabric of Bali integrating traditions of Balinese hospitality. Savour the best of international cuisine in a relaxed tropical atmosphere here at the resort. Bali Hyatt's five restaurants provide a tempting array of cuisines from around the world.

The Sanur Beach Market restaurant at the end of Jalan Segara operates from noon to 10.00pm and serves a choice of Indonesian, Chinese and Balinese dishes with an emphasis on seafood. Great location, good food in an unpretentious setting at reasonable prices.

For real local flavor, visit Babi Guling Gianyar on the By-Pass near Splash Bakery between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. This very simple restaurant serves the most delicious "Babi Guling" (roasted suckling pig, a famous specialty of the town of Gianyar). By 7:00pm they are usually sold out!

Call in to the local Sports Arena restaurant, on the By Pass just near McDonalds, and experience great hospitality and food from the well known restaurant identity, Olaf. Here you will no only enjoy fabulous food (many of them German dishes) but can join in the Quiz Nights, watch sports from around the world on the Bar TV's or enjoy the band depending on what night it is. The restaurant is a great favorite with the ex-pat population as well as the locals.

About Kuta : About Legian : About Tuban : About Ubud : About Sanur : About Seminyak : About Jimbaran : About Nusa Dua & Tanjung Benoa : About Denpasar : About North Bali : About East Bali : About Central Bali : About West Bali : About Indonesia :

Le Mayeur Museum

The history of Bali is dotted with foreigners who spent time here and somehow made a difference.

One of those people was Belgian artist Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres (1880-1958). He arrived in Bali in 1932 and lived in the village of Klandis close to Denpasar. While living there he met a local Balinese dancer named Ni Pollok who was a famous legong dancer and considered the best in Bali.

Ni Pollok was very beautiful and Le Mayeur offered a her a job as his model. Though she was still a teenager they were married in 1935 and both moved to a house in Sanur where he painted portraits of her. This house is now the Le Mayeur Museum and it is a memorial museum that immortalizes the memory of the painter Le Mayeur and Ni Polok.

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From the By Pass in Sanur take the Jl. Hang Tuah (Sanur Plaza Hotel) turn off to the right and park near the beach. This part of Bali is popular with German and Dutch tourists and is more of a low key place compared with the hectic pace of life in Kuta.

The house of Le Mayeur and Ni Pollok is now a museum featuring some of his paintings of her as well as European pieces. It is located about 30 meters to the right of the parking area at the end of Jl. Hang Tuah. The museum is open from Mon-Fri 8am-4pm and Sunday is 8am-3pm.

The house faces the beach and would have been very quiet and a great place to relax back in the 1930’s. The grounds contained many shrines and small statues, many of which are decorated with flowers. On the front of the central entrance are some lovely carved decorations.

During WWII Le Mayeur continued living in the house and, although the place was ransacked, still managed to keep the paintings. Wartime shortages meant he had to use sack cloth instead of canvas for paintings during this period.

The collection doesn’t include as many paintings of Ni Pollok as you might expect, although there are paintings of other Balinese ladies. Charcoal and crayon sketches are also included.

When Le Mayeur died he left the house and his art collection to Ni Pollok with an agreement that she would eventually pass it on to the Indonesian government. Ni Pollok passed away in 1985 and the house became the Museum Le Mayeur.

The museum really feels like a house and as you wander through the grounds you can see locals cleaning their pots and doing chores in much the same way as they would have done during Le Mayeur's day.

For an experience of another small part of Bali expat history you might like to include a visit to the Museum Le Mayeur on your next visit to Sanur.

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