Canggu Beach, Bali

Our final stop in Bali took us to Pineapple House, a yoga and surf retreat recommended by one of my Dulwich colleagues. The house boasted an unconventional retreat: not mandated times to go to various classes but a bevy of options of both yoga and surfing classes to take at points throughout the day. Yoga classes take place next door at the beautiful Desa Seni; you go when you want to, as often as you want. Whilst off-schedule, one had the luxury to sit in the living room, dip in the pool, have a massage or wander into town, a haven for vegan delicacies, and hang out on the beach.

Canggu Beach town itself is a drive away but a ten-minute walk away yields a little parade of cafes, restaurants and design shops that make for a perfectly pleasant wander.

And if that gets a little boring (which, for me, it did not), the beach in a further 15-minute walk. We made for the entrance through La Laguna, a beach bar and restaurant that was perfectly boho:

And the beach beyond did not disappoint. Apparently August is off-season for this little slice of paradise. The beautiful people confined themselves to the beach clubs and so we wandered, stopped for a Bintang whilst sitting in a beanbag and watching the sunset. 

On Rosa's last day, we made our way to Batu Bolong beach, just up the coast. I watched Rosa catch her final waves as I sat and sunned myself.

I stumbled on some surfer-favourite haunts such as Old Man's, a bar and restaurants serving the good people of greater Canggu for several years now.

We eventually made the slow way home, wandering a couple of kilometres up the beach and back to our accommodation. One of the temples on the way was celebrating some kind of ceremony and everyone there was kitted out in white. There was a lot of waiting around before the kids got restless and started running the beach. We never did find out what was going on but it was great to see a community come together in such a peaceful way for something they had a mutual belief for.

Rosa left early the next morning to return to Hanoi and work. I would join her in two day's time but in the meantime, I had more yoga and beach time to take advantage of. It would be my last beach as an Asian resident and I took that to heart. I still felt like I hadn't seen enough that Bali had to offer but the feeling only gave me more reason to plan another trip back.