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Balangan 2012

After Padangbai, we drove down to Balangan which is on the Bukit.

I
t is a very pretty area with a long white sandy beach with a reef running from one point to the other. Good waves run along this reef that section in a few places, though some waves can run right through. The beach is lined with warungs, restaurants and bungalows.

At one end of the beach, is a temple with steps leading close around the bottom of the cliffs. There are a number of bats living here as well. I had a walk up the beach and through the temple on an early walk. On another day there was a ceremony being held there.

The other end of the beach was calmer and had reasonably okay swimming and snorkelling though there wasn’t much to see.

We stayed at Balangan Seaview Bungalows. The rooms were nice and clean and the staff friendly. It had a small pool which was the focal point of social activity. There were a number of people staying here, mainly from various parts of Europe.  We had lots of small talk conversations.

The restaurant was spread out and served good food. There were also a number of other places nearby to eat and down on the beach but we never got that far.

The hotel was above Balangan beach with a large field in between the hotel and the cliffs. There were often cows grazing in this area. The walk down the beach was via a grassy path until it reached some steps

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We picked up my other daughter from the airport on the first night.

Not much happened while we stayed here. We walked, swam, snorkel, ate. The steep cliffs aggravated my foot so it got very sore. I tried a surf but it was a disaster. My foot was swollen so my balance was out.  I tended to lean too far forward when I stood up and added to this the big surf and I spent a lot of time paddling, falling, rolling down the wave face, picked up by the wave, dumped down again and dragged along in the white wash. It took me two hours before I finally had had enough punishment.

As it was, my daughter who is a studying physio gave me the opposite advice to the insurance company medical team and the doctor from Flores and after a few days it was getting noticeably better.

Balangan was a nice place.  It was a good choice for a family get together though a bit punishing for a surfer who couldn’t surf and had to watch.

Next stop Sumbawa… !