Bali: they found "my" beach
ENThis is the perfect beach. A beautiful cove of real black sand, discovered in July 2008, in Bali. I couldn't even show it to you. That day, my camera had run out of batteries. Here it is.
Many thanks to Gregory Batardon for bringing me these images (I invite you to discover his beautiful photographs on his gallery, by clicking on the link).
He and my sister followed in my footsteps last July by Indonesiatheir stay at Sulawesi with a short jaunt to Bali. Once installed AmedOn the north-east coast, they decided to rent a scooter, as I had done, and go for a ride along the coastal road south of Amed.
It took them two tries to find "my" beach. They didn't think they'd have to drive so long... But they found it!
The beach in question is Pantai Songean (pantai means "beach"), according to them, and not "Soan" or "Sohang", as I wrote at the time, roughly transcribing the name I'd been given.
In any case, it's impossible to find it on Google Maps. Either it's not listed, or that's its local name, given by the locals, and it officially bears another name.
Pantai Songean is located to the south of Amed, well beyond Aas, well past the iron lighthouse, somewhere between Seraya and Ujung, I thought at the time, on the splendid little coastal road where it's so pleasant to scoot from one cove to another.
If you're ever in the area, turn left when you come to a yellow bridge reminiscent of the one on the River Kwai in the film of the same name. Then follow the bad road to the village, full of holes, at low speed. Wave to the children, don't run over the chickens, avoid the goats and stop at a flight of steps on your right. This is the place.
😎
Mmmmm.... interesting... I'll make a note... next time, I'll try to take a look...
Oh, no....there, you have to stop talking about the quiet and paradisiacal little corners because....with the success of your blog, this beautiful beach will be invaded.... 😛
Phew, but the sand is gray-black... 😥 My ideal beach is here http://www.maplage.fr/littoral/ille-vilaine/saint-coulomb/plage-guesclin
not far from St Coulomb.
I'm joking a little, but not completely 😉 Could you give us the route to get there? Your Pantai Songean beach doesn't exist on google earth... Could it be a mythical place?
Max
@Manta: Ah, I think you would like it. My sister Hélène, above, loved it a lot.
🙄
@ Helen: Well, don't worry. My blog doesn't have the notoriety of Google Earth. And since GE doesn't know the place, Songean will rest easy.
🙂
@Max: I love black sand. I think it looks great, especially on this beach, where there are no stones in it. As for your ideal beach, it's one of those I know well... From Rennes, you can get there very quickly.
Finally, to get to "my" Balinese beach, the directions I give are already almost too clear... There aren't fifteen coastal roads there. I'm not going to give the GPS coordinates either! Besides, I'm glad Google Earth doesn't know it.
😉
Hello Corinne,
what a kick in the pants to see such beautiful images again 😥
and at the same time what a joy! 🙂
It's true how beautiful "your beach" is! what a contrast in color 😯
Fortunately, there are still places like this, unknown to travel sites and GEs 😈 and what's more, reserved for a select few 😉
Ok Corinne, this will remain a mystery to us armchair travellers. Between Seraya and Ujung it's still 88 km. So we'll have to go there. Maybe next year after a cruise to the Komodo Islands. I'll have to take some extra time to make a few explosions in Bali. But not on a motorcycle!
Between St. Coulomb and St. Rémy ~400 Km, I'd like to move west....
@@ lain: Sometimes all you have to do is wander around and you'll come across some "unknown" places, whether at the end of the world or close to home...
😉
@Max: Oh, you know, I ride at very low speed on those "motobikes" you rent in Asia (which are actually more like scooters, I'm not a biker at all!), and then I often take breaks en route (to find batteries that don't work, to ask for directions, to buy a bottle of water)... Anyway, the said beach is surely only a few kilometers south of Amed. It must have taken me about an hour or two to get there from Lipah, taking my time.
As for Saint-Coulomb, I was there just this weekend (for once, summer felt like summer in Brittany)... hey, hey!
8)
lol,
we're not in the same league when it comes to proximity to the sea and beaches between Rennes and Strasbourg 😉
Just a small detail. For me an ideal beach should not be flat, but have a very small slope that allows to see the sea while lying down. I was recently at the beach of St. Lunaire, which from the zodiac from the open sea looks beautiful, but finally it's just a huge (I was there at low tide!) space of grey sand all flat and hard... 🙁
@@ lain: Ah... sure. Sorry!!!
😆
@Max: There are thousands of "ideal" beaches, I suppose. Songean Beach isn't flat in my memory, but gently sloping, and it's surrounded by small cliffs of volcanic rock, the whole thing is of the most beautiful effect when you arrive from above, with the corolla of small white fishing boats lined up facing the sea. I know lots of other "ideal" beaches that don't look anything like this one, and that I love too, whether they're flat or not, in Brittany, the Basque Country, Asia or elsewhere, with blond, white or black sand...
🙄
This beach is worth the detour, it's magnificent!
@Voyageuse: And it's much more spectacular in person than in photos... (sigh)